Apprentice and Pregnant 2
Chapter 17: Firepaws Bad Idea
You clean them out their nest
You wait for them to try to rest
Then yank it out their chest
You sell them medicine
You make them think they need
You come around the flowers
But you're a dirty weed
It had been a moon since the horrible incident with old Gray. Laurelpaws bruises and scratches were almost gone, but the memories were still as vivid as ever. The memories hit like stones thrown at her, randomly taking over her mind without her control. He haunted her dreams, making her fear every shadow, every dark corner that she came across. His face appeared on her clanmates, making her flinch at every cat that was close to her. The worst thing about it was his voice. His horrid sneer whispering in her ears, reminding her of what he had done.
I am going to kill you first
And your friends can watch
Oh, won't that be fun?
He was gone, and Laurelpaw was safe now. But she couldn't shake the feeling that he was still there, pushing her into the ground. It was like his presence lurked in the camp, like a snake waiting to strike. Like a storm waiting to happen, the tension was higher than ever.
And the reason for that tension was present amongst all the cats.
Old Gray had escaped.
Laurelpaw flinched painfully as she heard her voice, and she turned quickly to see who was talking to her. It was Swallow Star, holding a mouse in his jaws. Laurelpaw felt angry as she saw the sympathetic look in his eyes. He feels sorry for me, Laurelpaw thought angrily. When is that look going to die in everyone's eyes?
"I brought you something to eat," Swallow Star said, dropping the mouse at her paws. "I thought we could have dinner together."
"I'm not hungry," Laurelpaw said dully, shoving the mouse away. For a heartbeat Old Grays evil face took place of her leaders, and she struggled to push it away.
"Laurelpaw," Swallow Star said sternly, shoving the mouse back over. "You need to eat. Don't think I haven't noticed how little you've eaten lately… you're turning into a skeleton cat."
"What's the point of eating when I'm not hungry?" Laurelpaw mumbled, knowing that was a poor excuse before she even said it. He's just worried about me. But I'm fine! If I don't want to eat, then I don't see the point in it.
"Laurelpaw," Swallow Star said in a low voice. "I hate to have to use my authority on you, but that was an order."
Laurelpaw sighed and glared at Swallow Star before forcing herself to take the tiniest bite of the prey. She chewed it slowly, like it was a rock that was going to break her teeth. Swallow Star watched her until she swallowed it, nodding as if he was satisfied.
"Wanna talk about anything?" Swallow Star asked awkwardly, looking away. He pointed to the mouse again. "Eat it, Laurelpaw. One bite isn't enough."
Laurelpaw grumbled and took another bite, realizing just how hungry she was. She ate the rest of it without having to be asked.
"What should I want to talk about?" Laurelpaw asked glumly.
"You're sad," Swallow Star commented. "And that's totally reasonable, given recent events. I just want to know what would make you feel better."
"You know what would make me feel better," Laurelpaw whispered. "I want Old Gray to be captured."
"We sent out search parties for moons," Swallow Star said gently. "We can't search forever-"
"Well why not?" Laurelpaw cried, shoving away the mouse bones in frustration. "We can't just ignore it and wait for him to come back! He didn't just disappear, Swallow Star… he's going to hurt more cats!"
Swallow Star just stared at her. "I know you're scared-"
"Scared?" Laurelpaw squeaked in a high pitched voice. "I am TERRIFIED! I can't go one second without thinking of that monster!"
"You're safe now," Swallow Star whispered.
"Yeah?" Laurelpaw stood up, not meeting his eyes. "Safe for now, maybe. But what about tomorrow? Or a moon from now? What about then?"
"Laurelpaw-"
"It's kinda like greencough," Laurelpaw said slowly. "When the sickness hits, you get rid of it, don't you?"
"That's a completely different situation," Swallow Star stammered.
"Not really," Laurelpaw growled. "Cause if everyone sat around and didn't do anything about it, the sickness would kill everyone. Old Gray is the greencough. And trust me when I say this, he will infect more cats until he's stopped for good."
"I have an idea," Firepaw said. "Tell me if it's a bad one or not."
"What's your idea?" Silverpaw asked, yawning. "If it's about taking a nap, then I think you're onto something."
"Silverpaw, it's the middle of the day," Firepaw rolled his eyes. "Wake the heck up. You can sleep when you're dead."
"I don't know why I'm so tired," Silver sighed, stifling another yawn. "I was tossing and turning all night."
"So was I," Cracklepaw said, glaring at Firepaw. "But that's because someone was talking in their sleep all freaking night."
"I was having a dream," Firepaw said defensively.
"Whatever," Cracklepaw sighed. "What's your idea, Firepaw?"
"Well," Firepaw said in a cheery voice. "I propose we go out and kill Old Gray."
Silverpaw and Cracklepaw stared at him in disbelief.
"Feel free to jump in anytime now," Firepaw said sarcastically after no one spoke.
"Firepaw," Silverpaw shook his head. "That's a horrible idea."
"Yeah, don't think like that," Cracklepaw said. "That's way too dangerous."
"Come on guys!" Firepaw cried out, jumping around. "Laurelpaw is terrified of him, and for a good reason. She won't relax until he's gone for good."
"I'll go get permission from Swallow Star," Silverpaw rolled his eyes. "Hey, can me and my apprentice friends go out and slay the evil Old Gray? Oh, that's a terrible idea? Are you sure?"
"Don't be an idiot," Firepaw shoved his friend. "I'm not kidding around here."
"Firepaw, stop," Cracklepaw snapped. "We can't do that. It's a suicide mission and you know it."
"Fine, fine," Firepaw started pacing, thinking hard. "Well, okay you're probably right. That's a bit of a dumb thing to do."
"You don't say," Silverpaw mumbled.
"But what if we go find him," Firepaw said in a quiet voice. "We don't gotta go and kill him on sight, if you know what I mean. But maybe, just maybe, if we could stumble across where he's residing… we could come back and Swallow Star could organize a group of warriors to take care of it."
Cracklepaw looked over at Silverpaw, thinking it over. I guess that's not too bad of an idea.
"Please," Firepaw begged. "Laurelpaws scared he's going to come back for her, and I think she has a right to be worried about that."
"Old Gray didn't just vanish off the face of the earth," Silverpaw said slowly, all traces of his earlier sarcasm gone. "And he's right. Old Gray is still out there, and there's a very good chance he'll try something again."
Firepaw looked over at Cracklepaw hopefully.
"Alright, fine," Cracklepaw said at last. Firepaw started jumping around again in excitement.
"But let me make a few thing clear," Cracklepaw said sternly. "We are going out there to look for Old Gray. We're not going out there to kill him. Also, we need to stick together. Splitting up to search would be a terrible idea and we all know it. And lastly, I'm in charge. Which means no funny business, Firepaw. If you start getting all crazy and psycho out there then we're going straight back to camp."
"Fine," Firepaws tail drooped a bit but the spark didn't die from his eyes. "Let's go."
"Walking through the forest, hiding in the trees," Firepaw sang loudly. "I hope Old Gray gets stung by a bunch of bees-"
"Firepaw, can it," Cracklepaw hissed. "We need to focus."
"Sorry," Firepaw mumbled. They walked in silence, ears pricked and senses alert. Cracklepaw looked around, listening for any sign that something was out there in the quiet forest.
"We've been searching for hours," Silverpaw said suddenly. "I don't think he's on Thunderclan territory."
"He might have very well wandered somewhere else," Cracklepaw said, trying to be reasonable. "He most likely took off outta here when Swallow Star had all those search parties going on."
"We can't give up," Firepaw said. But the confidence was gone from his voice, and he stared at the ground.
"We can always try again tomorrow," Cracklepaw said gently, trying to cheer Firepaw up.
"How many times will we say that, we'll try again tomorrow," Firepaw asked quietly. "What if tomorrow is too late?"
"Laurelpaw will be safe," Cracklepaw said, trying to be reassuring. "Swallow Stars got her under strict lock and key. She's not even allowed to leave the camp without three warriors at all times."
"I guess," Firepaw mumbled. "I just wish I could do something… she's so scared all the time."
"Laurelpaws the strongest she cat I know," Silverpaw said. "She'll be okay."
"We should probably get outta here though," Cracklepaw commented, looking over his shoulder. "We're pretty close to the Shadowclan border, and I don't want to risk running into a patrol."
"Speaking of patrols," Silverpaw whispered, ducking down low. "Shit, I think I see one."
Cracklepaw ducked down at once, slithering behind a bush. Firepaw leaped in next to him, crackling a bunch of branches.
"Be quiet!" Cracklepaw snapped. He peered through the branches, noticing a bush was moving on the other side of the border. A set of ears poked out, and Cracklepaw suddenly felt uneasy.
"I don't think that's a patrol," Silverpaw whispered in Cracklepaws ear. "Why would they be in the bushes?"
"I think that's just one cat," Cracklepaw growled. Alarm bells were ringing in his ears, and he realized with a jolt they might of accidentally just achieved their mission.
"Shit, guys," Firepaw said in a scared voice. "Do you think that's Old Gray?"
"We need to get out of here," Silverpaw hissed.
"Everyone calm down," Cracklepaw said slowly, not taking his eyes off the gray ears. "There's three of us and one of him. I don't think he sees us, anyway."
The ears then moved, and a huge gray cat stepped out into the open.
"I take back everything I said before," Firepaw said in a small voice. "Let's get out of here."
"He'll notice us if we move," Cracklepaw spoke through gritted teeth, realizing that they might be trapped. "Just stay still and keep quiet."
The cat took a few steps into Shadowclan territory, but stopped and pricked his ears. He sniffed the air, looking behind his shoulder at the bush the apprentices were in.
"Crap," Cracklepaw hissed, getting up.
"He's coming over here," Firepaw whispered. "What do we do?"
"Well I don't know," Cracklepaw snapped. "This was your stupid idea!"
"I didn't think we'd get this far!" Firepaw wailed.
"Well we did!" Cracklepaw growled.
"You're the leader!" Firepaw cried out. "Think of something!"