Chapter One
Echopaw struggled to her paws. Her opponent launched himself at her again, hissing. Echopaw ducked and whirled around; the tom landed clumsily behind her. She jumped and pinned him to the ground. "Give in!" she said in what she hoped was a commanding voice.
"Very good!" a friendly voice meowed from behind her. Echopaw looked up to see her mentor, Mistyrain, walking up to her with warmth in her eyes. "You can let him up now."
Echopaw stepped off of the young tom, who stood up and shook the dust from his pelt.
"You messed up my fur, Echopaw," he complained.
"Sorry, Bramblepaw," Echopaw purred. "Maybe we should change your name to Dustpaw."
He dropped into a crouch and wiggled his rear. "Is that a challenge? Whoever loses the next round is renamed Dustpaw?"
Mistyrain stepped between the two apprentices. "Enough," she scolded, but Echopaw could see her amusement. "You both did very well."
Behind her, Bramblepaw's mentor, Flamingsun, glanced at the sky. "We should get back to camp. It's going to rain soon," he observed.
Echopaw followed her mentor out of the training hollow. She fell in beside Bramblepaw and nudged him with her shoulder. "I'll beat you next time, too, Dustpaw," she teased.
He pretended to be upset. "What did I do to deserve this?" he complained.
"Let me think," Echopaw purred, pretending to think it over. "You existed, of course."
He gasped and feigned shock. "Well! Maybe I won't share my fresh-kill with you!"
Echopaw stopped walking and watched as he hurried ahead and said something to Flamingsun. The large ginger tom flicked his tail over his apprentice's back, and they vanished into the undergrowth, with Mistyrain close behind.
I like training with Bramblepaw, she thought cheerfully. He's fun.
Suddenly a raindrop landed on her nose. She looked up at the stormy sky. Fiery lightning suddenly flashed across the heavy gray clouds, and booming thunder shook the ground. She ran in the direction of the camp as more rain started to fall.
She skidded under the bush that made the apprentices' den and dove into her nest, shivering. Bramblepaw lay nearby in his own nest. "Forget Dustpaw, your name should be Wetpaw," he told her, whiskers quivering.
Echopaw stood up and shook the water from her pelt. Bramblepaw scooted into the farthest corner of his nest, but most of the rainwater landed on him anyway. He glared at his wet pelt with indignation, and Echopaw stifled her purr of amusement by hastily lying down and pushing her muzzle into the moss.
"I'm too tired to argue," the brown tom sighed, making himself comfortable again. "Mistyrain and Flamingsun know how to make us work hard."
Echopaw meowed her agreement. "At least no cat would ask us to go out on patrol while it's raining. We can get some rest."
Bramblepaw had already fallen asleep. Echopaw rested her head on the side of her nest and let sleep whisk her away as well.
They just will not stop.
My life is far from peaceful. Terror grips my mind as I try to find my way out of this shadowed place. I was only an apprentice when they killed me. I don't know enough to figure everything out.
That was an impossible choice. I was so young; they, as full-grown warriors, had no right to kill me in the way they did. But I had to do something. I could not let them kill my denmate.
Was it really worth it?
This is the question I have asked myself so many times. After sacrificing myself to save him, they sent me into their dark world. Here I live after death, but this a life I would never wish upon anyone, not even the enemies I had when I was still alive.
I can only hope that it will end someday. I hope that I can somehow die again and be freed from this land. Even a life as an invisible spirit that no one remembers must be better than this.
Sometimes hope is the only thing a warrior has left to cling to.
I have remembered this phrase from the time when I was still alive. It is something that my mentor told me right before I sacrificed myself. I have forgotten so much about my life. I think the only reason I remember this phrase is because I was so terrified when I was first brought here.
My memories are growing hazy as time goes on. I do not know how long I have been trapped here. It may be that I have been here only a few moons, or it may have been many season-cycles ago that I was slain. No matter how long it has been, there is still an indefinite length of time stretching out in front of me.
The end has not yet come.
This is what I remind myself. It is not over, no matter how much I want it to be. At least I know that either no other cat has been forced into this awful situation, or somewhere there is a way out. I have never once seen another frightened cat wandering this world.
Knowing this is the hope that I have left to cling to. It is the only thing that keeps me going. At the same time, I know that I have to find a way out of here. I cannot remain here forever.
Somehow, I will escape.
A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews, everyone! I really didn't even expect to get any, so that's a nice surprise.
More coming soon! C: