Cinders to Flames

Chapter 24

As Cinderfrost approached the part of the territory where the trees began, her nose began to fill with the scent of blood. She felt a feeling of panic rising in her stomach and she started to run, her paws barely seeming to touch the ground. Ahead she spotted the bodies of countless cats littering the ground. She pulled to a halt. The smell of death in the air made her stomach churn. She looked down at a body that lay beneath her paws. Their fur was so matted with blood that they were almost unrecognizable. She pushed them over onto their back so she could see their face. Cinderfrost almost couldn't see his features because his face was so mauled. She would know those eyes anywhere. His eyes were glazed like the colour of a fading sunset on a hot green-leaf afternoon. "Blackwhisker," she choked on her own words. The world seemed to collapse around her. "No, no no no, no," she sobbed, desperately trying to stop the blood that flowed freely from the wound at his throat. It was no use. He was already dead. "Wake up. Please." Tears ran down her face now and her vision was blurry.

"Oh Cinderfrost. Don't cry." A silky smooth voice came from behind her. She stood up and turned around to face the newcomer, grief still fresh in her heart. The stranger had smokey grey fur which was crisscrossed with old faded scars. Her eyes were sharp crystalline blue. "Who are you? Did you do this?" Her voice cracked with heartbreak.

"No. We did this."

Cinderfrost stared back, "What do you mean? We?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from trembling.

"I thought you would recognize me," she stroked Cinderfrost's flank with her tail, tilting her head to the side with a malicious expression. "After all, I am you."

Cinderfrost awoke with a start, her heart beating rapidly. She immediately looked to her side for Blackwhisker for reassurance. He lay by her side, barely moving except the rhythmic rising and falling of his flank and the occasional twitch of his paw as he dreamt. "Thank StarClan," she murmured, gently placing her tail on his thick pelt. "It was just a dream." She still felt unsettled from the dream, for it was still clear as day in her mind. She snuggled closer to her denmate, comforted by his presence. She lay awake in the warm den, gazing blankly out the exit and into the dark camp. Cinderfrost thought of Olive and closed her eyes tightly, wishing she could go back to when she was a kit. Maybe if she had made better decisions she wouldn't be in this mess... She turned over and watched Blackwhisker fondly. At least we have each other, she thought before drifting back to sleep, this time sleeping soundly and not waking until the morning sunlight shone through the gaps in the den walls. 

Sorry for the short chapter :)