Twilight

Chapter 22

Squirrelflight shook her head to clear the numbing horror that had gripped her. Her first task was to help her Clanmates before she thought about going to join the fight at the entrance to the hollow. Flicking her tail, she led them on again, the noise of the battle battering her ears.

To her relief the brambles that shielded the escape route had not been trampled down, leaving just enough space for them to hide. The cats huddled together in the thorn-circled gap and gazed uncertainly at the wall that loomed above them.

“It’s not that difficult to climb,” Squirrelflight promised.

“I’ll show you. Here, Brambleclaw, give me that kit. If a badger spots us, keep it busy.” A pang shot through her as she realized how absolutely she trusted the tabby warrior to guard them while they retreated.

Brambleclaw flicked her ear gently with his tail and set down Berrykit so she could grip its scruff between her teeth.

The tiny scrap had stopped complaining; now it looked stunned with terror.

Squirrelflight clenched her jaw and launched herself upward, scrabbling out of the brambles and digging her claws into a bush rooted a couple of tail-lengths up the wall.

Berrykit let out a squeak as she accidentally let him bang against the rock.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

Pushing madly with her hind legs, she reached a ledge where rock had fallen away, and from there she could scramble up with tussocks of grass for pawholds until she stood on the edge of the hollow.

She dived into the clump of ferns she had used to hide when she followed Leafpool and set Berrykit down, giving him a swift, rough lick. “There, little one, you’re safe now.”

She lifted her head cautiously above the ferns. The roar of battle in the clearing was muted up here, and the scent of badgers much fainter. She didn’t think any of the hostile creatures were in this part of the forest. Keeping so low that her belly fur brushed the grass, she left the shelter of the ferns and peered over the edge of the hollow.

“It’s okay up here!” she called. “You can come up.”

Cloudtail was already climbing with Hazelkit in his jaws, dragging himself up without putting too much pressure on his injured foreleg. Squirrelflight showed him where to put the kit next to her brother and he let her drop into the soft ferns with a sigh of relief. Brightheart was right behind him with Mousekit.

“You stay here,” Cloudtail told her. “Daisy and the kits will need some cat with them, in case the badgers come.”

“You stay, then.” Brightheart glared at him. “I’m going back to fight. You’re injured.”

“For StarClan’s sake, this isn’t the time to have an argument,” Squirrelflight snapped. “We’re all going back. Daisy will have to cope on her own. ThunderClan needs all its warriors down there.”

Brightheart swung around and vanished over the edge.

Cloudtail muttered, “She-cats!” and followed her.

Squirrelflight checked the kits once more, saw them safe in a squirming heap among the ferns, and turned back to the hollow in time to see Daisy pull herself up and stand panting on the edge.

“Where are my kits?” she gasped.

Squirrelflight pointed with her tail, and the horse place cat rushed over to the ferns.

“Thank you,” she meowed, glancing back before she pushed her way among the stalks. “And good luck.”

“We’ll need it,” Squirrelflight replied grimly as she gathered herself to scramble back down the cliff into the clearing.

Down on the ground Brambleclaw was still keeping guard.

Ferncloud and Birchpaw were with him. The young apprentice had survived the badger attack, but part of the fur on his haunches had been ripped off and one eye was almost closed.

His mother was bleeding from clawmarks along her side.

“Look, Ferncloud, you can climb out here,” Brambleclaw meowed as Squirrelflight leapt the last couple of tail-lengths and landed neatly beside him. “Take Birchpaw with you.”

Birchpaw looked too dazed to figure out the escape route, but Ferncloud nudged him gently over to the rock wall.

“Stay close to him,” Squirrelflight warned. “Daisy and her kits are up there already. They’ll be glad to have a warrior to protect them.”

Ferncloud gave her a grateful nod and followed Birchpaw as the apprentice began scrabbling upward through the thorns.

Brambleclaw was peering out from behind the screen of brambles. “I’m going to help Firestar defend the entrance,” he mewed.

Squirrelflight drew her breath in painfully. “Is Firestar still alive?”

“I spotted him a few moments ago,” Brambleclaw reassured her. “The battle isn’t over yet. I’ll see you later.” He sped off with a twitch of his tail.

Squirrelflight’s heart lurched suddenly as she saw him vanish into the thickest of the fighting. Would they really see each other again? Or was it too late to put right everything that had gone wrong between them?

Unable to bear the thought of losing Brambleclaw now, Squirrelflight was about to follow him when she heard a cat wailing somewhere close by. Staring around the hollow, she caught a glimpse of Sootfur, his black pelt barely visible in the shadows. She could tell he was badly wounded, because he was dragging himself along the ground as if he couldn’t use his back legs.

“Sootfur, over here!” she called.

The black warrior raised his head, too confused by pain to know where the cry had come from. Squirrelflight darted out to him and managed to nudge him to his paws, letting him lean on her shoulder as she guided him back to the screen of brambles.

“You can get out this way,” she meowed, gesturing with her tail to the route up the wall.

Sootfur blinked drops of blood out of his eyes. “Can’t… can’t climb…” he gasped.

“You’ve got to!”

Squirrelflight pushed him over to the wall. Sootfur clawed desperately, but both his back legs were broken and he couldn’t use them to thrust himself upward. He managed to haul himself a few tail-lengths from the ground, then slipped back down again with a shrill cry of pain.

At the same moment a badger appeared, breaking down the bramble screen and lunging at Sootfur. Squirrelflight glimpsed healed scars running along its side; her claws flexed instinctively with the memory of tearing through that coarse black fur. This must be the female they had driven out of their territory. For a moment she locked gazes with the furious creature. To think I felt sorry for you! she thought. Do we really deserve this?

Sootfur lifted his head, snarling, and lashed out with one forepaw while Squirrelflight leapt on the badger from behind, biting down hard on its hind leg. It flung her off as if she were a fly; she crashed into the rocks and lay stunned for a couple of heartbeats. When she managed to scramble up again, the badger was lumbering off into the darkness, leaving the black warrior lying ominously still.

“Sootfur, no!” Squirrelflight staggered over to him. There was a new gash in his throat and his eyes gazed sightlessly into the sky.

“Great StarClan!” Squirrelflight yowled. “Why are you letting this happen?”

But there was no time to grieve for her Clanmate. She had to get back to the nursery. Instead of returning the way she had come, she risked a dash across the middle of the clearing, skidding around screeching bundles of fur and claws.

We can’t win! a voice shrieked inside her head. There are too many of them!

Refusing to listen, she slashed at the eyes of a badger that tried to block her way, spitting fiercely until it backed off.

When she reached the nursery, she found Brackenfur crouched in the entrance, his lips drawn back in a snarl as he challenged a young badger. The creature hesitated, as if it thought there might be easier prey.

A couple of fox-lengths away, Ashfur was fighting with an older, bigger badger; Squirrelflight watched in dismay as it caught the gray warrior with a blow to the side of his head, throwing him to the ground.

Squirrelflight let out a screech. Springing forward, she hurtled into the badger’s flank, forcing it off balance. It lurched sideways, leaving its underbelly exposed; Squirrelflight dived between its paws and raked it with her foreclaws. The badger let out a growl of fury. Pain flooded through Squirrelflight as she felt long claws sink into her shoulder and flip her onto her back. The weight of the badger forced all the breath from her chest as it landed on top of her.

She felt as if it were pushing her into the ground; she could imagine her bones cracking. She choked on a mouthful of hot fur and fought for air as her senses spun away.

Suddenly the weight lifted and she could breathe again.

Gasping, she staggered to her paws to see Ashfur gripping the badger’s foreleg with his teeth, his body whipping from side to side as the badger tried to shake him off. With a yowl of fury Squirrelflight dashed in on the other side. The badger swung its head around, jaws snapping for her. She ducked away from it, slashing at its throat and dodging out of range before it could swat her with a paw.

Meanwhile Ashfur had dropped to the ground and darted forward, distracting the creature’s attention from Squirrelflight long enough for her to dash in again and rake her claws over its shoulder. The badger wove back and forth, never managing to land a blow. Its growls rose to a roar of frustration and it turned tail, fleeing toward the entrance.

Squirrelflight exchanged a triumphant glance with Ashfur, then spun around to check the nursery. Brackenfur was still tussling with the young badger. His teeth were fastened in its ear; before Squirrelflight or Ashfur could move, it dislodged the ginger warrior with one swat from its blunt claws, then thrust its way into the nursery.

Squirrelflight froze as a terrible shriek rose from the bramble thicket.

“StarClan, help me!”