A Traitor's Shadow

Chapter 2

The river was running rapidly, surging up to his paws and pulling reeds and other things near the bank of the river as it rushed on...It was showing no mercy or signs of slowing down.

He then heard thunder boom close by. It almost sounded as if it had struck right next to him, and it made his ears ring painful. But, he didn't feel even slightly frightened by this.

Even when the hard wind blew against his back that was attempted to throw him into the surging river, he stood calm and unafraid and focused.

His attention was set on the other side of the river where the two dark clumps of reeds were laying amongst the tall grass that was bending and shaking feverishly in the harsh wind by the river...Or that's what he believed they were until one of the clumps twitched and shuddered.

After focusing in on them, he could see to his horror it the bodies of two cats. Their pelts were mattered by mud and some dark red substance that he assumed to be blood.

One cat was massive with a dark brown tabby pelt that was littered with hideous scratch
marks and other large and terrible gashes that were still oozing blood...Though, he seemed to be still alive; twitching and rasping heavily...His wounds could've only been done by a ferocious animal...A fox...Maybe a dog? Was it still near by?

Then he looked at the other. It had a pale golden dotted pelt; and it's face was directed towards him. He could hardly see its face from all the terrible scratches and gashes...Then he saw also that its throat had been slit by the blood pouring from it and turning the green grass below it a sickeningly dark crimson.

He felt an urge to swim to them, to help them. Even the wind pushed at his back urgently as if willing him to go. But, he stood where he was. He could see danger, the predator, stalking in the shadows of the tall marsh grass as if waiting for him to go help thm...And then after a moment that terrible thing stepped out onto the shore beside the wounded cats.

It was a massive, dark brown thing that LOOKED like a cat, but it was nearly 3 times his size with sharp haunting amber eyes that pierced him with a fire of anger blazing in them, and it had a round muzzle covered in fresh blood.

Though, the fire in its eyes died out once it spotted him, and it lowered its head and glared at him as if asking him a question...Though, he didn't exactly know what the question was.

He stayed where he was, planting himself down on the riverbank and getting himself ready in case the beast tried to swim over to him and attack or maybe fling itself across the river at him.

Though, thankfully, it stayed where it was on the other side of the river...Maybe it was afraid of the water, or it simply didn't want to attack him...And then it opened its terrible maw to reveal bloodstained teeth. Then, it spoke in a bone chilling ominously low voice.

"Patchkit..."

"Patchkit! Patchkit! Wake up!"

Patchkit scrambled to his paws with a cold chill going up his spin that ruffled every piece of fur on his body and a terror that gripped his heart and filled him with panicked energy.

But then after a moment he realized he was back in the Nursery...He was safe and warm with Larchkit standing over him with his amber eyes filled with excitement and his dark tail twitching happily behind him.