What if Mapleshade's kits lived

Chapter 19

Scrunching up her eyes and tasting the air, Mapleshade's ear tips tinged with joy, finally detecting life among the dead forest. Like her hazy mind, on all sides of her lay a dense white wall of fog, swirling around, enclosing her in. Only the blurry black shapes of looming giant trees gave her any bearings of her surroundings. Then she spotted the movement of a shrew as it ruffed through the rotting ferns. Luckily, Mapleshade stood downwind of the tiny creature, unaware of the presence of its own death. Tearing through the bramble, Mapleshade launched herself with all the speed she could muster, straight for the scrawny shrew. Yet, like the previous two times, her body betrayed her as her spin snapped awkwardly, falling short of her prey by a rabbit hop, clumsy stumbling, biting her tongue as her nose met the ground. As soon as the shrew spotted the massive grumbling mass of fur, it shot into the thicket like a lightning bolt, instantly lost to the green gloom.

Rolling onto her stomach, Mapleshade ripped at the layers of mushy shrivelled leaves, scattering them in the fierce gale, ruffling her fur like swishing grass. Frustration boiling up, she let off deafening yowl. Instantly regretting it as the cry rattled through the canopy, probably scaring off any nearby prey. Adding to her problems, Mapleshade was forced to let off another wave of raspy coughs from her aching throat. Struggling to stand, she reluctantly stuck her muzzle to the damp earth, beginning to a long search for scarce prey all over again. Mapleshade checked in bushes, under roots, between tree trunks, and over logs, yet no prey steered amongst the dull lifeless forest, hanging bare of leaves. Or was there?

Pricking her ears, she made out a faint nibbling, of jagged teeth against hard bark. Setting off, Mapleshade found her prey amongst a built up a pile of twoleg trash, rusty and grey. Though this wasn't the scrawny prey she'd hoped for, it was something much deadlier. What Mapleshade feared, like a massive mouse, it's dark brown fur was wiry and scruffy, two solid white blocks for teeth, ready for dashing and it reeked of grime. The rat scurried across the floor with alarming speed, as it poked its narrow twitching nose into every nook and cranny it could find. It had no colour in its eyes, just large black lifeless voids. A rush of nerves spread through her. Could she fight this hideous thing?

Yet, starvation drove her on. Without even ordering herself to do so, Mapleshade rushed forward, hooking the bony rat by its a scaley tail, trying to force it into her snapping jaws. Letting off a shriek of fear. But the rat wouldn't let itself be swallowed up by the gaping mouth. Twisting in mid-air, it gnawed deep into Mapleshade's muzzle. Bursting with pain, she frantically thrashed her head, trying to get the pest off. But it kept latched on, like a leach, going deeper and deeper.

Eventually, Mapleshade reached up with a paw, gripping it's neck with claws and flinging it away. Mapleshade huddled up, panicked and stunned. Red oozing from the tip of her nose. Instead of grabbing the chance to run away, now lustful for revenge, the rat tore towards her. Forced on the defensive, Mapleshade flailed her paws in random directions, desperately trying to keep the rat's cracked fangs away from her soft flesh.

For a heartbeat, her prey was out of sight. Where was it? Then there was a sudden stab of agony in her left back leg. Flicking around, her paws swooped in, using all her weight to pin it down, crushing it. It wriggled like a worm, in an attempt to get free. Not giving it that chance, Mapleshade ripped through its windpipe like a leaf, tasting its warm blood on her tongue. Greedily, she licked it from her lips, finally having something to feast upon.

Yet, it wasn't without consequences. Two new sets of wounds now opened up, deep teeth marks, leaking scarlet. While the injuries she'd gained from the Thunderclan patrol had barely begun to close up, the crusty yellow slim had returned, but now with limey green, decaying from sickness. Mapleshade had attempted to seal it shut with cod webs, the only herb she knew, though it seemed to be borderline useless. Sighing, Mapleshade scooped up the limp body, dropping in her grasp and limped back to Shykit.