I wake up in an uncomfortable position. Yawning, I realize that some cat is holding me by my scruff. What happened? Where was I? The night air is so crisp and cold it could have been Leaf-Bare. I glance around with flickering eyes in search of something out of the ordinary, but it's too dark.

"Ah, I see you're awake." The cat holding me mumbles, speaking slowly so he wont drop me, the scent of blood is heavy on his breath. I shudder and flick my tail fiercely.

"Who are you? Where's my mother?" I ask, shivering slightly, "I wanna go home!" Instead of answering right away he chuckles,

"It's alright, little one. I'll take you back to camp" He replies in a calm and kind voice. His speech is jumbled, and I don't like the way he says "camp", like he's being sarcastic. I look up to see that only thin beams of light shine down from between the trees, I relax and watch the sky absentmindedly. I soon doze off to the sound of rustling leaves and I'm jolted awake when he tries to make small talk. It's sunrise now.

"So, how old are you?" he asks in a light-hearted manner. And before I can even answer he continues. He tells me about his life as a kit. Doesn't it occur to him that I don't care? He rambles on and on. I'm about to snap at him when he suddenly stops, "Ah, we're almost at the camp.." I nearly sigh in relief, but I manage to keep quiet as he sets me down. "Just keep going straight. You'll meet a dark gray she-cat. She'll answer your questions." He meows. I ask him what he means, and where he's going.

"Have fun." He mutters in a sarcastic voice before walking away, the piece of fox-dung. I stumble around for awhile in a stupor, this "forest" is just a unremarkable heap of dirt with a few trees. I finally come across a small den, and glance inside. The glittering eyes of a cat flash through the darkness and my fur bristles.

"Oh! You must be the new recruit!" The she-cat exclaims, "I'm Sliver. We're going to have tons of fun." New Recruit? I never wanted to join any clan, I just want to go home. Before I can get a word in she continues. "Our leader, Gold has set up a den for you to sleep in." I stare in confusion. Gold? What kind of a name was that! And I get my own den? "I'm sure you're anxious to see your new home." Then she leads me to my den. It looked alright. It was about the size of the nursery, maybe a bit smaller.

"This is nice and all but who is Gold? And where are the others?" I ask. She smiles and replies in a tone that confuses me,

"Oh you'll meet them soon enough." Then she walks away. I sigh and wander inside. The den is empty except for a small bed of moss. So that's it? She just drops me off here and leaves? What am I supposed to do? I make my way back to her den but before I can get there a light brown tom's crawling all over me like a colony of ants.

"So, how do you like your new home? I spent the past few days building it. All for you, Mousekit. By the way, I'm Gold." He greets me. How does he know my name? "How old are you? 4 moons, 6 moons?"

"I-I'm 3 moons old." I answer, stuttering. He nods and continues, "Ah, I see. It's a bit early but I'm going to make you an apprentice." This shocks me.

"What? No Ceremony? No Mentor?" I ask in bewilderment, he ignores me,

"You will now be known as Mousepaw. You're only 3 moons but I'm thinking that it will help you get used to things." I shake my head. I'm just going to come clean, I never wanted to come to this camp, and I was way too young to train. I tell Gold but he doesn't care. "I also want you to get to know your clanmates. I know something that will help." He reveals a dead rabbit "Princess, one of your new clanmates, hurt her leg and I promised I'd bring her some food. But I'm a bit tired. Would you do it for me?" He meows in a tone that implies it wasn't a question but a command. I can't even answer. He just hands me the rabbit and shoves me forward. That tom plays for keeps. Within seconds I'm walking around carrying a rabbit that's almost the same size as me. There's no paths or trails to walk on, and all of these scents are unfamiliar. How was I supposed to find Princess? I'm about to give up when I stumble across a den. I peer inside and I'm greeted by a gray tom. There's something wrong with this cat, some kind of glandular problem.

"Oh! You must be the new recruit." he says. I flick my tail in annoyance,

"I'm not-" he cuts me off. Won't anyone in this messed up camp let me finish a sentence?

"My name is Benji. Maybe later we can go fishing, hm?" I curse under my breath for not being able to find a single normal warrior, but nod. "Thanks for stopping by to see me. I know you're probably busy. Isn't there a job you should be doing? Princess is waiting." My fur is fluffed up and my eyes are wide in shock. How did he know? This is where the panic starts to set in.

There's something seriously wrong with this camp.