The Shift

A fanfiction by SilverWings

Chapter 13-

The water was wild, raging, and icy in temperature. The fierce spray made it so that even if Tealfeather's head could breach the surface, she could barely breathe without inhaling water. Her leg was barely hurting, despite being trapped under a rock. A sickening snap told her it was broken, but still Teal felt no pain. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, negating thought. Her only instinct was to survive. She heard a strangled cry of help, and realised with shock that it was her own. There was a sharp pain in her lungs, making her dizzy. Her vision began to fade. Finally, *finally*, she slipped into the peaceful resolution of unconsciousness.

On the brink of consciousness, Tealfeather listened. There were two voices, fading in and out of earshot. Or perhaps, Teal was fading in and out of a deeper sleep.

"What were you thinking?" hissed one of the voices.

"I couldn't leave her there." replied a second voice

"Ace, you can't save everyone. Especially those rouges. Remember, they killed your brother."

"I didn't see the malicious killer in her when she was pushed off the cliff," the second raptor, Ace, said flatly.

The first raptor sighed. Teal had an inkling that they did that a lot.

"Injuries?"

"Broken leg, some minor cuts and bruises, maybe a fractured rib."

"All right... she can stay."

"Thank you Rain! I prom-"

"*For now*."

Ace began speaking, but his voice began to fade. Slowly but surely, Teal slipped into a deep sleep, where no voices could follow.

Tealfeather awoke suddenly with a sharp intake of breath. She had been wrenched from a dream into a rather large, sheltered area. The place was walled off my sheer rock faces on two sides, and a third was made up of tall trees that stretched their branches to create a canopy. Teal was lying in a small nest of moss near the convergence of the two rock walls. A sturdy stick was tied to her leg, secured with large strips of rope-like fibre. *Where* am *I?*