Warrior Cats: Thunder And Fire

Chapter 20

Redpaw looked around, then spotted on top of the leader's rock, Shellstar sitting without a scratch on him.

He was shouting out orders but not fighting. Redpaw's eyes narrowed and he crept around in the shadows of the edge of camp. He reached the back of the leader's rock.

He was a young apprentice, he didn't know if he could actually defeat or harm Shellstar, but he could try.

He silently climbed the leader's rock, claws digging into the stone.

Shellstar's ear flicked and he turned around, but he wasn't fast enough to move as Redpaw leaped at him, throwing him off the rock, but tumbling with him.

Everyone stopped fighting and their gazes snapped toward Redpaw and Shellstar as they tumbled down the rock.

When they got to the bottom, Shellstar was bleeding from some wounds he got on the way down. Redpaw was also hurt from the fall, but not as much as Shellstar, who took the brunt of the fall.

Shellstar weakly stood up, growling, holding one paw close to his chest. Redpaw growled and leaped at him again. Everyone was watching, but no one interfered as Redpaw tackled Shellstar and dug his fangs into Shellstar's throat.

When Redpaw lifted his head, his muzzle was splattered with blood and Shellstar lay motionless on the ground, throat wound seeping with blood.

Redpaw looked at the cats around him, some looked shocked, some angry, some surprised.

An angry yowl split the air as a blue-gray she-cat with yellow eyes ran out of the crowd, claws out. Redpaw recognized the medicine cat, Riverfeather.

Redpaw stood up, but the blue-gray she-cat barrelled into him, pinning him down and snarling.

Riverfeather hissed at him. "You fox-heart! You've killed our leader! You're lucky that's not his last life!"

"Riverfeather!" A dark brown tabby she-cat with hazel eyes hissed, stepping forward. Redpaw had seen her before, at gatherings, she was the deputy, Nightspeck.

"Shut up, Nightspeck! You of all cats should be the one defending our leader! You're a traitor! You two apprentices are also traitors!" Riverfeather hissed, turning to Eveningpaw and Squeakpaw.

Eveningpaw growled, standing protectively over Squeakpaw. "We're just doing what's right! We can't just sit here pretending like Shellstar wasn't a tyrant!" She hissed.

A murmur spread through the clan as cats shared uncertain glances.

Shellstar gasped and coughed, standing up on shaky legs. Right. Redpaw had forgot leaders had nine lives.

Shellstar coughed for a moment, before taking in a gasp of air and looking up. "What are you all waiting for? Fight!" Shellstar hissed.

"No." Nightspeck stepped forward.

"No? What do you mean 'no'?" Shellstar hissed, stepped closer to Nightspeck.

"Shellstar, you are a horrible cat! You're no leader." Nightspeck hissed.

"Traitor!" Shellstar hissed.

"They're all traitors!" Riverfeather snarled, getting off of Redpaw.

"Come on! You can't be that disloyal! Fight with me!" Shellstar called to the clan.

"No." Eveningpaw hissed, standing taller.

"No!" Squeakpaw agreed, jumping up but shrinking again under Shellstar's glare. Eveningpaw pressed closer to Squeakpaw to comfort her.

"Fine! I don't need any of you! You're all disloyal fox-hearts! If there's any loyal cats left, you can come with me, but everyone else can go ahead and rot!" Shellstar snarled before turning and running through the reeds out of camp.

Unsurprisingly, Riverfeather turned and bolted after Shellstar. And then, surprisingly, two warriors followed after, Clawtrail and a cream tabby tom with gold eyes.

Nightspeck sighed and stared after them, her eyes blazing with determination.