Prologue

A roaring sound filled the tunnel air. A scrawny, sleek tom with ginger and white patches let out a yowl of panic. His green eyes stretched wide.

Why, why didn't I listen to the Sharpclaws, he screamed silently as he turned tail and ran. The water swiftly rose up his legs. He floundered as the water rose up to his belly. He stumbled and fell forward into the rushing water. Water flowed over his head. The tom kicked up powerfully, and his head breached the surface. He gulp at the air greedily. He felt himself rising towards the tunnels' ceiling. A wave crashed over him suddenly, and pulled him to the floor.

I am going to die, he yowled at himself.

"Do you wish to live?" a voice asked. His green eyes widened once again.

Yes I want to live, but how can I. I think I am doomed to drown here, the tom said in anguished voice.

"All you need to do is just fall asleep for a while. Everything will make sense after that," the voice said. The tom closed his eyes then, and a small smile crept on his face as he accepted his fate. The water tugged at his fur, and the current pulled him towards the lake. The last thing he heard before sinking into complete and utter darkness was:

When the fallen leaf shall fall no more than it shall help the holly's leaf overcome its poison.