Sparkpaw's POV
"I don't understand StarClan, where are we supposed to go?" I look up at the starry night and sigh. One of the stars seems to move and get closer. I narrow my eyes as it falls to the ground in front of me. The star turns to mist, swirling about to make a figure. Once again, I find Bluestar standing before me with a calm expression.
"Don't give up, Sparkpaw." She murmurs, blue eyes ablaze.
"What are we supposed to do?! How are we supposed to find this place where the sun doesn't touch?" I ask desperately. She remains placid even after my outburst.
"You just need to remember this. If those cats dare to kidnap our own, then their hearts are dead, burnt up." She mews softly, leaning forward to lick my forehead. It feels like a wisp of air and I close my eyes.
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When I open my eyes again, I'm looking at my three sleeping companions. The storm had settled down in our sleep, but a small trickle of water still dripped through the crack in the ceiling. I stare at my own reflection blankly, my mind running Bluestar's words on repeat. dead? Burnt? What did she mean by those words? Was it a clue as to where the evil cats are keeping out Clan-mates?
Leaning down, I lap up some of the cold, refreshing water. It calms my mind slightly. I sit up, looking around the cave. The sun was shining through the crack, illuminating the cave. The walls were slightly damp and cold. It keeps the whole cave at a low temperature, but not cold enough to make us freeze. It's very comfortable, in fact.
"Good morning." Frozenpaw paw meows sleepily, her jaws spread wide in a yawn. Her eyes are glazed over groggily.
"Morning." I meow quietly. "How did you sleep?"
"Fine."
"I slept wonderfully!" Flamepaw stretches in his spot. I realize that they're all awake. each stretching and yawning lazily. I blink, yawning myself.
"We should go, we have more walking to do." Flamepaw groans loudly.
"I don't want to walk!" He hisses. I huff, lowering my head. I completely understand why he wouldn't want to. I need to get him more excited. An idea suddenly comes to mind. I look at him with a twinkling mischief in my eyes. Out of nowhere, I dive forward and playfully attack him. "Aaaghh!" We go tumbling a few tail-lengths. I bat at his muzzle, trying to wake him up. He pushes me off with his back legs, in turn tackling me. We fight each other for a while until Breezepaw separates us.
"Better?" I look at him expectantly. He chuckles, tail flicking happily.
"Yes! Now, lets' go." We start our journey again, climbing out of the cave and through the tunnel.
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"Something smells burnt." Breezepaw meows with a crunched nose. I nod, also smelling faint traces of old fire. Burnt. Didn't Bluestar say something about burning?"
"I'll go check it out." Frozenpaw dashes forward on her quick feet. Her tail is out of sight within seconds. Breezepaw, Flamepaw, and I walk at a steady pace. I admire the lively trees around us. They are a vibrant green color, growing healthily. The mix of freshness and ash make a strange combination. Frozenpaw suddenly appears in front of us, panting slightly. Her eyes glimmer. "You guys need to check this out." She mews urgently. She tosses her head behind her and runs in that direction.
"Well, I wonder what has her all excited." Breezepaw mutters bitterly, still cranky from having to walk so far. I shrug my shoulders and start to speed up. My paws have scabbed over, making it less painful to run. I'm glad for it, because the urgency in Frozenpaw's voice makes me very curious.
We run to the top of an incline where Frozenpaw stands. She turns her head to look past the peak, tail twitching. I come to stand behind her, about to say something. But the sight before causing my voice to fail. It's just all, black.
Every single living thing is burnt to a crisp. The trees are black, probably so fragile that the wind could blow them away. Anything on the ground has been turned to ashes. The strong smell of fire covers the area, almost as bad as the scent from the big Thunderpath. It makes my eyes water slightly. Somehow, even though there aren't many trees, shadows still lurk around the burnt forest.
"This is horrible." Flamepaw mutters.
"I think something like this happened in ThunderClan's forest territory." I say thoughtfully, remembering stories from before the Clans moved to the lake. "Bluestar said something about dead and burnt up." I all but whisper.
"Bluestar? She talked to you? When?" Frozenpaw turns to me eagerly, wanting the knowledge.
"Last night." I reply. "She said that the dark cats would have dead, burnt up hearts. It sounded like a clue."
"What if they're here somewhere?!" Flamepaw looks around with narrowed eyes, as if he can find them from up here.
"But the sun touches up here." Breezepaw points out. His expression turns sour.
"What if..." I look around. "What if they're underground?"
"Ask your sister, mouse-brain. I think she can tell if she's underground or not." Breezepaw snorts, looking at me with a blank stare. Oh! I never thought of that!
"I'll do that." I close my eyes and focus. 'Rosepaw? Are you underground?' I try to ask her.
'Yes. We're in a dark cave. There's no light.' Her voice is louder, so she must be close. They have to be around here!
"They are underground." I confirm.
"Well great." Breezepaw mutters sarcastically. "Now what are we supposed to do, Sparkpaw? Go charging in to rescue them?"
"She's right. That won't work." Frozenpaw agrees. I sigh, plopping down on the ashy grass.
"We need an opportunity." Flamepaw says, completely serious. That's a first.
"We need to figure out their plan." I stress. "Why would they take the apprentices and kits? There must be a reason." The three others nod. We all sit in thought, not a word is exchanged. Different ideas float through my mind, but none of them seem to work.
"What if we find one of their tunnels and sneak in? Then I can listen to the plans." Breezepaw offers.
"I could distract them." Frozenpaw pipes in.
"And I can guard Breezepaw." Flamepaw meows.
"Good. I'll be your eyes." With the new plan, we put it into action. The four of us move into the burnt around, searching for any tunnel opening. The ash feels soft and flaky under my paws. I keep my eyes open, searching for any holes in the ground that could lead to a tunnel. The other three apprentices walk in different directions, but not far enough for us to lose sight of each other. Frozenpaw is darting around, searching different areas quickly. Breezepaw sniffs and listens for any drafts or cave smells.
"Find anything?" Flamepaw asks. I shake my head.
"Not yet." I continue to search.
"I found one!" Breezepaw exclaims.
"Me too." Frozenpaw says right after her. I pad over to Breezepaw. She pulls back a bush, letting it crumple into nonexistence. There's a hole, leading into a tunnel.
"It smells stale, like it hasn't been used in a while." She comments. I nod in agreement, taking a whiff of the scent. A small draft flows from it, carrying the scent, but it is indeed stale. "Do you think they're really down there?"
"Yes." I reply firmly. I look over to Frozenpaw. She stands at a second entrance that is farther away. I nod to her."Get in the bush. Frozenpaw is going to distract them." I usher the other two into a bush. It'll hide our scent as well.
Frozenpaw leans down next to the entrance, putting her head right in front of it. She lets out a loud, ear-piercing yowl. I flinch, laying my ears back. She does this multiple time, until I see her ears twitch. She looks at me with gleaming eyes. She could be quite the mischief maker. She nods again and turns, taking off running in the opposite direction. I watch closely as several figures that look like mere shadows. What are these cats?!
Once the cats disappear, we move to the tunnel entrance. I go in first, because I'm the only one who can lead them. Breezepaw follows, her ears swiveling back and forth to catch any noise. Flamepaw walks beside her since the tunnel is wide enough for them to walk side by side. We walk silently, not daring to make a sound. My paws practically glide down the steep path.
"Can you hear anything?" I whisper over my shoulder.
"Not yet." She mumbles. We walk for a while and the path starts to even out a bit. I keep close to one wall where I know the shadows are. I open my senses as well to see if I can find anything.
'This is creepy.' Flamepaw thinks within his head. I shake my head with a small smile.
"Stay calm, Flamepaw." I murmur. He snorts and glares at me.
"Don't read my thoughts." He grumbles. I flick my tail and smile again. Suddenly, I stop. There's a strange, flickering shape on the wall.
"Get against the wall." I meow urgently. We press ourselves against the cold rocks, deeper in the shadows. I look at the flickering, slithering shape, but find it slightly familiar. Is that fire? These cats know how to control fire?!
"I hear something!" Breezepaw whisper exclaims. She closes her eyes and focuses on the voices. I can also hear faint noises, but they're unclear. I use my powers to try and hear better.
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3rd Person POV
A pitch black tom stands in the middle of the cave, his poison green eyes glaring at a dark brown tabby tom. The second tom looks down in fear of his leader.
"You called for me, Venom?" The brown tabby asks in a deep voice. His burning amber eyes flick up to the black tom, Venom. It was known that Venom is vicious and kills for no reason. Getting on his bad side was asking for a death wish. The brown tabby, Rage, knew very well. His torn ear was an example of the leader's rage.
"Yes, I did." Venom says in a calm voice, but ice is layered beneath it. His yellow-streaked eyes stare the dark tabby down. "Are the fighters ready?"
"Yes, sir." Rage nods.
"And the hunters?" Venom demands.
"Not yet, sir. Many of them just left to take care of a disturbance." His voice shakes lightly. Venom hisses irritably, his glare darkening.
"I want them back quickly. We are to attack while those Clan cats are in confusion." He growls. "I want the lake to run red with their blood."
The three apprentices in the tunnel look at each other with wide eyes. The dark cats were planning on attacking the Clans?! Sparkpaw listens again.
"Yes, sir. I'll get on it right away." Rage bows his head.
"We leave in the morning. You are dismissed." Venom flicks his tail towards the tunnel exit opposite of the one the apprentices stand in. Rage scurries out of the cave, trying to get far away from the leader as quick as possible. He dashes through the tunnels until he reaches a much larger cave. Several cats lounge around, waiting for orders. To the right, there's a much darker cage that is fenced off. That is where the stolen Clan cats are.
"Oblivion." A dark brown she-cat trots forward. "Is the last group back?"
"Not yet." She mews blankly, her dark blue eyes flicking up to his amber ones. "They're still out near the Clans. They'll be back soon."
"They better be." Rage growls bitterly. "Venom is getting upset. He wants to leave."
"Understood." She bobs her head to the tom. He's second in command of the Dark Cats, as the Clans called them.
Things were about to get even worse for the Clans.