Seeds of Paranoia


"Echo, Zenith would like to talk to you now. She figured that you'd be more reliable to talk to."

Echo looked up at the grooming she-cat and gave her a curt nod, heaving himself up with a grunt. They had returned to the warehouse all thanks to Zephyr's help, yet even then he couldn't feel safe at his own home. "Is...Delta alright?"

Zephyr peered down at the tom, pondered at the question for a while and then concluded, "Well, let's just say that she isn't complaining about rotten fresh-kill for once."

With a snort, she turned around, swished her tail to wave goodbye and strode away.

"Right. Thanks."

Echo huffed; the scout's words had come off a bit brash, but he figured that she was just being herself - before this, any criticism had simply bounced off her silky smooth fur, and even the sharpest tongues had failed to penetrate her sleek silver pelt. Plus - he wasn't in the position to complain. At the corner of his eye, he managed to spot Delta bolting out of the leader's room, sobbing and trembling until she collapsed into a ball of chaotic emotions.

"Delta?"

Poor Delta; It hadn't been easy for her. Echo could sense the growing grief beneath her grubby fur. Her cries echoed faintly across the empty interior, and each whimper spawned a crack in the depths of his heart.

"Delta...I…"

Raising a paw, Echo hesitated, then lowered it down again. There was nothing he could do to help her. Deciding to leave her be for the time being, Echo silently wished her for the best and slid right past her, stepping into Zenith's quarters. To be honest, it wasn't much; the room itself was almost empty, and the only salvageable furniture were the old desk and chair in the middle.

"There you are."

A black she-cat leaped down from her makeshift bed and met his gaze, sitting down a meter away while staring intently at the tom. "The only thing I could gather from Delta is that...our Serene has died." The last part seemed to had made her hesitate, as if even she was uncertain about this. "...Tell me more, Echo. You were there, right?"

"It's a long story, Zenith…" said Echo with a sigh, seemingly troubled by the situation. Her mood was now in his control, yet her determined amber eyes made it clear that she wanted the painful truth. "I wasn't with Delta when she went into the ferns. That's where she found Serene. I mean, I wanted to stay back so she could come back to me after the search...and...yeah." He didn't want to seem like a coward, but he feared that his explanation hadn't done him much justice.

Zenith wasted no time to commented on that matter and pressed on. "And there she was, standing beside Serene's body?"

"Yeah...she was in shock. I could see her trembling even from afar."

"And her paws were stained red?"

"I think so. I don't really remember."

"I see…"

"Why? Is there something-"

"Echo...I advise you to be very cautious around Delta."

What? Blinking in confusion, the young tom's face housed a sky of questions. Was she joking? Cautious about what?

As if Zenith had read his mind, she sighed and placed a paw above the other in a rather intimidating fashion. "Serene didn't die by natural causes, right?"

Echo wasn't ready for this question and spaced out for a few moments. "I...I…no. I saw a wound on her belly."

"Then you'd know what I mean."

It finally hit him. Echo stood up and glared at his leader, taking a few step backward. This couldn't be; he couldn't accept this. After that terrifying experience...she...she…

"You're saying that she's the killer?!"

"I'm not saying that she has to be, but the evidence is against her." Zenith said, squinting her eyes. Her ears flicked out of annoyance.

"You're accusing her! You're the leader of The Hatch!" Echo spat with a snarl. How dared she?! A sense of betrayal began to overwhelm him. "And you're blaming your own cats for her death?!"

Zenith seemed unfazed. "You're defending her?"

"Well, yeah, since I don't think she-"

"Do you know the situation better than I do? The actual event that happened in the midst of ferns? You're defending her because you're her friend and not because she's definitely innocent."

"...No, I-" Echo frowned, and upon failing to come out with a counter argument, he sat down, defeated. "Well what if a fox did it? What if Dawnclan did it?"

"...What?"

"What if Dawnclan had a grudge against one of us and wanted revenge? Since neither of us know what happened, my guess is as good as yours."

Zenith froze. "Are...are they coming? You think so?"

"Who? Dawnclan? I don't know! That was just a guess! Why?"

Without waiting for his response she had already turned away, seemingly troubled and worried. Her tail began to curl around her body as if it was afraid of being alone. From where he was sitting, Echo could see the corner of her eyes, amber shifting frantically in the sea of white.

He could see it - fear. Fear and panic. Had he said something wrong? Why was Dawnclan scaring her so much? Echo frowned - she knew a lot more than she was letting on. Was that why she was paranoid? "Zenith? What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"You're obviously lying."

"Hmph. You're smarter than you look."

"And you're looking way more tense than you did moments ago."

She sighed. "You reminded me of a dream from last night. A dream of crimson and deformed figures." Visions began to return to the leader as she muttered under her breath. "These dreams...you can say that it's our version of a 'prophecy'."

"What happened in the dream?"

"I barely remember, but it wasn't enjoyable."

"Well, what's the prophecy? Is it bad?"

Zenith wasn't in the mood to explain. For some reason, she seemed to be in a rather nerve-wracking state, a sharp contrast of what she had always been. "I-It is. In short, from what I can gather from the words, Dawnclan might come. And if they do, it won't end well for us."

Echo paused in realisation. "Wait, Dawnclan actually has a grudge against you?"

No reply, but he felt that he had struck something hugely important, something he shouldn't interfere with. Did they really come for revenge?

Was Serene their first target?

A chilly gust of wind glazed past, and the two turned and watched as the scout walked into the room, surprising her by how serious they looked. Confused, Zephyr cleared her throat and turned to the leader. "Sorry, but a Dawnclan cat is here to find you."

Oh boy.

"Already?" Zenith shot up and marched off. Echo could see her claws unsheathing from the distance, and quickly followed with a bad feeling in mind.

"Zenith, r-relax, it was just a guess-"

"Hush! It all makes sense now. They're coming to take it back..."

Take what back?

"-And I won't let them."

"Zenith, wait! What's going on?!"

Echo watched in horror as his leader charged into the main hulk of the warehouse, frantically searching for the intruder. Where was he?! Were they here to mess with her? As each second went by, Zenith felt like she was being mocked, mocked by Dawnstar and her blasted clan. If they really wanted it, then come get it! Feeling an overwhelming sense of pressure, Zenith's gaze eventually landed on a turquoise figure that sat in the middle of the room, and something snapped within her.

Without second thought, she lunged, teeth bared.

Thud!

"L-Let go! Ack!" The cat was forced on his back from the impact, gasping for breath as claws began to press against his neck. Even Delta, who was sitting at the side of the room, began to uncover her eyes and watch in disbelief. Had everyone gone mad?

"Briarpelt, so it's you!" She bellowed, glaring at the struggling cat beneath her. "Did you think you can just stroll over and take another one of us?!"

Echo watched in complete horror. This wasn't like Zenith at all! She had always been calm, reserved, calculative...so what could possibly drive her to a near-insanity state like this? "Zenith! You're going too far! What's gotten into you?!" Briarpelt began to gag from the force, realizing that his end was near. His tail and paws were flailing, trying to push her off to no avail. "I...don't...k-know what you're talking about!" Echo couldn't help but notice that something had gone horribly wrong - even Zenith wasn't sure about the causes of Serene's death! How was she so sure now? What had triggered this anger and paranoia?

"You liar!"

Upon seeing this, Delta looked away and buried her head into her paws, letting out a muffled scream. No! No more deaths! Was blood going to be shed again?

"Ladies, ladies...calm down!"

An alluring voice caught everyone's attention, and even the trembling leader began pulling back, inhibiting her outflow of anxiety. She squinted her eyes, staring at the familiar cat who stood by the entrance. Now in the spotlight, he took a step forward, his body casting a large shadow above them as the sunlight seeped in from behind.

"I...I recognize that voice..." Zenith whispered under her breath. It was another Dawnclan cat; a deputy. "Nightglaze."

The black tabby grinned back in response. His eyes were very expressive with the hue of light aqua, and they succeeded in capturing everyone's attention. Was he going to start a fight, or stop it? Echo knew that he had the power to do both.

"Oh my, that's not how you should treat a warrior, Zenith!" Standing tall, Nightglaze chuckled in amusement. "Or is that how you treat everyone in this shadowy place?"

Zenith nearly fainted on the spot. "Shadowy?" She breathed out, images of the dream even more vivid than before. It was all coming back to her.

They were going to die.

She was now trembling once more, her paws too weak to strike the trapped cat. Was...was it him? "H-he fits the vision. The words…"

"T-the words...t-they said…"

Zenith's eyes were wide with fright. Nightglaze simply continued smiling as he approached her.

"The end of one begins the end of all, and the name of shadows will one day crack the skies."


Author's Notes: Kind of a rather lengthy chapter, so forgive me for that! :P