For the next half a moon, Darkstripe made repeated trips into ThunderClan territory, stealing whatever prey he could find before rushing back home. Every day, he made sure to bring back enough fresh-kill to feed the entire Clan. By now, he no longer felt guilty about the fact that he was breaking the warrior code. After all, he was doing it for the sake of his own Clan, and wasn't that what being a loyal warrior was all about?
Tigerstar was pleased with him as well. The ShadowClan leader had finally acknowledged his efforts on the second day, telling Darkstripe that he might be somewhat useful after all. Perhaps it wouldn't sound like much of a compliment to an ordinary warrior, but Darkstripe knew that getting a comment such as that out of Tigerstar was as good as it was ever going to get. Besides, if he kept bringing in more prey, maybe he could squeeze a slightly more favorable compliment out of his longtime friend.
Yes, Darkstripe thought in satisfaction. I'm definitely doing the right thing.
A mouse scurried across his path, heading for a pile of berries lying on the ground. Quickly, Darkstripe dropped into the hunting crouch and began to stalk towards it. He kept his pawsteps light, taking extra care not to step on any twigs or leaves that might give away his presence. Once he was about a tail-length away, he leaped forward, sinking his teeth into the rodent's neck. Glancing around to make sure that he hadn't been discovered, he buried the mouse under some leaves before continuing on his way. There were no ThunderClan warriors anywhere in sight; if he was lucky, he could catch a few more pieces of prey before it was time to return to his own territory.
Darkstripe padded through the forest for a little while longer, making sure to stick close to the border so he could flee if necessary. A few moments later, he scented a squirrel somewhere a few fox-lengths to the left. He turned his head to the side. Sure enough, a small squirrel was burrowing through some leaves, nibbling on the nuts and berries scattered about the forest floor.
Stupid squirrel, he thought. I'm standing right next to you, and you aren't even paying attention.
Once again, he dropped into the hunting crouch and began to stalk towards his prey. At the last second, the squirrel seemed to realize that he was there, but it was too late. Before it could do so much as twitch, Darkstripe pounced, killing it with one bite. He buried it under another pile of leaves, glancing up at the sky. It was nearly sunhigh now, which meant that the ThunderClan afternoon hunting patrol would be on its way soon. He would need to find at least three more pieces of prey, but he would have to do so quickly.
Darkstripe continued on through the forest, keeping his senses alert for any sign of wildlife. Try as he might, however, he couldn't pick up even a whiff of prey. He didn't understand it; it was the middle of the day. There should have been plenty of prey scurrying about the forest. Why had everything disappeared? He couldn't have done something to alert anyone.
Then, suddenly, it hit him. The prey must have run away or died in the fire. He had thought that everything had returned since then, but he must have caught most of it already, and there was no telling how long it would be until the rest of the prey finally came back to the forest.
"Fox dung!" Darkstripe swore, lashing his tail in anger.
What was he supposed to do now? Of course, it was just his luck that the forest would somehow run out of prey. He hadn't even thought that was possible. In his fury, Darkstripe slammed his paw against a nearby tree, letting out a howl of pure rage.
Okay, okay, calm down, he tried to tell himself. The prey can't all be gone, can it? Surely that wouldn't be possible. It must just be somewhere deeper in ThunderClan territory, that's all. Maybe Snakerocks will have a few birds that I can catch.
He turned around and started to head off in the direction of the adder-infested rocks. A moment later, however, he hesitated. He was already taking a massive risk just by being in ThunderClan territory; if he went too far in, he wouldn't be able to escape if he was caught. Darkstripe stood idly for a few heartbeats, conflicted on whether or not to go through with his plan or not.
Unfortunately, he ended up waiting a few moments too long. While he was still in the middle of his internal debate, he failed to notice the dark gray kit staring at him from behind. The kit, apparently displeased by the lack of attention he was showing, leaped forward and pounced on his tail.
Letting out a screech of surprise, Darkstripe whirled around, whipping his tail away from the kit. Panting heavily to get over his shock, he stared down at the small scrap of fur. He definitely wasn't one of Fireheart's litter, and he looked to be younger than Bramblekit and Tawnykit. His eyes reminded Darkstripe of Willowpelt's; perhaps she was his mother.
"Hi!" the kit meowed cheerfully. "My name's Rainkit."
"What are you doing here?" Darkstripe hissed.
"I was playing hide and seek with Sootkit and Sorrelkit," Rainkit answered, looking rather proud of himself. "I'll bet I'm going to win this time. They'll never expect me to hide outside of the camp."
Darkstripe didn't know who Sootkit and Sorrelkit were, nor did he care to find out. He was too busy panicking. If he allowed this kit to escape, he would be sure to tell ThunderClan all about the strange cat he had met on their territory. He knew what kits were like; they couldn't keep their mouths shut about anything. Even if one bribed them with all the fresh-kill they could want, they would never be able to keep a secret for long.
What am I supposed to do? he thought, lashing his tail as he paced back and forth. Rainkit watched him curiously, his head tilted to the side.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Shut up!" Darkstripe raged, turning on the smaller tom. "Just shut up!"
Rainkit backed away, letting out a terrified squeak as he turned around and started to race back in the direction of the ThunderClan camp. Without thinking, Darkstripe lunged forward and snatched the small kit up in his jaws. The dark gray kitten squirmed and wailed in protest, but he refused to let go, searching for a way to dispose of him. Bringing him back to ShadowClan wasn't an option; he couldn't afford to do anything that might link Rainkit's disappearance with his Clan.
A monster appeared suddenly, barreling down the Thunderpath. At once, Darkstripe saw his chance. He waited until the monster was a mere fox-length away from him. Then, at the last second, he flung Rainkit into its path. Dazed by the impact of hitting the Thunderpath, the dark gray tom was unable to get out of the way in time. His small body was crushed underneath the monster's large black paws.
When the monster had disappeared, Darkstripe padded forward and sniffed at Rainkit's body. The kit's eyes were open but sightless, and his body was bent at an angle that shouldn't have been possible. There was no doubt that he was dead.
Quickly, Darkstripe gathered the fresh-kill he had caught and raced back towards his own territory. A patrol was probably on its way to find Rainkit, and he couldn't afford to be seen at the scene of the crime. He had only been doing what he had to do, but he knew that they would never understand. That was the problem with ThunderClan warriors; they were too obsessed with the warrior code. Rainkit had gotten in the way of him doing his duty to Tigerstar, so he had been forced to do away with him. In the end, that was all there was to it.
Fireheart was woken from an afternoon nap by the sound of screaming coming from the nursery. Terrified that something had happened to Sandstorm or one of his kits, he jumped out of his nest and rushed outside. A group of warriors stood outside the nursery, all of them looking around anxiously.
"What happened?" Fireheart demanded, bounding over to them. Bluestar padded over as well, abandoning the vole she had been eating.
"Rainkit is gone!" Willowpelt wailed. "Sorrelkit and Sootkit told me they were playing hide and seek, but they never found him! I looked all around the nursery, but he's not here!"
Bluestar was quick to spring into action. "Dustpelt, Ravenflight, search every den," she ordered. "Runningwind and Mousefur, you two check the area for any enemy scents. Everyone else, make sure the kits stay in the nursery until we find Rainkit."
"Swiftrunner, Brightheart, and Frostfur come with me," Fireheart meowed. "We'll take a patrol and check to see if Rainkit is anywhere else on ThunderClan territory."
"Alright, Fireheart," Frostfur meowed, Swiftrunner and Brightheart echoing her words.
Willowpelt stood up. "I'm coming too," she told him.
"I need you to stay here and take care of your other kits," Fireheart meowed gently. He understood Willowpelt's worry, but it wouldn't do for her to leave Sorrelkit and Sootkit alone. "If someone stole Rainkit, they might come back for Sorrelkit and Sootkit as well. They need you here to protect them."
The pale gray queen shook her head. "They have the other queens to protect them," she insisted. "I need to find out what happened to my son, Fireheart. I'm coming whether you like it or not!"
Realizing it wouldn't do any good to argue, Fireheart flicked his tail in agreement and led the way through the gorse tunnel. The rest of the patrol followed behind him, sniffing around for any sign of Rainkit's scent trail. Fireheart thanked StarClan that it had been a clear day; at the very least, the trail couldn't have been washed away. They should still be able to follow it long enough to figure out where Rainkit had gone.
A few tail-lengths ahead, Swiftrunner suddenly yowled, "I found it! He came this way!"
Willowpelt rushed over to him, overtaking the younger warrior as she raced off in the direction of Rainkit's scent trail. Fireheart and the rest of the patrol followed behind more slowly, keeping their eyes peeled to see if Rainkit was playing anywhere nearby. But there was nothing in sight except the usual birds, trees, and mice.
"Does the scent trail keep going?" Fireheart called out to Willowpelt.
"Yes, it does," she called back.
"How far could he have gone?" Frostfur murmured.
As they continued on their way, a pit of dread began to form in Fireheart's stomach. No one seemed to know how long Rainkit had been missing for, but from the looks of things, it had been quite some time. He could very well have been eaten by foxes or kidnapped by Twolegs at this point. Then he shook his head, scolding himself for even letting the thought cross his mind. He had to believe that Willowpelt's son was safe, at least for the Clan's sake.
Maybe things will be alright, Fireheart thought optimistically. After all, we haven't picked up any fox or badger scent. That has to be a good sign, right?
Soon, however, his cautious optimism faded away. Rainkit's trail was leading them directly to the ShadowClan border. He sniffed around, hoping that the trail would veer off into another direction, but it never did. As he was checking the area, a few paces away, Brightheart suddenly came to a stop.
"Do you smell that?" the ginger and white molly asked urgently. "There's ShadowClan scent here. It's the same warrior that's been hunting on our territory!"
Fireheart tasted the air and realized that the younger warrior was right. The ShadowClan trespasser had indeed returned, and from what he could gather, they had been there only recently. If he had to guess, he would say that it had only been a few hours since they had left.
Suddenly, Willowpelt let out a shrill scream before sinking into a dead faint. Alarmed, Fireheart rushed over to the pale queen, wondering what she had seen that had provoked such a reaction from her. He scanned the surrounding area, but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"Great StarClan, no!" Brightheart exclaimed, staring at something on the Thunderpath.
Fireheart followed her gaze to see where she was looking. His heart stopped cold. Lying in the middle of the Thunderpath, barely visible and nearly blending in with the treacherous path, was the still, broken body of Rainkit.