Thundering Darkness

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

All her life, Darkpaw had held onto the hope that everything was black and white. Good or evil, happy or sad, and so on. As she neared the end of her apprentice days, she learned that that simply wasn't the truth.

Another thing Darkpaw had always thought as a young 'paw was that Pebblepaw was awful. She let these thoughts slip into her mind because she felt insecure that the younger, smaller cat was better than her. When her brother died, she knew that Pebblepaw must have done it on purpose. The crying, the fear, the anxiety attacks, those were fake.

And yet, Darkpaw did have memories of cuddling up to Pebblepaw as kits, the two of them gossiping together about everything going on in the clans. Those memories were so old, she had thought Pebblepaw was the one that had changed. But now, with Pebblepaw laying, bleeding beneath her, she suddenly had a scary thought. Am I the one who changed? Am I evil? Is Pebblepaw harmless and good?

Darkpaw shook those thoughts away, and focussed on her fury, her vengeance. This is it! One movement of my forepaw, and everything will be over.

The forest swirled around Darkpaw as she raised her forepaw. Pebblepaw had stopped squirming, her eyes were tight shut, her mouth in a grimace that would have been almost amusing if not for the dire circumstances. The world seemed to slow, seemed to feel unreal, as Darkpaw moved her raised forepaw rapidly towards Pebblepaw's throat.

It was then that something struck her from behind. Red and white fur flashed in the corner of her vision, and suddenly a massive, hulking figure stood above her. For a second, Darkpaw thought it was a fox, but this shape was too nimble and lively. As Darkpaw's vision seemed to clear, she found herself beneath a ThunderClan warrior.

"Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight," the ThunderClan tom spoke to her, amusement sounding in his voice. It was oddly high pitched for a tom so massive. "Did I read the situation wrong, or did I just see two RiverClan she-kits tryna kill each other?"

Darkpaw spat at him, but the red and white tom merely laughed in his odd high pitched voice. "There's gotta be a fun story behind that one!"

Squirming, Darkpaw managed to claw at the face of the ThunderClan tom sufficiently for him to rear back in shock and let it up. It only took a few seconds for Darkpaw to assess the situation. Five ThunderClan mangepelts faced her. One lithe brown tabby tom looked down at the motionless shape of Pebblepaw in exasperation and confusion. Is she... dead? Darkpaw couldn't tell from her angle.

She was about to run, when she suddenly noticed two shapes flash out of the corner of her vision, blocking her way back to RiverClan territory. Leaves swirled around her, as Darkpaw let out as low a growl as she could. Only one option then... fight!

"No need to be too hasty," an old scarred she-cat said with a raspy purr. "We'll just... oh I dunno take you and your buddy here hostage. No big deal. Come willingly, and you'll be treated as a friend."

Darkpaw highly doubted that. Her eyes scanned the advancing circle of ThunderClan warriors, looking for a weak link. She decided on a small, young pale rose-coloured she-cat that was limping. Letting out a savage cry, Darkpaw leaped.

The she-cat's looked at her with cruel amusement. "I'm a weak link, eh?" She purred.

Darkpaw tried to land on the she-cat, but she dodged easily. Darkpaw winced as her own shoulder collided with the bark of a maple tree. She was weak from her battle with Pebblepaw, but surely she could still manage an escape?

The cream she-cat leaped at Darkpaw, bowling her over, and pinning her to the ground. She lifted up a forepaw and clawed Darkpaw's face. Feeling like her entire face had just been clawed off, Darkpaw writhed even more furiously, and the she-cat narrowed her eyes angrily.