LIVING IN A WORLD OF LIES

Have you ever been lied to? Did someone ever tell you they loved you but then threw you away like worthless dirt? To be abandoned and betrayed and forgotten like that, and then have everything you ever loved taken away from you… believe me, it hurts. It hurts so terribly that it leaves a wound so deep in your heart that you can never be healed. It will plague your thoughts day and night until the day you fall. And collapse. And finally, die.

This story takes place in the lake territory decades after Firestar's rule. All cats are original characters and are owned by me (muffinluv), Shadowed Horizon, UntamedWind and Tawnycloud. DoomClan is © me (muffinluv).

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Warriors series however much I would like to and I am not Erin Hunter. This story, plot and characters belong to me unless otherwise stated. Plagiarism is prohibited.


COMMENTS: Ahh yes… the prologue. This is a pretty boring part, but please bear with me. You'll understand why I put this here after a few chapters. Chapter 1 is coming up soon. It's going to be a short one though (can't think of more to write).

STORY EDITTED ON APRIL 27, 2008


Prologue: An Elder's Tale

"Please tell me a story!" A small tabby apprentice meowed to a group of elders as he searched for ticks that were embedded in their pelts.

"A story eh?" A tortoiseshell queen meowed; her voice cracked with age. The young apprentice's eyes were bright and eager, which made it hard to resist, even on a hot summer day like this, when all any cat wanted to do was sleep. "Well, if you really want to… then I guess that could be done." She sighed and shook her head with mock annoyance.

The little apprentice purred with happiness, his eyes shonewith excitement as he looked up at the elder. "Tell me a story of the great cats that roamed the forest long ago before the Clan cats arrived."

The she-cat elder thought for a while, she searched her memory for a tale the elders once told her when she was an apprentice. "How about a story about a black panther called Fang of the Shadows?"

"That sounds scary," he shivered at the name. Afraid that she would decide not to tell the story since it might frighten him, he added, "but please, do tell!"

--

"Long long ago, before any clan cat inhabited the forest, giant cats roamed this land. They were taller than twolegs, and stronger than the largest badger. There was LionClan, who had golden pelts and beautiful manes. The cats of TigerClan were bright orange with black stripes, they were the hunters of the night And LeopardClan, the fastest of them all; they were lithe golden cats with black spots. And then there was PantherClan, as black as the night and as mysterious as the darkest shadow. But the most mysterious and feared of them all was a massive black panther named Fang of the Shadows.

"Very little was known about him, except that he was the largest cat in the whole forest and had the sharpest, deadliest fangs that could snap a tree in half. All the creatures feared him, and they often questioned StarClan's motives for sending such a dreadful creature to prowl the forest.

"Legend has it that the night of the new moon – the darkest night in the calendar, the dark panther would prowl out from his cave and hunt.

"He did not hunt prey, but cats. He hunted cats from every clan, even the ones from his own—PantherClan. Not one of his victims were ever able to escape from his deathly grip; for he had teeth so strong it could crush a cat's skull and claws so sharp that it could tear its victim into a million pieces. Their instincts told them he was dangerous, so nobody dared to approach him. Very few had ever seen him and live, and those had only seen a glimpse of him from the distance. Although they could not see his whole body, his silhouette appeared larger than any cat they have ever seen, his had glowing red eyes were the colour of blood, and his deadly fangs reflected the moonlight.

"Every night he prowled in the depth of the forest, seeking for stray cats to kill. The giant cats lived every moment of their lives in terror and unease, for they feared that one day, Fang of the Shadows would hunt them down too."


Excerpt from Chapter 1: Betrayal

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Suddenly, the memories came rushing in. They came like a giant tidal wave, blowing the frail and delicate she-cat off her paws. She struggled to control her emotions, but the images continued to flow to her mind without any signs of stopping. Everything that happened the past few moons replayed itself in her head. She remembered who she was and why she was here. She remembered her sister, her clan and her family. There were good memories and bad ones. But the ones that left her dazed and frightened were the terrible memories of him.