Darken's Path (Warrior Cats)

Chapter Thirteen

The entirety of BloodClan was now on Clan territory, and the battle would begin soon. Darken's heart was beating fast; all of his senses were alert. Aurora and Thistle sided him. Thistle was confident, prideful, and ready. He was completely prepared to start fighting. Aurora, however, had begun to look nervous again, but she didn't back down. Darken was also ready. BloodClan couldn't lose, not after all of the training and hardship it required to prepare these cats. It would and could not go to waste. Cats had given their lives to BloodClan, and the survivors could not fail them.

"We will win this fight," Scourge claimed, "no matter what it takes. BloodClan shall take the forest!"

Every cat joined in with yowls of agreement. Bone yowled, "BloodClan will rise!"

"BloodClan will rise!" The crowd repeated. Scourge dipped his head, smiling with satisfaction as he went onward, just beside his deputy, Bone. Then Darken saw them; he caught sight of the Clan cats, and they appeared ready, not intimidated in the slightest. Well, neither was BloodClan! Darken was very confident in his Clan. Victory is ours. These Clan cats may as well paw over their territory without a proper fight. They'll lose! They had no knowledge of this battle. Therefore, they couldn't have prepared, right?

There was silence, sheer tension in the air. Darken felt his adrenaline begin to rush in his veins. From instinct, his claws unsheathed. Aurora was shaking, he noticed. He glanced over, concerned, and he told the she-cat, "This is it. BloodClan will win. Push through and perservere with everything, all the strength you can muster-"
"BloodClan! Attack!" Scourge sudden yowl pierced the air, the order ringing out in the hollow. At once, a ginger tom just across from the BloodClan cats echoed, "LionClan! Attack!"
Cats darted forward, on towards opposing sides. Turmoil began to quickly unfold as enemy Clans lunged at one another, pinning, clawing, kicking, and biting. Thistle gave a very curt, brief nod of his head to Darken, as if to say, Fight for BloodClan, and remember all I taught you.
He did not have time to nod back. Thistle had turned away and was gone, lost in the sea of fighting cats. A cat slammed into his body, knocking him off his paws. Darken stumbled and fell back, alarm and shock filling his senses.
I was left vulnerable! I wasn't alert!

Gaining focus and a clear image of who had made the attack, he saw an unfamiliar white tom, hovering just above the dark tabby. Darken quickly rolled to the side, getting to his paws. You won't get me that easily!
Hastily, he leaped forth at the tom, slashing out with his claws and striking his cheek, leaving a deep gash. The cat winced, growling in frustration as he struck Darken's chest. The two interlocked, rolling and fighting, striking out with well-aimed attacks. Undeniably, his adversary was skilled in fighting and was a challenge to fight, but he fought hard against the tom. He gave everything he had, never once faltering.

Eventually they split apart. Darken recognized Sky, fighting for her life. A tom had pinned her, just moments away from biting her throat with a killing blow. No! You won't kill her.
He sprinted towards the two, taking the Clan cat by surprise. He lunged at his back, hooking his claws painfully deep into his spine, and dragging downward.
The tom screeched in fury, releasing Sky and whipping around. Darken, however, did not lose or soften his grip. Sky looked relieved, flashing Darken an expression of sincere gratitude. The former mother bounded away, returning to battle.
Darken slammed his paw into the tom's head, still maintaining his balance and location atop his back. He dug his claws inward and raked back, ripping fur off his face. The tom shrieked in pain and anger, turning and clamping his teeth onto the tabby's paw. Immense pain shot from his paw along his foreleg, and he yelped in surprise.

The cat flung him off and fleed, off to fight a different BloodClan cat. Darken stood warily, recovering in silent pain from the vicious bite. He did not take long before he moved along, not wanting to be out in the open for a surprise attack. Darken had learned that lesson. He came upon an interlocked duo in a serious fight. A Clan cat was winning. Before he had a chance to defend the BloodClan cat, the Clan cat was standing over the lifeless body, a tom. Darken witnissed the life leave his eyes and his limbs go limp.
Shocked, he stood glaring. The she-cat who had killed the tom turned, seeing Darken and narrowing her eyes. She was a sandy feline with green eyes.

He stood his ground, not backing away or quivering in fear. Rather, Darken prepared himself to fight the cat.
She darted forth, and Darken dodged, letting her skid to a halt. She whipped around angrily.
This cat killed my Clanmate!

Motivated to return the favor, Darken leaped at the she-cat, managing to slide his claws along her side, ripping fur off in the process. She flinched but turned, raking her claws along his flank. He growled and bit her leg, teeth like thorns piercing the she-cat's flesh. Darken attempted to twist so that he could break a bone, but he was stopped. She slammed her rear legs into Darken's chest, the powerful kick knocking him back at least a tail-length.
He regained equilibrium and tried the slide attack. He lowered and slid under her body, battering at her belly before rolling out. Causing her to become confused of his location, Darken had just enough time to do another attack. The tom struck her muzzle and left a wound sure enough to sting and send pain through her nose. The sandy she-cat growled, lashing out with her claws. She raked across his shoulder; Darken hissed and reared back, and he slammed down with his forepaws and slashed the cat's chest. He leaped out and pinned her down, dragging his claws painfully down her exposed belly. She screeched and battered at his face which quickly began to sting. Ignoring the pain, he chose to keep clawing at her belly and even her throat. Then, all of a sudden, Darken was thrown off the she-cat. A tom had flung him away to defend the she-cat. She seemed thankful. I almost had her. That was a great position! I was going to kill that cat... she killed a Clanmate of mine.

Hissing, he spat at the two, but they decided not to fight him. Both sprinted away; Darken presumed they were teaming up to kill another BloodClan cat. Darken quickly followed, running after the duo, trying to keep up as he remained unnoticed. However, he lost sight of the cats, and he stopped. "Rat dung," he muttered lowly under his breath. Darken wasted no time to locate another Clan cat and leap back into battle. The fighting went on, no clear indication of which side was winning; both were about the same in how many cats they had. He reasoned that since there was more than one Clan, all teamed together to fight against BloodClan. We have a lot of cats on our side!

As time passed, more and more cats from either side were being killed. Bodies lay in the hollow, only bundles of fur and blood. Fur was scattered across the clearing; every which way cats were fighting for their lives. This is so violent. Darken sighed. Of course it would be. It's a war about cats fighting over land and the injustice that Scourge faced as a kit. He received flashbacks of when he was younger and naive, desperate to do something thrilling with his life. Now, he had. Now, Darken saw the true meaning of battle. He had learned and developed a sense of maturity. It was in no way fun like he'd initially thought. It energized him, but it was scary. Deep down, Darken did fear dying. Still, he was completely sure that BloodClan would claim victory. But this has taken a toll on all of us. So many lives were claimed by starvation and, obviously, this battle. He considered what the opposing side thought - the Clan cats. Did they really think they were fighting for the right side? Or did they know they were cruel and evil? He thought back to what Sky had said - the grieving mother who was so heartbroken over her son's death. They have to be evil! Who in their right mind would attempt to murder an innocent kitten?!

Darken cleared his thoughts and continued to fight. He noticed BloodClan cats, some, fleeing from the battle. Traitors!

They betrayed BloodClan! How dare they?

Darken suppressed the urge for his body to give out; he was exhausted from the battle, but the dark tabby did not back down.