Erin Hunter - The Fourth Apprentice

Something dark loomed up ahead of her: the branches of an overhanging tree, dipping down and trailing in the surge of water. Dovepaw kicked out frantically, trying to avoid it, but the floodwater drove her right into the middle of the branches. They scraped at her fur as she was carried past, almost sweeping her off her branch.

Gripping as hard as she could, until she thought her claws would be ripped out, Dovepaw was suddenly jerked into open water again. A bundle of tabby fur, dark from the water, whisked past her with a wail.

Tigerheart!

Blinking water out of her eyes, Dovepaw watched with horror as the young ShadowClan warrior vanished under the surface.

StarClan, no!

Taking a deep breath, she let go of her branch and plunged after him. Catching at memories of Rippletail and Petalfur swimming in the pool behind the dam, she tried to copy their movements. But it was hard. Her soaked fur was heavy and her legs ached with exhaustion. She kept banging into more floating branches that pushed her under the water, and when she resurfaced, waves spat in her eyes.

Dovepaw had almost given up hope of ever finding her friend when she caught a glimpse of Tigerheart bobbing up again less than a tail-length from her, before vanishing almost at once. She swam toward him, then dived under the surface.

Above, the water had been dark, with only fitful gleams of moonlight flickering on the surface. Down here, Dovepaw felt as blind as Jayfeather, sending out her senses to locate Tigerheart and pushing through the murky water until her paws touched his pelt.

He’s not moving! Am I too late?

Grabbing a mouthful of his fur, Dovepaw paddled frantically upward. As her head broke the surface, a branch bobbed past her and she wrapped her front legs around it. Tigerheart’s weight threatened to drag her under the water again, but Dovepaw wouldn’t let go. Relief flashed through her when she spotted Petalfur swimming strongly toward her.

“Rippletail will not die in vain,” the RiverClan cat hissed through gritted teeth. “StarClan will not take any more warriors from us.”

She gripped Tigerheart by the scruff, relieving Dovepaw of his weight. Dovepaw was able to haul herself a little higher out of the water, where she caught sight of a flat piece of wood being whirled toward them on the current. Floundering through the flood, she managed to grab it and pushed it toward Petalfur.

Together the two she-cats hauled Tigerheart onto the flat wood and crouched beside him, clinging on as the water carried them across the stretch of green grass at the edge of the Twolegplace, and into the woods beyond.

Dovepaw realized that she could see more clearly; the rain-filled sky was growing gray with the first pale light of dawn. The water was calmer now; it still overflowed the stream banks, but the first terrifying wave had died down. Looking around, Dovepaw spotted branches scattered over the surface, and here and there, bobbing up and down, the heads of cats.

“Yes!” she gasped, reaching out her tail to touch Petalfur on the shoulder. “There’s Toadfoot! And Lionblaze! And there’s Whitetail and Sedgewhisker, hanging on to the same branch.”

“Thank StarClan,” Petalfur mewed. “They’re all safe!”

As she spoke, Tigerheart began to thrash and splutter, tilting the piece of wood dangerously so that water surged over them.

“Lie still,” Dovepaw told him. “You’re safe. And we’ll be home soon.”

At last the current slowed enough for the cats to leave the branches they were clinging to and wade through the shallows to solid ground. All seven cats huddled together, panting and watching as the floodwater gradually washed back between the banks of the stream.

Rain was still pouring steadily down, but Dovepaw scarcely noticed it. She was wetter than she had ever been, and she had swallowed so much water she couldn’t imagine ever being thirsty again. Drawing a deep breath, she listened to the water glugging and pooling and splashing through the woods, through ShadowClan territory, and finally down to the lake, where it swelled over the dried mud and stones, rippling into every crack and hollow, spreading silvery twigs across the parched surface.

We did it , she thought. We brought back the lake.

Tigerheart was sprawled on the ground, coughing up mouthfuls of water while Petalfur rubbed his back.

“Will he be okay?” Dovepaw asked anxiously.

“He’ll be fine,” Petalfur assured her. “This is what we do in RiverClan if kits fall into the lake before they can swim. It always seems to work.”

Tigerheart coughed up more water, then turned his head to look blearily up at Dovepaw. “Thanks,” he rasped.

When he had recovered enough to stagger to his paws, all the cats gathered and stood in a circle with their heads bowed.

“StarClan, we thank you,” Whitetail meowed. “You helped us to destroy the dam and protected us in the flood. We ask you to honor Rippletail, the warrior who will never come home.”

Dovepaw lifted her head and caught Lionblaze’s eye. She wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

StarClan didn’t save us. We did.

The daylight grew stronger as the cats headed back through the woods, following the edge of the stream. Branches were strewn everywhere, left behind by the retreating wave; they had to scramble over them or wriggle underneath, until Dovepaw felt as if her paws wouldn’t carry her a step farther.

I wish I was back in my nest. I’d sleep for a moon!

Gradually the rain eased off, and though it didn’t stop, patches of blue sky appeared as the wind tore the gray cloud into strips. In the shelter of the trees, the cats’ fur began to dry in untidy clumps.

“When I get back, I’m going to groom myself like I’ve never groomed before,” Whitetail muttered. “My pelt has never been as filthy as this.”

Suddenly Toadfoot halted with his head raised and his jaws parted to taste the air. “I can smell ShadowClan scent markers!” he announced.

Strength seemed to flow back into Dovepaw’s paws, and all the cats picked up speed. Soon they crossed the border.

“I never thought I’d see the day when I was glad to be in ShadowClan territory,” Lionblaze murmured to Dovepaw.

She nodded. This journey has changed the way we think about the other Clans, forever.

A few heartbeats later, she picked up the scent of approaching ShadowClan cats, and soon they appeared through the trees: a patrol led by Tawnypelt, with her apprentice, Starlingpaw, and the warriors Owlclaw and Redwillow.

“Toadfoot! Tigerheart!” Tawnypelt exclaimed, bounding forward through the rain. She touched noses with Toadfoot, and she pushed her muzzle into Tigerheart’s fur, murmuring, “You’re safe!”

A shiver went through Dovepaw as she imagined what this meeting would have been like if Tawnypelt’s son Tigerheart had not returned.

“This is wonderful!” Tawnypelt went on, drawing back to gaze at the rest of the cats. “You brought the water back! Starlingpaw, run back and let Blackstar know right away.”

Her apprentice took off through the forest, his paws skimming over the pine needles and his tail waving excitedly.

“Come on,” Tawnypelt urged. “You’ve got to come back to our camp and tell us everything.”

Dovepaw exchanged a glance with Lionblaze; she wanted to be home in the stone hollow, but at the same time she was reluctant to say good-bye to the rest of the patrol.

Whitetail and Sedgewhisker whispered together for a heartbeat; then Whitetail nodded. “We’ll be glad to visit with you,” she mewed.