Warriors: Shadowed Truth

Prologue

A gray she-cat looked over her shoulder at her tree kits as they scampered behind her. A single tear streamed down her face. This is the last time I'll see them. She thought.

As she continued to look in front of her, the queen heard her kit shriek, "Momma! My legs hurt! Can we go home now, I'm done playing."

She tried to stay strong for the little tom. "Not yet my dear son," she purred, "soon we'll be there. Come here and I'll carry you."

The tortioseshell kit stumbled towards her, and she picked him up. But as she continued the long treck, she realized that her jaws were fixed around a cold scruff.

She stopped and laid the kit down. He flopped into a pitiful pile and didn't move, not even to breath. "R-Reedkit?" She stuttered, looking down at the lifeless body of her kit. "What have I done to you?! This is all my fault!"

The other two kits ran up to her side. "Come on, silly. Get up." giggled the bigger kit as she jabbed Reedkit playfully in the side with her paw. Then, to her mother she asked, "Reedkit is just playing...right?"

"Of course. Now, I-I think your brother is s-sleepy...let's leave him here to rest." She said, not very convincingly.

"But it's all cold out here, mom. We should take him." The other kit said.

"Now listen to me, my beautiful kits," she choked out,on the verge of crying, "Reedkit needs some rest. We'll leave him here, and once you two are home, safe in your nest, I'll come get him. When you wake up in the morning, he'll be there. I promise." She lied.

"Momma! Look, cats!" The smaller kit squealed, as she squinted to see through the blizzard.

Sure enough, two cats were pushing through the snow towards them.

"Okay, com on." She said, picking up the smallest kit in her jaws, and ushering the other kit in the direction of the two cats.

When they reached them, the kit swinging from her jaws let out a whine of terror.

The queen placed the kit between her forepaws, and pulled the other she-kit into the warmth of her body with her tail.

Then she greeted the two cats, a muscular tom, and a scrawny she-cat. "Hello." She said with a kind dip of her head.

The tom took a step towards her and bent his head to sniff each kit, then he snorted, "Where's the other?"

"H-he..." she broke off, and the she-cat stepped foreword, nodding understandingly, and whispered something into the tom's ear.

Unable to bear it anymore, the she-cat spun around, tears streamed down her face as she ran as fast as she could away from the kits.

Behind her, she could hear them yelling, "Momma!"

"Help us!"

"Take us with you!"

"We'll be good! I promise!" They cried, and she forced her legs to move faster, away from the kits.