Well, well, well... Hi, again, all! :D

Well, this is probably a crappy chapter, but I just had to update! .;

This chapter will hopefully lead into more suspenseful things!

Sorry I haven't been updating; I've been very busy with school and other things! :O

Spoiler: Someone is going to die in the next few chapters (see if you can guess who it is!)!

Enjoy! ^.^;

Chapter 12

Breezepaw's POV

Luckily, when we got back to the main den, Scarlett was not yet there. We all settled down in various places around the hole. Socks immediately curled up in the darkest corner and went to sleep. Pansy began washing herself. Witch and I, however, sat down and put our heads close together. I glanced nervously up at the hole, but I couldn't yet hear any movement, or breathing, so I knew that Scarlett wasn't back yet.

And then we talked.

"Do you think that we should make more of an effort to try to get out of here?" I breathed.

Witch shook her head. "No. It's too dangerous," she said emphatically.

"How's it too dangerous?" I hissed back, under my breath, although I knew exactly what she meant by it being too dangerous.

"You know… we could get caught by Scarlett…," Witch suggested nervously.

I sighed. "I know. You're right. But do you really want to live the rest of your life being tortured and mated with for kits, so that Scarlett can gain from them?"

Witch stared at me, looking shocked at my bluntness. "Well, no! But if we're caught, then the consequences will be much worse! You know what will happen!"

I knew, it was true. Scarlett had another little hole that led underneath a bush in his den. It was damp and cold all the time, and it had a small cage that you could barely stand up and move around in. Basically, he'd come down and mate with you at regular, frequent intervals, and you'd usually slowly starve to death. It was the most brutal punishment I could imagine. He'd shown me it when I first arrived.

**Flashback**

"Do you want to see what will happen to you if you disobey?" Scarlett hissed at me. It was about two days since the auction. I simply nodded my head in mute terror, figuring that I was going to be mated until I passed out, or something. "Well, then, follow me." Scarlett simply grinned evilly, and scrambled out of the hole. I followed more slowly, and when I got out, he was already standing at the other end of the den. He held up a branch, and I could see a small hole in the ground under where the branch had previously been.

"Go in there," he purred menacingly at me.

I nodded nervously. I approached it.

Then stopped.

Took another step farther.

Stopped.

It just looked so foreboding….

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go in!" Scarlett spat, whacking out a clawed paw that connected with my rump and sent me toppling forward into the hole.

The first thing I noticed as I got my bearings was the stench. Ugh! Smelled like blood, dirt, and all sorts of other things that I didn't really want to think about. There was also a slight stench of crowfood. There was just the tiniest bit of light shining into the hole, and I could see that it was very small. There was also a tiny cage in there. I shivered, and for the first time, I noticed that it was very, very cold down there.

"Wh… what is this place?" I whimpered in fear.

Scarlett was behind me suddenly, his tail weaving around my back end as he purred into my ear, "Why, it's the punishment chamber. If you do something bad enough, I'll put you in here. It's much worse than anything else I can give you as a punishment, really."

"But—but—what happens in here?" I stammered.

"You starve to death," Scarlett stated rather matter-of-factly. "And I use you to satisfy my need for pleasures at regular intervals."

As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I could see that the tiny cage was encrusted with blood. Blood dried on the floor, and onto the bars—looked like the proverbial hell. I wondered how many she-cats Scarlett had brutally murdered in here over the years. He was only two and a half by now, he had told me earlier—but since toms could have slaves after eight or nine moons old, if they wanted (most usually held out until they were at least a year old, though), that didn't really mean all that much to me.

"And…?" I questioned in a very shaky, almost inaudible voice. "Why show it to me now, if I haven't even done anything wrong…?"

"Oh, to scare you," he simply meowed. "And to warn you. Now." He was suddenly all businesslike. "Into the cage. You have to have the full experience, to truly know what you will face, should you ever disobey!"

My mind went into overdrive just then, nervously figuring out all the possibilities for and reasons why I would be stuck in this cage down here; and I found my voice. "No! No!" I screeched. "Please, no; don't kill me! Please…," I begged. "I thought I was far too valuable for that, and, besides, I haven't even had any kits yet!" I was shaking, desperate, terrified of my impending death in such a cowardly way.

"Oh, no worries," Scarlett purred menacingly, simply opening the door and gesturing for me to go into the cage. I stepped in, although rather reluctantly, and the shoved the door shut behind me. "You haven't actually done anything wrong! Well, not yet, anyway," he said in a warning tone, his voice suddenly changing, and I thought that I could see a glint of evil in those slit eyes of his.

"I… I haven't?" My relief was only burdened by the simple realization that I would still be stuck in this cage for the next few days, would still be forced to starve and suffer horrendous mating conditions until he felt satisfied that he had gotten his "warning" message through.

"No, you haven't, but you must still face that type of punishment that you would if you had done something bad!" Scarlett's voice was suddenly loud and raucous, his eyes crazed and seemingly maniacal. I shrunk back in fear, not even really wanting to know what his plans were.

"Umm… okay… so… well, will I be mated right now, then?" I stuttered.

"No. I'll simply leave you to settle in here in peace." He emphasized the word, and I really didn't think that it was going to be very peaceful at all.

"Uh… right… so… good-bye, then?" I tried.

"Yes!" He simply bared his teeth at me, in a hideous parody of a grin. "See you soon, very soon. Now… I'm out!" He then proceeded to leap out of the hole and put the rose branch or whatever it had been—I really couldn't think right now, nor could I really remember anything, such in a state of terror as I was—and left me in darkness, leaving me to ponder over my current fate, and worry about what would happen to me later.

I didn't want to know. Great StarClan, I didn't even want to be mated! I felt sure that the Clans were gone, however, so no one could save me now. I had seen many cats getting hurt and even killed from the nursery, and then a few more during my trek out of the camp as a prisoner, so I was fairly sure that I was right. Besides, hadn't a StarClan cat visited me…? Maybe; I must be right. I must!

I shook my head. I couldn't think. I simply couldn't concentrate on any one thing for too long. I had to concentrate. I had to stop being scared! For StarClan's sake, mating wasn't that bad. It probably didn't hurt that much. After all, hadn't my first mating experience, although really more like a rape, not been all that bad?

I was disillusioning myself. I knew it. I had always known that. Still… what else was I really to do? Not freak out? Not worry?

I was absolutely terrified! Mating hurt so much, and I knew that this would just hurt even worse. I had no idea how long I would be down here; I couldn't even remember if Scarlett had said anything about that.

****/End Flashback****

I shuddered as I came out of reliving the memory before the worst parts happened, not wanting to bring them up again, to relive all of the horror and fear and pain that I had felt. When I looked up, I found at Witch was looking at me sympathetically, although her eyes were haunted, as if she had briefly stirred up a bad memory, too.

"…I," I managed, "I..."

"Yeah, I know," she murmured. "He stuck me in his little punishment chamber for two days, too. I had no food or water, was nearly dead by the end of it, was constantly tortured, and, oh…." She seemed to look off into the distance. "It was just horrible."

"Yeah, it was—" I began to agree, but I suddenly heard footsteps on the ground above us, hailing Scarlett's presence!