Darkstorm's Code✔️

Chapter Twenty-One

Coralstar looked to the ground. "It... I shouldn't tell you," she mewed, shaken. Darkstorm shivered. How bad can it be? "I'll show you. Come, all of you, please." Her usually calm and commanding eyes were scared and hopeless now. Arrowheart sighed.

"Come," He got up and began to walk in the direction of the RiverClan camp. Darkstorm sighed and followed him. All the cats had gotten up and started to walk in the same direction. Is this what the great journey was like? Darkstorm pondered. All the clans together, all heading for the same place? She shook her head. What am I thinking? Nobody knew where they were going in the Great Journey. We do. RiverClan territory. She glanced at Arrowheart. His grey fur was waving in the wind. How could he be the apprentice? It can't be him. It can't. I know it isn't. She nodded determinedly. I trust him, and I know he's not the apprentice. It's Slatepaw. Slatepaw!

"We're here," Arrowheart mewed. 

Darkstorm blinked. His mew had interrupted her train of thought.

"That was quicker than expected." She sighed and looked up. The old RiverClan camp was completely gone; all it was now was a barren field of dirt and mud. "What..." Arrowheart's ears twitched. 

"Shh," he murmured. "There might be Twolegs." They live like us now, Darkstorm realized with horror. It's all Twolegs. 

"But how did the lake die?" she inquired. Coralstar, overhearing, padded over to them. Her gaze held a slight anger. She told Arrowheart to not go near me, Darkstorm remembered. She lifted her head. So what? I don't care. 

"You'll see." She flicked her tail. "You're determined, aren't you." It was more of a statement than a question, but she felt the need to answer.

"Yes. Yes, I am." Coralstar cocked her head.

"You remind me of myself, when I was your age. Stubborn." Darkstorm didn't know what to make of this, so she nodded curtly and continued to walk, this time towards the lake. 

"Oh," she mewed breathlessly. "The lake..." She watched the moon. Clouds drifted around it, careful not to cover the light. ALmost as if StarClan is angry. Oh, the lake... "They're still mad at us," she mewed under her breath. "StarClan is still mad. I can feel it." Gasps rose and filled the air. Stonestar's jaw dropped.

"What happened?" It was obvious, but no one wanted to admit it. The five clans looked at each other.

"Twolegs happened." Darkstorm spoke up. "Didn't they?" She looked at the lake once more. It was a horrible sight. Huge monsters were swimming in the lake, something black mingling in the water. It had lost its usual clear colour. Scraps littered it and Twolegs were building an arc over the whole thing. The rivers were blocked off and dead fish were floating to the surface. Water-birds were flapping weak wings and leaving the water, flying away from their camps. I can't believe it, she thought. The drastic changes to the lake were terrible. 

"But... the island," an apprentice mewed nervously. "Look at it!" Darkstorm followed his gaze and stepped back, shocked. The island was still there, but Twolegs had ridden it of trees. Instead, there was a large building. Twolegs were going in and coming out of it, more than Darkstorm had ever seen. 

"What about the moonpool?" a dappled white cat asked. She's Cloudstorm, SkyClan's medicine cat, Darkstorm recalled. 

"We haven't checked," Coralstar mewed in a fragile voice. "Has any medicine cat gone to the-" Shadeflight, Grassfang, Badgerleap, Thinfur and Yowltail appeared over a mound of mud. 

"What are Yowltail and Thinfur doing out of the medicine den?" Treestar demanded. "I mean, the medicine island?" Shadeflight opened his mouth to speak, but Badgerleap answered instead.