Thundering Darkness

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

"StarClan no!"

Pebblepaw let out a harsh cry when she saw Darkpaw and Mightystar lying in a heap at the back of the den. The last thing she remembered was Mightystar's claws suffocating her, as Darkpaw stood over her, eyes terrified and furious.

Now they both lay at the edge of the den, blood still trickling out of their motionless bodies.

Pebblepaw raced outside of the den, letting out ragged breaths. What met her was honestly shocking.

Several ThunderClan warriors were talking and moving amongst the rest of the cats, offering remarks of guilt. Pebblepaw even saw Thornpaw treating the wounds of a small brown and cream ThunderClan tom. Other cats, like Eagletalon and his son Redmoth glowered out at the ThunderClan cats as though they were betraying ThunderClan.

"Pebblepaw!" Min rushed forward as soon as Pebblepaw stumbled out of the den. Eaglestar got to his forepaws.

"What are you doing out of there?" he growled, pacing towards Min and Pebblepaw.

Min glowered up at him, but said nothing. Her tail rested protectively on Pebblepaw's spine as Pebblepaw lifted her gaze to the massive dark brown tabby tom.

"I need help," she said in a rush. "They need a Medicine Cat."

Eaglestar's eyes widened, and he backed away, a look of discomfort on his face. "See to Troutstar," he growled to Redmoth. "She only has one life," he whispered. Pebblepaw guessed that the ThunderClan deputy didn't realise she could hear him. "Mightystar didn't want StarClan's mingling because she saw them as betraying her. Larchbreeze was put there for that reason. He doesn't even go to moonpool meetings..."

Eaglestar's voice continued into nondescript mumbling, but he turned away slightly as though he didn't really want to deal with such delicate matters. Pebblepaw guessed that was because he was only promoted to deputy in the first place because he was strong, and intimidating.

"What is it?" Thornpaw was rushing forward now, Batpaw on her heels. They both looked tired and battered, but Pebblepaw felt her heart flip in her chest. We lived through that battle.

She glanced back at the motionless bodies, a RiverClan cat among them. Not every cat had that luxury.

"Pebblepaw!" Thornpaw's gaze was panicked. "What is it?"

Pebblepaw turned away from the cats and turned back towards the den. "Come with me," she whispered.

Batpaw and Min silently followed Thornpaw and Pebblepaw as the cats raced towards the battered den. Even now, the reek of blood hung over the air thickly. Pebblepaw glanced at Thornpaw.

"It's Darkpaw," she whispered.

The four cats all made their way into the den. Darkthunder looked even worse than when Pebblepaw had last seen her. She was merely slumped over Mightystar; motionless.

"No." Batpaw breathed out the word.

Thornpaw raced forward to look at Mightystar and Darkthunder. Min's face was pained, but she rested her tail tip on Batpaw's shoulder, which bled from a deep bite wound. Batpaw stared blankly ahead, his eyes dull.

"She looks so much like Nigh-"

"Don't say that," Min cut him off tartly. "She's just recovering from a hard battle. She just needs... a rest. Yes, that's it. A rest."

Batpaw slumped to the ground and Min sat beside him silently. Both cats had minor wounds; the worst injury was the bite on Batpaw's shoulder, while Min had a nicked ear and a nasty bite in her tail.