RisenClan Book Two: Evermore

Chapter Twelve

Soaringpaw was watching the scene in his mind again. He wakes up and his mom is missing, he checks the whole house for her familiar face, but she is not there. When he turns to tell his siblings they are gone and replaced with faceless shadows. He cried out their names but he gets no response. When he turns to run he sees Ruinstar in front of him with an ashamed look in her eyes. He knows what she will say; 'why did you not get there soon enough?' He turns to the side and races out the back door where he slips under the fence and waiting on the other side is a yellow body and bright eyes that burn like fire. 'Just in time.' Hallowstorm cackles as he looks at the scared kit form of Soaringpaw. Hallowstorm forces him back against the fence and there is no where for Soaringkit to go. He hears his mothers voice a second later, calling for him. Hallowstorm stops in his tracks. 'Always tomorrow'. He laughs as he runs into the forest and his mother continues to call him. 'Nero, Nero, where have you gone? Nero?!'.

Suddenly, Soaringpaw heard a familiar voice calling to him. "Soaringpaw, Soaringpaw. Wake up!" Soaringpaw's eyes shot open and he jumped to his feet.

"Caeser?" He asked as he lifted his head up to see Grizzlypaw looking down at him through woven vines. 

Grizzlypaw gave a laugh. "I have not been called that in a long while." He said with a smile.

"Where am I?" Soaringpaw asked.

"Hallowstorm put you in here." Grizzlypaw said. He frowned now as he looked down at Soaringpaw. "Did you really do it?" He asked as he stared.

"Do what?" The red tom questions as he took in his surroundings. He was underground in a hole. The walls were slanted forward so there was no way to climb up and at the top there was a sort of fence woven from vines that Grizzlypaw peeked through.

"Kill Ruinstar and Dawnpaw." He said sadly.

"No!" Soaringpaw hollered in complete confusement. "Why would you think that?"

"Hallowstorm said he saw you do it Soaringpaw. Everyone thinks you are pretty guilty. Hallowstorm has been named leader since you have been out."

"They all think I killed our leader and my sister?" He asked.

"Yeah. Hallowstorm is temporary leader while Risenspirit recovers."

"What?" Suddenly it hit him. That's why he did it. He wanted power. Soaringpaw had been clueless and fallen right into his little trap. He had been blackmailed and made it seem like he was guilty. "You know I would never do that Grizzlypaw. You have to tell everyone it was not me."

"I did not think you did it, but Hallowstorm said...."

Soaringpaw interrupted. "You can't trust him Grizzlypaw."

"Everyone else does. You have been out cold for three days Soaringpaw!" 

"Three days? My StarClan I need to get out of here." Soaringpaw said in a state of panic.

Suddenly the tom heard a voice calling. "Tidepool! You lazy bones, wake up!" He hissed. It was Hallowstorm. Soaringpaw moved quickly to the back of the hole. "Grizzlypaw what are you doing here?" He spat at the young apprentice.

Soaringpaw watched as the brown tom spun around to look up at Hallowstorm. "I-I was just checking to see if Soaringpaw was awake, that's all." The brown tom meowed at his new leader.

"You best to run along back to camp before I lose my kindness and punish you. You know you are not allowed over here." He said.

"Yes sir." Grizzlypaw meowed. Soaringpaw heard his paws race in the other direction. From where he sat, Soaringpaw could only see the tip of Hallowstorm's golden ears before he suddenly padded over with Sunnyside next to him with a frightened look on her face.