Moonpaw gazed up at the medicine den, shocked. If someone had told me before that I could be shocked by my own thoughts, I would have called them a mousebrain.

      The rain was fading to a light drizzle, and Moonpaw could see the sun starting to creep out from behind the clouds. Better check on Fuzzypaw, she thought.

      She jumped and sank her front claws into the medicine tree. Her back legs dangled, scraping pathetically against the rough bark.

      "All right then, tree, I'll just state the truth," she growled to a knot in the bark. "I am a useless climber." The knot stared at her, unresponsive. "Are you laughing at me?" The knot stood still as, well, a tree. "That's what I thought."

      "Need some help up there?" Moonpaw twisted her head around and saw Moonflower emerge from the nursery. Her two kits, Mosskit and Nightkit, were still sleeping.

      "I think I can manage," Moonpaw grunted. She attempted to dig her back claws into the tree trunk. She heaved upward, but couldn't get her claws out of the tree and slumped back down, hissing.

      "I'll take that as a yes," Moonflower purred. The black and white queen reared up and lightly placed her front paws by one of Moonpaw's paws. She scraped at the bark until Moonpaw could twist her paw out of the tree. She did the same with the other paw, and that one was free too.

      Using Moonflower's technique, Moonpaw used her teeth to break away the bark surrounding her front paws. She grimaced as tough bark splintered and crunched in her teeth. She spat it out hastily.

     Twisting her paws, Moonpaw gasped as her front paws gave way, and she landed on the ground with a thump! "Fox-dung!" she cursed.

      "Are you okay?" Moonflower worriedly rushed to her side.

      "I'm fine, thanks." Moonpaw was embarrassed by this whole thing, and couldn't admit that her back, where she landed, felt like it had been run over by a monster. She gritted her teeth against the pain and threw herself at the tree, clawing and spitting in frustration.

      Moonflower gave a mrrow of amusement. "Watch it," she warned, though her eyes were sparkling, "you're going to damage the tree!"

      Moonpaw broke away from the tree, panting. "Sorry," she mumbled. With the help of Moonflower, she managed to scrabble clumsily up the small tree to the medicine den.

      Patchtail was bending over a limp, wet lump of fur and licking it the wrong way.

      That's Fuzzypaw! Moonpaw thought. She was saddened to see her sister looking so defeated, so forlorn. Her eyes clouding, she padded over to Fuzzypaw. She bent down and touched her nose to her sister's fur.

      She looked up and asked, "How is she?"

      Patchtail looked at Moonpaw and breathed a sigh. "She'll make it," she meowed shortly, and went back to drying Fuzzypaw,  who was now moaning quietly.

      Moonpaw stood there awkwardly, staring at the lump of fur that was her sister. She looked up at Patchtail, then down again. She wondered how she'd get back down the tree.

      Just as she turned to leave, she heard a whooshing, sizzling sound. Curious, Moonpaw poked her head out of the medicine den, followed by Patchtail. The sight she saw made her gasp.

      A large rock the size of a boulder was on top of Fireclaw's left back leg! The rest of the patrol that had come back from fighting the snake was staring at the rock, which was red-hot and sizzling. Yowls of pain were streaming from the young warrior's gaping mouth. It seemed as if the rock was burning him.

      "Fireclaw!" Moonpaw heard a panicked yowl from Tigerpaw as she rushed toward her injured brother. She tried to move the heavy rock off of him, but jumped back as it singed her fur.

      Patchtail seemed to come to her senses and leaped out of the medicine den. Chaos and panic erupted around camp as there were more whooshing noises and suddenly, rocks began to fall from the sky. Moonpaw was torn between protecting her sister and rushing out to help everyone else.

      Barkwhisker was staring at Fireclaw's pained eyes, frozen as if he was imagining the worst. Just as Moonpaw noticed this, she noticed somehing else:

      A huge boulder, bigger than any cat in camp except maybe Spottedstar,  was barreling full speed out of the sky. It was so hot it was almost blue, and looked even more fearsome than a monster-- it was heading straight for the frozen warrior, Barkwhisker.

      Moonpaw's eyes widened. She half scrambled, half fell down the medicine tree. She ran at full speed toward Barkwhisker,  but Spottedstar got there first.

      A fierce glint in his brown eyes, the cream and spotted leader launched himself forward, pushing Barkwhisker out of the way. As he looked up, the protective glint in his eyes was replaced by fear. To Moonpaw, this all seemed like it was in slow motion; she couldn't tear her eyes off of Spottedstar and the rock. Spottedstar scrambled backward; the rock, now cooled to a fiery white-red, landed on his chest; his paws splayed out and his head dropped to the ground. He was (undeniably, and reliably) dead.

      "No!" Moonpaw was barely aware that she had yowled. She bolted forward, unaware of the rocks setting the thorn barrier on fire and Moonflower letting out anguished moans as she buried her face in her mate's spotted fur.

      A falling rock set a bush next to Moonpaw on fire, making her jump away in surprise. She thumped down beside Moonflower, and touched her tail comfortingly to the black and white she-cat's shoulder.

      When Moonpaw bent her head to touch her nose to Spottedstar, a sudden, rattling breath made her gasp and jump up. The large tom opened his eyes, lifted his head, and attempted to get up. Patchtail, who had  been treating Fireclaw, gently pushed him down again.

      "We have to evacuate the Clan," Spottedstar mumbled hoarsely, trying to lift his head again to gaze around the camp.

      Patchtail's paw, firmly planted, kept his head on the ground. "Spottedstar,  you were lucky that wasn't your last life," she mewed gravely.

      "StarClan told me we have to get the Clan out of here." Spottedstar's tone was commanding. Patchtail took a step back.

      "But--"

      "The leader's word is law, Patchtail," Spottedstar cut her off, "now I need to organize the Clan." Patchtail reluctantly let him shakily stand up. "Cats of TreeClan, shooting stars are falling on us! StarClan is not angry! But they have warned me we should get out of here! Fast!"

      The yowling that had been filling the clearing ceased, and was replaced by muttering as the cats considered what Spottedstar had told them.

      "Where do we go?" yowled Sunstripe. "Surely this is happening in other territories! And if it isn't, what will the other Clans think?"

      "They'll think we're crazy," growled Lionfur.

      Moonpaw saw Tigerpaw's eyes widen in realization. "We could go in the river!" she burst out. Before anyone could say anything, she kept going,"I mean, the rocks-- shooting stars-- will cool down when they hit the water. And water slows stuff down! Er-- doesn't it?" She shot a hopeful glance at Lionfur.

      "Well done, Tigerpaw," Lionfur purred. "You'd make a good deputy one day!" Tigerpaw looked proud.

      Reluctant but knowing this was the only way, cats gave grave murmurs of agreement.

      Most of the cats quickly made their way down to the river. Moonpaw started to break into a run, then stopped. Moonflower and Runningpaw were supporting Spottedstar, who seemed embarrassed to be transported in this manner. Patchtail, Cougarpaw, and Barkwhisker were dragging Fireclaw out from under the rock, his jaws stretched wide in agony.

      Moonflower and Moonpaw realized the same thing at the same time: Moonflower's kits were still in the nursery.

      Moonpaw sprinted toward the nursery, yowling to Moonflower, "I'll bring Mosskit and Nightkit!" Moonflower nervously nodded, probably unsure if letting a six-moon-old apprentice take care of her kits was a good idea. Moonpaw was barely a kit herself.

      Moonpaw skidded to a stop outside the nursery. She ducked inside, surprised at how cramped a space it was, even though she had woken up here just yesterday. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw two pairs of frightened eyes, one brown and one green, staring back at her.

      "Mosskit, climb onto my back. I'll give you a badger ride." Moonpaw crouched as Mosskit climbed on. He looks just like Spottedstar, Moonpaw thought. She picked up Nightkit by her scruff and carried the tiny kits out of the nursery.

      Boom! Moonpaw swerved sharply to avoid being hit by a flaming rock. She looked at the sky as she sprinted toward the river. It was alive with brilliant streaks of orange, blue, white, red, and even green. The shooting stars dove out of the sky like rain. Cats were swerving, zigzagging, and leaping to avoid them. At least half of them were just blindly running, doing anything to get to the river.

       Moonpaw burst out of  camp behind Pollenflower and Lionfur. She ran like she was being chased by a mob of angry ShadowClan warriors. The fiery rocks pursued her, whining and crashing as they wrecked the natural beauty and grace of the forest.

      Prey ran back to its holes. Terified eyes peeked out of burrows. Nightkit was swinging in Moonpaw's jaws and Mosskit was desperately clinging to Moonpaw's fur. All the forest dwellers could see was a flash of cream, black, and mottled fur.

      Moonpaw slowed and came to a stop. A boulder fell a few tail-lengths away and still she couldn't move. Why couldn't she go foward, toward the river, toward safety? She would get to see the familiar faces of Moonflower, Snowtail, Patchtail, Fuzzypaw-- wait. Fuzzypaw. As the realization dawned on her, a horrified, guilty sensation spread through her limbs until they were numb. Her head spun, and she felt like she would be sick. She had left Fuzzypaw in the medicine den!

      Moonpaw considered dropping the kits and running for Fuzzypaw, but she knew how much Moonflower was depending on her right now. The only thing she could do was return the kits to their worried mother, then hurry back to camp for Fuzzypaw-- if it wasn't too late.

      She adjusted her grip on Nightkit, told Mosskit to hang on, then bolted through the forest. She dodged broken branches and flaming bushes. The only mantra going through her head was, The river. The river, then Fuzzypaw. Her legs flew and her heart pounded.

      Moonpaw emerged into the clearing beside the river. She set the kits down next to a grateful Moonflower and dashed off  again. She could feel cats staring at her, wondering why she was running toward the danger.

      The sight of the camp was unbelieveable. Rocks rained down, hitting the soot-stained ground like birds diving into the lake. At least the dens in the trees weren't damaged much, as the shooting stars mostly fell right through the leaves.

      But the barrier will need to be repaired, observed Moonpaw.

      A loud crash drew Moonpaw's attention to the medicine den. A shooting star had slammed right into it! Moonpaw narrowed her eyes and ran at the tree. She launched herself onto it and grabbed for a pawhold. Slowly, she made her way up the small tree. When she was almost at the top, she leaped and tumbled into a pile of herbs. She got up, tripped over more herbs, and stumbled into Fuzzypaw.

      The fluffy apprentice was laying very still, her breathing deep and even. Her white fur was fluffed up, probably from all of the time Patchtail had spent licking it.

      Moonpaw's eyes shifted to the shooting star, the tiny tongues of flame coming off of it threatening to burn down a stack of herbs. It's strange to think that these things are stars, she thought. I wonder if StarClan warriors are trapped inside them.

      The whizzing, sizzling sounds of the strange rocks brought back Moonpaw's sense of urgency. She grasped Fuzzypaw's fur firmly in her teeth and dragged her sister toward the entrance of the medicine den, grunting with the effort.

      "Great StarClan, how am I going to do this?" Moonpaw muttered as she looked over the edge of the medicine den. She couldn't risk hurting Fuzzypaw by dropping her out of the hollow in the tree; she couldn't see any way to carry her down either.

      "Moonpaw!" A voice called to the creamy apprentice. Moonpaw recognized it as Sunstripe's.

      "Sunstripe?" Moonpaw meowed back.

      Sunstripe came into view, a worried expression on her face. "Moonpaw, you don't have to do all the rescuing yourself. You could have asked one of the more experienced warriors." Moonpaw licked her chest fur in embarrassment. "Let me help you," the yellow and orange tabby continued.

      Moonpaw nodded and Sunstripe climbed up to where she was. Together, they managed to get Fuzzypaw to the ground.

      "We have to wake her up, Moonpaw," Sunstripe meowed. The bangs and crashes of the rocks seemed like backround noise by now. Moonpaw and Sunstripe tried to wake Fuzzypaw up by stepping on her tail and yowling into her ears. Eventually, the injured she-cat rolled onto her paws and lifted her head. Moonpaw and Sunstripe supported her and helped her to stand.

      "Is she really... awake?" asked Moonpaw quietly.

      The two fully awake she-cats were startled as a smoldering rock plunged into the ground beside them. But Fuzzypaw didn't react at all, except for opening her dark blue eyes, which were unfocused, dazed. "No," Sunstripe mewed, "I think she's, uh, sleepwalking."

      The yellow tabby and the cream apprentice walked forward, keeping Fuzzypaw between them. The fluffy she-cat stumbled and tripped, sometimes mumbling words like "mouse", "fox-dung", and "wings". Moonpaw and Sunstripe exchanged anxious glances whenever she did this, wondering if Patchtail should have come along.

      "Snake!" Fuzzypaw exclaimed just as the pattern of slow boom, boom, booms intensified to a faster boom-boom-boom boom-boom. The two conscious cats pulled Fuzzypaw along as fast as they could, while her feet dragged behind. The rocks were now not much bigger than river stones, but they were very hot and poured out of the sky rapidly.

      "Ow! Mouse-dung!" Moonpaw yowled when a rock hit her left front leg. Not enjoying the sensation of getting her fur singed, she hissed in pain and lifted her foot. Sunstripe slowed down for her, and soon experienced the apprentice's pain for herself.

      All three cats were pelted with rocks as they ran as fast as Moonpaw's limp would let them. They didn't break stride as they hobbled into the clearing near the river-- where their Clanmates were waiting.

      Sunstripe splashed into the river, Fuzzypaw in tow. She asked her apprentice, Tigerpaw, for help.

      Moonpaw stepped into the water. Her leg instantly felt better as the cool water washed over it, but she wished they didn't have to go into this river. She squeezed her eyes shut as a flashback came to her. She saw Fuzzypaw swirling around, she saw her own lungs burning as she sank to the bottom. She heard her own voice call out, "Fuzzypaw! Where are you?"

      She pushed the memory away with a shake of her head. "Moonpaw, are you okay?" Brightpaw, another apprentice, asked.

      "Yeah, I'm fine." Moonpaw took another step and hesitated. She remembered the river overflowing, the current overpowering her, almost drowning.

      "C'mon Moonpaw, Sunstripe and I can't hold Fuzzypaw up all by ourselves. She's unconscious again and her thick fur makes her sink easier!" Tigerpaw managed to bring Moonpaw out of her pool of memories that she'd nearly drowned in.

      The mention of her  sister encouraged Moonpaw to take a shaky step farther. She braced herself as memories washed over her like a wave, but the thought of Fuzzypaw anchored her so she wouldn't be swept away. She narrowed her eyes and quickly went in all the way, shivering as the cold water soaked her fur.

      "Here, I'll help you," she told Tigerpaw and Sunstripe. Moonpaw kicked off of the bottom and swam out to the Clan. She turned to face the rock-storm and pushed her shoulder under Fuzzypaw to support her.

      As the green-eyed apprentice gazed back at her burning territory, pinpricks of doubt, doubt that she would not share with anyone unless she had to, began to form in her mind. Spottedstar told us that StarClan are not angry, she thought. But-- what if he lied to keep us from worrying? What if this is a sign?

      What if this was a sign that they didn't belong here?

Author's Note

This chapter is about a meteor shower, and it's in italics because it is the story Moonpaw is telling. It occurs about an hour after she saved Fuzzypaw in the second chapter.

Who is your favorite character so far? And what do you think these meteorites mean? Are they a sign from StarClan or not? Next update will be whenever I finish the next chapter.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Remember when Spottedstar was undeniably and reliably dead? "Undeniably and reliably dead" is a line from a song in the Wizard of Oz. I had to use it!