PANDEMONIUM sunk its fangs into MarshClan camp, injecting a venom so potent it sent the cats within scattering like mice with their eyes wide and tails raised. A murderer was on the loose. When Sedgepaw set foot back in camp, she immediately retracted her step, for her eyes and ears were assaulted by all manners of chaos; the clamor of cats practically foaming at the mouth to ensure their kits, queens, and elders were unharmed was at war with the heinous, angry hisses of warriors gathered in search parties, chomping at the bit to find and kill the escaped prisoner. The ripe, acrid scent of fear was so potent it seemed to soil the pelt of every cat in MarshClan.

"I doubt we were missed," Blueflower whispered to her.

The warrior was right. When Longscar successfully escorted her and Blueflower back, not one cat seemed to bat an eye at their reappearance. Perhaps Scorchface's escape was a blessing in disguise?

"I'll see to it your mentor knows of your shenanigans," Longscar growled. Sedgepaw met his glare defiantly. The warrior went on, his lip curled back to reveal thorn-sharp teeth, "It's a curious thing that an apprentice so close to their final test would be so poor at tracking."

"What are you-"

Longscar did not allow Sedgepaw to finish her hiss. "To go in the complete [i]opposite/i] direction of the execution sight… Curious indeed." His voice was laced with suspicion, and its toxicity caused even Blueflower to start bristling beside her.

Before either of the she-cats could get a word in, the dark gray tabby stormed off; his scar glistened eerily in the moonlight as he passed them by, heading towards Snakefang and Otternose, where they were assembling a search party.

"That was a close one," Blueflower murmured. The warriors eyes flickered to Sedgepaw. "I could speak in your defense to Batface tomorrow if you'd like?" she offered. Her ears drooped. "I really do apologize for this, Sedgepaw; I did not think our night would end this way."

Sedgepaw shrugged her broad shoulders. "Honestly? This was the most fun I've had in awhile. So what if Batface scorns me?" She laughed heartily. "It wouldn't be the first time." Golden eyes glowing, she nodded to the warrior. "You've done more than enough for me already. Don't worry about Batface tomorrow."

Blueflower's smile was so wide the corners of her almond-shaped eyes wrinkled. "Goodnight, Sedgepaw," she whispered softly.

As the warrior left for her den, Sedgepaw watched her, heart soaring. Despite the madness surrounding her, she felt like she was soaked in a bath of milk and honey, happily drowning in the sweet sound of Blueflower's voice. "Goodnight," she rasped, seeing Blueflower disappearing behind the plumegrass and knotweed.

Trotting across the clearing, Sedgepaw made a speedy retreat for the medicine den, hoping none of the agitated warriors would spot her. By sheer luck, she made it to the fortress of marigold, only to be greeted by the putrid odor of fresh blood. Fur standing on end, Sedgepaw hissed in surprise when a bloodchilling screech echoed from the depths of the shadows. Under the slivers of moonlight shining through the roof, Sedgepaw could see a cream and white pelt, splattered with blood. The body flailed like a worm being attacked by a swarm of ants, and the cry sounded unearthly, it could cause even the sturdiest of oaks to shake in their roots.

"Egretsong?" Sedgepaw wondered, recognizing her scent.

Heronpaw was hovering over the she-cat, his eyes glazed over. His paws worked at a poultice, which was ground into the dirt. All around, herbs were scattered and tossed onto the ground. Blood dripped from the golden petals of marigold, looking like black ink droplets in the dark. Redleaf was standing over Egretsong, bracing her body with his own as she struggled against him.

"Hurry, Heronpaw," Redleaf pressed. "Her bleeding won't stop."

"I'm trying, I'm trying," Heronpaw hissed through gritted teeth. His lanky, blue-gray body impeded Sedgepaw's sight of Egretsong. "This fennel won't crush right." His knuckles mashed and rubbed into the seeds, his teeth were bared in frustration.

Sedgepaw could see the gleam of concern in Redleaf's golden eyes as Egretsong flailed again, her body convulsing as pain wracked through her muscles.

"It burns!" she wailed. "It burns!"

Sedgepaw took a step closer. The scent of blood only became more overpowering as time passed.

"Can you get her to shut up?" Heronpaw snapped.

"Heronpaw, please, just focus on the remedy."

Sedgepaw stepped even closer. Redleaf gunted as Egretsong batted her paw at his chin, wriggling and seizing. She never before saw a warrior overcome with such pain.

"I can't see!" Egretsong cried. "Oh, StarClan, I can't see!" She wailed, making Sedgepaw's fur turn white with fear. "Help! Oh, StarClan, help me!"

When Heronpaw bent over to try and apply the sticky poultice to Egretsong, he revealed the warrior's face. Sedgepaw's stomach flopped like a fish in her belly. Egretsong's face was covered in blood, and the blood came from her eyes. Her sockets were thatched with scratches so deep, Sedgepaw could decipher the new ridges in her once golden eyes; they were rippled and gushed with a gelatinous fluid and scraps of bloody red flesh. Red rivulets trickled into her mouth, so when she wailed and cried, her voice gurgled.

"Hold her still!" Heronpaw hissed.

As Redleaf calmly shushed and coddled Egretsong, Heronpaw applied the poultice to her eyes. Egretsong jerked her head back and yowled, knocking Redleaf's chin with her head. The medicine cat looked up from his ailing patient to see Sedgepaw, and the apprentice stiffened.

"Sedgepaw," he hissed. "You should probably stay in the apprentices den tonight." He grunted as Egretsong began to shiver and contort against his chest. "It's probably going to be like this all night." The gravelly rasp in his voice betrayed his fatigue.

Without thinking twice, Sedgepaw backed out of the medicine den. She scurried across the camp to a small den composed of primerosewillows and butterfly bush nearly six foxlengths in height, which blossomed with vibrant purple blooms that hung from the branches to create an arch of flowers around the entrance. Stepping within, she saw all the apprentices were already tucked away in bed. Of course none of them would be hunting down Scorchface, the mission was too risky for untrained cats. She was comforted by the sight of her comrades, curled into tight balls of fur in their nests. She spotted Yewpaw and Mudpaw sleeping side by side. Only one nest of moss remained empty: hers. It was wedged between Yewpaw and Ospreypaw, looking too fluffy with extra bird feathers and moss to be something anyone slept in for the last few days. They kept it neat for her.

Smiling contentedly, Sedgepaw set foot in her nest, curling up and wrapping her thick tail over her paws and nose. She was able to erase the sight of Egretsong's gouged out eyes by letting her mind drift to Blueflower's smile and the way the fireflies glowed against her body. Laying in her nest, she imagined Blueflower sleeping beside her, and she felt safe. It was only when Yewpaw stirred that Sedgepaw remembered she was in the apprentices den. Glancing at her sister, she blinked in surprise when she saw the glint of her verdant eyes.

"Yewpaw, you're still awake?" she whispered.

Her sister was quiet.

"Yewpaw?"

When Yewpaw glanced at Sedgepaw, she could see the sadness glistening in her eyes. Sitting up, she rasped her tongue across her sister's head, comforting her quietly. Yewpaw snuggled closer to her, sighing shakily.

"What happened?" Sedgepaw asked, pressing her nose to her cheek.

"I'm just… scared. It all happened so fast." Yewpaw's voice quivered like a leaf in the wind. "We were marching through the swamp… and then someone noticed Minnowtail, Egretsong, and Scorchface were missing. We-we spread out, and I was with Palemist."

Sedgepaw pressed closer, hoping her scent and warmth would soothe her sister.

"W-we found Egretsong in time… but Minnowtail…" Yewpaw's voice failed her.

"What happened to Minnowtail?" Sedgepaw pressed.

Yewpaw was shivering, shaking her head. "He was murdered."

Sedgepaw recoiled in shock, eyes wide. "How did Scorchface manage to take them both?"

"I-I don't know," Yewpaw whimpered, shaking her head. She trembled violently.

"Maybe you should see Redleaf?" Sedgepaw suggested. "You're pretty shaken up."

"No!" Yewpaw hissed. "I don't want to see Egretsong… I don't want to think about what she went through. And Minnowtail."

Sedgepaw found it hard to believe Scorchface was able to take on two young, strong warriors alone. Her thoughts flickered to the pair of amber eyes she saw along the trail to Starlit Springs. Maybe she should have said something? Guilt wedged its way into her heart, making her chest hurt. She tried to convince herself it was an illusion. Those eyes weren't real. They did not belong to Scorchface. Sedgepaw draped her foreleg over Yewpaw, hugging her close as she began to sob softly. Is this my fault? she wondered. Unable to keep her thoughts flowing straight, Sedgepaw fell victim to sleep. She was devoured by darkness.

When Sedgepaw's eyes opened again, she was standing before the Starlit Springs. She heard whispers, and they hissed in her ears the pleasure of the water's touch. The voices slowly became omnipresent, welcoming Sedgepaw into the depths of the bubbling spring, for within its crystalline abyss was a life without pain... Smiling whimsically, she was drawn to touch its pristine surface, dipping her white toes into the water. At her touch, the water around her paw became effervescent and a strangle gurgling noise sounded from the lips of the water's ripples.

Narrowing her eyes, Sedgepaw noticed the spring was turning red, and the scarlet stains were seeping from her own paw. Yanking her foreleg back, she hissed in shock. She inspected her paw, gasping when she saw it was dripping with blood, and it was not her own. Sedgepaw backed away in a panic, gasping for air. Her scrambled pawprints in the sand were also bloody. She began to wheeze for air, eyes darting wildly for the body the blood belonged to. All she could see was her reflection in the spring, and it gazed at her, cool and apathetic while she fervently scanned the shore.

Sedgepaw's breathing slowed, but still shook when she gazed into her reflection in the spring. Her golden eyes glowed with a sinister emotion she was a stranger to. Her jaw was bloodstained, and when she raised her paw to reach out for her reflection, blood was dripping from her claws. She splashed the water, disturbing the mirror image of herself and began to back away.

The reflection followed.

Stepping out of the springs, Sedgepaw's doppelgänger was waterlogged. Her sodden fur left droplets against the sand, and her white chest and paws were stained red. A malignant aura seemed to hover over the reflection, turning every inch of her frame a shade darker, like a shadow.

"Who are you?" Sedgepaw demanded the entity.

It mimicked her voice, but sounded more shrill, with an ethereal echo to her tone. "Who are you?"

Brows furrowing, Sedgepaw hissed and shook her head. "I'm Sedgepaw… and you're... not real." This has to be a dream, she thought.

"I'm Sedgepaw," the being repeated, her bloody lips smacking as she spoke. A twisted smile broke the entity's stony features, revealing red-stained teeth. "Heed my words: keep your eyes on the blood red horizon. When the scarlet sun falls and bleeds on the earth, we rise."

"We rise?" Sedgepaw pressed. "Rise for what?!"

As the vision slowly began to fade away, a roll of thunder drowned out the final wisps of the words she spoke. Sedgepaw reached for the almost translucent image of herself, but when she touched it, the being vanished in a whirl of wind. It howled into her ears sounding more and more like a scream as it buffeted against her. Before long, she was wailing with it.