Escaping

By Nightfern. Part of The Hollyleaf Chronicles.

''Hollyleaf is stuck in the tunnels. She's running out of air. But someone saves her- James, Sol's son. And this tom brings Hollyleaf a whole new vision of the world.''

Chapter 1
Hollyleaf struggled and let out a yowl.

"Lionblaze! Jayfeather! Help!" she shrieked, only to be stopped as dirt flew up her mouth. She was lying on her side, and dirt completely covered her. The only thing that was stopping her from dying was a rotting log stuck above her head, allowing her to breathe. She coughed. "Help!" she wailed. Memories flooded in her head: she was running into the tunnel, it collapsing on her, drowning her, suffocating her- she let out a screech again as more dirt got in her face. Suddenly, the log above her head shifted. Hollyleaf stiffened. The log shifted again, this time, sand flew down and a small crack opened. A small, strong light beamed in. Fresh air flooded her senses. The crack broadened. A black muzzle poked through. Hollyleaf growled and pressed her lean body closer to the ground. The cat grunted.

"Give my your scruff, mouse-brain." the voice snarled. Hollyleaf whimpered and tried to stand up. She gasped as the cat, with brute, pure, strength, grabbed her by the scruff and heaved her out of the hole. Hollyleaf sat down on the grass, and looked at the tom for the first time. He was a handsome, lean calico tom, with gold and black patches and amber eyes. He looked familiar. He stared at her for a second.

"What's your name?" he asked.

She stared down at her slender black paws. "Hollyle-" Her voice stopped. She wasn't a ThunderClan warrior anymore. Leafpool and Squirrelflight had betrayed her.

"Holly. My name is Holly." she replied. "What's yours?" she asked.

"James." Holly looked around at her surroundings for the first time. She wasn't near Clan territories. Strange. James seemed to understand. "Oh, you must have... err... tumbled down a few miles from the lake."

Holly looked at the tom in surprise. "How did you know I was a Clan cat?" James's paws kneaded the ground. "Um... my dad was here for a while. Yeah."

"What was your dad's name?" James's father must have been to the clans recently. He was her age.

"Sol."