Chapter 28

Viperstrike fluffed out her fur against the cold as she sat in the middle of the clearing, holding vigil. Despite Panthershade's words, Viperstrike couldn't help but feel guilty for receiving her warrior name. Hollystorm is right, she thought. I don't deserve to be a warrior after everything I've done. I don't even deserve to be back in camp with everyone else.

Glancing over at Panthershade, she tried to read his expression. To her disappointment, he had a blank look on his face.

Sighing, Viperstrike turned her attention back at the camp entrance. She desperately wanted her vigil to be over, but time seemed to crawl by.

Finally, she saw faint pink sunlight in the distance. Her heart pounded excitedly in her chest as she watched the sun rise higher and higher into the sky.

"Your vigil is over," Reedwhisker told them as he walked past.

Flurrypelt let out a sigh of relief. "Thank StarClan! My paws are frozen solid," she complained before padding over in the direction of the warriors den.

Viperstrike and Panthershade followed after her, both yawning.

"I can't wait to curl up in my new nest," Panthershade commented. The dark gray tom's eyes were drooping from exhaustion, and Viperstrike noticed he was dragging his paws.

"I know. I'm really tired too," she agreed. As she curled up in her nest, her mind wandered to Shadow. As she thought about her friend, her heart ached. Why did he do this to me? She thought, trying to figure out why he would force her back into Clan life.

Truth be told, Viperstrike didn't want to come back. The only reason she had stayed so far was because Spiderleg was dying, and she didn't want to abandon him again. If it hadn't of been for him, she would have fled back to the Twolegs place as soon as she got the chance. Sighing, she rested her head on her forepaws.

"Are you okay?" Panthershade wondered.

She shook her head. "No," she whispered. "I miss Shadow."

Panthershade flattened his ears to his head. "Don't think about him," he said.

"I'm trying, but it's hard." Viperstrike stared into Panthershade's blue eyes as she spoke. "I-I think I love him," she then confessed.

His eyes widened in surprise. "Do you really mean it?" he rasped.

Viperstrike nodded. "I do," she said.

Before Panthershade could say anything more, Sandstripe growled, "Could you please be quiet? We're trying to sleep here!"

Viperstrike glared at him, before settling down in her nest.


Dark storm clouds hovered in the sky as Viperstrike padded into camp, a scrawny mouse dangling from her jaws. Sighing, she set it down on the pitifully small fresh-kill pile, which was made up of a shrew and a sparrow.

The black she-cat turned and padded over to the farthest corner of camp, where she curled up. It had been a moon since she had returned to the Clans, and things weren't going very well. Since her arrival, greencough had started to spread, infecting several and killing three. The three cats that died had been Robinpaw, and two of Webfur's newborn kits. Patchfoot and Cypresspaw were also dangerously close to death, but there was nothing Nettlebreeze could do to save them. No matter how much catmint the medicine cat used, nothing would ease the sickness.

As she looked across the camp, she saw Squirrelflight head in the direction of the medicine cats den. The dark ginger she-cat was having a violent coughing fit, which worried Viperstrike. Please don't let Squirrelflight die, Viperstrike pleaded as she watched the deputy disappear inside the medicine cats den.

"Have you eaten today?" Panthershade wondered as he walked up to her.

She shook her head. "There isn't enough to go around," she answered.

Panthershade sighed and took a seat next to her. "It's terrible, isn't it?" he whispered.

"Yes," she agreed. "I wish I would have known things would be like this before I returned. It's so depressing."

Panthershade flattened his ears to his head. "I wish there was something I could do to save all the sick cats," he confessed. "I especially wish I had been able to save Robinpaw. You didn't know her very well, but she was a really sweet cat. She didn't deserve to die so young, especially the way she did." His claws dug into the ground as he added, "and Webfur didn't deserve to lose Frogkit and Cloudkit."

"I don't want to talk about death," Viperstrike meowed suddenly.

"I don't blame you," he muttered, fluffing his pelt out against the cold.

The two cats sat there in silence, until Viperstrike stood up. "I'm going to go hunting again," she whispered before heading in the direction of camp.

Panthershade trotted after her, his blue eyes gleaming. "Care if I join you?" he wondered.

She shrugged. "Go ahead," she said as she slipped out of camp. As they made their way across the frozen moorlands, snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

Viperstrike let out a small hiss as she watched the snow accumulate on the ground. "It's going to be impossible to find prey in conditions like this," she complained, flicking her tail back and forth irritably.

"We have to try and hunt anyways," Panthershade pointed out. "Otherwise the Clan will starve."

"Do you think I don't know that?" she snapped, her neck fur bristling. Digging her claws into the ground Viperstrike shouted, "I can't handle this! Clan life is too hard for me... All the hardships we have to face are driving my insane. I wish I could just run away and be a rogue again."

Panthershade's eyes widened. "Well, you can't leave," he snapped. "I won't let you."

Viperstrike glared at him. "I can do whatever I want," she growled. "And why do you care what I do anyways?"

Panthershade was quiet for a few minutes before hissing, "I don't want you to leave because you mean a lot to me, okay? Is that such a bad thing?"

She flattened her ears to her head. "I mean a lot to you? Why?" Viperstrike stared at him in shock.

Panthershade looked away, clearly embarrassed. "You're a good cat, Viperstrike. I know you don't think so, but I do. Sure, you can have a bit of a temper and your loyalties are all over the place..." he trailed off for a moments before adding, "but deep down inside you have good intentions. You stick up for what you think is right, and I admire you for that. Not to mention, you're a really good hunter."

Viperstrike blinked a couple of times, unsure of what to say. "That... That was very kind of you," she meowed awkwardly.

Panthershade shrugged. "Thanks," he muttered before standing to his paws. "Now let's go see if we can catch anything."


Viperstrike trudged through the snow with a small rabbit hanging in her jaws. She and Panthershade had spent all afternoon trying to hunt, and this was the only thing they had managed to find. Much like the mouse she had caught earlier, there wasn't very many mouthfuls on the rabbit. I'll take whatever I can find, she thought as she padded into camp.

As she dropped the rabbit onto the fresh-kill pile, she noticed that it had grown slightly since she had left. The longer she stared, she realized that her stomach was starting to ache with hunger. Other cats need it more than I do, she reminded herself as she reluctantly padded away.

As she walked away, Viperstrike decided to go visit her father. Slipping inside the elders den, she saw that he was all alone now that Patchfoot had moved into the medicine cats den. "Have you eaten today?" she asked as she took a seat next to him.

Spiderleg slowly shook his head. "I haven't had much of an appetite," he admitted.

Viperstrike felt her eyes water. "You have to eat anyways," she ordered as she stood back up. "I'll go get you something right now." Before her father could argue, Viperstrike went and grabbed the sparrow off the fresh-kill pile. Dropping it at his paws she said, "I want you to eat the whole thing."

Spiderleg sighed before taking a bite from the bird. "I can't finish it," he rasped as he pushed the bird away.

"You have to!" Viperstrike insisted, pushing the bird back to him. "If you don't, you'll die." The young she-cat's voice shook as she spoke.

"I'm going to die anyways so what's the point," Spiderleg coughed, looking away from his daughter.

Viperstrike lashed her tail back and forth. "I won't let you die! You mean so much to me, and I don't know what I'm going to do without you. I know I abandoned you before, and I'm so sorry for it. Please eat the bird! If not for me, then for Amberclaw. She wouldn't want to see you starve to death like this. She wants you to grow strong and to get better."

Spiderleg gave her a sympathetic look, before taking another bite out of the sparrow. He then took another, and another, before a majority of the bird was gone.

Viperstrike leaned forward and gave her father a lick on the forehead. "Thank you," she breathed into his ear.

A small purr rumbled in her father's throat as he curled back up in his nest. Gazing up at her he whispered, "Thank you for coming back to the Clan. I missed you so much..." The black-and-brown tom started to doze off before he could finish his sentence.

Viperstrike stood there for a few moments, watching him sleep. "I promise I won't run away again. And this time I mean it."


"Patchfoot is dead!"

Viperstrike slowly sat up in her nest. As she made her way out into the clearing, she saw that Nettlebreeze and Hailpaw were dragging the dead elder out from their den. His black-and-white fur was thin and patchy, and his eyes were open and glazed over.

Leafstar, Creekfeather, Honeysplash, Birchflower and Sunheart all gathered around his body.

"He was a good and loyal warrior," Leafstar murmured as she touched her nose to his pelt.

"I'll never forget what a wonderful father he was," Honeysplash whispered, her eyes tearing up. The SkyClan warrior ran her paw through her father's fur as she stared down at him. "I hope you rest in peace," she murmured, before curling up beside him.

Viperstrike's heart ached for Honeysplash as she realized, she too, would have to go through the same thing. The idea of seeing Spiderleg's dead body made Viperstrike feel sick to her stomach. Sighing, she turned and walked out of camp, hoping to clear her mind.

After walking for a few minutes, the black she-cat curled up under a gorse bush. Clumps of snow fell from the branches, landing on her. Viperstrike simply shook it off, too upset to care. As she gazed out across the moorland, she thought about what Panthershade had told her the previous day.

There was something about the gray warrior's tone of voice that made Viperstrike feel slightly suspicious. I feel like there's something he's not telling me, she thought. But what? As she thought about it, she wondered if Panthershade had feelings for her. Even if he did, I don't think I could return those feelings.

While Panthershade was a good friend to her, Viperstrike didn't know if she could ever love him more than a friend, especially since she held such strong feelings for Shadow. And even with her love for Shadow, Viperstrike didn't think she would ever settle down and take a mate. She was far too independent for a serious relationship, and with her father on the brink of death and a greencough epidemic going around, romance was the last thing on her mind.

Sighing, the young warrior decided to return home. When she reached camp, she saw that each cat was giving respect to Patchfoot.

"What's going on?" Mistlekit squeaked as she peered out of the nursery.

"I'll explain it to you when you're older," Webfur meowed as she picked her kit up by the scruff. Mistlekit let out a few squeaks of protest before going limp. Once Webfur was back in the nursery, she put her kit down and curled up around her.

I hope Mistlekit will survive, Viperstrike thought, before looking away.

"Have you given respects to Patchfoot yet?" Panthershade wondered as he walked up.

She shook her head. "I didn't know him very well, so I figured I'd just let those closest to him say their goodbyes."

Panthershade frowned. "I see," he sighed.

"Do you love me?" Viperstrike suddenly asked.

The gray tom's eyes widened. "Huh?" he blurted out, shocked by the question.

"Never mind," she quickly meowed, before padding away.

Panthershade followed after her. "I want to know why you asked that," he said.

Viperstrike flattened her ears to her head. "Just forget I said anything, all right?"

"Please tell me," he begged.

Viperstrike let out a huff before replying, "Fine. I-I was just thinking about what you told me yesterday, and I began to wonder if you secretly had feelings for me or something. It's stupid, I know. Just forget I said anything, okay?"

"I love you as a friend," Panthershade meowed hesitantly. The dark gray tom opened his mouth to say something more, but he quickly shut it. "Besides, you're in love with Shadow so it's not like my feelings matter anyways." Before she could say anything else, Panthershade turned and stalked out of camp.

As Viperstrike watched him go, she felt a pang of sadness in her chest. You don't have time for this nonsense, she reminded herself as she headed towards her nest. You need to focus on keeping your father alive for as long as possible, and nothing more.


Thank you for all of the reviews last chapter! I am really glad that you guys are enjoying the story. This chapter was a bit depressing with all of the deaths, but sadly that sort of thing must happen in these types of conditions. *wipes tear* Also, in case you were wondering, Sunpaw became a warrior shortly after Viperstrike, Panthershade and Flurrypelt. That is why she was mentioned as Sunheart. Also, here are the descriptions for Webfur's kits:

Frogkit - dark brown tabby tom

Cloudkit - tortoiseshell she-cat

Mistlekit - brown tabby she-cat *only survivor*

Frogkit and Cloudkit died about a week after birth, as they were struck with the sickness and they weren't very healthy to begin with. I will tell you now that Mistlekit will be okay. Also to answer Crazy Fennec Fox's question, I plan on Extinction being 35 chapters long, or around that. With that in mind, there should only be seven or so chapters left. I have a lot of free time these next couple of days, so it's possible that I will be able to finish the story in that amount of time. I'm kind of sad that the story is ending, but at the same time I am excited for how it's going to end. I have had the ending planned out for a long time now.

And one last note: Shadow will appear again. I have more plans for him in the future, but I'm afraid he won't show up for a while yet. As always, thanks for reading!