We may not all have ever had a near-death experienced before in our lives. I haven't, and I'm very grateful that there hasn't been a time in my life where I knew my life would be cut short. Unfortunately, there are others that have been in one, although I can guess that you remember the feeling well, heart-pounding and unable to think clearly. I'm no expert at understanding the human being, I only go based off of my opinions, but I feel as if we take life almost too granted. I don't want to hear anyone complain about this, but I'm sure right now, we're all taking life for granted.

First off, if you're reading this right now, you have to be on some kind of device, phone, computer, etc. Not everyone has those devices because they're expensive. I challenge you: go an entire day without social media, Wattpad, or whatever you spend 5 hours a day on. If you can't even last two hours, then that gives me a slight intel that you've gotten used to having the internet always at your hand. I'm also guilty of that same thing. We're fortunate to have access to the internet, but others don't.

Back to the key point, not everyone has a near-death experience. These things can happen to anyone just as easily as another. A shooting can still happen even if so-and-so, the richest person on this planet is in the same building. When it comes down, the killer doesn't care if they kill anyone close to you. They don't care if you'll be traumatized, and that's where I think we're taking life for granted. 

We all think we're special and nothing will harm us. Things can happen, and I don't want to say what could happen in this book, all I will say to those who possibly don't know what I'm talking about: "Please, be safe." 

Never find yourself in a situation that could end your life because, in my opinion, you'll never come out the same.

X X X

"Alderfang?" Mothpaw asked when they stopped to take a break in a clearing. The warrior glanced at her, happy to listen. Worried that Jayscar would watch and bash her for saying what she wanted out loud, she stood on her toes to reach his ear. 

Keeping her voice low, she whispered, "Did you see kits at the Moon Tree?"

The older cat went silent and eyed Jayscar, who was too busy dealing with Runningpaw and Beechpaw's lecture to notice him. Robinwing was staring at the ground, eyes lost and wandering to some unknown place with Honeypaw and Olivepaw beside her. 

"There were kits, but it's no secret to anycat," he replied, shocking her. 

"Then... Why are we whispering if we can freely speak of it?" she asked, pulling back. Instead, he reached a paw out and caught her, pulling her close. She froze, her body clashing with his pelt. The sensation was odd, but comforting to her. It reminded her of Echoflight and Hailbreeze when they pulled her close with her siblings to their warm pelt. However, this was the first time she had experienced it with a tom. Even if Alderfang didn't know what she was experiencing, a part of her wanted him to continue embracing her - even if he wasn't her father.

Is this what a father is supposed to do?

"Ashstar is taking precautions if there's something out there that can hear our plans," he explained. "You'll learn eventually, but those two kits have been part of a plan for three months."

"Only a month younger than me?" Mothpaw muttered, voice cracking. "What plan is it? They're going to die if they stay there! Their mother---"

Smells like Dapplefur... The words echoed in her head and she stumbled back, eyes flashing with realization. The shifts each she-cat had to perform to provide kits to the Clan. Mothpaw knew they applied to each she-cat the moment they were born, but the warrior code had intervened Dapplefur due to the warrior code. 

"So... Dapplefur's kits...?"

"No," Alderfang shook his head. "We may be desperate for new warriors for MeadowClan and StarClan to come and aid us, but we aren't going to break the code we've lived by for so long. Dapplefur is like their mother, but she did not give birth to them."

"A loophole?" Mothpaw questioned and received a nod. That caused a question to bubble up in her mind. I know that we're doing our best to please StarClan since we all think they're mad at us. Sticking to the warrior code is one way, but I wonder, if Dapplefur is acting as a motherly figure to the kits, does that count as breaking the code? The tabby sensed it and pulled away.

When he left, she was shocked at the coldness around the misty meadow. She tried her best to hide it, but the warmth that Alderfang provided her was like the sun; now that he was away, the damp grass and misty air seemed colder as if the sun was hiding behind a thick patch of clouds. Mothpaw couldn't stop her thoughts from traveling to her actual father, his stone-gray fur and warm, amber eyes that emitted frost. Thinking about the snow piling up made her shiver, but there was always a never-ending warmth that could melt the frost away before it picked up again. A smile began to crack on her face when she imagined Echoflight. 

"We need to do everything we can to survive and receive help from StarClan," he persuaded. "Since Dapplefur can never have kits, she immediately volunteered to raise the kits at the Moon Tree."

"Why were they at the Moon Tree? Aren't they at risk over there?" 

"It's part of the plan," Alderfang stated, shutting his eyes, stating that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. 

"If Dapplefur isn't the mother, who is?" Mothpaw asked. Alderfang didn't respond and stayed silent. Knowing she had hit something, she tried to think of ways to get the senior warrior spill. Then again, the warrior could not know who they were. The plan had to be orchestrated by Ashstar, unless there was another cat in MeadowClan that could come up with a plan. From what she had seen, everycat was only there to hunt, patrol, or give birth if they were a she-cat. 

The kits said their mother was brown and white, and it can't be Cherryfern since she's just going into the nursery. Unless she had kits while mentoring Deerleaf. Could it be Deerleaf? Wait, there's no way Ashstar would allow an apprentice to have kits. She's his daughter, I don't think a father would force his own daughter to have kits--- She stopped. But, there are fathers like Ripplestone, and I bet if he had the choice and power to do so, he'd want Honeypaw and I to have kits as soon as possible. Deerleaf can't be the mother. Mothpaw shook her head away from the thought, hoping it would run away. It only crept back into her head when she remembered the conversation the small warrior and she had before they left. 

She wanted to be medicine cat but changed her mind to help Ashstar. She told me that she was willing to do anything to make him happy... What if Ashstar wanted her to have kits so it would provide more warriors? No, Alderfang said it was some sort of plan. She must've agreed to the plan, having kits at a young age to make him happy? Mothpaw twisted her head toward the Moon Tree, horror flooding her eyes. 

Deerleaf's the mother of those kits? Dapplefur is taking over the care of them because Deerleaf has warrior assignments to tend to... That still doesn't make sense! Deerleaf would have had to have kits when she was just an apprentice... Never once did I see her look like she was carrying them. Her head felt dizzy and she felt sick to her stomach. Seeing Deerleaf as a mother at a young age didn't fit with her mind. Mothpaw made it clear in her mind that she was going to talk with the small she-cat about the plan and the pain of losing two, unnamed kits. 

"I see you've figured it out," Alderfang observed, nodding. "It looks like we're that desperate to survive we'd go against---"

"How is Deerleaf the mother?!" Mothpaw hissed in his ear, abruptly stopping the tom. "That's just... Why would Deerleaf ever give into that? Who is the father then?" The questions came out of her mouth one after another, not giving Alderfang the time to understand them and then answer. "Is she that desperate to help her father that she'd put herself through the pain of early motherhood?"

"Mothpaw, I think you're getting ahe---"

Again, the questions blocked out the tom's words. "What is the plan? Use Deerleaf to produce more kits just like every other she-cat in MeadowClan? Why would she put them out there? All because of a plan? Is Ashstar using his own daughter for his gain?"

"Mothpaw," Alderfang growled, placing a firm paw on her tail, shutting off her mouth. "Deerleaf is---"

"Get back!" Robinwing snarled, unleashing her claws and standing in front of Honeypaw and Olivepaw. Two scrawny, red foxes approached from the meadow, their lips curled back to reveal sharp teeth. Their hungry eyes laid on her sister and friend, starvation driving the two animals to hunt smaller cats. The silver warrior stood in front of them, waving her paw threateningly at them as Jayscar slunk around to creep up on them from behind. Beechpaw and Runningpaw remained unnoticed by the two foxes, but Mothpaw felt the small eyes of one of the foxes land on her, causing her to freeze. Alderfang got up and left her side, standing beside Robinwing to protect them.

One of the foxes took a swipe at Robinwing, making her jump back and yelp. Alderfang took her place and hissed, his fur rising out and unleashing his claws. Jayscar successfully snuck behind the two and bunched himself up to attack. Once recovered, Robinwing took a lash at the foxes, causing the two to hiss and whine at her. Runningpaw was shaking with fear, and Beechpaw was shrinking himself further into the ground. Mothpaw peered at the bodies of the predators, noticing how skinny they were from the lack of prey. 

They're hungry, just like us... I want them to be fed, but don't eat my siblings or friends! Mothpaw planted herself on the ground, deciding it was best to stay put.

However, things took a different turn when one of the foxes darted across and caught Robinwing off by surprise, jaws locked around her neck. Her jaw fell open and Robinwing thrashed around in the grip, her claws reaching for anything to shred. Alderfang let out a snarl and Jayscar leapt from behind, landing on the back of one fox, catching it off guard. The fox landed beside Mothpaw, making her scream and scramble away. Snarls erupted from the silver warrior as she tried to break free.

Turning around, Mothpaw froze and her eyes widened as the fox sunk its teeth deeper into Robinwing's throat, her blood beginning to flow out and coat the fox's jaws. The attempts became weaker as her energy was drained out by blood and all the while, the fox remained unaffected and only had intentions of finishing off the cat. Eyes full of hunger, it only sunk its teeth further into the neck of the warrior, ending the senior's life. Horrified, she jerked her head around before she watched it begin to devour the warrior.

No, no, Robinwing! You can't be dead! 

"Run!" Alderfang's command broke her fear. She dared to whirl around and spotted the tom on top of the fox that was busy feasting. Jayscar was thrown off the back of the other fox like a dead mouse. The tom hit the ground and the fox advanced, raising a paw to strike. Quickly, the warrior slipped away and scrambled to his paws, eyes flashing with rage. With Robinwing dead and her eyes staring lifelessly into the sky, Mothpaw couldn't help but wonder if she was in the starry Clan that they all longed to see. 

Honeypaw snapped her thoughts away with a single barrel, causing the two to clash heads and stumble back. The golden apprentice shook her head, green eyes locking onto her little sister. "Mothpaw, we gotta run!"

"But Alderfang and Jayscar---"

"Do you want to live?" Honeypaw spat, shoving Beechpaw to the side as the two toms remained petrified. The fox lost interest in Jayscar and turned to the weaker toms, easily spotting them as prey. Runningpaw bared his teeth together and hissed, his claws sinking into the ground in defense. 

"Get out of there!" Olivepaw screamed, leaping onto the foxes head, screaming madly and lashing her tail to confuse it. Runningpaw gasped as the fox began to thrash around to throw the skinny apprentice off. She held on, her claws sinking into the side and squeezing her eyes shut. "Run!"

"Olivepaw!" 

"Stand back!" A new voice growled and a silver pelt lunged over and tackled the fox head-on. Mothpaw let out a gasp when she recognized the silver pelt of her mother, holding the fox down while Olivepaw's tail batted her in the face. Speckleflash came darting out of the bushes and snatched the black apprentice off, avoiding the frantic slashes the black she-cat did in the air. Honeypaw leaped, shoving Mothpaw out of the way as Lionfur interfered, standing in front of the apprentices and baring his teeth at the fox.

Olivepaw was tossed beside them by the brown she-cat and hurled herself at the fox Alderfang was dealing with. Alderfang snapped his jaw around one ear of the fox and began to tug while Speckleflash danced around the body, lashing out and then jumping out of the way from the fox's attack. Jayscar joined Lionfur as they both lunged at the other fox, tearing their claws into the red coat. 

Meanwhile, Echoflight struggled to pin the fox to the ground as the two toms attacked from the side. Her front paws shook as she tried to contain the animal down, its jaws occasionally snapping at an attempt to hurt her mother. Mothpaw found herself stuck between a clump of apprentices, their eyes wide as they watched the warriors deal with the threat. Her eyes were on her mother the entire time, waiting to see her fight back.

"Get over here, now!" A hiss behind a blade of grass startled her. Turning around, her eyes met those of Hailbreeze's. "Let's go!"

"Mother...!" Runningpaw exclaimed, dashing over to her and attempted to embrace her. Before he could, the fluffy she-cat pushed him away and snatched Olivepaw, dragging her by the tail. "All of you, do you even know what danger you put yourself in?!"

"We didn't mean---"

"We can't just abandon the warriors!" Beechpaw hissed, lashing his tail. "If Echoflight's fighting, we should, too!" Honeypaw nodded, planting herself next to her brother. The two didn't budge as Hailbreeze persuaded them to leave. 

A cry of pain sent ice down her spine. Hailbreeze stopped and looked up, her jaw dropping in horror. When Mothpaw did turn around, her eyes trailed up to the fox dragging a newly dead body triumphantly. Thunder crashed in her ears and the world underneath her paws turned into ice and split when the loud crash sounded. She fell into the dark abyss as her eyes forced her to stare at the blood-soaked, silver pelt. Eyes full of horror, her legs shook and she fell on her stomach, struggling to lift her head to see the body of her newly dead mother.

The neck was dripping with blood that stained her paws and left a trail on the ground. Lionfur and Jayscar had suffered wounds and remained unmoving on the ground, making her fear the two had also been killed. The fox perked its head up and turned its head toward their direction, eyes sparking with hunger when it spotted the small cats. It dropped Echoflight's body and sprang, claws outstretched toward her. 

Hailbreeze intervened and smashed herself into the underbelly of the fox, causing a yelp of pain from it. She slashed at the underbelly, briefly glancing at the apprentices. Through the weight of the fox, she managed to hiss, "Run!"

"Get going!" Runningpaw shouted, turning tail and bolting away, Olivepaw scrambling behind him. Beechpaw took off, screaming into the air. Honeypaw was frozen and then shook her head, eyes flashing with rage. She snatched Mothpaw, knowing the silver apprentice wouldn't move. With a yank, the two sisters raced out of the battle, heading toward the camp, somewhere far away from the foxes. 

And throughout the entire run, Mothpaw didn't even feel the burning sensation in her lungs or the pounding on her paws.