A zombie apocalypse story! Yay!
Outbreak is a story about a deadly disease spreading through ThunderClan. Skyrunner has just earned his warrior name, and the day after his ceremony, the dawn patrol he is leading runs into a family of foxes. His best friend is badly bitten by one, but they all manage to drive off the foxes. His friend screeches the whole way back to camp, and is not able to even lift his head. The medicine cat ushers Skyrunner out of the den, and he heads of to his nest, terribly worried for his friend. The next day, Skyrunner visits his friend, who is eerily calm. He blinks slowly, and has a permanent off-putting grin on his face. He speaks slowly and his words are slightly slurred, making Skyrunner very uncomfortable. The tom asks the medicine cat what's wrong with his friend, but the medicine cat says he isn't sure yet. Skyrunner can tell that he is lying by the fear in his eyes, and immediately wants to investigate to learn more.
About a week later, Skyrunner returns to camp to find his friend in the center of the quarry, the whole Clan staring in horror at him from the outskirts. Skyrunner can see foam spraying from his friend's mouth, and his eyes are twitching as he pants heavily. Skyrunner calls out to him as his friend darts, as fast as lightning, over to the apprentices den and bites Pinepaw hard on the back of his neck. The apprentice screeches, then his eyes roll back in his head and he collapsing, twitching and thrashing. After a few shocked, horrified moments of silence, the apprentice stands up, his eyes still back in his head and with foam spraying from his lips as well. Every cat yowls in fear and races for the camp entrance. About half of them are caught and turned into the mindless monsters, including Skyrunner's only sister and his father.
The survivors hide in the tunnels and block off the main entrance. The leader and medicine cat proceed to calm the cats, and they begin making a temporary camp. The next morning, Skyrunner wakes to gleaming yellow eyes right above him. He yowls, and scratches the cat on the muzzle. She stumbles back, pawing at the scratch, and he sees that it's Jadelight, his other friend, though he's always seen her as more than a friend. She scolds him, then confessed how scared she is of all of this. He comforts her, and they spend the rest of the morning grooming each other and talking. Skyrunner accidentally confessed his love for her, and she blushes and muttered back that she has always loved him. They become mates, and then, the ceiling starts to cave in.
Less than half of the remaining cats escape the cave-in, but all of Skyrunner's family and his new mate make it out. The leader was trapped inside, but they cannot go back for her. The medicine cat leads them to WindClan, only to find that they were infected by the ThunderClan cats. Skyrunner's mother is infected along with some others, but most of them escape. Heartbroken and terrified, Skyrunner turns to Jadelight as his only source of comfort. After settling in a cave down on the lakeshore, and staying safely there for a moon, they are ambushed by infected WindClan, ThunderClan, and SkyClan cats. Skyrunner fights bravely, but he had to watch as his mate is bitten and infected. Skyrunner is the only cat who survives, and he helps the other Clans to evacuate and head to the mountains to start new lives until the infected cats leave. He is completely heartbroken and brooding, but he knows he must go on in Jadelight's honor.