The Broken Cat
Chapter 7: The Collar
"You're gonna catch a cold, from the ice inside your soul," Snowy sang. "So don't come back to me! Don't come back at all!"
"Shut up!" an angry voice made Snowy stop singing at once.
"Sorry!" she called back. Snowy was very bored and singing was making the time pass. It had been three weeks since Boulder had died, and it seemed as if everyone was nearly recovered. Everyone except Bone, that is. All he did was sit in his box, and he didn't talk to anyone. Snowy pushed her way in, and loudly cleared her throat. Bone didn't budge.
"Hi," Snowy said. "Come and play with me."
Bone didn't move.
"Please," Snowy pleaded. "You have to face the world at one point."
Bone slowly turned over to look at her. "Go play with someone else," he said harshly. "And get out of my face."
Snowy stared at him, taken aback by his meanness. "Fine," she snapped. "I didn't want to play with you anyway!" Snowy stormed out of the box. She noticed Nero sitting by himself across the alley. Snowy trotted over to him, and pretended not to notice the annoyed expression cross his face.
"Want to play a game with me?" Snowy asked.
"No."
Snowy felt anger slowly rising inside her.
"I thought we were friends," Snowy said. Nero just smirked. "My friends are not useless, annoying, mutated little kits," he said scathingly. A red haze blurred Snowys vision. But before she could do anything, she heard Scourges voice ring angrily around the hollow.
"Join me for a Clan meeting!" he shouted. At once cats stopped what they were doing and ran over at his command. Snowy took her time, and strolled slowly over to him.
"Move it, Snowy!" a cat angrily thrust her to the side. Snowy tried to catch herself, but collapsed. Another cat took the initiative to stomp over her on his way to Scourge. Snowy had never felt this much anger in her entire life.
I'm going kill someone, she thought mutinously. Yank the life out of them until they're no more than an empty shell.
"The time is near," Scourge was yelling. "At the full moon we attack Frostclan!"
Cat screeched and screamed, flexing their claws and throwing back their heads to howl in excitement.
Snowy stood deathly still.
"We must start training," Scourge paced the ledge where he stood. "I need you all at your best! Any cat unable to sustain the training will be killed, as practice for the others."
"We're going to kill them?" Snowy said involuntarily. All eyes shifted to her. Scourges eyes flared. "We're going to kill every last one of them," he hissed. "Are you volunteering for a practice round?"
Cats snickered and sneered. "She'd be no good in a fight. She'd be shredded in an instant!"
Snowys head snapped around to locate the voice, and became face to face with Aristol. With a blood curling scream Snowy dived at her, claws extended. Aristols surprised face made Snowy laugh as she violently raked her claws down Aristols side. She screamed, and leaped on top of her. Snowy used all her strength to heave Aristol off of her, and leaped on top of her and planted her paw on Aristols neck. Aristol couldn't move, and Snowy took the opportunity. She whipped her head at the others.
"I am not volunteering to be a practice victim!" Snowy screamed. "Do you want this to happen to you?" Snowy pressed her paws into Aristols soft throat. An odd sense of déjà vu briefly shot through Snowy, but she ignored it. She gave Aristol on last claw on the ear but then stood off her. Cats stood in shock as Snowy leaped up onto Scourges ledge.
"WE WILL TAKE DOWN FROSTCLAN!" Snowy screeched. "AND WE WILL WIN!"
Cats howled in agreement. Snowy grinned, her eyes narrowing.
"WE WILL TEAR THEM APART!" Snowy yowled. The cats were starting to get excited again, stomping their paws on the ground and tearing up clumps of grass. Snowy walked to the ledge of the clearing, her shadow was a blanket over the cats below.
"We will show them no mercy," her voice echoed eerily across the alley. "Does anyone have any questions, suggestions?" Snowy didn't wait for an answer. "I do. Scourge," she turned her head to him. "You need a deputy. Someone to help you plan the attack."
Scourges expression was unreadable.
"Unless you think you can do it by yourself," Snowy challenged. Scourge finally regained his ability to talk.
"Are you done?" Scourge growled.
Then it happened. Every last scrap of Snowys confidence and anger melted, and she stood there, shaking. "Yes," she squeaked. Then she jumped off the ledge and ran to the back of the alley.
Everyone waited to see what Scourge would say.
"She's right," he said at last. Snowys eyes stretched wide. Scourge nodded to Aristol, who was still lying on the ground. "Jag, bring me her collar."
"As you wish," Jag said. Snowy flinched as Jag ripped off the collar with such force Aristol went unconscious again. Jag carried the collar to Scourge and dropped it at his feet.
"I will think about who will be my deputy tonight," Scourge said. "I will leave this collar by them, and the one who gets it will stand by me. However," Scourges eyes turned to slits again.
"Everyone else be on guard. Anyone who defies us will be thrown out, or killed."
The meeting broke up, and cats returned to what they were doing. Still trembling, Snowy walked back to her box to lie down. Bone was waiting for her.
"Hi," he said quietly.
Snowy ignored him and curled up into a ball.
"Would you like to play a game with me?" Bone asked, voice shaking. With every last scrap of dignity she had, Snowy narrowed her eyes at him.
"Go play with someone else," she hissed. "And get out of my face."
Bones shoulders sagged and he dejectedly sat down next to her. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I wasn't thinking about what I was saying. I really am sorry, Snowy," he said.
Snowy forced herself to ignore him.
"That was really quite the scene you made," Bone whispered. "Do you realize what you've done?"
Snowy knew exactly what she'd done. She'd confirmed many innocent cats would die, due to her own anger. She didn't reply to Bone, who'd sighed and turned his back to her. Snowy closed her eyes, knowing she wouldn't sleep. She was scared at what she had started, and more importantly, she was scared of the cat she had just created. It was a frightening thought, and Snowy didn't know what to do. How had she let herself become one of them? Snowys thoughts slowly faded as she fell asleep.
Later
Snowy woke up to something sharp prodding into her side. Cursing under her breath, she opened her eyes to see what was bothering her. It was a very elaborate collar, with claws and teeth sticking out of it. Snowy was confused for a minute, and then it hit her.
Scourge chose her.
