The Rising Storm

Chapter 3: Unsolved Questions

        Stormpaw stood, frozen in place, as the strange jet black tom began to take a step towards him. Stormpaw could feel every fibre of his being willing him to run but some unseen force was keeping him pinned into place. As he stared into the eyes of the tom, it was as though he could hear voices in the back of his head that were both familiar and unfamiliar, comforting but with a sense of dread, grief and horror. He could feel every muscle in his body tense up as the black tom touched his head with his nose. He flinched at how familiar and comforting it felt, he could feel his body begin to loose its tension as it alone knew this tom. When he could feel himself regaining control over his body he jumped back, forcing himself to stay alert, he almost stumbled when he saw the look of sadness in the toms eyes. Stormpaw hissed, "who are you! Why do I keep seeing you around my territory?"

        The tom stared at Stormpaw before meowing, his voice somehow familiar, "I have come for the destined one." His voice sounded so simple as though there was nothing else to say. 

        Stormpaw flattened his ears as he felt extreme suspicion towards the tom, "the destined one you say, shouldn't he or she, or whoever it is be in your own clan!" There was a challenge in his mew. 

        The tom just looked at Stormpaw and shook his head sorrowfully "no, the destined one was hidden for his own safety. For he was to remain hidden until found, and he has been found, and is in great danger from the forces that are being sent to kill him." The tom turn around and started to walk away as a sudden shroud of fog envoloped the area, making it impossible for Stormpaw to follow the tom. 

        Stormpaw stood alone, he could feel a sense of frustration rising, along with even more questions to which he could not answer. He glared into the direction that the tom had disappeared, the fog now vanishing as though it had never existed. Shaking his head, he growled to himself to get it together and looked straight up and turned around and headed back to camp. As he ran back he began thinking about what the tom had said. Who is this destined one, if this destined one is in danger then that might mean that the ones around him are in danger. Does he live around here? Was Honeypaw mistaken for this destined one? Was it all this cats fault that Honeypaw is dead.....? The thought shocked him and he narrowed his eyes. If it is possible that one of my clanmates was mistaken and killed then the possibillities that my other clanmates....... His head suddenly bolted upright at the thought that his whole clan may be in danger of this random killer. He quickly picked up his pace racing back to camp as fast as he could, the world around him flying by in a blur. The singing of the birds and animals were all tuned out, there was only on thought going off in his brain, and that was the need of making sure his clanmates were safe and warning them that they may be in serious danger. 

        When Stormpaw reached the camp he felt his legs begin to give out from under him, he forced himself to slow down as relief overwhelmed him. His camp was exactly how he had left it, he went over to the entrance. As he entered he got the sense that an unfriendly presence was watching him, he quickly turned around and stared out into the forest, searching for any sign of the hostile watcher. When he could not see anyone he quickly turned around and dashed through the entrance, he could see his familiy still grieving over Honeypaw so he went around them giving them space. As he looked at them he found himself viewing them as not kin, but as something less. Something that he, himself, could not describe in mere words or detail. He walked over to his leader Ivystar and dipped his head in respect. "Ivystar I must talk to you in private." He sense curiosity and authority coming off from his leader and when she dipped her head and began to walk to the leaders den he followed. When they were both in the den they sat across from each other, Ivystar looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak. Stormpaw took a deep breath before speaking since this was his first time inside his leaders den. "Ivystar, I know you told the apprentices to not leave camp because of what happened to Honeypaw but....." he paused, his mind going back to his conversation with his mother. "But when Mothflight had told me the truth about her not being my birth mother I had fled from the camp wanting fresh air. When I stopped I had met a tom, I honestly do not know him but when he spoke I somehow knew that he was not lying. He said that he was here in search of a destined cat, and that there are others in search of this cat as well, but they wish to kill him. I think that they mistook Honeypaw as this destined cat and killed her. This could mean that it may happen again with another of our clanmates so we need to get prepared and get patrols to chase out these dangerous cats!" He dipped his head again to show he was done speaking, he was unsure of how his leader would respond.

        Stormpaw could feel Ivystar's eyes burning into skin, he could feel himself getting uncomfortable. When Ivystar spoke her voice was calm and sounded thoughtful "I understand what you are saying Stormpaw, however it is not as easy as you think. For all we know this tom could be lying to us, however sure you may feel that this tom was saying the truth. The matter is that he a rogue and we cannot trust rogues. Furthermore I believe that whoever killed Honeypaw is a threat and we will be doubling our patrols and will make sure no one is alone. Once we find this cat we will make sure that they pay for what they have done. I will not punish you for your actions this time Stormpaw, for the circumstances are understanding and there are other concerns I must attend too. But do not spread false stories among the clan, I do not wish for rumours that will just cripple the clan." She waved her tail signaling that he could go, he dipped his head and began to head out of the den.

        As he exited the den the light hit him in a harsh way, blinding him for a few seconds, as he tried to regain his vision he suddenly felt cold. He tried to open his eyes but the light was still to harsh for his eyes to adjust, a knot of panic formed inside his belly as he smelled blood and cries of pain and fear from his clanmates. He instantly opened his eyes, the painful light peircing his eyes for a few seconds before vanishing instantly, leaving a numbing darkness. Stumbling forward, he heard the wails of his clanmates, some crying out in agony before being cut of forever, other were of crying mothers, wailing over the death of their lost kits and loved ones. As his vision slowly returned he found himself standing in the center of the camp, everyone of his clanmates dead or dying, all their eyes were trained on him. The ones that were dying showed hate and disgust in their eyes, as though they blamed him for this tragedy, the ones that were dead showed grief and sorrow from their last moments of life. Hearing pawsteps behind he whipped around and gulped, the cat behind him was pure white, although his eyes were not normal. Looking into the white cats eyes, Stormpaw could see the thirst for blood, as well as the hatred and rage, the eyes of a demon.... Stormpaws eyes widened at the thought and he turned around trying to run away, he wailed when he looked over his shoulder, for no mater how fast he ran he could not put any distance between him and the tom. He stopped and shut his eyes tight, he felt something warm and sticky sliding down his cheek, he opened his eyes and looked at his paw. Disbelief overwhelmed him when he realized that he was crying, he looked up and stared into the white toms eyes once again. He was about to give up when suddenly a large black tom stood in front of him. The tom looked down on him and growled "are you really ready to give up on living just yet, what about your family and friends?" Stormpaw froze and looked up at the tom, he suddenly growled and stood up straight and stood beside the black tom, how could he have forgotten about his family, how could he just give up and leave them forever... I am such a fool! He glared at the white tom and yowled with rage though just as he was about to leap a sudden white light appeared again, once again blinding him. After what seemed like forever he reopened his eyes and found himself just outside Ivystars den, everyone below him still alive and well. Looking down at his paws he saw that they were still trembling. He looked down at his clanmates before walking back to his den. What just.... happened to me?