Warriors: Everlasting Shadows ~Book 3 Series 3~

Chapter 27

Silvershy's POV:

Vixen landed on Goatpaw, ripping the young tom off of Silvershy. In a heartbeat, the rogue had her claws in Goatpaw's throat. Goatpaw yowled and blood splattered the ground as she tore through his neck.

The sharp scent of blood made the back of Silvershy's throat sting. She looked up at Vixen, still laying on her side. The rogue she cat panted, her eyes dull with exhaustion. Blood trickled down the side of her mouth- whether it was Goatpaw's or her own, she didn't know. "You can thank me later." The red she cat wheezed, turning on shaky paws to face Rook and Sparrow again. The rush of adrenaline from only moments before had been drained, and Silvershy knew Vixen was taking her final breaths.

The sounds of fighting cats surrounded them, but somehow, no one interrupted their fight. It was like they were in an invisible bubble, safe from outside harm. Silvershy glanced away from Vixen to look at Goatpaw's body. His eyes were closed, his body limp, lifeless. Dark red blood pooled around him, licking at Silvershy's paws, staining them red. But other than that he looked peaceful. As if he were merely asleep.

Vixen's gasp brought her attention back to the present. Silvershy turned her striped head in her direction to see Rook force his former leader onto her back, exposing her soft belly fur. "You're worse than all of these filthy prisoners combined." Rook spat in her face. "You're lower than dirt."

"At least I'm not traitorous scum like you." Vixen snarled up at the two toms. "Who, by the way, still cannot beat me one-to-one. I can't wait to see you get slaughtered by NoName the moment you let your loyalty slip."

"You'll be watching from the afterlife, unfortunately." Sparrow snickered, sinking his claws into her neck. Vixen clawed at him, but he kept his claws in her flesh. Silvershy gasped in horror as Sparrow dragged his claws achingly slowly through her neck. Blood swelled around his claws, dripping onto the ground. Rook stood beside them, with a sick grin.

As Vixen took her final, ragged breath, Sparrow lifted his claws away. The rogue gave his bloody claws a small lick, purring with delight. "It feels good to finally kill her." He commented, his gaze sliding to Silvershy. "Now what do we do with you?"

"Should we leave her to bleed to deah?" Rook replied, glancing behind Silvershy as the other prisoners being rounded up by the others. "It looks like they need more help over there."

"Suppose we shouldn't upset NoName just yet." Sparrow sighed regretfully, padding past Silvershy. His tail tickled her whiskers. "Be a good prisoner and stay put." He ordered before leaping into the fray to secure the other Clan prisoners.

Silvershy growled. "Stay put?" She said to herself, scoffing slightly. "I'm leaving." The silver she cat rose unsteadily to her paws. The blood on her side was beginning to dry already, which was good. Hopefully it would heal okay. She took a couple of staggering steps towards the camp exit, wondering if anyone would notice her escape.

No one stopped her.

Am I actually free at last? She wondered, stepping clumsily over Goatpaw's body with a slight gasp for air. Will I make it out?

As she passed Vixen's body, she murmured softly. "Thank you for giving us a chance. Your sacrifice wasn't in vain." She hoped Vixen heard her, wherever she might be, post-death.

Silvershy quickened her pace, stumbling across the blood-stained clearing. Still, no one stopped her. They were so wrapped up with battling Magiclan that they didn't even care to notice her. I'm gonna make it!

But suddenly, the silver she cat tripped over something. It was a body. Coldkit's dead body. The small white tom lay in a mangled heap; the aftermath of Zeye's attack. She frowned. He was from the Dark Forest, he deserved death, right? But seeing him like that made her sorrowful. How much pain and terror had he gone through before dying? Could his death be justified?

"Hey! You!" One of the Dark Forest warriors snarled. "Get back here!"

"No!" Silvershy gasped, scrambling to get to her paws again. Her side screamed in pain from the effort, but she rose again and began stumbling for the entrance. "You can't catch me! I won't let you!" She cried, tears forming in her eyes. She was only a few steps away from freedom! She could make it! Please Starclan! Help me!

Claws dug into her haunches, dragging her to the ground. Silvershy shrieked and twisted around to claw her attacker, but she couldn't reach him, thanks to her side wound. The dried blood had been replaced with new, fresh blood that now poured from the wound and dripped onto the floor. Silvershy scratched desperately at the ground, her claws cutting deep into the soil. "Let me go!" She cried, tears falling down her cheeks. "I'm not going back in there!"

"Then I'll just put you out of your misery!" The tom reached out and dug his teeth into the back of her neck. Silvershy let out an ear-splitting scream, wriggling and kicking as hard as she could. She ignored the searing pain in her side, focusing all her strength into staying alive and escaping.

As blood warmed the back of her neck, Silvershy heard a sickening crunch in her ears and the tom suddenly went limp, flattening her with all his weight. She panted heavily, choking back cries as she managed to wriggle away from the dead warrior. His neck had been snapped. Who killed him? She wondered, but her mind was hazy and her sight was darkening slowly. Black dots formed in the edges of hee vision, threatening to take over.

Silvershy couldn't stand. She tried multiple times, but she couldn't find the strength in her limbs to hold her steadily. She was left to crawl for her life, out of camp. The exit loomed tall above her, staring down at her menacingly. The world spun around her, but the exit stayed clearly in sight. She had to make it out alive!

But just as she placed a paw into the exit tunnel, darkness consumed her.

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