Chapter 1

Moonpaw bounded out of the apprentices’ den, drinking in the scent of the cool night air. It’s time for night training, she thought excitedly. And it fits me perfectly—I’m called Moonpaw. She glanced up at the moon. Wow, it’s nearly full! Tomorrow is the Gathering!

Moonpaw turned as her mentor, Cindertail, bounded up to her. “Are you ready to do some night training?” the gray she-cat asked.

“Yes,” Moonpaw responded eagerly. “Are we hunting or fighting? Are we going to take Leafpaw or Hawkpaw or Lightningpaw or Sparkpaw?”

Cindertail let out a purr of amusement. “Hunting and fighting. Leafpaw and Lightningpaw can come, but Sparkpaw and Hawkpaw are already worn out from their extra training. Maybe next time we can organize a whole group training session.”

“Will we even have time for that?” Moonpaw wondered aloud. Her assessment was coming up soon.

Cindertail seemed to realize that, too. She shrugged. “Maybe. If you really want to do it, we can do it the night after the Gathering. You need time for hunting practice.”

Moonpaw whirled around eagerly as the den entrance rustled and her littermate, Leafpaw, slid out, followed by Lightningpaw. Moonpaw felt her fur prickling anxiously and forced her pelt to smooth. The black-and-white she-cat was prickly and sharp, but never ungracious or unkind.

Hailstorm and Berryheart, Lightningpaw and Leafpaw’s mentors, came bounding across the camp from the warriors’ den to them. “We’re all here, so let’s go out,” Hailstorm meowed. Moonpaw thought the young warrior looked as excited as she felt.

He must be really excited, Moonpaw observed, but he’s making his voice come out calm and controlled. I should stop letting my excitement spill out too much, too. She forced herself to walk as they headed out of camp.

It was hard to find a way through the forest in the darkness. The warriors were calm, their fur lying flat and their gazes fixed ahead, while the apprentices’ fur were spiking up and their eyes flickered here and there. Moonpaw tried to calm herself down, but her fur disobeyed her and started bristling.

The warriors suddenly halted. Leafpaw nearly crashed into Cindertail’s hindquarters while Moonpaw stopped neatly beside her brother. Lightningpaw was still making her way toward them, only her white patches visible in the darkness. The black-and-white she-cat suddenly let out a small yowl and toppled over.

Moonpaw hurried over to her denmate and realized she had tripped over a root. Lightningpaw scrambled to her paws. “Are you okay?” Moonpaw asked anxiously.

“I’m fine,” Lightningpaw snapped. “Stop worrying about me.” She stalked angrily past Moonpaw.

Moonpaw stifled a sigh and followed Lightningpaw back to their mentors. “Okay, everybody,” Cindertail meowed. “We’re first going to practice hunting in the darkness. How do you think we’re going to do that?”

“Light something up?” Leafpaw guessed.

Berryheart gave him a sharp look. “No,” she replied. “That would only scare away prey. Cats don’t only use sight—we use our sense of smell and hearing just as much. So if it’s too dark to see anything, just find your way with your nose and your ears.”

“Try it,” Hailstorm meowed. “It’s the same as hunting in daylight, only now it’s much darker, so you have to rely on your other senses.”

“Hailstorm and I will take Moonpaw and Lightningpaw toward the lake to catch some voles,” Cindertail announced. “Berryheart, you can go with Leafpaw near the abandoned Twoleg nest to see if you can catch any mice.”

Moonpaw suppressed a sigh as she headed toward the lake with her group. She wished with all her heart that she was with her brother instead. I would give anything to avoid training with Lightningpaw!

“Okay,” Hailstorm meowed. “What do you scent?”

Moonpaw and Lightningpaw both opened their mouths to taste the air. Moonpaw nearly let out a hiss of frustration as Lightningpaw dropped into a hunting crouch and began stalking something she hadn’t scented. I’ll prove I’m better than her!

Moonpaw eventually caught the scent of rabbit and crept through the forest, her pelt tingling with excitement. I’ll bring back a nice juicy, fat rabbit. Cindertail would be proud of me, and even Lightningpaw would be impressed! Besides, I’ll catch it in the dark. I might even be made a warrior! With the thought in mind, Moonpaw crouched down and waited for the right moment to pounce.

The rabbit scuffled around a bush, barely visible in the darkness. Moonpaw waited, not daring to move a muscle, as the creature inched its way closer.

Wait…a moment…and…NOW!

Moonpaw pushed off with her hind legs and reached for the rabbit. It spotted her and shot through the bush in terror. Moonpaw raced after it without hesitation, thrusting her way through the leaves.

She let out a gasp of terror as she was wrapped in freezing cold water. For a moment all she felt was confusion. Why am I suddenly in water? Then, with a shock of realization, she kicked out with her hind paws. In the darkness, she had no idea which way the surface was. I must have fallen into the lake! Oh, StarClan, help me!

Moonpaw’s lungs were screaming for air already. She thrashed and struggled as the water pushed her down, deeper into the darkness. Just as the world started to darken even more around her, her head broke through the surface and she took in great gulps of air. She glanced around, but she couldn’t tell which way was shore.

Moonpaw pushed with her paws, struggling to keep her head above the water. Her limbs were already aching by now. How long will I be able to keep this up? she wailed silently.

Moonpaw opened her mouth to let out a yowl as she was thrown under the surface again and took in a mouthful of water. She instinctively breathed in with her nose and winced as water entered. Her nose stung.

Her head broke above the water once more, and Moonpaw managed to let out a choking wail. “Help!”

She felt herself sinking down again and thrashed desperately, but her paws were too tired to fight against the water, and her movements were weak and slow. No! she thought frantically. I can’t die like this! She kicked out again and managed to push a paw to the surface, but in less than a heartbeat she was sinking again. The water stung her eyes and filled her ears, and she accidentally sucked in a mouthful of water.

No air…, she thought hazily. I can’t breathe…this is the end…

Just then Moonpaw thought she saw a flash of silver. Teeth sank into her scruff, and she felt someone hauling her upward. Cindertail? she wondered weakly. Are you coming to save me?

Once her head was out of the water, Moonpaw tried to take in a breath, but her throat was burning, and she gave up and hung limply as the cat dragged her through the water with strong movements.

Moonpaw felt solid ground under paws and tried to pull herself out of the water. The other cat gave her a push, and she collapsed onto the pebbles. She heard paw steps coming toward her and recognized Cindertail’s voice.

“Is she okay?”

“I don’t know,” the strange cat responded.

“Thank you for pulling her out of the water.” That was Hailstorm’s mew, full of gratitude.

“Will she live?” Moonpaw’s heart leaped in surprise as she realized Lightningpaw’s voice was concerned and anxious. She actually cares!

Moonpaw’s eyes flew open as strong paws hit her chest, and she coughed out a mouthful of water. She blinked in surprise as she saw her brother standing over her, his paws pressed firmly onto her chest.

“Keep pushing,” Cindertail instructed.

Leafpaw gave another push, and Moonpaw coughed up more water and pulled herself to her paws. “I’m fine,” she gasped.

“You’re okay!” her brother yowled happily.

“Let’s get you back to camp.” Cindertail gently nudged her to her paws. “We’ll take you to Dawnberry.” She moved to Moonpaw’s side, Leafpaw on the other side.

As Moonpaw started to walk with her Clanmates, she paused and looked back at her rescuer, a silver she-cat with bright blue eyes she had never seen before. “Thanks for saving me…”

“Silverpaw,” the she-cat meowed. “I’m a SkyClan apprentice. And you’re Moonpaw, right?”

Speechless and full of gratitude, Moonpaw just nodded and padded on.