Warriors: The Rise to Power Book 1: Whispering Shadows

Chp. 2

Am I dead? Brightblossom thought to herself. It sure seemed like it; inky, oily blackness engulfed her vision. She remembered passing out, but she wasn't totally sure if it was because she died or if otherwise. Either way would be possible, but if she had died, then where was StarClan?

A distant speck of light appeared in her line of vision, growing bigger with the passing seconds. What was once a tiny dot grew into the size of a cat, then a tree, until everything was engulfed in a bright white light. Slowly, the light lost its shine, dimming into a gray, hazy darkness. All of a sudden, she could see the walls of a den surrounding her.

What the... Brightblossom waited for her eyes to adjust more before looking around. She was in the medicine cat den, laying in a nest overflowing with pure green moss. Voices drifted in through the walls.

"When will she wake? Please tell me she will!"

A pause. "Calm down, Fawnsong. We're doing all that we can."

"Maybe that's not enough!" Silence gripped the air, followed by a patter of feet racing away. Brightblossom tried to get up, but a fiery pain gripped her, so hurtful that it almost made her black out. She gritted her teeth and kept moving, trying to get into a comfortable position. Finally getting there, she succumbed to the weariness and fierce pain, letting sleep overtake her.

~*~(A few days earlier)~*~

"Stormfall? What's on your mind?"

"Brightblossom," he mewed, distressed, "is still missing. I went out earlier to look for her, but couldn't find her. You have to send out some search parties!"

Ravenstar scrambled to his feet beside the fresh kill pile. "When did she leave camp?"

"Fernstreak said this morning. Nobody's seen her since."

"Ok. I'll notify the clan." Stormfall watched his leader jump on the Highrock, starting the age old ritual. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here for a clan meeting!" Luckily, most cats were already in the clearing, drawn together from the events that had happened earlier. It didn't take long before all cats had appeared, except Amberpool and Brightblossom.

"Stormfall," Ravenstar began, "has just informed me that Brightblossom is missing." Confused meows drifted up from the clearing as the cats processed what they had just heard. "Now before we all go crazy in distress, when was the last time anyone has seen her?"

Fernstreak stepped forward. "I saw her this morning, leaving camp."

Ravenstar nodded gratefully to her. "Anybody else?" The cats exchanged bewildered expressions, clearly indicating nothing new about the situation. "Well, let's go then. Stormfall, you will lead a search party heading to the StormClan border, and Fernstreak, you take another and head to the SageClan border. Nightwing, I want you to head to our outside border with no clan. Meeting dismissed."

Stormfall watched as Ravenstar jumped down from the rock and started heading over to him. "I'll join your patrol," Ravenstar mewed, then headed over to Emberslash. Stormfall watched him go, then went to find Fawnsong. It wasn't that hard to find her; she was pacing in the middle of the clearing, clearly worried about her missing daughter.

"Would you like to join my patrol?" he asked as he approached her. She stopped pacing, then nodded and started out across the clearing, coming to a stop beside Ravenstar and Emberslash. Stormfall raced over to them, and the group headed out into the wet forest.

~*~

"Ugh! Why did it have to rain earlier? This would be so much easier," Emberslash muttered, his fiery orange pelt already soaked. Stormfall silently agreed with him, but kept moving, determined to find Brightblossom. Fawnsong was the exact same; sniffing in every bush and desperately trying to find a scent.

Ravenstar was perched in a branch high above, searching for signs from higher ground. Stormfall watched him twist his head almost like an owl. Suddenly he stopped and stared into the distance, nose twitching, eyes narrowing then widening a few seconds later. "I think I found something," he called out, leaping down from the tree. "Badger scent."

Stormfall's stomach twisted into a knot. Brightblossom! "Where?" he demanded.

Ravenstar sniffed the air again. "This way!" He bounded away through the trees with the other three cats closely behind.

~*~

"The scent is getting stronger," Ravenstar murmured as they crept through the trees. "I was hoping it wouldn't."

By this time, Stormfall was in the lead, scenting the air constantly. Suddenly he stopped. "There's definitely cat scent," he meowed. Stormfall picked up the pace until he almost racing through the trees. It only took a few heartbeats before Stormfall burst out into the clearing. He let out a wail and rushed over to the body lying on the ground a few feet away.
"Brightblossom! Brightblossom, wake up!" he meowed desperately. By now, the other three had come over, all looking equally horrified.

"She's dead. She's gotta be dead," Fawnsong moaned, sinking to the ground.

"Emberslash, secure the area. Keep guard. Stormfall is she still breathing?" Ravenstar looked over at him. "Stormfall!" he snapped.

The horror stricken cat looked up, anguish in his eyes. He then bent his head, checking her breathing. When he looked up again, hope was flashing in his eyes. "Yes, but not for long. We've gotta hurry."

"Ok. Stormfall, help me lift her on my shoulders, and we'll take her back to camp this way. Hurry, before she stops breathing for good."