Warriors: Omen Of Fire

Chapter 7

A bone-chilling shriek tore through the air like lightning. Snowpaw knew it was Emberpaw, but he couldn't look at her. His eyes were wide, staring at the sight in front of him.

Oneclaw had entered the camp first, followed by Lizardbelly and Charfur. Each of them had a soggy mound of fur draped over them. One was pale with red staining the ruffled fur. The other was ginger, no longer bright, but dull and matted.

They placed the broken bodies down gently in the centre of the clearing. Sleetstar raced forward, followed closely by Moonbeam and Flameclaw. No other cats dared to approach, frozen in horror.

"What happened?" There was grief and anger in their leader's voice.

"We tried to save them," whimpered one.

"But they fell. The snow was so deep, and we didn't know where we were stepping," another voice trailed off.

Still Snowpaw could not stop staring. My parents. This can't be real. Yellowleaf and Sunpelt are dead! Grief gripped his heart like claws sharp as thorns. He couldn't speak.

Emberpaw wailed again, her agony piercing him deep into his bones. He wanted to protect his sister, he had to, but he couldn't move.

"StarClan why?" choked a cat nearby.

"Sleetstar, we should have let it be," came a deeper, softer voice. Snowpaw saw a glint of silver fur in his peripheral vision, as Moonbeam crouched in mourning. "We were warned..." he trailed off quietly.

There was a warning from StarClan? And they went anyway?

Snowpaw let out a whimper but it caught in his throat. It felt dry, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of sand. He felt Emberpaw crouching beside him; her body felt small and frail like a kit. Voices crowded his ears, but they all sounded far away. All he could hear was a deafening roar and his heart pounding in his ears louder than thunder.

"No..." he choked out. "No, no, no, no..."

His eyes started to blur as he stared at their bodies and everything around him became hazy. He sat with a thump unable to stand any longer. His legs just couldn't hold him. His head spun, tossing him dizzily around.

As if all at once, the weight of the world crashed down on Snowpaw. His parents were dead. He tore his gaze away, as anger swept him up into it's ferocious current. He couldn't be here anymore. His clanmates' emotions were too thick in the air, clouding and choking his lungs.

He raced out of the camp as fast as his legs could carry him. Thorns tugged at his fur as he tore blindly through the forest, ripping the fur from his sides, but he didn't care. He just knew he had to get away.

It's not real, it's not real, it's not real.

He kept running.

It's not real, it's just a cruel dream. I'll wake up soon.

"Why would you do this to me?" he yowled as he glanced up through the trees. Snow clouds were partially covering the stars. "StarClan! How could you?" His amber eyes were streaming from the cold, his paws numb as they pounded the frozen white ground.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he ran faster and faster. His muscles ached, but all he could think about was getting far away from the scent of death surrounding his camp.

Snowpaw came to a painful halt as he smashed head first into a large rock emerging from the snow. His ears rang and his head pounded. He crumpled to the ground, exhausted now. No anger was left, only a deep sorrow.