The Last Hope

“Get down!” Spottedleaf suddenly crouched, signaling to Jayfeather with a flick of her tail. Pawsteps sounded ahead. Spottedleaf’s gaze darted from side to side. “We should hide,” she warned.

“No! This is ridiculous.” Lifting his chin, Jayfeather marched past her and stood in the center of the path. He lifted his tail as Russetfur rounded the corner and halted.

The ShadowClan deputy curled her lip to show sharp yellow teeth. “What are you doing here?”

Raggedpelt and Hollyflower appeared behind her. Raggedpelt hissed as he caught sight of Spottedleaf. “I thought we told you not to cross the border.”

“This is StarClan!” Jayfeather hissed. “There should be no boundaries.”

Spottedleaf weaved around him. “I know you think you’re doing the right thing,” she meowed. “But we have only come to speak with Flametail. Once we’ve done that, we’ll leave.”

Raggedpelt unsheathed his claws. “What do you want with Flametail?”

Jayfeather let his fur smooth and met the ShadowClan deputy’s gaze. “I had a sign,” he explained. “It told me I should talk with Flametail.”

Hollyflower bristled. “StarClan sent no sign.”

Jayfeather dipped his head. “With respect, given all these boundaries, how would you know?” he pointed out. “A cat from any Clan could have sent it. But it was a sign.”

The brambles behind Russetfur shivered and Cedarheart stepped onto the trail. “Let them pass.”

Russetfur bristled. “Why?”

Cedarheart tipped his head on one side. “What harm can it do to let them speak to Flametail?”

Hollyflower growled, “They crossed our border.”

“And they’ll cross it again to return to their own territory before long,” Cedarheart told her.

Russetfur padded closer to Jayfeather. “What’s the point of boundaries if we let any cat cross?”

Cedarheart didn’t move. “Jayfeather isn’t just any cat. You know that.”

There was a pause. Then Russetfur lowered her head and took a step backward. “I guess we can make an exception,” she muttered.

Jayfeather nodded. “Thank you.” He padded past the ShadowClan patrol, feeling their gaze burn his fur. He glanced back for Spottedleaf. The ThunderClan medicine cat was following, eyeing the ShadowClan cats warily as she passed. Once they rounded the corner, Jayfeather picked up the pace. “Come on,” he urged over his shoulder.

“Do you know where to look for him?”

“The vision was a burning reed,” Jayfeather told her. “He must be near reeds.”

Spottedleaf looked doubtfully at the pine trees that loomed ahead. “Reeds? In ShadowClan territory? That sounds more like RiverClan.”

It was a fair point. Jayfeather scanned the brambles, wondering if there was any water close by.

“Wait.” Spottedleaf halted, her tail lifted. “The river runs through this part of the hunting grounds.” She veered off the path and slid between the rambling bushes. Jayfeather followed, his fur snagging on thorns. Spottedleaf twisted between the stalks, seeking out gaps they could squeeze through. The ground sloped down beneath their paws and before long, Jayfeather heard the whispering of the river once more.

“There.” Spottedleaf nodded to the muddy river swirling ahead. The slope flattened into reed beds at the river’s edge. “ShadowClan claimed this land just to spite the RiverClan cats.”

Jayfeather scanned the swath of pale stalks, hoping for a flash of orange. “Can you see him?” he asked Spottedleaf, but she was already bounding down the bank. As she slid between the reeds, Jayfeather raced after her. “Flametail?” He nosed his way into the thicket, shivering as cold water swallowed his paws.

He glimpsed Spottedleaf’s tortoiseshell pelt through the reeds. “Any sign?” he called. Then he paused. A scent touched his nose. ShadowClan, definitely, and fresh. Could it be Flametail? He headed onward, the ground growing softer beneath his feet. Water brushed his belly fur and he began to struggle with every step as the spongy peat sucked him down. “Flametail?” He strained to see through the stalks. “Flametail!”

Jayfeather tried to take another step but his hind leg was stuck. He tugged, trying to pull it out of the black peat, but the mud sucked harder and he sank deeper. He stretched his shoulders, trying to pull out his forepaws, but they slid farther down until he was buried to his knees. “Spottedleaf! Help!” Panic flooded him. With every tug on one paw, another sank deeper. Wetness rose past his belly, soaking his flanks. He lifted his chin as mud began to climb his chest.

“Have you found him?” Spottedleaf poked her head through the reeds.

“Don’t come any farther!” Jayfeather screeched. “I’m sinking!”

Spottedleaf lunged forward and tried to grasp Jayfeather’s scruff in her jaws, but her teeth clacked shut beside his ear. She scrambled back onto firmer ground. “I can’t reach!”

“Stay there!” Jayfeather hissed at her. “We can’t both drown!”

Spottedleaf’s eyes glittered. “Keep as still as you can! I’ll find a stick. You can grab it with your teeth.” She turned, her tail whipping past Jayfeather’s nose as she hared away.