WARRIORS | The Flooded Trail | Sorrowful Path

Chapter Three

Mousekit plunged into the water viciously, her shoulders being cut with long wounds. She tried reaching up to the surface, but was pushed down into the river by a dark silhouette. I remember you. She kicked the figure off of her with a splash and reached the surface, taking in a gulp of air and diving back down. Her permanently sheathed paws couldn't help her grip the mud or rocks as she raced through the water.

Suddenly the figure flew in front of her and pulled her deep down into the water, pressing down on her neck. Mousekit tried to cough, but her lungs filled with water instead. Mousekit felt dizzy, but managed to grip a sharp stone on the river floor and bashed it into the cat's body. The cat yowled in horror, giving Mousekit time to race to the surface and keep swimming. Mud stained her light paws, and she couldn't get enough air to get out of the water.

The figure splashed out of the waves and grabbed Mousekit violently. The claws from the stranger raked her pelt as she struggled to get out of the water. Blood stained the water, turning it to a deep red, and Mousekit struggled to stay awake. She grabbed another rock and bashed it into the cat's head, making the cat howl in pain. Mousekit struggled free and reached for the land that was a fox length away.

Then she felt the water disappear beneath her, being replaced with mist. The waterfall. Mousekit grabbed into the mud and heaved herself forward. But the she-cat lost her grip and came soaring down to sharp stones. She looked around for the cat who had attacked her, or the other cats that wanted to help her, but nobody was in sight.

Mousekit looked down to see the spikes had vanished. Soon, everything around her was gone, and she was floating in a black world. She landed on some sort of ground, her claws still missing.

As she padded around the endless darkness, the sound of waves came from behind her. She looked behind her and cried out in terror as a large flood was flowing towards her. Mousekit started to run, only to realize her paws were stuck to the ground. She struggled quickly to be free, and to run from the cascading waves.

Before the water reached her, the dark figure flew out of the waves with a yowl. Mousekit screeched and ran, now realizing that she was free. She kept running away from both the waves and the cat, her legs getting shorter as she ran. Soon enough, Mousekit was at her normal size, unable to run fast enough from the cat. She stood in horror as the cat stopped running and began padding to her. The waves had slowed and now were filling the ground beneath Mousekit.

The cat was now a bundle of black smoke, staring deeply at Mousekit without any eyes. Mousekit backed up a bit, sending the water rippling. The black smoke started to take form, and became a much larger cat, with deep red eyes that resembled the blood stained river. "I have been waiting for you," the cat growled, it's voice cracked and fuzzy. The icy voice sent chills down Mousekit's spine.

"Who are you?" Mousekit hissed. She reached out a paw to touch the cat, but her paw passed right through it's leg. The smoke cat flicked it's ear amusingly before shifting. It's massive body starting twisting on different directions, pulling it out of proportion in many different ways. It's body soon started breaking and pushing smoke out of the cracks. Once the body was nothing but a cloud of smoke, the red eyes faded.

"The lost will be found, and a freezing storm will flood everything if given power" the voice boomed, shaking the ground beneath Mousekit. The brown kit tripped and splashed into the shallow pool. She tried standing again, only for the voice to repeat itself and made her fall again.

Mousekit gave up trying to stand, and listened to the voice, trying to cover her ears from the increasing voice. The saying started to get loud enough into a yell, cracking the surface beneath her and making her fall into the depths of darkness once again.

The water that was once around her had flown down the sides, making Mousekit feel like she was near the waterfall again. She looked down to see the spikes had come back, it's tips coming closer to Mousekit. She screamed loudly, trying to reach the top of the waterfall again. Right as Mousekit was ready to be impaled..

She woke up.

---

Mousekit was shaking. The faint dawn light was settling into the medicine den now, sending a warm blanket on the dirt ground. She looked around to find Brightspeckle, but the yellow tom wasn't inside. Rowanpaw was sleeping quietly next to Brightspeckle's nest, sometimes mumbling words about herbs in his sleep. Mousekit smirked a bit, but her paws was still shaking heavily. She stood up wearily and padded out of the medicine den.

She ran through the words the black smoke yelled at her, trying to put together what it meant. As she was peeking in each den to find Brightspeckle, she heard someone leaving the leaders den. Mousekit hid behind a small shrub to not get caught.

"So you had that nightmare again?" Brightspeckle meowed.

Northstar nodded, her eyes flickering from Brightspeckle, then to the medicine den, then to the camp entrance. "Something dangerous is coming," she whispered "The black smoke...it-"

Mousekit came out from behind the shrub, her eyes wide with shock. A rustle stopped Northstar from speaking, and she jumped at the rustle. "Smoke?" Mousekit mewed.

Northstar's eyes filled with worry, "Nothing dear, just a nightmare. Brightspeckle will be back in the den soon," she said kindly. Mousekit looked over to the medicine den, wondering if Northstar saw the same smoke she saw.

"Did the smoke tell you something? Did it have red eyes? Could it take the form of a cat?" She whimpered. Northstar froze, her eyes glazed over with pure fear, like a mouse being killed by a warrior. She started mumbling, not even saying a clear word before leaning down to Mousekit.

"Come with me Mousekit, into my den, quickly" she whispered. Immediately Northstar trotted anxiously towards the leader's den. Mousekit and Brightspeckle hurried for her. The leader's den was small and warm on the inside, with moss growing around the rock walls. Northstar sat in front of Mousekit, now seeing just how big she was. Mousekit would be able to nuzzle Northstar's cheek if she stretched high enough.

"It seems I have put off your apprenticeship for too long," Northstar mumbled, her gaze subtly changing back to the leader's usual face. "I don't know why you're getting these messages, but please let me or Brightspeckle know," she meowed quietly. She looked at Brightspeckle with worry filling her eyes again.

"Perhaps she should train under you Brightspeckle, I'm sure Rowanpaw is almost finished with training," Northstar meowed.

Brightspeckle shook his head at the suggestion. "While Mousekit is getting messages, I doubt it means to push her inside of the medicine den. Besides, Rowanpaw is an excellent medicine cat, and we won't need to mentor another one until I'm gone," he said calmly. Northstar nodded and wished the two a good day.

With that, Brightspeckle and Mousekit headed to the medicine den. As Brightspeckle started to wake Rowanpaw, Mousekit settled down into her nest for a nap, too tired to remember Northstar's words about her apprenticeship. She curled into a ball with her tail placed gently over her nose.

It didn't take long for Mousekit to start hearing waves. Water was beginning to fill her ears, and she realized she needed to stay awake to keep away from these horrid nightmares. She snapped her eyes open, the water fading away from her ears. Mousekit looked around and saw Brightspeckle had taken Rowanpaw out to collect herbs. She yawned and waited for the sun to come up over the trees, watching the sky turn pink.

She stood up and stretched to stay awake, making sure not to stumble around. She padded over towards the apprentices den and peeked inside, seeing Flamepaw resting on a soft moss bed. She looked beside him and saw another bed that looked new, covered with feathers and flowers. As she contemplated asking him about it, Flamepaw got up and stretched. Mousekit backed away and pushed the question out of her mind. She watched as Northstar hopped onto the rock with elegance. Something was coming.