A New Beginning: Book 1 Flamestar's Promise

Chapter 6

My sleep was dreamless that night. Just a blank mass of nothingness. I liked it.
"Flamepaw, Timberstar wants to see you!" Said a voice.
I opened my eyes. Shadefur was staring at me. I got up and stretched. When I walked into the camp, it was astonishing. It was like the storm never happened. The only sign were a couple of small puddles, but the camp was fully rebuilt. As I walked to Timberstar's den, I noticed Wasppaw helping to reinforce the barrier. I was glad to see that he was ok.
    I grabbed a rabbit, and walked into Timberstar's den. He was sitting neatly in the middle of his den. His bedding was fresh and clean. I dropped the rabbit at his feet and sat in front of him.
    "Thank you, how's your leg?" He asked, looking at my leg.
When it happened, it left a small gash in my ankle, so it was rapped in cobwebs. It still hurt, but it was feeling better.
"Better." I mewed.
"Well, shall we start your training?" He meowed mischievously, a twinkle in his eye.
I nodded eagerly. We shared the rabbit, and headed into the forest.
There was lots of debris from the day before, but the forest seemed peaceful. We padded down the other side of the hill toward the twoleg place.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Hunting." He answered amusingly.
We padded to the middle of our territory, then stopped.
"Tell me, what do you hear." He asked.
I listened. I heard rustling leaves, bird song, and a faint ruffling in a patch of tall grass.
"I think I hear a mouse." I answered, pointing my tail towards the noise.
He listened, then nodded.
"Now, crouch like this, and pounce when you get close enough." He said, showing me the hunting crouch. I copied him, and crept towards the mouse. When I parted the grass, I saw a small mouse rustling in the leaves. I crept up, and pounced, sending it flying into the air. I jumped and slammed it on the ground, killing it by the snap of the neck.
"Well done!" Timberstar praised.
I had caught my first fresh kill! Pride flooded through me almost as quickly as the warm, mouthwatering sent of mouse. As I buried it to save for later, I saw a sparrow land nearby and start pecking the ground. As I crept up to it, I heard something else. Something much bigger, even bigger than a cat.
"Timberstar, I hear..."
Before I could finish, a dog burst through the bushes.
"Flamepaw, get behind me!" He yowled, swiping his paw at the dog.
But when I tried running to Timberstar, it grabbed me and started shaking me.
"Timberstar! Help!" I cried, pain surging through me.
He leaped onto the dog and bit down on it's ear, causing it to release me and yowl in pain. I fell onto the ground, and reared to rake my claws down the dog's muzzle. It yelped, shook Timberstar off, and tried to grab me again. I dodged it, but one of it's teeth put a deep gash in my shoulder. I clawed it's muzzle again, and it growled as it ran back into the bushes.
"Good job, but I think you've had enough training for today." Timberstar chuckled under his breath.
I nodded.
"And we should probable have Oakfoot take a look at your wounds." He said, looking at where the dog had grabbed me.
My sides were feeling better, but the gash in my shoulder stung like fire. I dug up my mouse, and we headed towards camp.
When we got back to camp, I was greeted by my mother, who had noticed my wounds when we walked into the entrance.
"Dear StarClan! What happened?" She shrieked.
"She was hunting, and a dog attacked us." Timberstar answered.
"My poor kit, that gash is going to scar! Your fur is too beautiful for scars!" She cried.
Cool! My first scar. I was annoyed by my mom's overprotectiveness, but I appreciated the concern.
"Mom, I'm fine. We're going to have Oakfoot look at it." I meowed.
She still looked upset, but her gaze softened when she saw the mouse I was carrying.
"Did you catch that?" She asked.
I nodded. Her face went from sadness to pure pride.
"My kit caught her first mouse!" She purred.
"She's a good hunter." Timberstar meowed approvingly.
Just then, I noticed that no one else was in camp.
I looked around.
"Where is everyone?" I asked, turning back around. But they weren't there anymore.
The camp was completely empty. And I was completely alone.