Surviving is the Only Way

Chapter 1: Where the Heck are We?

Whisperheart awoke to the sharp smell of blood and the screeching of a birds dying cry. She shot up and staggered to her paws, her head was pounding and everything was spinning rapidly. Ferns crackled underneath the soft and silent pawsteps of a young DayClan warrior. Her sleek black fur glistened in the warm glow of the afternoon sun that was blazing down on her, but the heat didn't seem to phase the young she-cat as she continued to stalk her pray.

Whisperheart looked up from staring down at her paws to see Eclipsewing, her sleek black-and-white fur glistening with sweat as she set the mouse down at Whisperheart's paws. "You need to eat," she mewed firmly to her friend, who just sighed but reluctantly bent her head down and took a small bite into the mouse that Eclipse had found and caught for her.

Whisperheart suddenly stopped eating and her face went pale as she ran over to a nearby bush and threw up the contents of her stomach onto the mossy ground of the forest clearing that they were in. "Are you alright, Whisp?" Eclipse asked as she walked over to her friend who was shaking with cold and fever. "Hay! Whisp, Eclipse, there you two are!" Cane two more voices from somewhere nearby the two DayClan cats.

"Hay Whisp? Are you ok?" Nightcloud asked as she patted over to where Whisperheart was still crouching low to the ground. "No-No I'm not. I think that mouse didn't agree with me or something." She mewed quietly as she buried her head in her paws with a soft groan.

"Hay, Eclipse? Do you know where Briardawn is?" Nightcloud asked as she kept a close eye on Whisperheart. "Do you think Whisp was poisoned?" Eclipse asked worriedly as she felt along Whisperheart's flank with a paw.

"She's almost ready..." A garbled slimy voice echoes faintly through the shadows. Whisperheart laugh at her silly imagination, and she puts her nose to the ground. Lightning crackles in the sky and thunder rumbles. A heavy rain begins pouring down. Great. What fun. "Shit" She mutters.

"We should camp for the night, the sun's almost down and we can't see anything anyway. The storm clouds are too thick." The others all nodd in agreement, and Whisperheart scans there surroundings. She spots what she thinks is an abandoned fox den. It's in-between two rocks, and it leads underground. She slowly walks over, and sniffs it. Whisperheart is mostly sure that it's abandoned.

"I think it's safe," she calls them over, and they trot into the den. Its warm and earthy smelling. But what she's happiest about, is it's dry. They all shake to dry off, though Briardawn's fur is still stuck to her sides and soggy.

Whisperheart scraped some dirt to make a small hollow to lay in, and the others do the same, right next to hers. They all curl up, and groom the wetness out of Briardawn's fur.

Whisperheart awoke to Nightcloud licking the tuft of fur on her head. She doesn't know when they fell asleep, but light now floods the den. They stand up, and quickly orient themselves for the daytime and finding there way back to DayClan. They had wandered all the way into a birch forest, but it wasn't NightClan's. Maybe CinderClan? CinderClan would be better. DayClan and CinderClan have a sort of alliance, while DayClan and NightClan are always at each others throats.

Whisperheart sees a flash of orange fur, and suddenly, it's on top of her. A fox the size of a large boulder, biting her on the shoulder. Whisperheart whirls around, and claws at it, but it's no use. It's four times as large as she is, and five times as strong. But Whisperheart claws and bites anyway. She is only a newly named warrior, and she hasn't had that much training, but she have to.

"ECLIPSE! Leap on top of it! It'll try to squash you, but Ill get it's belly!" She nods, and leaps onto the fox, biting and scratching it's ears, eyes, and back. It whirls around, and eventually, like Whisperheart predicted, it goes to lay on it's back, which will squish the others. Before it can squash them flat, Whisperheart rakes her claws down it's underbelly, and it falls over on it's side, a puddle of blood forming around it's belly.

"We didn't just do that" Briardawn says, staring in disbelief at the dead fox.

"We did" There eyes all shine with accomplishment, though, Whisperheart is seriously hurt, and the others look kind of exhausted.

"We need to find a way out of this forest," Whisperheart says.

"Well yeah"

"Follow me." They trot out of the den. The new leaf air is warmer today, and only a gentle breeze drifts by. It ruffles Whisperheart's fur, and makes it dance around like little fairies.

They travel for a bit, and they soon found themselves in a forest of dead trees and there were no cats or any living thing in sight. "Hey, you're limping!" Eclipsewing says, annoyed that Whisperheart hadn't told her earlier.

"We need to move, come on guys"

"You. Are. Limping."

"Yes, and I'll get healed once we find some herbs or a medicine cat."

"Fine" Eclipsewing mutters, and they continue. Whisperheart is glad when they finally come into a clearing of trees. Her belly rumbles. Only now does she realize how hungry she is. But when they came out, they were somewhere even worse. "Oh no. Whisperheart... there is the Cursed Forest." Nightcloud said, sounding worried. The grass was charcoal black and all the trees were dead. There were fish skeletons along the forest floor. The nearby lake water even looked reddish.

"Hey, we haven't eaten since yesterday at sunhigh! I've never gone this long!"

"Me either!" They trotted into the clearing and they all froze in there tracks at the sight that greeted them. "What in the name of StarClan happened here?" Briardawn yowls in a panic. "I have no idea, but I want to go home."

Nightcloud then scanned there surroundings for any sign of life. Her eyes widened and her tail fluffed up in horror when she saw the skeleton remains of many different animals that were scattered all around the dying forest. "Do you at least think there's any food here?" Nightcloud asked. "Nightcloud, you don't understand. This forest is home to many dangerous creatures and if there was any food, it would probably be rotten or poisoned." Briardawn said. "Ok, then I guess we just need to find another way out of the Cursed Forest." Whisperheart said to the others who all nodded.