The Apprentice's Quest

“I think she’s got the right idea,” Molewhisker commented, stretching his jaws into an enormous yawn.

“Yes, let’s let her sleep,” Sandstorm agreed.

“In fact, I think we should all sleep for a while.”

Alderpaw thought that Sandstorm looked particularly exhausted. Though he said nothing, he was beginning to realize that this journey, especially with her injury, was taking more out of her than she was willing to admit.

“Who will keep watch?” he asked as the others were settling down in the nest. “We know there are foxes around.”

I should volunteer, he thought, trying to ignore the weariness weighing down his limbs.

This is my quest, after all. We wouldn’t be on this trip if it weren’t for my vision, and even though I didn’t ask for it, I’m responsible for them all.

“I’ll do it.” Needlepaw, who had taken no part in the search, strolled up from the pool, flicking drops of water off her whiskers. “I don’t need much sleep anyway, and now that my belly’s full, I could go on for days.”

Thanking Needlepaw, Alderpaw curled up in the nest and closed his eyes with a sigh of relief.

But instead of sinking into a refreshing sleep, he found himself standing on a bleak moorland hillside with tendrils of white mist wreathing around him. The sky glittered with stars, and somewhere in the distance shrieks of distress split the silence of the night.

His pelt tingling with fear, Alderpaw padded in the direction of the cries. Dark shapes began to appear through the mist, and as he drew closer, he realized that they were cats, standing in a circle and crying out their anguish to the stars.

“Help us! Oh, help us!”

Alderpaw’s chest heaved and his breath came faster; he felt the cats’ suffering as if it were his own. I know these cats! He recognized Leafstar, the SkyClan leader from his previous vision, and the big ginger tom, her deputy, Sharpclaw. Farther around the circle was the small silver tabby Echosong, the Clan medicine cat, and beside her was the young black-and-white cat he had seen made into a warrior. And there were many, many more, all raising their voices in fear and pain.

“Help us! Help us!”

“I’m here!” Alderpaw gasped out, bounding forward until he stood just outside the circle.

“I’ll help you! Tell me what to do.”

But the cats seemed not to hear him. Not even Echosong turned in his direction. Their terrible wailing continued as if they had no idea he was there.

“I’m doing my best!” Alderpaw tried to draw closer still, but something held him back from touching any cat or entering their circle. “Look, I’m here! I’ll do anything you need me to do.”

Still the cats couldn’t hear him. Their cries grew more and more frantic until, with a jolt, Alderpaw woke.

For a couple of heartbeats he lay trembling among the moss and ferns. Another vision… what did it mean? he wondered. Those cats must really be in trouble!

As he sat up, Alderpaw realized that his Clanmates had vanished. Scrambling out of the nest, he spotted them lounging by the pool, nibbling on the leftover fresh-kill. The sun had dipped low over the trees, filling the hollow with golden light.

Alderpaw dashed down to join them. “We need to get moving as soon as we can!” he exclaimed.

Cherryfall blinked lazily at him. “What’s the rush?” she asked. “It’s not like the place you saw is going to disappear.”

Alderpaw couldn’t explain his sense of urgency. Only Sandstorm will understand.

I’ve got to talk to her. “Sandstorm,” he meowed, “come over here and let me check your wound again before we move off.”

With a twitch of her ears Sandstorm got up and padded beside Alderpaw to where he had left the remains of the comfrey root. He glanced back swiftly to make sure that they were out of earshot of the other cats.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, her brief irritation vanishing. “I can see this isn’t just about my wound.”

“I had another vision,” Alderpaw told her. “I saw the SkyClan cats in a circle, wailing and wailing as if they were in terrible pain. They sounded so frightened! And they didn’t hear me when I spoke to them and offered to help.”

Sandstorm nodded understandingly. “Now I see why you’re so keen to get going,” she meowed. “That’s all we can do, Alderpaw. Just get to the place you saw as soon as we can.”

Thank StarClan some cat gets it! Alderpaw thought. But in spite of his urgency, he reached out a paw to stop Sandstorm as she turned to rejoin the others. “I meant it about looking at your wound.”

Sandstorm sat down with a grunt of annoyance. “If you must.”