Warriors: Bumblestripe's Insanity

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Lake and A Prisoner

I decided to try and eat a thrush. I brought it outside of camp and closed my eyes while I ate, swallowing it down even though it tasted sour and salty in my mind, like blood. That way, even if it transformed into a dead cat, I wouldn't see it.

I padded down towards the lakeshore, finding the place where I had buried Berrynose. I always had an excuse for my murders; as far as the Clan knew, he had found me and notified me that he was leaving to go live with his mother at horse-place. I wondered if Hazelkit had asked Daisy about him. Maybe she knew it was a lie? All the more reason to keep her confined to camp and the nursery.

I saw a cream-colored she-cat nearby; I realized I had wandered over to what was close to the border between ShadowClan's side of the lake and ThunderClan's.

She was looking at me with cold amber eyes. "Bumblestar. I suppose it is fate that we meet again."

"What are you doing here?" I hissed, refusing to be friendly at all.

The memories were overwhelming me. I feared getting trapped in them yet again. I tried to block them out, not wanting to show my weakness in front of this she-cat.

Dawnpelt shrugged. "I could ask you the same question. I saw you down here and wanted to make sure you weren't planning to come up into our forests. ShadowClan has no desire to share prey with your Clan."

I could feel the memories taking over me. Knowing I was about to get lost in a flashback, I stared hard at the water and tried to act as if I was thinking.

A paw was crushing my lungs. My flanks were burning, and my stomach felt like it was on fire too. Those amber eyes looked so amused, as if she enjoyed seeing me suffer. She raised a paw, ready to finish me off, ready to kill me.

Gasping for air, I returned to reality. She would regret ever laying a claw on me. Rage boiled inside of me.

I leapt at her, barreling into her side. Surprised, Dawnpelt tumbled into shallow water as I pinned her to the ground. While keeping a paw on her chest as she raised her head to keep it out of the water, I dragged her with my teeth into deeper water, where it went up to about my shoulders. I placed my other paw on her neck. She writhed beneath the water, needing oxygen. She hadn't even had time to take a deep breath.

I removed the paw on her chest, knowing all I needed was one at her throat. I laughed and unsheathed my claws, raking them across her stomach. She tried to scream and choked on a mouthful of water.

Wanting to prolong her death, I let her surface momentarily and take a few breaths, in which she coughed up water and gasped for air. I guess Dawnpelt thought I was letting her go with just a warning; no, I wanted to take her life, the same way she'd wanted to take mine.

I plunged her back underwater with a strong forepaw. Drowning wasn't that cruel compared to other things I'd done. It was just basically suffocating a cat. There wasn't that much pain; just dizziness and a headache as lack of oxygen knocked you out. I had to add more agony, more suffering. Dawnpelt didn't deserve such an easy death.