Light Guardian

Chapter 1

Darkness suffocated me, it surrounded every single hair on my body. I felt as though I couldn't breathe. The shadows were dancing in a demonic way, glaring at my small, shaking body. I was terrified, by the beasts that chased me. Whimpers were escaping my mouth, as the shadows touched me, drained me. Tormented me every second I was rooted in their presence.

    I wanted to escape, I wanted to run. However, I couldn't. My paws are frozen to the ground, the shadows holding me in place. I felt my heart violently beating against my chest, trying to escape as well. I heard my breathing deepen with the panic, water glistening in my eyes.

    Voices taunted my delicate ears. Screaming, whispers, everything all at once. I couldn't decipher what they were saying, what they were yelling at me. I was too overwhelmed to listen. I was too unnerved.

    The darkness kept crawling around me. Gripping onto my limbs, tugging me into a void. I felt every bit of smokey shadow caress my strands of fur, tugging and ripping. Pulling fur out from my body. A yowl escaped from me, and my eyes jerked open.

    With wide eyes and heavy breathing, I looked around frantically. I saw Mother next to my sister, protectively curled around her. Jealousy flared within me, Dove was protected from the shadows that haunted my every dream. She was shielded from the darkness that they exerted. My tiny claws dug into the ground, and I forced myself to look away from the two.

    My gaze fell to the entrance of our den, seeing the only darkness that follows the sleeping sun. Panic swirled up within me once again. The darkness was always there, everywhere I looked. I couldn't fall asleep, for it will be there. I couldn't close my eyes because it always showed itself. I couldn't stay up when the sun was sleeping because that was when the darkness was at its strongest. Avoiding it was impossible.

    A nervous sigh escaped me, as I curled into a tight ball. My thin tail covered my eyes, and I waited. I waited until the darkness was broken apart by light. My body shivered as I waited for the darkness out, scared. Every muscle inside of my body trembled with fear of them, of the shadows. The shadows from my dreams are real, they have to be. But why did it seem like I was the only one that saw them, the only one that feared what they could do?

    When light broke in through the entrance of the den, I allowed my body to relax. My muscles loosen up, and my claws returned back to my paws. I quickly groomed my messy fur, pausing when I saw the markings that taunted me daily. How come no one else has these patterns stained into their pelts, how come I do not match the colors of my parents? Why was I so different, a blemish on my family's name? I shook my head before I slowly got to my paws. With uneven steps, I made my way out of the den, seeing our group was bustling with activity.

    My eyes immediately spotted my father, a dark gray tom with a light gray patch above his nose, and a small flame of anger ignited in my chest. Even though I was young, I knew what he had done, that he was weak. I realized that he didn't try fighting for me, he gave in. He may think that I never noticed his yearning stares, but he couldn't be any more obvious about it. Closing my eyes and taking deep breaths, I calmed my fury. Then I padded over to my spot, the spot under the old enchanting tree, where the sun still shone through the scattered leaves. No other cats wanted this spot, and once they saw me in it, they would never dare sit in this spot. It was like I carried a sickness that would latch onto their pelts from a single touch.

    A sickness, my stomach churned in disgust. It's not like they would be infected by my abnormality. They don't receive the patterns of the cats that they speak to, so why would they believe they would with me. They are too close-minded for their own good.

    With an irritated shake of my head I got comfortable, my paws curled under my chest, and my tail wrapped around my body. My eyes slightly closed as I observed those in our group. I saw the elder cats just outside of their den. Their frail bodies leaning against each other, mouths moving rapidly. One was a tabby tom, Thistle, with gray hairs spotted his muzzle. The other two were sisters, Raven and Abyss, both black she-cats with plain brown eyes. Gray hairs spotted their once black pelts. I perked my ears to listen into their conversations, but droned out when I heard what Thistle was talking about, "Those youngsters sure got a lot comin' for 'em if they try to pull one of those pranks on me again. I got permission from-"