Stolen (Book 1 of the Outcast Quartet)

Chapter 17 (Jadepaw)

I crouched low to the ground as I locked eyes on a brutal looking black tabby with battle scars covering his body. He tried to ignore the shake in my paws as I pounced, my claws lashing out for his muzzle. The tabby easily avoided my attack, ducking as I swiped overhead before he lunged and sank his teeth in my outstretched leg. I let out a howl as he slammed his large paw into my chest and forced me onto the ground.. A smug look gleamed in the tom’s eyes as he pressed his foot harder onto my chest. I struggled to wriggle out from underneath, batting at his exposed underbelly but when I heard a loud snapping noise, it sounded a lot like a twig breaking, and then felt a sharp jolt rush through my chest, something was wrong. I took in a sharp intake, it hurt to breath... I went limp, my vision blurring as I struggled against my suffering.

            A loud battle cry rose above the rest of the noise and the black tabby was forced off of me by… Loon? I stared, startled, at the ragged-furred brown tabby. His eyes were unusually clear and his body was tense, ready for anything. “Jadepaw are you okay?” I didn’t respond, but I think the fact that I was breathing rather abnormally seemed to have tipped him off.  “Tell me if this hurts,” gently he touched my side, where my ribs were, and I winced at the intense agony that followed. “I think he managed to break your ribs,” he observed.

            “Never… would’ve… guessed,” I gasped forcing the words through my tightly clenched teeth.

            “Loon what happened?” Owl inquired as he dashed up to us, his usually tidy fur was ruffled, torn and bloody from the fight. A deep gash ran down his shoulder and his left ear had a ragged tear in it.

            Loon recounted what had happened while I struggled to focus on staying conscious, it was difficult to breath and the pain was practically unbearable. Owl glanced over at me with a look of sympathy before saying something to Loon. The tom nodded and the two of them took a position on either side of me. “We’ll keep you safe until the battle ends,” Loon murmured into my ear. “So don’t worry.”

            Normally I would have replied with a sharp retort, that I didn’t need anyone’s protection, but my broken ribs kept me from saying anything. The pain was starting to dull down a bit, it still hurt to breath, but it wasn’t as bad. Risking a glance around, I watched the ensuing battles around me. Ginger and Palestripe were fighting side by side, struggling fiercely against a much larger tom. With a yowl, Sorrelpaw lunged at the tom to dig her teeth into his back leg. He easily shook the smaller cat off of him before being slammed to the ground by Ginger. He angrily slammed his paw into her muzzle, leaving a bloody trail where his claws struck.

            Turning my gaze elsewhere, I saw their leader, Thornscar, slowly pacing around Cindertree who was panting heavily from exhaustion. Her left flank was bleeding heavily and one of her eyes was covered in blood. Cackling the large silver leader rushed Cindertree, who was incapable of reacting fast enough, and sliced his long claws across her neck. Blood gushed from the wound, splattering onto the ground and Thornscar. Cindertree took in a couple of ragged breaths, her eyes gleaming with a blazing hatred, before she rushed him. Her claws unsheathed, she aimed for his chest but he easily side-stepped the attack and as she soared past, he clamped down on her tail and dragged her to the ground. He was smiling with a crazed glee as he forced her onto her back and slashed his claws down her underbelly, leaving a gory trail where they touched.

            Incapable of watching any longer, I forced myself to turn my head away. He had killed Cindertree… the one who had brought us to the adoption center and ultimately saved our lives, after all I had learned the hard way that kits couldn’t survive on their own for very long in the forest, and in return she had been killed so brutally. What are you thinking StarClan? Cindertree didn’t deserve to die, so why did you let her?

            “Keep calm Jadepaw,” Owl murmured into my ear, he was stiff with the same fury I felt burning through me, and his eyes were narrowed as he glared at Thornclaw. The tom was gloating over Cindertree’s body, proud to have killed our center’s advisor. “You can’t let your feelings get the better of you in a fight.”

            “Owl, what should we do?” Loon wondered as Thornclaw, who had already grown bored of his murder, looked around for his next victim.

            “Isn’t it obvious?” Owl growled hoarsely, his whiskers flicked nervously as he started towards the insane leader. Loon stood beside me for a moment, before reluctantly following him. I gritted my teeth wishing that the pain couldn’t prevent me from yelling at them to tell me what they were doing. Bracing myself to the oncoming pain, I forced myself to stand up and started after them. I wasn’t able to go far, but at the very least I could now hear what seemed to be conversation between the three.

            “Bloodclaw, this is an interesting turn of events,” Thornclaw meowed, his gaze staring sharply at Owl. “If that’s ever your name anymore. Do tell, what possibly possessed you to leave?”

            What were they talking about? It seemed like Thornclaw knew Owl, why was that? “I did what I believed to be right,” Owl explained finally. “And I no longer go by that name.”

            “Oh of course,” Thornclaw snorted. “An infamous name like Bloodclaw would never allow you to lie low and hide like you’ve been doing for the past, season or so,” suddenly the silver leader bared his teeth in an undisguisable revulsion. Loudly he yowled. “You betrayed us! Tell me, Bloodclaw or whatever your name is now, why did you do it!?”

            Owl winced before shaking his head. “I have no reason to explain my thoughts to the likes of you.”

            Thornclaw stared loathingly at Owl before he started to laugh, loud wild laughter that clearly showed that he had lost it some. “I’ll let you live for now Bloodclaw, but I assure you, the next time I show myself you’ll regret ever betraying us,” turning away the leader bolted off. “BrambleClan, retreat!”
            Without hesitation, the many invaders turned and dashed after their leader, leaving behind our decimated camp and our haggard adoption center members. Slowly Owl padded back to me, his eyes dark as he lost himself in his own thoughts. Loon bounced beside him, his eyes which had been so sharp earlier were now back to reflecting his muddled mind.

            Owl helped support me as I stood on my shaky paws, my mind still realing from witnessing Cindetree’s death and then hearing that conversation. Allowing me to lean against him, we padded past Cindertree’s battered body and into the medicine cat den. I was laid down in a moss bed beside Talia, who had lost an eye in the fight, and Sorrelpaw who seemed to have fallen into a coma. Forest, Eclipsepaw and Cloverpaw sat beside the two, their eyes gleaming with worry at the prospect of losing their beloved family.

            I won’t let this pass, someday I’ll track him down and make sure he would regret ever messing with our center. I dug my claws deep into the soft moss, my fur bristling for a brief moment, before I fell into a welcoming darkness that brought oblivion with it.