"Keep up!" Mark yowled. Victor stumbled, gasping for breath. Hunter's breathing was just as short, but he continued to run forward. Mark was leading the kits through a maze of upwalker dens and alleys, he twisted and turned around corners with ease. As for the kits, they struggled to follow him. Hunter ran a few taillengths behind his father, muscles burning but not enough for him to stop anytime soon. Victor was last, the only thing that kept him going was the fear of disappointing Mark again. After their hunt, they'd left the fresh-kill hidden beneath an upwalker box and started to make their way through more of the city. As they advanced, both kits were awe-struck at how many sounds, smells, and sights there were that they hadn't experienced before. Unfortunately they were moving too quickly to study their surroundings very well.

"Why... are we... running... so fast?" Hunter asked Mark between gasps.

"We're way outside our territory now!" Mark called. "Any cat could attack us, and with good reason!" He started to sprint faster, the kits pushing themselves to do the same. They were just about to turn into another alley.

"I... haven't... seen.. any other... ca-" Victor started, but was cut off when he tumbled into Hunter. His brother had come to an abrupt stop behind Mark. Mark was bristling, eyes wide, his head facing down into the next alley. He was completely still, his mouth agape.

"No..." He hissed to himself. "They can't have already passed thunderpath..." Hunter tilted his head.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Mark narrowed his eyes but kept his gaze locked on the alley, expression hard as stone.

"Kits," Mark said, his voice strangely calm. "I want you two to remember this scent." Victor and Hunter both inhaled deeply. A strange smell came from the alley. It was like upwalker waste, but mixed with cat scent and... and...

"Is that blood I smell?" Hunter asked, his paw raised to cover his nose. Victor's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything. He stepped around his brother and made his way past his father, ignoring his warning not to look, and peered around the corner. His heart stopped. Hunter padded up next to him and screeched in alarm. The kits had never seen anything so horrible. Liquid crimson covered most of the alley. It smeared the brick walls, red paw prints marked all around the area. Teeth, claws, and tufts of fur lay scattered around the chaos. What disturbed Victor and Hunter the most were the two cats piled in the center of it all, limp and lifeless in a pool of their own blood... or at least most of it must have been theirs. One was mostly gray with dark gray splotches, the other was white with a dark blueish puple collar, now stained half red. They were covered in deep cuts and bite marks, matching gashes on their necks. The gray cat was cut down from neck to stomach, insides visible. The other was missing its eyes, mouth stretched open in a silent yowl.

"Smokey and Violet..." Mark hissed. "In their own fucking territory... What the hell did they ever do to deserve this?" He shook his head, more out of anger than grief or sadness. Hunter couldn't handle the sight of something so gruesome. He ran back a few taillengths to be sick. Victor, however, couldn't look away.

"Who did this?" He whispered, barely audible for Mark to hear. Mark didn't answer until Hunter, shaking and facing away from the alley, returned.

"BloodClan." Mark growled. "A gang of cats that take whatever the hell they want. Be it prey, territory... lives... I want you two to remember this scent." He repeated. "If one day you ever come across it again, and I guarantee you will, I want you both to run."

"Why did they spread the blood everywhere?" Victor asked. "On the walls, the floor..." Mark looked down to the small kit.

"You have a morbid curiosity..." he said, then turned back to the carnage. "They do this to send a message."

"Damn," Hunter said, eyes shut, fur bristling. "What kind of message are they trying to send? Who the hell to?"

"Watch your language, Hunter!" Mark scolded. "This is their way of telling other cats that they're strong, and not afraid to kill to get what they want. Fill up their enemies with fear so they're less likely to fight back."

"Message received..." Hunter whimpered.

"A simple talking to would've been fine." Victor said. All the while his eyes never left the two mutilated bodies. Mark looked at him and noticed this, and an uneasy feeling crept into his pelt.

It's probably nothing, he thought. He's just shocked. He doesn't know how to react. He has a different way of dealing with this kind of situation. But the way his eyes studied the scene with such interest still made Mark nervous. "Let's keep moving. We're too close to Upwalker Place to stop now. Let's, uh... take the long way." He started walking past the alley they'd paused at. Hunter followed, glad to get away from the blood bath they had seen. Victor took one last glance over his shoulder as he followed his father forward. The pace was much slower now, the mood not rushed, but more melancholy. The silence between the three cats didn't make anything any better. After a while, Mark spoke.

"We're getting close," He said, flicking his ears. "It's really loud now." Hunter looked around, turning his head in all directions.

"What is?" He asked. Everything sounded normal to him. Victor adjusted his ears to listen to any changes, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just the normal beeps and grinding noises the city usually gave off. But now that he thought about it...

Huh. Victor thought. It does seem to have gotten louder now. He'd never really paid attention to the noise. It never meant anything to him... it was just there. He studied the sounds more closely, breaking it down. There were loud beeps, as always. A strange roaring noise that was beginning to hurt his ears the more he focused on it.

"You don't...?" He shook his head and sighed. "You two grew up with it. It's just background noise to you, huh?" He lashed his tail. "You two would notice if you'd ever heard real silence... but this city never seems to rest. No matter, it shouldn't be a bad thing." He started to pick up speed. "Just two more turns." Looking up, Hunter did realize something different. The sky seemed to open up, getting wider and wider...

"There aren't as many upwalker dens up here," he said, turning to his father. "Wouldn't it make more sense for upwalkers to be closer to their dens?"

Mark shrugged. "Upwalkers are weird." He came to a stop at the next corner. "Now before we turn, remember to stick to the shadows, behind boxes, under upwalker waste... I don't want either of you being seen. Not by other cats, not by upwalkers, nobody. Understand?" The kits nodded, and Mark proceeded to turn around the corner. The kits kept low and followed. Hunters eyes widened.

"Woah..."

Authors Note: So... things got gory. I was thinking of cutting that part out... But it'll come up later in future chapters. And it gets even more disturbing. Sorry. I'm very messed up. And language. Yeah. Also, I apologize for stopping at such a random spot, but I felt like this chapter was dragging on and decided to cut it in two. Chapter 4 might be a bit shorter, maybe 800-900 words. Thanks for reading. -MB