Blazing Fire

Chapter One
I ran. Flames lapped at my heels, scotching my fur and the heat on either side of me was unbearable. All around me I could hear the shrieks of my Clanmates, but I couldn’t see them. The thick smoke that wreathed around me was clouding my vision, making it almost impossible to see more than a few tail-lengths in front of me. I leaped forwards into the burning undergrowth, following the distant howls of my Clanmates. They had overtaken me, I was sure of that, as the echoes of their terrified wails were fading. Scorched ferns brushed my sides as I plunged forwards. I didn’t know where I was or where I was going, only that I had to get away. Away from the forest fire that raged all around me, following me in a bee-line, turning whenever I turned. I had no idea if I had crossed the ShadowClan border, nor did I care. They wouldn’t know now, and even if they did it didn’t matter. The fire was tearing through their territory as well, just as it had taken over RiverClan’s. They were all in this together and they would all get out of this together. All of them. I was determined of that. We all had to get out of the burning forest. We all had to find water. My eyes watered as I sprinted forwards into the dark grey clouds that led to who-knows-where. The smoke was blinding me, stinging my eyes, causing tears to tumble uncontrollably down my cheeks. But even if I hadn’t been crying, I still wouldn’t have been able to make anything out. The cloud of smoke I was moving through was so thick and grey I couldn’t even spot my own paws. I finally tumbled out of the cloud and now I could see. Although there wasn’t much to see except for the fire. All around me flames danced high up into the sky. They flickered and swayed in the wind but they were always growing taller. I charged forwards into the seemingly endless amount of trees and undergrowth. The sizzling pine needles burnt my paws but I found if I could lift my legs up high my pads didn’t get so red and raw. A terrified cry from up ahead made me stop in my tracks. I pricked my ears and strained to see through the grey clouds in front of me. I could see pale fur, stained grey with ashes and red from burns. As the cat turned it revealed honey-coloured eyes. My heart caught in my throat and I tore forwards, ignoring the flames that lapped up my legs and made my fur sizzle. All I knew was that I had to get to, Honeypaw. Leaping over a fallen tree in a single bound, I emerged into the clearing where Honeypaw stood, encircled by flames. “Willowpaw!” Honeypaw cried, spinning to face me. I gasped as I saw the fur that had been burnt off of one side of her face. “We’re trapped!” I spun around in the circle but saw nothing but angry flames, eating away the undergrowth, creeping in towards them... “Maybe we could...” I realized there was nothing, we were stuck and I knew then that we would die. There was no way out of this, the fire would destroy us. Honeypaw pressed against my side, whimpering. I gulped in a deep breath, my heart pounding and squeezed my eyes shut; waiting for the hotness to creep over my body, for my fur to go alight... “Hey!” I opened my eyes and saw six figures emerging through a thick cloud of smoke. They were so dirty with soot and ash that I couldn’t tell who they were, I couldn’t even tell if they were from RiverClan or not.

“Who are you?” I demanded. One of the cats opened his mouth but the she-cat next to her took a deep breath, eyes rolling into her head, and collapsed onto the boiling ground. The tom next to her gasped and prodded her with a paw. “I-is she dead?” his voice shook. I crept forwards and sniffed the tiny she-cat’s side. She smelt of ashes and smoke and as I breathed it in I sneezed violently. But the she-cat seemed to be fine, her sides rising and falling rhythmically. “I think she just breathed in too much smoke,” I decided. The tom breathed out a sigh of relief. “But if we don’t get her out soon, she may die...,” I added. “Well how do we get her out?” the tom hissed. “We are trapped!” A small, skinny cat at the edge of the group suddenly took off across the small clearing. “Look!” it cried. “If we climb this tree we can reach the river!” Leaving the unconscious she-cat’s side and leaped to the tree that the soot-stained cat was sitting beside. Sure enough, as I peered over the flames, I could see rushing water. I clawed my way up the trunk onto a low branch. “Come on!” I called. “Let’s go!” The cats in the clearing below hurried to their paws, the tom grabbing the she-cat that was sprawled out on the ground. I scrabbled around the trunk and onto another branch. From here, I could reach the river. And as I looked closer I could see a huge branch from a fallen tree caught in some rocks. If we climbed on to it, we could float down the river, away from the fire... I crawled along the branch, well aware of the creaking beneath me. The branch bent right down as I neared the edge but I managed to leap onto the branch. Honeypaw climbed up onto the branch beside me, shortly followed by the tom who was carrying the she-cat. The next four clambered up one by one and soon we were bobbing up and down, travelling down the river, being pulled along by the fast flowing current... My thoughts flew back to my Clan who were still trapped in the middle of the raging fire. By escaping, we had abandoned them and now, looking back at the roaring flames, I doubted that I would ever see any of my Clanmates again. Tears were now falling down my cheeks and I pressed against Honeypaw. The others were falling asleep now. I lay down, suddenly exhausted, and let the rushing water soothe me into a deep and well-earned sleep...