Full Summary.
A new apprentice falls into a pit no-cat can escape from, and it is a life-sentence. At first her clanmates try to help her out, but soon they stop trying, and very slowly they turn from helpful to hateful. An apprentice grows twisted as the clan around her treats her less like a cat and more like a creature.
In this short story, Wolfpaw experiences what no cat should, and it turns her into a monster she never dreamed possible. It turns her into the pit-beast, and then later, the demon.
This was written in about three days, and mostly when I was super tired. Ifp arts don't make sense, sorry!
Chapter 1: Watch Out!
"Wolfpaw, wanna go hunting?"
A pure black she-cat looked up at her clan mate and fellow apprentice with yellow eyes. "Of course I want to go hunting, Grasspaw!" She chuckled and followed the tom out of camp.
Grasspaw was a speedy tom with a yellow tabby coat and green eyes. Wolfpaw had a more sturdy build than her lean and skinny friend.
As they raced deeper into FeatherClan territory they giggled and joked, but Grasspaw slowly pulled ahead of her. She grunted and added an extra burst of speed while yelling, "First one to the old oak wins!" She pulled ahead.
They raced neck and neck for a few minutes, but she put on an inch of more speed and let out a gleeful woop. She was going to win! That was the last thing on her mind, that and when her friend shrieked out an a terrified voice, "Watch out, Wolfpaw!" Blackness overcame her along with a falling sensation.
She woke up with a bad headache and feeling rotten. Her left side hurt and the sun glaring into her eyes bothered her. Why was it glaring so anyway? Was their a hole in the green apprentice's den roof? Thinking of that, she didn't remember going to sleep…
Murmuring reached her and memories came rushing back. She had fallen into the pit, the pit that no cat could ever leave. Many who had fallen in had done suicide, actually all who had fallen in had done it. What a saddening thought considering she had just fallen into it!
"Wait, she is moving I think! Wolfpaw, are you ok?" A voice spoke from above.
She looked above, and on the rocky edge stood Grasspaw, the leader herself, Rockstar, Shockstike the deputy, and Turtlepattern the medicine cat with her apprentice Freezepaw.
She looked up and meowed, "Well, I have a horrible headache."
Turtlepatteren spoke. "You are simply dehydrated dear, look behind you, a tiny steam! Go drink from it." He ordered. He also reached behind him and dropped something into the pit. "Those are some herbs, Freezepaw can tell you what to do with them."
The she-cat took over and stepped up confidently. "Open the bundle after you get a drink. Grasspaw mentioned you hitting your head, which caused you to pass out, but we fear it might have bruised your brain a bit." She went on to explain which herb was which, what they did, and where to apply what herb to where and eat which one. It got quite confusing for Wolfpaw, but she managed to keep up. She even made an effort to memorize it, just incase.
More cats came over, trying to figure out what to do while she simply sat there, letting the herbs take over and heal her. Her whole family came over and wept for her, while Grasspaw sniffled nearby. A lot of cats looked for possible exits or ways to get her out, but the rock face had no openings for a cat to escape from. She was stuck.
As the sun began to set Rockstar finally commanded everyone to go home. She dropped two mice in the pit and spoke to Wolfpaw alone.
"Now, I know the situation seems bleak, but FeatherClan is behind you, and we will find a way to get you out!" She promised. "Just sit tight and heal from those nasty bruises. Try to find a place to sleep in there also. I am going to send some moss down before I go, ok?" She meowed.
"Ok." Wolfpaw meowed up.
After sending some moss down, Wolfpaw found a suitable den for herself. It was a crack in the stone wall. It easily sheltered her from all sorts of weather, and it was on the higher area of the pit so it was less likely to flood. She made a moss nest and tried to fall asleep.
Wolfpaw soon found that sleep would be hard to come by. It was very scary sleeping out there, all alone with no clan mates to help and protect her. She was in the pit, trapped by the rock walls. If a big scary predator slid in, she was dead. That was unlikely though, the predator would be stuck too.
The slightest noise yanked her from her path to sleeping, and every hoot of an owl reminded her of stupid nursery tails of owls coming to get a lone kit. She wasn't a tiny kit anymore, she scolded herself. Finally, she managed to drift off to sleep.
"Wolfpaw, are you down there?" A voice meowed.
She yawned and scrambled up. "Hold on!" She replied and walked out. "I am still here, where else could I go?"
It was her sister Sparrowpaw. "Oh good, you look fine!" She meowed and let a few things tumble down. "I got you some supplies. The softest moss I could find, a big fat mouse, and some herbs from the medicine cat incase your headache returns."
She looked at the herb from yesterday and remembered what to do, its name, and everything it did. "Thanks, sister!" She purred. "Would you uh, mind staying here for a while, just to talk you know? I had a hard time going to sleep last night because I was so alone."
Sparrowpaw gave her a sympathetic look. "Of course. Wanna hear how the clan reacted to your fall?"
Wolfpaw nodded eagerly. "Oh yes, especially poor Talonstrike, he is my favorite elder."
Sparrowpaw nodded. "Oh yes, he was simply devastated, even said you were the only one who could properly change the bedding." Wolfpaw couldn't help but chuckle at that as her sister went on. "The clan murmured about rolling some death berries down here, because, you know." She whimpered.
She did know, every cat to fall down there had killed themselves. They had been unable to cope with the reality, no escape. Only one or two had not killed themselves, and they had eventually died around early elder stages. Her future was bleak, but she would not kill herself! "You don't have to worry, sister." She meowed. "I will pray to StarClan every night for my release from here, and not through death."
Her sister gave a grave grin and continued to explain what happened. Grasspaw blamed himself for not pushing her away, or warning her soon enough, the family was grieving, and everyone was trying to find a way to free her, but no one knew how to. Her sister promised that they would keep trying to, and devote a lot of effort to freeing her.
"No." Wolfpaw said sharply. "I am one apprentice, not even a warrior. I thank the clan really, I truly do." She meowed quickly. "Thing is, I am simply not worth the effort." She knew with her own words she was possibly sealing her fate, but went on bravely. "I want you to continue for one moon, but if you don't find a way to free me by then, I want you to stop and continue with clan life."
"What! Not important? No, you are so important, you are my sister!" Sparrowpaw cried down.
"I know I am important to you, but in the long run, I am a simple apprentice. Please relay my request to the clan. I can't have my future consume them."
"Ok sister, as you ask." She meowed, her eyes filled with awe. "I just don't know how someone can make such a sacrifice, their future." She trotted off.
Around sun high she returned with the leader and deputy.
Rockstar peered in and dropped a mouse in. "You can eat while we talk." She meowed.
Feeling a little guilty, and kind of humiliated that her clanmates kept dropping things in there like she was a kittypet who needed everything handed to her, she nodded. "Thankyou."
"You're welcome, now on to business. Are you sure you want us to stop after a moon? We can keep going, have a few key cats continue to look for ways out." Rockstar insisted.
"I remember the elder stories. One time two other cats even fell in! I will be fine." Wolfpaw meowed.
Shockstrike snorted. "Rockstar, she is an apprentice with a bruised head, we shouldn't listen to her."
"It is her life, her choice, if she changes her mind she can simply tell us." The leader reasoned, then looked back at Wolfpaw. "How rude of us, talking about you as if you weren't there." She shook her head ruefully. "If you change your mind, do tell us, please." She meowed.
"Of course!" Wolfpaw promised.
After that the day went by at a surprising pace. She spent the rest of it thinking of ways to entertain herself during what would be a long week, maybe a whole moon. Wolfpaw also cleaned up around the pit, which was twice as big as the camp, but more rocky and less sheltry, save for the crack she lived in, She found a few mouse skulls which told her that prey did go down there, and it was not from the last cat stuck down there. He hadn't even waited an hour before gobbling down a death berry. There was a slight moss growth in the more shadowy part of the pit so her clanmates didn't have to always bring her bedding, and then there was that stream she could drink from.
Oh goody, her prison came with supplies.
After she had explored her surroundings thoroughly she spent the rest of the day practicing battle moves. It left her tired, sweaty, but feeling good. She could work out while she waited for her clanmates to rescue her. Or fail her.
A week of that passed and each day her sister visited her Each day Wolfpaw grew stronger, and suggested that the medicine cat teach her some herbs to keep her mind occupied. Both cats agreed readily, anything to help poor, lonely, Wolfpaw.
On the seventh day it began to rain, and soon a downpour began.
"I would really love to stay and chat sister," Hawkpaw her brother roared over the rain, "But if I don't take shelter I might become sick! You too!"
"It's fine! Go back to camp brother, I am feeling cold myself!" She said and fled to her crack.
After cleaning out the rubble her crack had doubled in size and she easily shook her pelt clean and huddled in her bed, which was at the back of her den. Then the depression hit her like a boulder. She wanted to go home!
She sniffled a little bit, but refused to cry. No fair, it was not fair! Why did she have to stay in this stupid, dirty, drafty cave, while her clanmates lived the good life? Her "den" was rocky, hard, and cold. On warm days the ground burned her pads, and on cold days she knew it would be just as bad. Not fair, she wanted to cry.
She was not a kit though, and refused to let the tears leak from her eyes. She buried her nose under her paw and drifted to sleep in the rainy green-leaf day. She had to stay brave!
In her dreams all the cats who had gotten stuck in the pit wailed with her, it was not fair.