Shadepaw's scars hurt as he limped into the den they were trapped in last night. Mistpaw was already there, her eyes closed in a deep sleep. He noticed that she was still bleeding a bit, and felt a flash of worry. Is she okay? What would Cherryshade do....? He thought, though he was unable to think of a solution. As he was pacing, Frostpaw sighed and pushed past him, jumping up onto one of the boxes in the corner. She stood on her back legs and reached up, grabbing some cobwebs with her left paw before falling to the floor, along with the boxes Shadepaw rushed over and grabbed the corner of the box she was stuck under with his teeth, and ripped a small hole. She slid through it, the cobwebs still clutched in her jaws, though there was a bit stuck to her right ear. She padded over to Mistpaw calmly and pressed the cobweb to her worst wound: a scar on her side. The cobweb slowly turned a vivid red, but Frostpaw kept it pressed to her side. Shadepaw couldn't help but wonder how his hyperactive sister was staying so calm. Perhaps these rouges have changed her? Made her more quiet and nervous? No, that can't be. She was blabbering on to me about how Sunclan training was more sufficient. Maybe she just understands how serious this is? His mind flashed back to the battle Mistpaw has with Scorch. He felt guilty for not being able to help, but once he came to his sense there were already cats holding him back. He sheathed and unsheathed his claws, imagining how he would get back at him when he saw him again. No cat was allowed to hurt his sisters.

It was impossible to tell what time it was from in the den, and Mistpaw was still asleep, though the bleeding had stopped. They had to use two cobwebs before it finally stopped. Shadepaw lashed his tail.We can't live like this forever. We need to get home. But....but how? No cat here would help us.....wait.....what about that tom who helped Mistpaw? Er....what was his name? Claw? Yes, what about Claw? Would he help? Maybe......but how? Maybe he could help us free Owlfeather. She's the strongest fighter. Then they can both save Amberriver, who is also a fine fighter. Er....what then? I suppose next comes Twistedwillow. They'll have to help him out of the den first and.....I'm thinking about this all wrong. Im thinking as if there were no guards. But there are guards, and it won't go as smoothly as I planned.....why hasn't Nettlestar sent a search party for us? Does he think we're dead? That we ran away? How could he be so senseless? Shadepaw flattened his ears and lay his head on his paws. His wounds still ached, but they weren't nearly as bad as Mistpaw's. They had both already fallen asleep, and his eyelids felt heavy. Hunger gnawed at his stomach, but he finally forced himself to sleep.

"Listen, and listen well." said a voice the second he opened his eyes. But instead of being in the darkness he was in a lush forest. "Is this Starclan?" he whispered. "There isn't much time to explain. You will wake up soon and fight more. So listen well when I say that they have given up on you." Shadepaw froze, "Who?" "Nettlestar! Sunclan! They haven't been able to find you, and Nettlestar insists that you ran off," the gray Starclan cat lashed his tail. Shadepaw thought that was the most harebrained thing he had ever heard, "Why?" The Starclan cat sighed, "Because it's easier to believe than the truth....Go now. They are coming back."

Shadepaw jerked awake at the sound of the entrance opening, expecting to see more apprentice aged cats. But instead he saw their leader; Clear. His fur bristled, but he said nothing as Clear sat in front of him, staring down at him with a superior look. "Why haven't they come for you yet? Do they not care about you?" Shadepaw lashed his tail, but still didn't answer. Clear sighed as he padded out, only to return with a rabbit in his mouth. "Here. We can't have our hostages starving to death, can we?" he growled. Shadepaw looked shocked, but did not argue as he dragged the hare over to Mistpaw and Frostpaw, who were sleeping close together. "Wake up..." he nudged them. Behind him he could here Clear pad out, and the exit slam behind him. The two jumped awake as it shook the den, their fur on end. He sighed, "Clear came and brought us this." he nudged the rabbit towards the two, wondering if he should tell them about the dream from Starclan. He decided not to; they had enough on their minds without the bad news. Frowning, he bit into a bit of the rabbit, as thought swam through his head. But the main thought was this: If they have given up on us, how will we ever escape?