Silent Shadows: Book Two - The River of Secrets

XXII

Silentdawn awoke to the depressingly pale, quiet dawn with glazed eyes and a mouth dry with nausea. Strangely, she felt she hadn't dreamed at all in the past few hours. She was so exhausted her mind didn't even bother to do so.

She regained her senses, and all the memories from last night came suddenly flooding back. Her ears pinned back, as she found herself overwhelmed by those same thoughts and worries once again. Silentdawn tiredly lowered her head, wishing to make an attempt to go back to sleep, only to be shocked by the feeling of something gazing at her. The molly turned around to see Stormray gazing into the cavern.

"Come out," they spoke. 

Silentdawn felt anxiety at the sight of them, and was suddenly stricken with repulsion for her own fear of this cat. "Why?" she spoke simply.

"It's important," Stormray answered. "The leader is alive."

Silentdawn didn't speak a word, but her ears perked as she stared blankly at them. "How?" 

"How would I know?" they replied blankly. "Just come out, if you wish to see them."

 Without replying again, she complied and rose from her nest on tired, weak paws. Worries flashed through her mind as she stepped out into the grass damp with morning dew and searched around the camp. She remembered the condition Shimmerspark was in when they found her. Could he be just as bad? Or even worse?

As she stared at the ground in worry, she suddenly sensed a familiar stench on the breeze, overwhelmed by dirt and a trace of blood. She gazed up and was surprised by the sight of Selenostar passing by.

"Silentpaw? Oh, Stormpaw told me you were here too," he spoke in a surprisingly calm, casual manner.

"It's Silentdawn now," she corrected him awkwardly. "And they're Stormray now."

"Huh, I hadn't seen you two for a while," Selenostar said, before continuing on his way. She stared blankly, surprised by how casual the tom seemed. Huh. He seems...fine?

She felt another scent following him. All of a sudden, every hair on her pelt stood up in apprehension. She felt a sense of dread she couldn't explain, like something creeping up on her. Silentdawn found herself standing still. She was too afraid to turn around and see what was causing her fear.

A white molly passed by, causing her fear to arise again. Silentdawn desperately tried to look away, only to catch a glance of a pair of yellow eyes, staring at her with matching fear. The she-cat dug her claws into the earth, trying again to look away, when a realization struck her. Her mind was flooded with the overwhelming image of a dark, mangy den, and suddenly she was back there again. Smelling the blood, feeling the dirt under her paws, enclosed and suffocated by the tightness of the cavern. 

And here was the captor, right in front of her. 

Silentdawn felt pain grip her pounding heart. "Wh-what are you doing here?" she gasped out, feeling so panicked she could barely breathe. The pain in her chest was so sharp, she believed her heart was bound to stop at any second now. 

The molly stared down at her, guilt becoming apparent in her expression.. "I'm sorry! I know you may not know it but I...I saved you! When Pebblestar..." The molly's words faded into static, and the world around her became a blur. She dashed away, feeling sick as she desperately ran from her.

Get me away from her. Get me away from everything. Why is everything that's real so awful?

Silentdawn sat in the den where she'd awoken in the morning. She'd been sitting here for hours, now. Staring out at the sunset, the array of colours simply felt dull after seeing them every day. Agonizing memories scorched her mind like flames. The flames she'd been running from for so many moons.