Chapter 3

Swirlpaw padded ahead of her companions, scanning the grassy hills and the trees. She had to protect the others. If anything happened to them, it would be her fault.

Swirlpaw glanced back at her companions. They were several tail-lengths behind, chatting lightly among themselves. “Come on,” she called. “We don’t have all day.” She waited until they caught up with her. Pinepaw’s fur snagged on a thorn bush, and he pulled himself out, leaving a tuft of black fur on the thorns.

“We haven’t got time for you to get stuck, either, Pinepaw,” Swirlpaw teased, and the ShadowClan cat stomped along, grumbling to himself.

They padded down a path to a small stream, pausing at the edge. “What?” Skypaw exclaimed. “We have to cross a stream? We’re not RiverClan cats! Are we going the right way?”

Swirlpaw gave her a hard look. She had thought Skypaw was the quiet and sensible one. Well, I guess Spiralpaw’s the one in that spot, then. “It’s easy to cross,” Swirlpaw assured her. “The water’s very shallow.” She splashed into the stream and pulled herself out on the opposite side.

“Have you never crossed a stream before?” Pinepaw muttered, padding into the stream. He splashed over to Swirlpaw and leaped out beside her. “Come on!” he called.

Skypaw came next, and then Spiralpaw. Swirlpaw sat at the edge of the bank to make sure every cat crossed safely, even though it was only a tiny stream. It’s my responsibility to keep them safe, she told herself. After all, I am the oldest apprentice here.

They set off again, shivering in the cold wind that blew against their fur. Before long, they pushed through a tangle of branches and leaves and paused to catch their breath. Swirlpaw looked around.

They were standing in a large meadow with long, yellow-green grass. Trees closed around on either side of it, while the way forward was a tall grassy slope. Swirlpaw gaped in horror as she saw the strange shape of Twoleg dens. We’re going to have to go through Twolegplace!

Swirlpaw nudged Spiralpaw as the young apprentice sat down to groom herself. “Look up–over there!” she hissed. “Those are Twoleg dens. Spiralpaw, are we going that way?”

Spiralpaw followed her gaze, alarmed. “Twoleg dens?” she breathed, her eyes wide with fear.

Swirlpaw wrapped her tail around her shoulders comfortingly. “We’re going to work together,” she promised. “No Twoleg will even see us.”

“I hope,” Spiralpaw murmured.

“Let’s first focus on crossing the meadow,” Skypaw suggested. She must have overheard their conversation. “We’ll worry about the Twolegs later.” She nudged Pinepaw sharply. “Let’s go!”

Swirlpaw led them through the tall grass, glancing behind occasionally to make sure they were keeping up. In the middle of the meadow, the grass grew even taller, and Spiralpaw and Skypaw were barely able to be seen.

“Spiralpaw! Skypaw!” Swirlpaw called. “Are you okay?”

“Yes!” Spiralpaw’s voice came from quite far behind.

“Keep going, Swirlpaw!” Skypaw meowed. “We’ll be fine! It’s just a little tall!”

Reluctantly, Swirlpaw turned around and headed toward the grassy slope with Pinepaw. “Do you still believe Spiralpaw’s wrong?” she hissed to him.

Pinepaw stared at her, surprised. “No,” he answered. “I never did.”

Swirlpaw glared at him in outrage. “You just said so yesterday!”

“I only said what if, Swirlpaw,” Pinepaw told her calmly. “I never said Spiralpaw was wrong to trust StarClan.”

Swirlpaw focused on reaching the tall slope. Eventually Pinepaw seemed to lose his calm mood and stomped ahead of her.

As they neared the slope, the grass slightly gave away to cold, brown stone. Pinepaw suddenly stumbled and fell with a yelp. Swirlpaw immediately dashed forward, grabbed his scruff, and yanked him back up. As soon as Pinepaw’s fur was free from her mouth, Swirlpaw gaped at what lay in front of them.

The ground split apart here, separating the slope from the meadow. The space between them was deep, so deep Swirlpaw couldn’t see if there was any other ground at the end. She shivered. What if we fall in there?

Skypaw and Spiralpaw halted behind them, panting. “Hi,” Skypaw gasped. “What happened–oh.” She sat down beside Swirlpaw, staring into the deep crack. “How are we even going to get across?” she cried.

Swirlpaw took a deep breath. There’s no other option. “We jump,” she declared.

Everyone turned to look at her in surprise. “Jump?” Spiralpaw echoed. “Are you sure?”

“Isn’t that a bit dangerous?” Pinepaw mewed.

“What if we fall?” Skypaw whimpered.

Swirlpaw flexed her claws, determined. “I’ll go first,” she meowed. “If I fall…well, don’t come down after me, okay? If I somehow survive, I’m trusting StarClan to send you a sign.”

Spiralpaw shivered. “But I don’t want to leave you alone.”

Swirlpaw nuzzled her cheek. “StarClan will be with me,” she mewed, “and you, too.”

“Let’s do it,” Pinepaw growled.

Swirlpaw nodded. “I’ll go first. Pinepaw, you can go after me, and I’ll catch you if you fall.”

“Why does Pinepaw get to go after you?” Skypaw hissed.

“Because he’s bigger and stronger than both of you, and he’ll help pull you up if you and Spiralpaw don’t make it all the way,” Swirlpaw meowed sharply.

She took a deep breath and crouched down at the edge. Fixing her gaze on the other side, she pushed off with her hind paws and leaped. Swirlpaw’s belly tightened with fear as she flew through the air. It looked like she wasn’t going to make it. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain, the air to rush up beside her as she fell.

Suddenly she felt solid ground beneath her paws, and she opened her eyes in surprise. Had she made it to StarClan already? Swirlpaw turned around and spotted her companions on the other side of the crack. I made it!

“That was a great leap, Swirlpaw!” Skypaw called.

Pinepaw crouched down now, his eyes narrowed as he decided on where to land. Then he pushed off and flew through the air toward Swirlpaw. He landed precisely next to her, and she sighed in relief.

“You go, Spiralpaw,” Skypaw meowed, nudging the silver-and-white tabby forward.

Spiralpaw crouched down and leaped. Swirlpaw started forward as her paws slipped on the stone as she landed, but Spiralpaw had already found her balance and was padding toward her.

“That was great,” Swirlpaw purred, licking the young she-cat’s ears.

“That was terrifying,” Spiralpaw whispered.

They turned to watch Skypaw jump. The blue-gray she-cat that had helped Swirlpaw recover pushed herself into a massive leap, but it was too high. Swirlpaw’s belly churned in horror. The SkyClan she-cat must be used to leaping up.

Skypaw’s claws clung to the edge for a moment, then, with a yowl of terror, she started slipping. Swirlpaw grabbed her scruff and pulled her onto the stone. “Are you okay?” she asked anxiously.

“I’m fine,” Skypaw gasped.

“I thought SkyClan cats were good at jumping,” Spiralpaw teased, but as she saw the horror in Skypaw’s eyes, her gaze grew soft and she pressed against her side comfortingly.

Swirlpaw turned toward the shape of the Twoleg dens. “Now we’re going through Twolegplace,” she announced, her belly flipping with fear.