Though it felt as though I was hitting solid ground, I immediately knew that it was water, not grass I had landed in. Cold water shocked me and chilled me to the bone. The river I had happened to land in was swelled to the brim, and almost overflowing. I looked around to see is there was anything I could grab onto to help my body float, but it was all just churning green-gray water. In the distance, I could see trees, where the Great Wind was. I started to swim that direction.

I found how hard it was to swim. It was not an easy task to complete for a normal cat, but one with a thick pelt? My back leg started to hurt after only a few moments of swimming, and realized I had to grab onto something. Just when I was about to go under, I saw a small piece of driftwood getting thrown around in the rapids. I paddled and kicked out to reach it. When I grabbed it with my outstretched claws, I saw it was a smooth piece of a branch. The odd thing about it was that it had markings, made from some cat's claws, and the end looked as if it had been broken. I didn't spend time thinking about it too much. All I cared was that I had something to hold onto.

I don't know how much time had passed when I realized the river that had been in a full out flood, had quieted down. It was also getting smaller and smaller as the heartbeats went by. I let go of my stick, thinking I could swim to the sandy shore, but underestimated the power of the river. The moment my claws left the broken stick was the moment I was dragged under to the murky depths of the fast-flowing river.

So, I asked my self, was this going to be my death, or did life have something else in store for me? I didn't try to fight the current this time. I knew I would be no match for its strength. Suddenly, pain ran up my shoulder and through my spine as I hit a boulder. This forced the last bubbles from my mouth, and soon the deep depths of unconsciousness took over me.

I woke with a start. My shoulder was throbbing, and my leg hurt. I tried to remember where I was and what I was doing here, but when I reached deep into my memories, but it was all fuzzy, with brief flashes of light and sound. That's when I realized I couldn't even remember my name.

Lifting my head, I saw that I was on a sandy stream bed, facing the river. The sky was still covered with gray clouds, and tiny rain drops dripped from the sky. This brought back a memory, but though I knew it was there, it seemed too far away to see. In front of me, the river split into two, then disappeared behind a fold of green rolling hills. I smelled a wide expanse of water to the right, but that was fairly far from me. I shakily got to my paws and saw that a mush of dark green leaves had been spread on my wounds: my shoulder, my head, and my leg. Again, the sight of these injuries brought the memory; it seemed closer than before, but not enough.

I turned my head and saw behind me that a forest stretched beyond. I thought I saw a bush move, but I smelled no cat. "Hello?" My voice sounded hoarse as if it had not been used in many days. There came a muffled reply. Slowly, I crept forward and stopped a tail-length away from the bush. A calico pelt flickered in the darkness, then was gone as quickly as it came. This time I gave chase. I smelled a scent and recognized it as a tom, but it didn't give itself away again. I was pretty sure that this was the cat who helped me.

Suddenly, my paws hit hard dirt, not soft and soothing undergrowth. It looked sort of like a human thunderpath, with the exception of dirt instead of hard rock. I easily bounded over it in two leaps. Finally I stopped, out of breath and panting. I sniffed the air, hoping to find any kind of familiar scent in this strange, strange forest. The strong scent of cat overlaid the also strong scent of water. Maybe this cat had some kind of camp or shelter where they stayed.

Slowly, I crept towards the scent, instinctively dropping into a crouch, keeping all of my weight on my haunches. I took one step forward, then a screech split the air. It was the sound of a cat wailing in terror. I now sprinted, determined to help this cat in need.

I cam upon a thorn barrier, and just beyond that, a deep hole of stone. It looked as if it had been carved out by humans, then abandoned. The cat scent was strongest here, but on top of the cat scent was also the scent of fear. It was almost overwhelming. Other scents such as blood also infected the air. My eyes widened as I realized there must have been a huge battle taking place.

I fought my way through the thorn barrier, and came out into the clearing before me. Tons of cats were crowded around something. I craned my neck to see, and spotted a huge muscular tabby tom with amber eyes. His claws were extended fully out revealing glittering thorn sharp needles he was facing a bright orange tom, with broad shoulders. Even in the dim light his pelt shine like fire. The massive tabby leaped at the other cat. The crowded cats gasped as he grabbed his throat, attempting to kill the flame-colored cat. One of the cats in the crowd - a she-cat with a pale ginger coat and green eyes - jumped forward as if to help him. Another cat pulled her back.

The orange tom pulled his throat out of the other cat's mighty grasp, and I expected blood to pour out on the ground. It never came. The tabby, it seemed, had a loose grip on his throat and had only managed to rip out a chunk of fur. I breathed a sigh of relief, but somehow somewhere in my body I knew that only one cat would walk out of this battle. The flame colored cat now lunged for the dark brown tabby and got a grip on his throat this time. Blood welled out, and surrounded his body. The cat let go and turned to the crowd. They cheered in delight. To my surprise, the body of the big cat shimmered, then disappeared, only leaving the blood-stained grass behind.

Just then, a bolt of light shot down from the sky, and struck the tree next to the winning cat. An incredibly loud crack of thunder followed. The tree exploded into crackling, hungry flames. Choking smoke rose from the it. I stared hard into the already-dying flames and saw to my dismay, the cat lying ominously still. I took a paw step forward to see if he was alright when I stepped on a dry leaf. The closest cat, a seeming duplicate of the dark tabby whipped around and stared at me. "Who are you?" He asked accusingly.

Suddenly, I remembered my name as if some cat had just told me. "My name is Curl."

A/N Please note that the parts and the places of where he ends up are in the real Warriors books. If you read the end of The Last Hope, you will find this actually happened. Except Curl walking in of course.