Squirrelflight’s pelt spiked with horror. Flurry was trying to kill him! She unsheathed her claws and leaped.
“They’ve trapped the kits!” Twigbranch burst from the bushes and hared across the clearing toward her.
Squirrelflight’s leap jerked into a stumble. Struggling to keep her balance, she spun to meet Twigbranch’s horrified gaze.
“The kits?” Flurry jerked her muzzle toward the young warrior. In an instant she was off Bramblestar and pelting across the clearing. Tail bushed, she plunged through the gap where the others had fled.
Squirrelflight darted to Bramblestar’s side. “Are you okay?” Her heart seemed to miss a beat as he lay limp. She lapped his bloody cheek urgently. “Bramblestar!”
With a groan, he nudged her away. Staggering to his paws, he looked at her, his eyes clouded with pain. “Were you going to let her kill me?”
“No! I was—”
Before she could finish, Bramblestar limped after Flurry. “Come on. It sounds like the kits are in trouble.”
Squirrelflight followed him as he tracked the patrol through ragged undergrowth. “I was going to pull her off.”
He ignored her. Angry mews sounded ahead. She pricked her ears. The kits. She broke into a run. As she burst from the bushes, she saw the warrior patrol lined at the edge of a rough clearing. Ahead, a sheer cliff rose like an open wound in front of them. A landslide had stripped away the stone, and now raw earth glowed red in the early morning light. At the bottom, large boulders formed a cave, roofed by the branches and rubble that had recently fallen from the cliff. Flurry and Sunrise stood inside, staring out from the shadows.
“That’s no place to hide kits,” Bramblestar stopped beside her.
Twigbranch was with him. She followed his gaze. “It’s no more than a pile of rubble.”
Bramblestar peered past Flurry and Sunrise. “Are the kits in there?”
Twigbranch nodded. “With Moonlight and the rest of the Sisters.”
“Where’s Leafpool?” Squirrelflight narrowed her eyes as she tried to see past Flurry.
“She’s in there too.”
Squirrelflight glanced along the line of warriors. They were staring at Flurry and Sunrise, their hackles up.
Tigerstar padded forward. “Are you ready to leave yet?” he snarled at the Sisters.
A shape moved in the cave behind them. Moonlight limped slowly from the shadows and stood between her campmates. Her eyes were hollow with exhaustion. Squirrelflight’s heart quickened. The gray she-cat was in no state to fight. Moonlight looked along the line of warriors and curled her lip. “We stay,” she croaked.
Harestar narrowed his eyes. “But you’re outnumbered.”
“We can defend this cave for as long as we have to,” Moonlight hissed.
“Then we’ll flush you out.” Tigerstar nodded to Cloverfoot and Scorchfur. “Climb on top of the cave and start digging.”
“Be careful!” Squirrelflight hurried forward as Cloverfoot and Scorchfur leaped up and began to pick their way across the debris piled on top. Soil began to rain down across the opening.
Flurry glanced up, narrowing her eyes against the dirt. Sunrise growled at the warriors, her pelt bristling with rage. Moonlight showed her teeth.
Bramblestar padded to Tigerstar’s side. “We could starve them out.” He glanced nervously at the warriors on top of the cave as they began to dig. “There’s no need to endanger the kits like this.”
Tigerstar jerked his muzzle toward the ThunderClan leader. “Kits? No one mentioned that the kits had been born.”
As he spoke, Moonlight lunged forward. “Attack!” The Sisters streamed from the cave, pelts bushed, ears flat. They hurled themselves at the line of warriors. Squirrelflight ducked away as Moonlight smashed into Tigerstar and sent him crashing into a bramble. Shrieks exploded around her. Hawk leaped onto Duskfur’s back. Flurry swung a heavy blow at Snaketooth. Tempest hooked Reedwhisker’s pelt with her claws and dragged him to the earth. At the entrance to the cave, Thornclaw and Creek tumbled across the ground, paws churning as they tore at each other’s pelts.
Squirrelflight stared at them desperately. This battle could end only in blood. She froze as a rumble sounded from the cave. A branch moved, creaking ominously as the wood began to split. She saw the roof shift. It was crumbling. Dirt showered the entrance. Stones rolled from the edges. The cave was collapsing, with Leafpool and the kits inside!
Squirrelflight hared toward the opening. “Landslide!” She barged past Creek and Thornclaw and plunged into the shadows. A branch split above her head, showering splinters of wood over her. “Leafpool!” Her shriek echoed in the darkness. Blindly, she stumbled over stones. “The roof’s caving in!”
“Over here!” Leafpool’s mew echoed from the back of the cave as pebbles showered onto Squirrelflight’s back. Squirrelflight blinked, desperately trying to adjust her eyes to the dark. She could just make out Leafpool. “Where are the kits?”
Leafpool lifted a small bundle and hurried toward her. She thrust it at Squirrelflight. “The others are at the back.” Earth was falling like rain. Stones tumbled, thumping and cracking onto the ground. Squirrelflight grasped the kit and turned. She smelled Hawk’s fear-scent in the darkness and felt the she-cat in front of her. Hawk must have seen the roof crumbling too. She swung the kit toward her. Hawk grabbed it and Squirrelflight turned back for the next.
She could hear Leafpool scrabbling in the dirt. “I can’t find them!” Leafpool wailed.
Squirrelflight darted to her sister’s side, ears pricked as the roof rumbled ominously above them. She felt something soft against her paw. “I’ve found one.” The kit mewled pitifully, and she bent to scoop it up. Narrowing her eyes against the falling dirt, she carried it toward the entrance.
Hawk was back, silhouetted against daylight as stones fell around her. She hurried forward and took the kit from Squirrelflight.
“Leafpool’s looking for the last one,” Squirrelflight told her quickly and turned back. Her pelt bristled in panic as she peered through the darkness. She could just make out her sister’s pelt. “Have you found it?”
Leafpool didn’t reply. She was digging frantically through the earth piling against the back of the cave. Squirrelflight glanced around, trying to see through the haze of falling dirt and stones. The acrid scent of wet earth filled her nose. Had the kit managed to find its way to the entrance? Perhaps one of the Sisters had already carried it out. Blood roared in Squirrelflight’s ears. A creak sounded above her and she looked up. A thick branch that was holding back rocks shifted. Shards of wood exploded from it as it began to split. “Leafpool!” Panic jolted through her pelt. “The roof’s collapsing!”
“I’ve found it!” Leafpool hauled a small body from the earth and swung it toward Squirrelflight.
“Let’s get out of here.” Squirrelflight took it from her and darted toward the entrance. Hawk was there. Squirrelflight jerked the kit toward her, relief swamping her as Hawk took it and hared out of the cave. She turned back. “Leafpool!” Squirrelflight saw her sister’s eyes flash in the shadows as a deafening crack split the air. The branch snapped and, with a roar, dirt and rocks thundered down. Earth cascaded around her. Terror seared Squirrelflight’s belly as the falling dirt pressed her to the ground.