Title: There's No Escape From Destiny
Challenge: Mark My Words
Word Count: 607
Scarletblaze watched in horror from underneath a fallen log as her Clanmates screamed in battle, attacking, retreating, attacking again. There were too many rogues. She winced as she saw a black cat fall, the kit she was protecting being dragged away. The rogue reached in for the rest of the litter, and Scarletblaze tried to rush forward to save them.
Her tail was caught underneath the log. With a screech she pulled it free, feeling a bone break, but she ignored it with the help of a rush of anger. She shot out, caterwauling fiercely. The rogue looked up in alarm, the bodies of two kits by his feet and one kit- still alive- hanging from his mouth by its scruff. It let out a shrill wait as Scarletblaze cannoned into the rogue. Bright blue eyes faced hers. Scarletblaze had only seen eyes so bright once. "Kestrelclaw? What are you doing?" she yowled. Her Clanmate looked at her.
"Scarletblaze, what are you doing? You're fighting for a failing leader, slowly going insane. It was only a matter of time before someone stepped in," Kestrelclaw stated matter-of-factly. "These kits are the product of an outdated time."
Scarletblaze closed her eyes, feeling every hair on her pelt stand up. She could feel Kestrelclaw's hopeful gaze burn into her. "No," she growled, opening her eyes. She whipped around and launched herself at him, knocking the kit out of range. Kestrelclaw met her attack with his own paws and they grappled.
The dying screams of her Clanmates reached Scarletblaze's ears. In desperation she slipped out of range and scored her claws down Kestrelclaw's back. He stumbled away, hatred burning in his eyes. "You may have won now, Scarletblaze," he screeched, "but mark my words, you and everyone in this Clan of cowards will be dead by sunset." He turned and fled, his rogues following him. Soon Scarletblaze was alone in the clearing. Bodies littered the camp, and blood spread out in a crimson tide. One of Kestrelclaw's rogues had finished off the kit Scarletblaze had tried so hard to protect.
Scarletblaze blindly made her way to the camp entrance. The stench of blood was too much to bear. Outside the thorns, the air was clearer. She sat down heavily and began to groom herself. Paws, flanks, back, face, belly, tail, ears, she thought stupidly. As soon as she had escaped the murder scene, her tail had begun to hurt again. Slowly she meandered around the barrier, looking for cobwebs.
She bound the wound, then realized she was too tired to do anything else. Scarletblaze crept into a hollow tree, and promptly fell asleep.
The red rays of the setting sun woke Scarletblaze, and she sat up to stare at it. Vaguely she remembered Kestrelclaw's threat, and a chill ran up her spine. Everything began to flow back to her. I never would have thought Kestrelclaw was insane. Her red-tipped tail flicked, and she stretched luxuriously.
A heavy weight landed on her back. "Hello, Scarletblaze," Kestrelclaw hissed. "Have a nice nap?"
Scarletblaze tried to reply, but it was muffled by his paw. "Don't fight destiny," Kestrelclaw advised cruelly. His claws bit into her neck, and she screeched. "Greet StarClan for me."
Blood gushed out into the moss, and Scarletblaze whimpered. Outside the tree, she could see the dying rays of the sun bleed over the landscape, turning everything red. A beam swept over her, filling her with a sense of peace. I couldn't escape destiny. Darkness overwhelmed her vision, and the leaves around her swirled together until everything went black forever.