Erin Hunter - Dawn

Shrewpaw’s eyes blinked open. “How do you know?”

“Spottedleaf told me in a dream!”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure!” Squirrelpaw snapped.

Shrewpaw twitched his ears. “You can’t just disappear without telling any cat where you’re going,” he warned. He didn’t add, Again , but Squirrelpaw guessed that was what he was thinking.

“I could wake Firestar up,” she mewed. “Now I know where Leafpaw is, he could send out a rescue party.”

“Not in the middle of the night,” Shrewpaw pointed out.

“It’s too cold. Besides, it was just a dream.”

“It was more than a dream,” Squirrelpaw insisted.

“But you’re not a medicine cat,” Shrewpaw argued. “No cat’s going to go on a rescue mission in the middle of the night because you had a dream.” His amber eyes were gentle. “They might listen to you in the morning, though. Settle down and go back to sleep.”

Squirrelpaw sighed, but she knew he was right. She slumped back down again, still seeing the wooden nest filled with cages.

Shrewpaw lay down beside her and rested his tail comfortingly on her flank. “We’ll find her in the morning,” he promised, closing his eyes.

His breathing slowed as he drifted into sleep, but Squirrelpaw stayed awake, gazing up at the narrow strip of Silverpelt she could see through the mouth of the gully. A cat from StarClan had visited her to tell her where Leafpaw was!

She knew Spottedleaf had had a special bond with her father when he first came to the forest. Could it be that she wanted to help Firestar’s daughters because she still loved him?

Squirrelpaw opened her eyes and sat up with a start.

Bright light streamed into the gully, though the air was cold, colder still because all the other apprentices had left. Quickly, she stretched and scrambled out of the crevice. Her dream was still clear in her mind. She had to tell her father so he could organize a rescue party.

Shrewpaw was washing on the stone slope in front of the den.

“Where’s Firestar?” Squirrelpaw demanded.

“He’s out patrolling with Graystripe,” Shrewpaw replied, rubbing at his cheek with his paw.

She twitched her tail in frustration. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You didn’t sleep well, remember?” meowed Shrewpaw. “I thought you could get some extra rest and join me on a later patrol. Firestar agreed.”

“Didn’t you tell him about my dream?” Squirrelpaw pricked her ears. “What did he say? When is he sending out a patrol?”

“I-I didn’t mention the dream,” Shrewpaw stammered. “I thought you would have forgotten it. It was only a dream, after all.”

Squirrelpaw glared at Shrewpaw. “It was a message from StarClan!”

“I’m really sorry.” He shuffled his paws and stared at the ground.

Squirrelpaw let her fur lie flat again. “No, I’m sorry.” she sighed. “It’s not your fault I overslept.”

“It’s okay.” Shrewpaw shrugged. “Did you really see Leafpaw in your dream?”

Squirrelpaw nodded. “And the other cats that are missing from the forest. Or at least, I definitely smelled WindClan and RiverClan scents.”

“That’s amazing!” He glanced past her and twitched his whiskers. “Looks like there’s been some successful hunting already today. That should put Firestar in a good mood, at least.”

Squirrelpaw turned to see Brambleclaw padding up the slope with a vole in his jaws. He carried it over to where Ferncloud lay in the sunshine watching her kits play. She accepted Brambleclaw’s offering with only a blink of her leaf-colored eyes, as if she didn’t have the strength to thank him. Squirrelpaw noticed with a prick of unease how small Ferncloud’s kits were. They looked hardly old enough to leave the nursery, let alone journey all the way to the sun-drown-place. By leaf-bare, kits were usually strong and healthy, ready to face the cruelest season. If Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw succeeded in persuading the Clan to leave the forest, how many cats would never see their new home?

She shook her head. Right now, she didn’t want to go anywhere without rescuing Leafpaw.

“Brambleclaw!” She bounded down the slope toward him.

“I know where Leafpaw is! StarClan came to me in a dream!

The Twolegs have trapped her in a little nest, past Snakerocks.

We have to go and rescue her.”

Brambleclaw pricked his ears. “Really?” He scanned Sunningrocks. “Have you told Firestar? Is he organizing a rescue party?”

Squirrelpaw shook her head. “He’s on patrol. But if you came with me, we could rescue her together.”

Brambleclaw blinked. “Are you mad? Rescue her from a Twoleg nest? We wouldn’t stand a chance on our own.”

Squirrelpaw’s paws pricked with frustration. “But StarClan must want us to rescue her now !” she argued. “Why else hasn’t Spottedleaf come before? Leafpaw must be in more danger than ever.”

“Let’s wait till Firestar gets back. He’ll know what to do.”

Squirrelpaw couldn’t believe her ears. “Does that mean you won’t help me?”

“It means I won’t let you go on such a dangerous mission!”

Brambleclaw snapped.

Squirrelpaw wanted to rake his ears in frustration. “You’re afraid!”

Brambleclaw bristled. “What if we tried to rescue Leafpaw and got caught ourselves?” he pointed out. “Who else knows the way through the mountains? Who would lead ThunderClan to their new home?”

“You weren’t like this when we were traveling! You agreed to go back and rescue Stormfur!”

Frustration flashed in his eyes. “Yes, and look what happened to Feathertail when we did!”

“But this is my sister!” Squirrelpaw thrashed her tail. “Why won’t you understand?”

Brambleclaw blinked. “I’m only asking you to wait till Firestar gets back—”

“But you won’t help me now!” Squirrelpaw couldn’t keep the desperation out of her voice.

Brambleclaw’s gaze softened. “Let’s wait till Firestar returns. He’ll send out a patrol. We’d need more warriors…”

Squirrelpaw couldn’t bear to listen anymore. “I didn’t think that you of all cats would let me down,” she spat, stalking away into the trees.

As she reached the undergrowth, the sound of rushing pawsteps made her stop and look around. She hoped it was Brambleclaw coming after her to tell her he had changed his mind, but it was Sorreltail.

“I heard what you were saying!” she panted. “If StarClan has told you where Leafpaw is, they must want us to rescue her as soon as possible!”

“That’s what I thought,” Squirrelpaw growled. “But Brambleclaw won’t help me.”

“I will,” Sorreltail offered. Grief shadowed her face. “I couldn’t stop the Twolegs from taking Leafpaw, but I’d do anything to help her now.”

“Do you mean it?” Squirrelpaw tried to ignore the twinge of jealousy that pricked her belly—why shouldn’t Leafpaw have made friends with another cat while she was away?

“Of course!”

“Come on, then!” she yowled. “Let’s go!”

She pelted into the forest, wanting to get away before any of the senior warriors spotted her and ordered her to join a hunting patrol, or even worse, overheard them and told Firestar what she was planning. She heard Sorreltail pounding after her. The two cats raced past the ravine without even looking down into the abandoned camp, and headed for the Great Sycamore. The monsters were still there, chewing up more and more of the forest. If they weren’t careful, they’d tumble right into the ravine and smash themselves to bits on Highstones, Squirrelpaw thought hopefully.

“Keep low,” she warned as the roaring grew louder, but Sorreltail was already ducking down to follow her through the dying bracken.