Warriors: Ashfur's Insanity

Chapter 33

A day had passed. The blizzard was still raging. Ashstar's stomach growled. 

Jaywing's ears flicked forward. She curled her tail around her paws, her chest fur blowing in the wind. Mothpaw crouched beside her.

"Someone's got to hunt in this weather," Jaywing meowed, looking into the storm. 

Ashstar blinked as snow landed on his nose.

"We can't just sit here waiting to starve," She meowed.

Ashstar turned to her, flexing his claws. "What? So I have to go? Do you think that there'll be prey in this weather? Everything could be dead or hiding!" He meowed. "And the rest of our Clan is out there. Lost and scared. And Stoneheart...he's probably out there, cold and scared. He doesn't have anyone to be with," Ashstar meowed. He looked into Jaywing's blue eyes. "I'm glad to see that you're safe," He got to his paws and padded from the tiny cave. 

Ashstar trudged in the deep snow. He tripped over something. He looked back. It was a dead mouse. The creature was covered in snow. Ashstar picked it up in his jaws. 

"Jaywing!" A voice cried. 

Ashstar started to run towards the cry. He ran down the hill, the mouse still in his jaws. Ashstar tried to see through the snow. The blizzard was getting rough. Ashstar then saw a gray cat padding through the snow. 

"Stoneheart?" He called. 

The cat turned. Then he started to run towards Ashstar. "Ashstar!" He meowed.

Stoneheart rubbed his muzzle on Ashstar's cheek. "Ashstar.... is Jaywing ok?" He asked.

"Yes. I also found Mothpaw. But Brightheart was killed by the rogues," He meowed.

Stoneheart looked at his paws. Then he looked up at Ashstar. 

"Lets go home," Ashstar meowed. He set the mouse on the ground. "Eat if you're hungry," He meowed.

"Thanks!" Stoneheart mewed. He crouched down to eat his mouse.

The wind howled around them. The snow got harder. It got colder. 

Ashstar shivered. "I wish we were in ThunderClan," He murmured.

Stoneheart looked up.

"We could be together again. We could be warm inside out nests right now. Millie and Brightheart wouldn't be dead. If I had killed Wolfpaw when I knocked him out against the tree we wouldn't be out here! Softpaw wouldn't be dead!" He growled. "I should've killed Wolfpaw," He growled.

Stoneheart bristled. "Wolfpaw is your son. Stop saying you should kill him!" He meowed.

Ashstar flexed his claws. "Wolfpaw is evil. He killed Softpaw. He even tried to kill many more of us!" He growled. He lashed his tail and turned around. "I'm going to ThunderClan!" He hissed.

"No! You can't! They'll kill you!" Stoneheart cried. 

"So? I have 6 lives left!" Ashstar growled. "I'm going to ThunderClan. I'll take on all of those rogues! And after that, I'll leave Wolfpaw wounded so badly. I'll slash his throat and watch as he bleeds to death right in front of me!" Ashstar laughed. He unsheathed his claws and sank them into the snow. 

"Ashstar! Don't say that!" Stoneheart cried.

Ashstar was licking his long, sharp claws. "Wolfpaw should die," He mewed. He started to walk up the hill. 

"Ashstar!" Stoneheart growled. 

All of a sudden, a WindClan patrol appeared. A gray cat was in the lead.

Ashstar growled as the patrol turned and saw him. Wolfpaw stepped closer.

"I'll kill you!" Ashstar cried. He lunged for Wolfpaw. His claws slashed at his son's throat. He clamped his jaws around his throat and tore at his flesh. Blood leaped into the air and spattered Ashstar's face, staining it red. Blood dripped from his claws and whiskers. Ashstar tore into Wolfpaw's throat and tugged at it. He heard the cats around him screaming in terror. 

"Stop!" A cat screeched.

Ashstar clamed his jaws shut around Wolfpaw's throat. He then felt it rip in his jaws. His tasted blood his in mouth. Then, he tore Wolfpaw's throat out. He spat it on the ground, blood staining the snow. The snow turned a dark red, almost black.

"No! You killed Owlfoot!" A cat screeched.

Ashstar felt sick as he looked at the dead cat. Dark blood spilled from his torn throat. It pooled around him. Ashstar backed away as a stream of sticky blood came close to his paws. That wasn't Wolfpaw he had killed. It was just an innocent WindClan warrior.

"Why did you kill him?" A pale she-cat asked. 

"And why are you all the way out here?" A brown tabby tom asked.

Ashstar looked back at Stoneheart. The horrified look on his son's face made Ashstar feel terrible. Of course Stoneheart would look like that; Ashstar had just torn another cat's throat out!

Ashstar then ran up the hill, dashing to get away from them. "No!" He cried. "I can't believe what I just did! I won't believe! Maybe this was just a dream!" He kept running. Then he stopped. He realized that he had run such a long way. He had left Stoneheart behind. He was alone again in the blizzard. It was also night. Everything around him was dark. Snow was coming down harder. And it got colder. 

Ashstar looked to the right. He saw a small shape crouched in the clearing. 

"Hey!" He called.

The shape turned.

Ashstar realized it was a cat. Then it started running towards him. 

Ashstar realized who it was. It was Bunnypaw. He started to run towards his son. 

"Bunnypaw!" Ashstar cried. "I thought I'd never find you!" Ashstar meowed.

Bunnypaw snuggled into Ashstar's chest. "I can't believe I've found you!" He meowed. He backed away from Ashstar. He gasped. "Why is your mouth bloody?" He asked.

"I killed prey," Ashstar lied. 

"In such a bloody way?" Bunnypaw asked.

"Well, I was hungry," Ashstar lied. "Do you have any idea where the rest of my Clan is?" He asked.

"Yes!" Bunnypaw mewed. "I'm sheltering with Sootpaw and Mossberry. Mothpaw and Brightheart were with us. But then they went to try take herbs from ThunderClan. They haven't returned in two days," He meowed sadly. "I was on this hill to look for more of our Clan. I ended up finding Birchfall and Ferncloud," Bunnypaw meowed. 

Ashstar felt happy knowing that his sister was still alive. He then felt sad. "We were trying to escape that fire. Millie died, and I said it was my fault. But she came from StarClan and told me it wasn't my fault she died. I lost sight of Jaywing and Stoneheart though. I found shelter and I  found Mothpaw as well. She told me that Brightheart was killed by the rogues. But she never said anything about you," Ashstar meowed. "Then Jaywing found us. I left to go and look for Stoneheart. I found him but...," His voice trailed off. "At least I've found you!"

"At least Brightheart and Millie are with StarClan," Bunnypaw meowed. He looked up at Ashstar. "Come on, let me take you to our shelter!"