WARRIORS / The Dark Hearts: Rising Water

Prologue

Gently white paws of a small pale calico as she strolled through a forest of pine trees. Streams of bubbling water surrounded her at all sides. To her right was what they connected to: a massive river with rushing water that almost appeared to be solid white. Branches and twigs snapped beneath her feet along with pine needles and a few rare leaves.

As she continued to walk the sound of cats murmuring and meowing to one another grew louder and louder. Soon she was greeted by a tunnel of thorns leading down towards a collapsed hill. Stones provided support to the area along with the roots of pines and oaks surrounding the area. Brambles were woven into walls which protected the exposed areas.

Inside the camp were dozens of cats. Not one seemed to notice her as she walked past them. Though obvious to her, they seemed to purposely avoid her. Apprentices and kits play fighting rolled right past her, some darting around her to avoid hitting her.

One cat got her attention. A tabby sat in darkness in the center of camp, bathing in the shadows the sun brought. The calico walked to the front of them. Their eyes were a solid black.

She gasped and stumbled back, her paw stepping in something wet. At first it felt like a puddle, then it developed into a thick mud. Slowly she began to sink.

"Help!" she cried out, paws desperately reaching for dry land.

The cats in the camp weaved around her.

Every attempt to free herself of fate forced her deeper and deeper into the ground. She let out one more wail for help before her head went under.

She was stuck in the thick substance for just a few moments. Her limbs were frozen in place as she struggled to breathe, the mud surrounding her making it impossible. Suddenly a rush of water knocked her out of the mud and into the bottom of a rushing river. Pebbles scraped by as the violent water send them tumbling.

She kicked her tiny legs and was able to reach the surface. She gasped for air as her front legs flapped against the waves like a bird's wings. Everything surrounding her was unfamiliar. That wasn't the river she had grown up beside.

A tree branch knocked her underwater, tearing some fur off her back in the process. Blood whipped around in the waves as the calico swam towards the riverbank. She swam like a chilled robin through the debris, getting tossed around like a leaf. Though in horrible pain throughout her entire body, and bleeding in some parts, she was able to drag herself to shore.

She left a trail of blood as she reached the top of a small hill overlooking the river. Water dribbled out of her agap mouth as she looked down at the river. It had begun to turn crimson with blood, the trees doing the same.

Whispers of frightened cats filled her ears as she watched the waves grow higher and higher. One crashed down onto the riverbank across from her, revealing a cat as it rolled off the land. The cat's features were distorted and unrecognizable to the calico.

Even though they were across the river, their voice was loud, overpowering the crashing waves and creaking trees. "Beware the creature of the red trees, beware his luring call...It'll eat you from the inside out...Make you do horrible things to them all."

The cat vanished into thin air just before a wave knocked the calico back into the water. She screamed as she was dragged into the depths by the pushing of the waves and the pulling of claws.

She jolted awake, claws scraping the earth beneath her. Her mentor, who was previously cleaning the den, turned towards her. He waited for her fur to flatten before approaching her with slow, planned steps.

"Bloompaw, what did you see?" he asked.

"Beware the creature of the red trees..." she recited what the cat had told her word for word. The phrase was burned into her mind. No matter how hard she tried to forget it, it kept coming back. "Something terrible is coming, I know it..."

The mentor began to pad away, "You must not tell anyone about this."

Bloompaw stood, "Why not? Opossumstar needs to know-"

"Nobody. Nobody needs to know," he snapped.

The apprentice said nothing as he exited the den, tail lashing like the violent waves behind him. She looked down at her paws to see a little bit of blood remaining on them. She pressed it hard against the floor until the stain had transferred to the stone, then followed her mentor outside.