Chapter 10

Spiralpaw shivered as everyone stared at her. It was so cold.

“What?” Skypaw gasped. “Why? Spiralpaw, why do we need to turn around?”

Spiralpaw felt cold to the bone even though her friends looked perfectly warm. Follow the warmth, Heatherfur had said. The cold must mean that they had to turn back. She remembered the warm nest in that den just last morning. It had been so warm, and now it was unbelievably cold.

“Skypaw,” Spiralpaw mewed, still shivering slightly, “don’t you remember what I told you yesterday? Heatherfur told me, ‘Follow the warmth’. And it’s freezing right now.”

Pinepaw gasped. “Oh! That’s what you were going to say to me, right? What Heatherfur had told you?”

Skypaw shook her head. “I still don’t get, Spiralpaw,” she meowed. “Just because she said to follow the warmth doesn’t mean we should turn back! And it’s not cold at all! Do you have a cold or something?” she asked, suddenly anxious.

“No!” Spiralpaw yowled, frustrated. “I don’t! I know we have to go back!”

“Trust her, Skypaw,” Swirlpaw suddenly meowed, loud and clear.

Skypaw turned to her. “Really?” she hissed. “What if she leads us wrong?”

“Trust her,” Swirlpaw repeated sternly.

Skypaw frowned and didn’t reply.

“Let’s go,” Spiralpaw ordered, confident now.

 

Spiralpaw gasped for breath as she halted beside the den they had stayed in the day before. The sun had climbed high in the sky as the four friends had run all the way back. Spiralpaw slipped into the den while she waited for the others to catch up. She padded over to the nest she had slept in and touched it. It was still blazing.

Spiralpaw’s heart beat faster. This was it. It had to be it. The start of the trail. She stepped into the nest and walked in the direction they had run, right into the wall. She stayed there for a moment, feeling. The ground was definitely warm.

She ran outside and padded over to the spot she would have been standing in if there wasn’t a bunch of leaves blocking the way. Warm. Excitement tingled in her pads. This was the way they were supposed to be going!

Swirlpaw, Skypaw, and Pinepaw rushed over to her, panting. “Did you discover something?” Swirlpaw gasped.

Spiralpaw padded forward, and the grass was still warm. She stepped to the side, and the grass became cold. She stepped into the warmth again. “I’ve found the warmth,” she announced. “Now we just have to follow it.” She started to pad forward, making sure the ground beneath her was always warm. “Follow me!”

The others followed her, hesitantly at first, then more confidently as the four friends realized they were tracing their steps back to the Thunderpath.

Spiralpaw sniffed the air. Why were they here?

“Are we going to cross the Thunderpath again?” Pinepaw mewed in disbelief. “Did Swirlpaw get hurt for nothing?”

“Shut up,” Spiralpaw growled. “I’m trying to concentrate.” She slowly put one paw in front of the other, afraid to lose the trail.

The roar of a monster made them all jump. “We’re getting closer to the Thunderpath!” Skypaw hissed. “Spiralpaw, where’s the warm trail even leading you?”

“I don’t know!” Spiralpaw growled back. “How would I? StarClan told me to follow it!”

“Why does StarClan have to be so vague?” Pinepaw spat. “They can’t even tell us simple things like, Go to the Thunderpath and you’ll find the Crystal Sun right there! or Cross the Thunderpath and look for a bush where the Crystal Sun will be in! Seriously!”

“You have to trust StarClan, Pinepaw,” Swirlpaw mewed patiently. They were nearing the Thunderpath now. Spiralpaw could almost feel the grit flying into her face as monsters zoomed past.

“Trust StarClan!” Pinepaw growled. “All they ever do is give us riddles and make things harder!” He clawed at the ground angrily.

All Spiralpaw’s instincts were telling her to go comfort him, but she forced herself to concentrate on the trail. She couldn’t lose it now.

“StarClan can’t do everything, Pinepaw,” Skypaw told him softly. “And they don’t know everything, either. That’s why we learn to hunt and fight and think for ourselves.”

Pinepaw finally seemed to calm down, taking quick deep breaths. “Yes,” he forced out. “You’re right. I guess StarClan is trying their best.” His eyes shimmered with grief.

Spiralpaw flinched as she stopped at the edge of the Thunderpath. A white monster flew past, spraying dust onto the cats. Spiralpaw coughed as it cleared up. With a jolt, she realized she wasn’t standing on warm ground anymore.

Spiralpaw stepped back to the warmth. “That’s weird,” she murmured. “The trail ends here. I can’t feel any more warmth–” She cut herself off with a yowl of terror as the ground gave away under her paws…

And she was falling.

Spiralpaw plummeted down into a dark, endless hole. She pressed back a shriek of fear, though she felt like her heart would burst out of her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the loud crash as she hit the ground, the pain.

Spiralpaw’s eyes flew open in surprise as she landed on something soft. She slowly sat up and realized the dirt from under her paws when she had been standing there had formed a soft mound under her to catch her fall. She looked up and saw her friends’ faces, too far up, staring down into the hole.

“I’m fine!” she called as loud as she could. “You can come down here–it’s soft!”

Spiralpaw held her breath as her friends exchanged glances. She exhaled as Skypaw jumped in.

It felt like forever until the blue-gray she-cat reached the pile of dirt. Skypaw let out a small “oof” of surprise as she landed next to Spiralpaw. It wasn’t long before two more thumps sounded, and Pinepaw and Swirlpaw were in the hole, too.

Spiralpaw leaped off the pile of dirt and stared at the long underground path that stretched in front of her. She took in a sharp breath. This had to be it.

They were nearly at the end of the journey.