Maple Leaves

{Chapter 12}

Bump, Bump, Bump

A shadowy figure stood in the middle of a dark alley. It's heart was the only sound that filled he enclosed area.

Bump, Bump, Bump

The sound got louder... Louder... Louder.

Bump, Bump, Bump.

No, that wasn't the sound of the creatures heart. It was something much larger, larger than the scrawny and frail shadow.

The figure tried to pass through the closed gate of its mind. Realization hit it when the creature broke through.

Bump, Bump, Bump

The echo wasn't a heartbeat. It was steps... Steps? Not small paw-steps... Large steps. Large, very large steps. Just one step seemed to be capable of crushing the shadowy figure into thousands of pieces.

The shadowy figure looked up to what it thought was the sky. Instead a black hole loomed above her. It had eyes of death and teeth of sorrow.

Suddenly, the darkness gave way to a bright color. The world around the figure turned to color, all except for the figure itself. Only it's paws turned to a bright white, coated in pure, red blood. It gasped for air and foolishly turning in circles.

The figure stared up at the once dark sky wearily. Now a bright, white light shone. It had taken the form of a face, a terrible, ugly face. One that haunted the shadowy creature ever since it was a small shadow. Pain rattled through the creature's spine. It shuttered and breathed out heavily.

"J-J-Jaystep?" The figure mewed in a high pitch tone. It took a step backwards, only to find the street crumbling away behind it. There was only one choice. The figure couldn't run, it just couldn't keep running away.

Soon it would be time to face the shadowy cat's haunting past...

Soon...

~~~

"Violet!" Eclipse's voice filled an empty box where she laid. Confused, the black she-cat sat up and gazed around at the withered cardboard that she was surrounded by.

Her calm behavior soon turned aggressive as she pestered Eclipse with questions. "Where in Marsh's name are we?! You smell of SwiftClan, where have you been?! Why does this place smell of rubbish?!"

Eclipse took a step back as Violet unsheathed her claws. She staggered towards him, pain circuiting through her body. What happened since she led that SwiftClan cat into the group of rogues? The last thing that she had remembered was being chased off the fence by an angry two-leg. She ran and took shelter behind a trash can before falling asleep.

Violet looked down at her paws and saw mud dripping off of her. It must have been the last remains from when she was trying to escape SwiftClan territory. Eclipse sighed and settled down after she sheathed her claws. The black she-cat pushed her way out of the box to examine her surroundings. The two of them where in an empty alley, similar to the one Violet had just dreamt about...

"I found you in a pile of mud, bleeding, not to mention. You were shoved in between a house and a trash can. Marsh was throwing a fit and trying to get cats to go out and look for you." Eclipse looked up at the cloud filled sky, his black fur swaying in the cool breeze.

Violet tried to say something, but Eclipse kept talking, "I don't know what I ever saw in you those moons ago. When you met me, all shriveled up in a little ball next to a trash can, I fell in love. Whether it was the silky, black fur, or the shining eyes, I couldn't help myself. You were, and still are, a beautiful cat."

Eclipse swished his tail and sat down in front of Violet. She just stared at him, so confused. The black she-cat knew Eclipse has a crush on her, but she thought he got over it so long ago that he would just forget about it.

"Eclipse, I-"

"No! On the inside you're a dumb, cowardly, mouse-brained fool, who just runs away from her problems. Face your fears for once, instead of back-talking and pushing others down! I can see right through you!"

Violet shuddered from Eclipse's cruel words. Is this how he feels when she says these things to him? Now she started regretting everything she's said to him.

"Eclipse, I'm sorry. I got a kill on a SwiftClan cat and was caught and chased out here. They think that I'm a large brown tom because I was coated in mud with my fur fluffed. That "Briarstalk" cat was the one who chased me all the way into the two-leg place. My best guess of where he is right now is captured by that other rogue group near ours." Violet admitted. She tried to get up but felt a horrible pain in one of her hind legs. By the way Eclipse was looking at her, she could tell he knew that she was in pain.

Eclipse seemed to cool down a bit "We need to get you help. I'm afraid that the only option might be to go back to SwiftClan and get help from their medicine cat." He meowed softly.

Violet felt a growl rise in her throat. The last thing she wanted was to go back to the place where she killed a cat. "Eclipse, we can't! I just killed one of their cats, remember?"

Eclipse sighed. "Listen, I know you think I'm stupid, but I have a plan. We gotta pretend that you were attacked by a large brown tom who was covered in mud. If they ask we tell them that our medicine cat was killed and that we need help."

Violet sighed. She flattened her ears, but shook her head in agreement with the plan. "Ok we'll do it, but when Marsh finds out he's going to try to blame you, and he might even try to kill you."

Eclipse just swished his tail before wrapping it around Violet to comfort her. She tried to move away, but was too weak to do so, "We'll deal with that when it comes. It's like what you told Marsh, we need as many cats as we can get. We're gonna get back together and hope that he understands that he need both of us."