Warrior Cats: Alone in the Sky

Chapter Three

Life felt weird after Papa's death.

Salmonkit was grieving. Papa had always been there for him, comforting and encouraging Salmonkit's dreams and independence.

I wonder if papa is proud of me, he thought one day nearly three days after Flameglow died, as he cleared out the empty elder's den and gave the dry and crunchy moss to Kestrelkit, who handed it to Owlflight.

He sure hoped so.

Later that day, he was curled up inside the empty elder's den, and watched tiredly as Kestrelkit and Falconkit begged Owlflight and Eagletalon to play with them.

Salmonkit winced as their older siblings refused and walked away. Ouch.

Kestrelkit deflated. "Cmon, sister," they mewed. "No one wants us around."

Are they right? Salmonkit wonders. Was Flameglow the only one that loved them?

Tommy's whole body ached. In the days since Flameglow's funeral, Brackenstar and his kits had been withdrawn, which placed a lot of burden onto the other warriors. Not that Tommy was mad at them about it. They needed- deserved- time to grieve.

But damn, his whole body felt like bull shit.

He groaned and collapsed onto the soft valley grass. This was a solo hunt, so no one would notice if he took a nap, right? Right...

And of course he dreamed.

Of his mother.

"Hello, darling," his mother said.

She stood in a dark forest that ranked of blood and death and decay.

Her once shiny fur was matted and tattered.

But she deserved worse. Every swear word he'd learned from his brief stint as a kittypet flashed through his head.

"Get the fuck away from me," Tommy snarled, backing away. Anger and pain flared in his chest.

After all this time, after all she'd done, she was back now?

Frostfall faked a hurt face. "Oh, you didn't miss me?"

Tommy arched his back and bared his teeth. "Why would I miss a killer?" He snarled.

The white she-cat with pale blue gray points and green blue eyes rolled her eyes. "You don't believe those lies, do you? Because they are nothing but lies, my darling. "

Tommy started shaking with anger. All his pain, all the guilt he'd felt over the last year since his mother's crimes had come to light and her death, all the anger, came bursting forth like a flood.

"YOU DONT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ANYONE BUT YOURSELF, MOTHER! YOU KILLED DAD! YOU KILLED WHITEKIT! AND MOTTLEKIT! YOU MADE THE DECISION TO BE A KILLER! NONE OF US MADE THAT CHOICE FOR YOU, AND NONE OF US MADE YOUR CRIMES UP! SO GO FUCK YOURSELF. YOU THINK I CAN FORGIVE YOU MURDERING MY SISTERS? ABANDONING ME WITH THE TWOLEGS AS A NEWBORN KIT?! WELL YOUR WRONG! I DONT WANT TO SEE YOU EVER AGAIN!" Tommy yowled.

Frostfall blinked in surprise. "Honey, surely you don't mean that-"

Tommy lashed a claw across his leg and woke up, blood dripping from his scratch.

There she goes, he thought grimly.

Tommy wished that he'd not dream of her again. Encountering his mother's spirit.... Was always unpleasant.

His mother, Frostfall, had been a FrostClan warrior when she fell in love and had a litter of kits. However, she soon grew disillusioned with motherhood, and began to hate her kits. One day, she'd dropped a few days old Tommy off in the Twolegplace, where he'd been found and raised for the first four moons of his life.