Blood Moon
A Halloween Short Story
A biting cold breeze whipped through the flimsy tree branches above a ginger tomcat's head. The branches' leaves billowed in the wind, some snapping off from their perches and been blown away to possibly never be seen again. No moonlight was visible in the dense dark forest. Even in the canopy above, no silver light filtered in through the clouds.
The clouds were blocking what was just empty sky. The moon was missing during the first night. It was saving up energy for the following days. During the next moon cycle, up until the autumnal equinox, the moon would go through the stages of the blood moon.
The blood moon was something feared by all Clan cats, ShadowClan especially. During the phases of the blood moon, they recalled all of their former leaders that nearly led their Clan to utter destruction and turmoil. It was during this dark period of time when the moon shone red in the sky that they remembered the blood of thy neighbor shed upon the ground by the claws of their own kin. They remembered the time when the law was ignored—kin turned against kin, brother against brother, sister against sister, cats who had been friends for years fought amongst one another for simple, foolish things. They fought for the rights to a carcass discarded by crows, a small stream where the water had obliviously been polluted by the Twolegs, or even the right to mate.
These were primitive times for the Clan cats. These times took place after what was only known as "The Great Destruction". Good fought evil, kin fought kin… and so the cycle continued.
Just a few moons before did the cats affected by this tragedy begin to recover and regain some of their sanity. They realized that they must unite together once more as four, equal Clans if they were to survive. It was their way. It was the way of their ancestors, and it is our way.
It wasn't until after the Clans reunited did the blood moon appear. Medicine cats and other healers saw this as a signal from the Dark Forest, reminding the Clans that they would have one if the powerful Three hadn't sacrificed themselves out of the love of the Clans. It was their act of love that destroyed them, but with the Dark Forest, the forest itself went with it. The former territory was now just a pile of smoking ash.
On the first night of the blood moon, a young she-cat went missing. Some believed that she had ran off, unused to being in such close proximity to other cats, and that she was just not suited for Clan life. The next night, the ThunderClan deputy disappeared. It was then that the Clan cats realized that this was truly a problem. Most of the Clan cats saw it as a warning, almost like a premonition, but some, like the WindClan, and RiverClan leaders thought that the she-cat, a ShadowClan cat, and the deputy, a ThunderClan-born tom, had just fallen in love and was fleeing for the sake of being together.
ThunderClan cats, however, knew their deputy, Sharpfoot, was not one for forbidden love. He was strong, resolute, and not much of a romantic hero. He would have much rather died in battle, or killed saving his Clan-mate that flee his own Clan just for the sake of love. ShadowClan cats also believed that their she-cat, Sweetflower, wouldn't run off just for forbidden love. She, and another tom in her Clan had been quite close, and, if it were not for her disappearance, she would have most likely become his mate in later moons.
None of the stories seemed to add up to the Clan cats. Sharpfoot and Sweetflower would never dessert their Clan, but WindClan and RiverClan were not so sure, but even they had to admit that it was strange for a deputy to disappear in the middle of the night.
One the third night, a WindClan cat had been reportedly taken right outside of the camp. Goosefur, a loyal WindClan senior warrior had left his nest to make dirt just outside the camp. His mate, Briarflight, awoken by the fact that her mate was no longer beside her, waited for a few minutes for her partner to return, but she couldn't wait that long. When he didn't return, she anxiously went looking for him.
Leaving the camp, she saw the hole he'd dug, but no dirt with it. There were claw marks in the ground indicating a struggle, but no Goosefur. There was no other evidence that supported the fact that it could have been a fox, a badger, or a dog. Briarflight rejected the thought of her mate running off in the middle of the night, but the fact that almost no cat had been awoken, troubled all the Clans deeply.
A cat-napper, or worse, a killer that made no sound was a terrifying thing. The attacker would have had to be absolutely silent and precise to take its quarry down with making no noise, and getting it away from the scene of the crime with no further evidence.
On the fourth night, a RiverClan she-cat went missing. On the fifth, the ShadowClan medicine cat that had been out foraging for a rare plant that blossomed only at night was reported missing. Then a ThunderClan cat… and the cycle continued.
For an entire moon, the moon was red, as was the ground. The attacker was beginning to slack in its night raids. Pools of blood were left on the ground, and would be discovered in the morning. The killer (there was no doubt to the Clan cats that it was a killer now) was getting very sloppy, but still no bodies had been found.
Territories were searched, scent trails were followed, night investigations (in which surprisingly no cat was taken) were performed, but there was no trace of this elusive, intangible killer. Some superstitious cats were concerned that this might be the wrath of the Dark Forest… and they were right. Few believed them at first, but these cats were obliviously speaking the truth.
The final night, there was a death that struck fear into the hearts of all Clan cats. This event symbolized the true threat the Dark Forest had, as well has how much power they possessed. Even in defeat, that dark place was stronger than StarClan. For moons to come, this night, the night before the autumnal equinox, would be feared by all who knew the legend of the blood moon.
Amberstar, ThunderClan's new leader, recently given nine lives by StarClan was attacked and killed in her den. No solid, reliable details were known about that night, but all that was known for a true fact was that the leader had been sitting at the mouth of her den with a strong wind blew through the camp. A young warrior by the name of Goldenfur was exiting the warriors' den to make dirt when he saw the wind. The wind was actually visible, swirling around like a funnel. He had just opened his jaws to yowl the alarm that a windstorm was on its way, when the funnel morphed into a cat.
Amberstar looked up and gazed at the solid white cat with white eyes. The cat's skin was pale white, and almost ghostly. The cat appeared to be hairless with only a few patches. Some skin appeared to have been eaten away by maggots, leaving only the bones to show. Goldenfur had watched as his leader confronted the apparition. "Who are you, and why are you in my camp?" she asked it, but not loud enough to alert any other cat in the Clan. Maybe she couldn't meow any louder. Maybe fear had gripped her, just as it had gripped Goldenfur.
"I am the past. I am the present. I am the future. I am all-seeing. I am all-knowing. I am 'who' when they call 'who's there'. I am the shadow on the moon at night. I am the deepest and blackest part of oblivion. I am the wind rustling the leaves, making the branches sway and blowing through your fur. I am the brambles that hold you back, and try to draw you in. I am Death," the cat replied in a raspy, ancient voice.
"You are not welcome here," Amberstar replied, her green eyes just as firm as her voice. "Go back to the wet rock you crawled out from under. You will not take any ThunderClan warriors tonight."
"Then I shall take you," the ghost cat replied simply. Goldenfur watched as the ghost cat opened its jaws. A silver-white ray projected from it, and right into the ThunderClan leader's chest. Amberstar let out a yowl and a yellow, glowing orb flew out of her jaws that were wide open in a fit of agony. The yellow orb floated eerily into the ghost cat's mouth. The moment the orb was gone, the ThunderClan leader turned to stone
"NO!" Goldenfur yowled. He knew he had to do something. He couldn't let his Clan leader be taken. He lunged forward, but the ghost cat was gone.
After that incident, no more cats were taken. A few years past, but the blood moon didn't return. It would only return when the autumnal equinox fell on a day the humans call "Halloween". On the nights leading up to the night the spirits wander free, cats would go missing… or so the legend says…
The ginger tomcat raised his head, his green eyes illuminating parts of his face. His ears were pricked, and on high alert. Tonight was just the beginning of the second blood moon cycle. As ShadowClan's leader, it was his responsibility to meet with the other three Clan leaders and discuss any tactics for keeping the their Clans safe.
He entered a small clearing in the dark forest. This was the only open space for sky-lengths, or at least until WindClan territory. "Sunstar," Pikestar, the RiverClan leader greeted him upon his entry. "Nice of you to show up."
"Leave him alone, Pikestar," Mothstar, the WindClan leader chided. "Poor thing looks like he got caught in a bramble patch."
And it was true. Sunstar's pelt was unclean, and dirty. He hadn't given it a proper grooming in days. He constantly had anxiety attacks of what the upcoming days held for the Clans.
"Indeed," the deep voice of Foxstar sounded. The ThunderClan leader sat away from the others, and appeared aloof until he finally spoke. "Do not fear though, Sunstar. We too are fearful of the upcoming days. Long shadows are upon us, my friend."
Sunstar gave the wise, insightful ThunderClan leader a curt nod. "My Clan also is apprehensive," he added, not wanting to remain silent for much longer. He greatly disliked being the youngest Clan leader. They always were treating him like a young warrior rather than a Clan leader. He had been Amberstar's deputy, and unexpected leader, after her mysterious death.
"That's understandable," Mothstar mewed, licking her forepaw. She placed it back on the grassy ground beneath her and blinked her blue eyes. "StarClan forbid we lose as many as we did before… So many warriors lost in their prime… My own sister was taken," she whispered, her voice barely stable enough to articulate words correctly.
"I think we need to carefully recall the events of the past in an effort to keep our own Clans safe as the second blood moon cycle approaches," Foxstar meowed.
"I concur," Pikestar replied stiffly, giving her chest a few quick licks. "The true question is how are we supposed to protect our Clans from an invisible enemy?"
"StarClan help us, Pikestar," Mothstar replied. "StarClan help us."
A/N: This is a Halloween short story, and one-shot. I wrote this last year, but oh well.
Did you like this chapter? Leave a review and let me know! If you've liked what you've seen here, and you wanna see more, click on my username to see more.