Warrior Cats: Cleardawn's Silence #Wattys2016 [Book ONE]

Chapter 4

Reedkit gazed up at me, his eyes clouded in confusion. "Where's Snowfall?"

I didn't know how to answer. "Her body was just here!" I exclaimed, my fur on end with anxiety. "Where would she have gone?" I mumbled, sniffing the floor for any scent of blood or the sweet taste of my mother.

"There's no trace of her!" Featherkit called, wailing in despair. "Are you lying to us? Is she still alive?"

The question sparked my thoughts. Is she?
"I don't know, Feath-"
"Well you should!" Dustkit retorted, the hate in his voice being as clear as night. "Your the one who witnessed her death."

He was right. I should've known where she was. Is this all a dream? Am I hallucinating? Where did she go?

"We have to find her. She's got to be somewhere." I murmured. Stormkit gave me a weird look filled with anxiety. "But she's dead." He said quietly.

I stared up to him, my green gaze dazzling with grief. "I know." I mumbled, padding into the tall grass and prodding it down with my paw. "Spread out!" I heard a sudden yowl, ringing through the blades of grass as birds chirped away in fright.

Sandpatch?

"My kits are in danger and I haven't seen Snowfall!"

"Has she taken her kits into the forest unintentionally?" A growl of mischief came from the voice that I guessed was Tigerflower. Mutters spread like wild fire as the talk of us grew heavily. Then it died down almost instantly.

A sudden hush of silence made the air thick with tension. Why did they stop? Did they scent us? I thought, my fur bristling in alarm.
"Step back." A low hiss spread through the eery silence. "All of you."

"Who are you?" The voice of Redeye spat, and I could tell that this newcomer arrived unintentionally, and that no one encountered the cat before.

"My name is Dog Bone." A dark voice echoed. Every cats whispers abruptly ended with a hush of fear, and I could hear my heart pounding inside my chest.

Curiousity took the better of me, as I crawled towards the murmurs of my clanmates. A hiss from Featherkit and Reedkit sounded from behind me, but I ignored it and trudged through the grass to get a bit closer.

"I was once a part of DarkClan." The loner explained. I could just get a glimpse of Flamestar and Dog Bone face to face, which made my lip curl in apprehension almost instantly.

The trees were towering above the two cats, and it seemed as if the sun had disappeared and it was moonhigh with no sign of Silverpelt.
"What are you doing here?" The bold leader meowed calmly, but his voice wavered as he wished to let out a screech of irritation. Dog Bone's white pelt was flattened in a peaceful way, but I could see out of the corner of my eye that his sharp claws were extended and his blood-shot eyes were gleaming with desire.

"Why should you say such a thing?" The loner cooed, his eyes daggers. "I just came to visit my one and only brother."

I stiffened. Brother? My mind started to race. Is Dog Bone Flamestar's brother?

Jumpingjay protectively pounced in front of his leader, his blue fur bristling.
"Get away from him!" He snarled, claws unsheathed. They weren't nearly as long and sharp as the loners, however, and the white tom was probably twice his size.

"Don't be such a kittypet." Dog Bone snorted, his eyes rolling, giving the flame-red leader a snicker of evilness.

Flamestar stiffened, and nudged his deputy to the side, his pelt now rising with tension. "What's wrong with Sydney?" He asked, grief striking through his voice his paws wobbling nervously.
What just happened? Who's Sydney?

"Oh... You already know." Dog Bone said smoothly, grooming his big paw with graceful licks. "She just had an... Incident." He chuckled darkly.
"I wouldn't go to her twoleg nest..." He snickered, his eyes daring. "It's pretty..." He paused, twitching an ear. "Deadly."
And with that, he was gone in a flash, his tail disappearing into the thick ferns of the forest.
The whole Clan was silent. Anxious glances spread through out the group, as they crowded around Flamestar in silence.

"Who's Sydney?" Sunpaw asked hesitantly, her ginger fur gleaming in the light. The broad leader only bowed his head.
"Sydney is my sister." He whispered, his claws digging into the dirt furiously.

"And Dog Bone's my brother."

And with that, my mind went blank, and my vision darkened, as the sudden memory of the quest to find Snowfall disappeared. But one thought was racing through my mind that wouldn't go away as the shocked gasps from the cats near by muttered through the forest.

Did Dog Bone kill my mother, as well as Flamestar's sister?