Chapter 46: The Alpha

Sundusk joined Robinwhisper, Dewdusk, and Ridgewhisper. Their eyes turned on Darkshard expectantly.

Shatterbreeze, the last to be called, stepped forward as pride swelled in her chest.

"Shatterbreeze, you have proven by your hunting, tracking, and battle skills that you have a place in this clan, and I happily pronounce you a warrior of Bloodclan, and because you placed in the top three, I promote you to Elite warrior-ship! Your new name is Shatter!"

"Shatter, Shatter, Shatter!" Cats cried out, Star being the loudest. Star and Shatter, along with Stone, joined the Elites. Shatter settled next to them, casting a sideways glance at her brother. Wolfscar stood next to Ashface, her belly swollen with kits. Shatter had forgotten she was due, and Tiger had taken Leafface for a mate. He had fallen hard for the she cat, and she was beginning to return the love. He had waited, never pressured her into anything like most toms would have in the clan, and Shatter respected that. They were a cute pairing.

"As for the others. Wolfscar, Blazescar, Swiftface, Kestrelface, Lynxface, and Mistface, you have lost in the fight. Toms, you will follow Chill, a few of the Elites, and myself to face your new task. New Unchoosens, welcome to your new den." The shes were herded into the den, and Owl and Chill pushed a rock in front of the entrance, just enough to leave a crack an eye-wide.

"What's that for?" Wolfscar asked.

"There's less Elites in the camp. Can't be too careful." Chill briefly explained, almost snapping at the orange tom.

Darkshard yowled, and the group gathered by the camp entrance. Silver, Sand, and Tiger stayed behind, and everyone else, including Stone, Star, and Shatter, left, following Darkshard into the forest. They broke into a run, flowing through the forest like a stream, weaving around trees and plants only to come back to the group. Soon, the Highstones loomed toward them, was even with them, fell behind them. The faint scent that hit Shatterbreeze's flared nose made every hair on her body stand on end.

"What's that?" she whispered, but no sooner than the words tumbled of her tongue, the answer stood in front of her. The area was enclosed by a high fence topped with broken glass and a silver vine with thorns. The two wooden gates hung open, and from the other side of the road, Shatter could see a small Twoleg den and beyond it the tottering piles of dead and broken monsters. Everything seemed to have been stripped away and only the rusting carcasses remained, heaped one on top of the other, waiting to be fed into the crusher.

Then another underlying stench welled up. It was a musky, pungent odor. It was sickly and vile, smelling of a mixture of mud, crowfood, and infection. Across the wasteland, cunning lupine eyes were fixed on its meal. Its shoulder bore a deep gash, smelling of rotting flesh. Great dripping slack jowls left a puddle of saliva under its huge muzzle. It attacked its bone like a ravenous wolf. The underfed mutt was held by a rusty chain, his thin brown fur wild and unkempt.

"See that? He is called Alpha, and you two are going to get rid of him."

"What?!" yelped Blazescar. "You can't be serious! I'd rather take on a monster on Thunderpath that that brute!"

Chill hissed. "If you can't fight cats, settle for dogs. Toughen up!"

Wolfclaw steadied his shaking legs. "Co-come on, Blazescar. We can do this."

Blazescar trembled as he followed Wolfclaw into a hole in the fence. The two cats disappeared behind a trash pile, and Shatter started to pace, frantic. Soon, Blazescar reappeared, with Wolfscar on the other side. Wolfscar flicked his tail, and the two rushed toward the dog. Alpha's amber eyes snapped to attention, and he shot onto all fours, lunging out. Blazescar screeched as Alpha lunged for him. Dodging, he stumbled a few tail-lengths back, into a pile of broken glass. He howled as tiny bits of shards lodged themselves in his paw. Alpha looked at him, anger aflame in his eyes, his eyes swimming with hatred.

Wolfclaw took the opportunity to leap onto the creatures back, tearing his claws into any skin he could. Alpha tried to turn and snap at the tom, making himself spin in wild circles. Blazescar quickly recovered, sinking his fangs into Alpha's shoulder. Shatter realized his mistake too late.

"Blazescar! Watch out!"

Alpha's head whipped to the side, smacking Blazescar right in the face. Blazescar flew, and Wolfclaw lost his grip as well. Wolfclaw landed on his paws, seeing the dog go toward Blazescar. Wolfclaw enclosed his jaws around the dog's thin, wiry tail. The dog howled in pain, a murderous look in its eyes.

The dog lundged once, and the snap of metel sounded out. Alpha ran after Wolfclaw, his yellow fangs right on the cat's tail. Wolfclaw twisted and turned to avoid the jaws of the dog, but his movements were clumsy. Blazeclaw saw that Wolfclaw was getting tired, and knew was what going to happen. He charged and leapt at the face of the dog. Alpha growled, shaking off the cat and snapped, catching Wolfclaw's leg in his jaws. Shatter let out a shriek.

Wolfclaw screamed as the dog bit down. It shook his head from side to side, and Wolfclaw went flying again. He landed on his stomach, blinking rapidly and slightly swaying as if a soft breeze was blowing him. A deep half-bark, half-growl, followed by a scream of pure agony, brought his attention back to reality.

Blazeclaw had been trapped under the mutt's oversized paws, and his stomach was bleeding heavily. The mutt's jaws tore into his soft belly. Alpha's eyes held no mercy whatsoever as he sunk his teeth into Blazescar over and over and over. His intent was clear: death.

Shatter had no clue who the screams belonged to, and the crimson was all she saw. Soon, Alpha's head hung, the same red liquid spilling onto the motionless body of Blazescar, his eyes glazed over staring at nothing. Wolfclaw was on the other side, dragging Blazescar over, his bloody claws and paws leaving a red trail.

Red, red, nothing but red. A bloody sunset, a wave of blood. Blood. Too much blood.

The ground rushed up to meet Shatter before her eyes succumbed to the darkness.

"That's the thing about pain. It demands to be felt." -Augustus Waters, Fault in our Stars

Another rough week. Sorry guys.

QotC: Who is your favorite Shatter/Shard pairing? (Besides StonexShatter)