Broken Dream - A Warriors Fanfic: Chapter Two

CHAPTER 2

Row saw his mother’s eyes flash in the darkness. He turned towards her, his fur wet and cold and heavy. He so wished they were back with the others, sheltered from the rain. But here they were. Callie, Row’s little sister, burrowed into his soggy side. Her eyes were tiny slits of misery. Even Gray, Row’s older brother, looked too tired to bully them.

“H-how long till we get home, Ma?” Callie’s voice sounded through the dark tunnel, and Row laid his tail over her shoulder.

“I don’t know.” That was Strike, Row, Callie and Gray’s mother. Even she – usually so strong and chipper – wasn’t sounding good. Row shuddered; not just from the cold.

Strike stopped. Row could barely make out her figure in the darkness. Water dripped through the roof of the strange underground Nofur tunnel; which is where Row and the others had been stranded for several days. The floor was soggy and slimy, and there was no light. Not even the faintest hint of something paler then black. The only food were long-dead rats, covered in flies and mold. And worst of all – the tunnel was narrow in most parts, with a low ceiling, making the cats feel trapped.

“We should settle down for the night.” Strike said, her voice cracked and tired.

Row glanced around, spotting nothing but the harsh stone walls on either side.

“Mom… I don’t want to eat rats again...” Callie whimpered. Row curled up by the wall, his back pressed against the cold, damp stone. He waited as Callie’s sad eyes made their way to him. She curled up in the nook of his belly, and he licked her fur.  Eventually, Row fell into a soft, troubled sleep.

*   *   *

Row opened his eyes to a moonlit clearing, surrounded by four tall pine trees. In the center was a huge rock covered in moss and roots, and standing on it were four cats. Row tried to call to them, but they ignored him as if he couldn’t be heard. He stumbled forward, a little dazed. Then he saw them – hundreds of cats in the pit of the clearing, talking excitedly to one another. There were so many of them that Row couldn’t pick out a single one from another. He swore there was every existing color fur in the clearing, every shade of an eye.

The biggest of the four cats on the rock, a sturdy brown tabby tom with glowing amber eyes, stepped forward. He lifted his head and let out a loud yowl; immediately the cats in the clearing fell silent.

When the massive brown tom spoke, his voice was dark and gruff.

“WindClan is doing well,” He reported. “We have plenty of prey, and our borders are stronger than ever. If any cat would be foolish enough to attack us,” – He snuck a quick warning glance at a black she-cat with golden-and-white flecks sitting next to him – “They will find WindClan is strong and prepared.”

The brown tabby stepped back to let the black she-cat from earlier slip forward. Her eyes glinted beautifully in the moonlight and when she spoke, her voice sounded crackly and careful, like the night.

“ShadowClan is doing well, also. We are strong and prey is plentiful. Yesterday, Eaglesnare and Frogshade chased a fox off our territory.” She dipped her head and stepped back. Next, a slender gray-and-white tom slunk forward and nodded to the cats below.

“All is well in ThunderClan.” There was a strange, guarded look in his eyes, and he didn’t say much more than that. The other cats on the rock looked somewhat surprised when he stepped back to let the last of the cats, a gorgeous brown-and-white tabby she-cat with bright blue-green eyes step onto the point of the rock.

“RiverClan is flourishing. We have two new apprentices, Birchpaw and Cloudpaw.” She paused for several moments to let the crowd of cats cheer.

“Birchpaw! Cloudpaw! Birchpaw! Cloudpaw!” The cats chanted. Row spotted two young-looking cats, a fluffy-white tom and brown tabby tom, who were puffing their chests out proudly.

That must be Birchpaw and Cloudpaw, Row realized.

The beautiful she-cat continued her report. When she was done, the cats began to talk again. The brown tom from WindClan raised his head and caterwauled. As soon as he did, cats began to collect themselves from the crowd and group behind him. Row watched in interest as they leaped away from the clearing and disappeared behind the dense undergrowth. The gray-and-white tom quickly gathered his group and raced right towards Row’s hiding spot. He dodged sideways, but his paw got stuck on a root and he fell right in the middle of the pathway. He closed his eyes, waiting for the powerful cats to find him, but when he opened his eyes he saw paws leaping over him, on top of him, beside him. Right. I’m in a dream.

Row watched, a little less scared of being seen now, as the black she-cat gathered her cats with a sweep of her tail.

“See you soon, Riverstar,” She called to the gorgeous brown-and-white tabby, RiverClan’s representative.

“Goodbye, Pollenstar. May StarClan light your path.” Riverstar called back. The black she-cat – Pollenstar – waved her tail to her group of cats and turned away, disappearing into the shadows.

Riverstar whispered something to a sturdy black-and-white tom who stood at her shoulder. The tom nodded, and Riverstar walked by his side as they picked their way up the sloping sides of the slope. For a terrifying moment, Riverstar caught Row’s eyes. A strange understanding flicked in the she-cat’s gaze. She seemed to be telling him something, but Row wasn’t sure what.

That’s impossible! Row thought to himself. This is only a dream – she can’t see me… can she?

Then a wave of darkness rolled over him, and everything from Row’s dream – the clearing, the cats, Riverstar – were gone.