As the dark, grey-blue she cat curled up beside her sister, they heard the sound of another monster rumbling in the distance. As it flew by them, the she-cats raised their heads in response to the wind it gave off. Despite the acrid smell, they both liked the way the wind plastered their fur to their bodies. The sun shown down on the two small she-cats, warming their fur. They both pressed against the cold of the wall behind them. A familiar sweet scent drifted by, signaling that their mother was here. As she appeared around the corner of the house, she dropped the prey she was holding and started coughing violently.
“Mom? Are you okay?” the small kits asked, their blue eyes filled with worry. A small breeze blew by, making their soft downy fur ruffle lightly. Even though the sky was still a dazzling light-blue color, they could smell the rain on the horizon and hear the howling of the wind over the rocks.
The white and black she-cat shook her head softly as a drop of blood hit the ground. “It’s my…c-collar….” She choked. “I hit it…a-against the lid of a… trash can when I tried to turn it over…” as another bout of coughing shook her, more blood came pouring out onto the ground. The two sisters raced over to their mother and pulled on the collar. She has had this collar on since she was their age. It was obviously way too tight, and it dug into her neck. The fangs that studded it scraped and dug into their pads as they pulled upwards. But it was no use. Another gush of blood came pouring out of her mouth, scaring the two young cats.
“Go get a…human…or something!!! Please!” squeaked the dark grey-blue cat as the small kitten tried to pull off the collar in a desperate attempt to get it off. Her mother collapsed onto the grass, her legs twitching uncomfortably as her daughter tried to rid her of the choking collar. All the small kit could do was cry over her mother, her tears soaking into her fur.
“Shadow…” Her low voice rasped in a desperate struggle to breath. Her daughter got close to her. “Stop…wasting your energy…on me. You will need it. Let me tell you something…v-very important…” She coughed once again, blood splattering all over Shadow. Shadow didn’t seem to care. “Never…never…” Her voice lowered, her chest heaving for air. “Never…let BloodClan d-do this to you. I want y-you to take Shimmer far…far a-away from BloodClan territory. Run as far as you can. D-don’t s-stay. If a cat as small as you get c-caught…there is never any escape…”
“B…b….but y-y-y” Shadow was almost unable to choke the words out. She felt the sharp stab of grief tugging at her heart, its vicious flames lapping at it and trying to pull it away from her control. “But…but you m-managed to e-esc-“
“That was different… It was easier in BloodClan then…” Her breath came in short gasps. “Take your sister…away from this Hell. Fallow…t-the sun…” Her voice died away as her breathing stopped.
The small kit stood there for what seemed to be hours, gazing down at her mother. “T-this has to be a dream…”her voice was so low that only her mother’s limp body could hear. She slammed herself against the metal of the humongous trash box, hoping to wake herself up. The thought was too much. She couldn’t bare the sight of the one thing that meant most to her laying limp in the pile of dead leaves and blood. She looked up at the bright, shining ball that was slowly sinking behind the trees, hoping that this was all a nightmare. A dark cloud seemed to slowly creep its grey, lapping flames above them. She slammed her side against the big metal trash box several more times. Why was she feeling pain? For all she knew at the dazed moment, this was all a dream. Her side was extremely sore, and she eventually collapsed beside her mother and cried. Her sister returned, only to have her expression turn to shock and then pure regret.
I knew I shouldn’t have left! Her thoughts burned through her pelt like fire. This…this is all my fault! After a long, studious glance, she began to cry as well. “M-mother…?” were the only words that seemed to be right. Before Shimmer even dared to move, Shadow screeched in pain. Shimmer leapt over to her mother’s body and squeezed in with Shadow under her mother’s arms. Shadow’s voice was choked with grief as she spoke. “Mother said for me…t-to take you far away from this place…she said leave as soon as you got back. S-she wants us to fallow the sun…” She and her sister pressed closer together, their small and fragile hearts slowly being torn to shreds by the fact that they have to leave their mother like this.
“But BloodClan’s territory is right ahead of us…” Her voice was low and distant, almost as if she had given up all hope already. “They won’t allow us to pass; instead, they’ll eat us like we were mere prey.” A vicious, painful growl rose from Shimmer’s throat, scaring Shadow. “Or, like mom said, they’ll treat us like slaves. Use us to kill others, hunt prey so they won’t have to lift a claw, or even worse, force us to kill each other for their entertainment. Mother also said that they would use us for breeding if we were old enough. I wish I knew what that meant!” She let out a screech of fury as she raked the grass with her small claws, sending grass flying.
“We have to find a way!” Shadow’s voice was drowned in tears. “We have to go. Now. If we stay here any longer, we won’t be able to leave her here.” A rain drop fell on her nose, causing her to jump back. They both took in their mother’s familiar, sweet scent, knowing that it would be the last time that they would ever see her again. It all of a sudden started pouring, and in a rage of fury, Shadow slammed herself against the door. A human started to come to the the door. Despite her side now dripping blood, she began running. “Goodbye, mother…” she whispered as they ran. The two small kits ran as fast as they could against the pounding rain, leaving their memories behind. From the moment she and her sister were born, all she could dream of was spending a happy life with her mother. Now that dream was gone. Crushed. They could not let BloodClan find them. They ran past the bundle of tiny houses; it was just open moorland until BloodClan territory. As they ran, the memories of their mother flooded over Shadow. The rain was plastering her fur down, and she was shivering with cold. But she didn’t care. She just wanted to forget everything.
A crack of thunder overhead caused the sisters to scream as the rain started pouring harder. They ran even faster. Then it hit her. They were too young to make this great journey. They were only four months old. They would never survive BloodClan territory! “Stop for a moment.” Shimmer’s voice was still choked with grief. “There is no way we will make it through BloodClan territory. There…has to a way around…” Her shrill voice trailed off as she fell to the ground and burst into tears.
Not knowing what to say anymore, Shadow sympathetically licked her sister. “The sun has almost set. We have to sleep if we want to continue on tomorrow.” Her sister looked up, her blue eyes filled with so many mixed emotions. Her body shook out of pure shock, grief, and fury. Shimmer got up eventually, and her light brown and black fur ruffling. A crack of lightning lit up the grey sky, the clouds turning green and blue. The rain continued to fall heavily, making Shimmer look almost as if a bright, watery aura floated around her. It looked like she was a spirit. “Look. Over there is an opening in a rock. We can rest there until the sun rises again.
The two kits raced over to the ledge.
That night, Shadow and Shimmer had the same horrid, terrifying nightmare over and over again. Many times, they woke each other up with their painful screeching, yelping, and clawing. They were standing in a pool of scarlet blood, the waved gently lapping at their paws. But eventually, a good dream came to Shadow. A vision of a lake entered her mind, the moonlight shimmering off of it. To the right of her was open moorland, with no bushes or trees and scents of rabbits and the occasional squirrel. Above the moorland was a fresh forest scent. She saw tall oak trees and undergrowth. To the right of her was a marshy area with two islands. One in the lake, and a smaller one between two creeks. And above that, was a land of tall pines and ferns. Something was drawing her towards this place, a force that she was unable to understand yet. Then word’s echoed in her mind. There will be two. One of dark shadows and one of glistening light. The dark will mix with the light and peace will come… She took in the scents once more time before she woke, the words still echoing in her mind…
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Warriors: A New Hope
FanfictionTwo sisters, Shadow and Shimmer, join ThunderClan fallowing their deceaced mother's wish. The two continue training until they become full warriors and receive their warrior names. Life seems good. But what they didn't know was that BloodClan has be...
