Chapter Five: What Was Past

The four toms that had gone out were Blackclaw, Graycloud, Darkclaw, and Dogwood himself. Dogwood's heart was heavy as he ran with his Clanmates to find his son. What were they to do with him once they found him? Surely they wouldn't kill him—he was just an apprentice! But he had just been accused to murder, so…

Pushing the thoughts out of his head before he began to tear up, Dogwood carried on, determined to find Bloodpaw. The other cats beside him ran with cold fury in their eyes. Along with that was another emotion… Ambition, maybe? Slightly shocked, Dogwood looked ahead, unable to bear what he was seeing. Obviously they wanted his son dead… but he couldn't let that happen. Not even after her death—

Dogwood found himself thinking back to the day of his kit's birth. Snowfur was the kindest she-cat he had ever met in his life, yet she had been taken by StarClan during the birth of her kits. Why did StarClan punish her like that? Seeing that this was the first time that he had thought about his dead mate in a long time, Dogwood lowered his head and went a bit faster.

"Is everything okay?" Graycloud, a dark gray tom, asked, snapping Dogwood out of his deep thought. Graycloud was his best friend, and knew him better than most cats in the clans. Dogwood knew he couldn't lie to him, but now he had to.

"Yes, I'm fine," he answered, managing a weak smile and purr. Graycloud stared at him with uncertainty for a second, and Dogwood wondered if his friend knew he wasn't telling the truth. But then the gray warrior looked forward, and they were silent.

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His black pelt bristled with fear as Bloodpaw stared around him. The trees suddenly seemed a lot taller, and the pine needles seemed a lot sharper. The forest was now a lot darker, and not just because of the night. It was a different kind of darkness—an empty darkness.

Longing for someone by his side at moment, Bloodpaw stared at his paws. What was he going to do? When he got back to ShadowClan, he would surely be dead. No one would believe his story, and he would proably he thought of as the bloodthirsty, red-eyed beast like before. Noticing how negative he was being, Bloodpaw sighed. But what else was there to do? At least he should die in his own camp, knowing that he was innocent, instead of dying by himself out in the forest with harsh fear burning inside of him.

Bloodpaw heard the thump of paws against the ground, and he immediately knew what it was—someone had come for him. Bloodpaw braced himself for someone to come and pin him to the ground, but that didn't come. Instead, the paws stopped, and then became a lot softer. Wondering what was going on, Bloodpaw tried to locate the sound. He heard an urgent whisper, and then the rustled of leaves. Unexpectedly, he felt a heavy weight on his back, and he gasped for air.

He found no use in struggling, for they were just going to take him back to the camp anyway, so he let the mystery cat stay on top of him. He felt no claws, nor heard any growl. The touch was almost soft, and the scent that flowed around him was almost sorry.

"Don't try to resist," someone said. Bloodpaw noticed the voice as his father's. "We're taking you back to camp." He had never heard him like this, and Bloodpaw wanted to wail out and tell his father that he wasn't a murder. For some reason, though, his mind told him to keep quiet.

The weight was lifted, and he was heaved to his paws. Three others came out from the shadows and surrounded him. He noticed the cats as Graycloud, Blackclaw, and Darkclaw. Bloodpaw felt like a prisoner of his own kind. Fear, anger, and grief swirling around inside of him, Bloodpaw still kept his mouth shut as he was brought back to the camp. He was greeted by the feeling that he was being watched, even though there was no one in the main clearing. Soulstar padded out from the shadows of the log and stood before him. Never before in his life had Bloodpaw felt so helpless and small.

"So, why did you kill her?" Soulstar asked, glaring at Bloodpaw with fiery green eyes. Bloodpaw stared right into them though, hoping that he would see that he wasn't lying when he told him that he was innocent.

"I did not kill Quailflight," Bloodpaw replied coolly, still surrounded by the four warriors.

"Don't play games," Soulstar growled. "Give me the reason why."

"I didn't kill her," Bloodpaw said repeated.

"I'll only say this one more time," Soulstar sighed, angrily. "Explain why you felt the need to kill a medicine cat."

"I didn't do it!" Bloodpaw snarled. His neck fur bristled, and he felt his eyes burn. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he instantly regretted talking to his leader like that. Soulstar pounced and pinned the young apprentice to the ground by his shoulders and unsheathed his claws so that they dug into his skin.

"Don't you dare talk to your leader like that!" he roared. The four warriors back away a little, arching their backs slightly. They had never before seen Soulstar so angry.

"I didn't do it," Bloodpaw meowed, soon noticing that it came out as only a whisper.

"Then who did?" Soulstar rasped, now nose to nose with the black tom.

"I—I don't know," Bloodpaw admitted. "I didn't get a good look at him. But it wasn't me."

"You think I'll believe that?" Soulstar hissed. "Do you think I'm mousebrained?"

"Why won't you believe me?" Bloodpaw found himself wailing. "Is it because I was born to a white cat? Is it because I have black fur? Is it because I have red eyes? Is it because my mother died because of me?" Bloodpaw was shocked at what had just come out of his mouth. Never before had he spoken of his mother since he was born.

"You have no respect for your leader!" Soulstar growled at his apprentice. His raised his claws up to Bloodpaw's neck. Bloodpaw felt rage surge through his body, but then he went limp. He knew that he was not loved in this Clan, and he knew he was not trusted. Why bother anymore?

"Go on," he whispered. "Coward." Bloodpaw curled his lip in a snarl as he said the word, and Soulstar;s eyes blazed like green fire. He pressed his claw to Bloodpaw's neck until—

"No!"

Haha, cliff hanger! Who called out? Post who you think it is in the reviews, and I'll update soon!