Apprentice and Pregnant 2
Chapter 18: Lull
Won't you come out
I've been waiting for you
Holding my breath
Till my body turned blue
We've got everything to lose
Yeah I'm waiting on you
Cracklepaw watched feverishly as Old Gray looked around slowly, clearly aware of their presence. His mind raced, spinning at an alarming rate to think of something, anything, to get them out of there. A few lame plots crossed his thoughts, but none were even remotely doable. All he could do was watch, feeling sick to his stomach as Old Gray turned around and stared at the bush they were hiding in.
"Is someone there?" Old Gray called out, voice hard and angry.
"I have an idea," Firepaw whispered under his breath. "I'll distract him, you two attack."
"Wait, what-" Cracklepaw started to ask, stopping abruptly as Firepaw suddenly leaped from the bush. "Firepaw, get back here!"
It was too late. Firepaw ran out of the hiding spot, stalking up to Old Gray with his tail high in the air.
"Idiot," Silverpaw hissed, looking very scared. "He's gonna get himself killed."
"Not if we can help it," Cracklepaw growled, hissing with annoyance as he prepared to leap out of the bush as well. "Come on, Silverpaw. We don't have a choice."
Old Gray spotted Firepaw at once, and he flattened his ears. He seemed to stand up even straighter, his great size looming above Firepaws small figure. All Cracklepaw could do was watch as Old Gray took a step forward, towering over Firepaw like a lion standing next to a mouse.
Time seemed to stop for a moment.
Starclan, where are you now?
Thornpaw shook his head in agitation, feeling frustrated for no good reason. Anxiety was crawling through his bones, making him feel feverish as though he had caught some sort of sickness.
"Dude, what's wrong?" Berrypaw asked, pausing suddenly. His head was cocked to the side as if he was curious, his eyes narrowed. "You've been distracted all day."
"Yeah, I've noticed that too," Redpaw chimed in, speeding up a bit to catch up with his friends. "Is there something wrong?"
"No," Thornpaw mumbled, not knowing how to explain his irrational fear that something was wrong. "I just feel a bit out of it, that's all."
"I noticed that when you failed to catch two mice in a row," Berrypaw scoffed, shooting a look at Redpaw. "It's like you're half asleep on your paws or something."
"Did you not sleep well last night?" Redpaw asked in a worried voice. "Did you have bad dreams?"
"No," Thornpaw mumbled, feeling embarrassed. His face felt hot under his fur, and he struggled to push away his growing anxiety. What the hell is wrong with me?
"Well, maybe being back in the camp for a bit will make you feel better," Berrypaw said, looking up at the sinking sun. "We've been out all day, and we've caught plenty."
"Yeah I'm about ready to go back," Redpaw put in, yawning as he talked. He leaned down to pick up the prey he had caught. "Let's head back to the camp."
Thornpaw just nodded, and followed his friends through the trees on the trail that led them into the heart of Shadowclan territory. He tried to stop his mind from spinning, thinking of five or six things at once at a time. Gibberish words seemed to shout in his ears, as if someone was trying to talk to him when he was underwater. Memories flashed in his frustrated mind, bits and pieces of pointless flashbacks jumbled together in a vicious swirl of anxiety.
Starclan, is this your way of trying to tell me something?
If it is, you're doing a very good freaking job!
Thornpaw, lost in thought, stumbled over a tree root. He barely caught himself, just heartbeats away from tripping to the ground. He could see Redpaw and Berrypaw staring at him out of the corner of his eyes, but he ignored it.
A vivid ringing had started in his ears, and it wouldn't stop.
"Thornpaw, get it together," Berrypaw snapped. "You're freaking us out."
"Yeah man," Redpaw said in a scared voice. "I'm getting kinda worried."
"Don't you hear that?" Thornpaw asked, shaking his head. The ringing didn't stop, and it was getting louder. Thornpaw didn't know how he was going to bear it much longer, and he groaned.
"Yeah I hear it," Berrypaw said flatly, narrowing his eyes. "It's the sounds of insanity. Can we go back to the camp now, or do you want to stop and trip over some more roots before we get going?"
"Shut up," Thornpaw hissed, gritting his teeth as the ringing got louder.
"Hey wait," Redpaw said suddenly, pricking his ears. "I think I hear something too."
"Oh, don't you start too," Berrypaw sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. "This is started to get really freaking old, can we please just go back to the camp and-"
He stopped talking midsentence, shutting his mouth with a snap. He pricked his ears just like Redpaw had done, and looked around.
"It's coming from over there," Redpaw nodded his head in the direction of the eastern border, the one that drew the line between Shadowclan and Thunderclan territory.
"I hear voices," Berrypaw said after a moment. "Could it be a patrol?"
And then, just like that, the ringing in Thornpaws ears stopped.
"Snakestars evening patrol already went out earlier," he whispered, feeling like something was wrong all over again. He hoped with all his heart the terrible ringing wouldn't come back.
"Let's go check it out," Berrypaw said, turning around briskly in his tracks. "It's probably nothing, but I want to be sure."
"Ugh," Redpaw sighed and followed him; looking as though that was the last thing he wanted to be doing. Thornpaw followed them, fighting anxiety and shoving away his spinning thoughts.
I have a strange feeling about this
There's something over there, I know it.
And it's not going to be good
Laurelpaw was getting worried. It was getting dark, and her brothers and Firepaw were nowhere to be found. She paced around the camp, peering into the apprentices den for what felt like the hundredth time. An empty den met her unsurprised gaze, and she sighed and looked back towards the open clearing. Where are you guys?
"Looking for someone?" Ivypaws high pitched voice sounded behind her. Laurelpaw turned to look at her friend, who was looking at her with a concerned expression.
"Have you seen Firepaw anywhere?" She asked at once, ignoring her question. "Or my brothers?"
"They left a little while ago," Ivypaw said, narrowing her eyes as she saw the freaked out expression on Laurelpaws face. "I'm sure they just went for a walk, Laurelpaw. Why do you look so freaked out-?"
"Because it's not safe out there," Laurelpaw cut her off. "What if they run into Old Gray?"
"That seems unlikely," Ivypaw scoffed. "Not to mention unrealistic. Besides, there's three of them. What's Old Gray gonna do?"
"There was three of us, weren't there?" Laurelpaw hissed, gritting her teeth as she thought of the retched day when Old Gray had hurt her. "He seemed to get along just fine being outnumbered then."
"Laurelpaw," Ivypaws light tone turned sad, and she looked at her friend with a painful expression. "You can't be scared forever."
"He's still out there," Laurelpaw said miserably, looking down at her paws. She felt like she was going to cry, and she fought to hold back tears. "And he's not going to go away. I feel it in my bones, Ivypaw. He's dangerous. He wants Whitepaw."
"But you can't run forever!" Ivypaw protested in a frustrated voice. "That's no way to live… always looking over your shoulder, jumping at every noise. You're terrified, and I understand why. But that's exactly what Old Gray wants, for you to be scared. And you're letting him win!"
Laurelpaw thought about this, hanging her head as she realized Ivypaw was right. She knew she was being irrational, but she couldn't help it. I will not feel at peace until Old Gray is taken down… but that's so unrealistic too! Swallow Star had search parties out looking for him for nearly a moon… what chance is there that we'd find him now?
He's smarter than us
He knows when we're coming, and he knows when to hide
Always one step ahead of us
Always one step ahead of me
A loud noise distracted her suddenly, and she snapped out of her terrible thoughts. She looked behind Ivypaw, confused. Tigerstripe and a few other warriors were hurrying towards each other, clustered together in a tight group. They looked very stressed out, whispering amongst each other urgently. Ivypaw looked behind her, noticing it too.
"What's going on over there?" She asked, turning back to Laurelpaw with a puzzled look on her face. "They look like they've seen a ghost."
"That's the evening hunting patrol," Laurelpaw exclaimed with dread, noticing that they were all the cats she had seen Swallow Star select earlier. She noticed Pinepaw within the group, and she caught her eye.
"Come here," Pinepaw mouthed the words from across the clearing. Laurelpaw made her way over at once; her heart beating in her ribcage like someone had thrown in a bunch of rocks. Ivypaw followed her, and Laurelpaw quickened her pace as anxiety suddenly shot through her veins.
"What's going on?" Laurelpaw asked as soon as she was in earshot. "Why are you all so-"
"Swallow Star, there's trouble on the Shadowclan border," Tigerstripe interrupted her, calling out loudly to his leader who was just padding out of his den. Swallow Star picked up on the stress at once, and he ran over with a concerned look on his face.
"What's going on?" he asked in alarm. "Tigerstripe, what are you talking about?"
"There's no time to explain," Tigerstripe said in a rush, looking more stressed by the second. "Come on, we need to go. Now."
"Explain on the way," Swallow Star nodded.
"What's happening?" Laurelpaw cried, feeling very scared. She had a sinking feeling that her brothers and Firepaw were linked to all the commotion, and terror shook through her.
"Let's go," Tigerstripe ignored her again and made his way to the entrance, the rest of the warriors behind him. Laurelpaw ran to catch up, but she was quickly stopped by Snowsong.
"You need to stay here," she said quickly.
"Why?" Laurelpaw demanded, trying to push past her. Snowsong was quick, and stopped her just before she could get around her.
"Laurelpaw, please," Snowsong begged, staring at her with pleading eyes. "You need to stay in the camp."
"This is about Old Gray, isn't it," Laurelpaw felt as though all the blood had drained from her body. "Where is Firepaw-"
"He's in trouble, Laurelpaw!" Pinepaw cried out from behind Snowsong. Snowsong hissed and angrily glared at the apprentice. "Pinepaw, leave it alone!"
"Old Gray found him, and your brothers," Pinepaw ignored her and nearly started crying, shaking on her paws. "Cracklepaw and Silverpaw are fighting him off, but Old Gray is stronger and-"
"What do you mean; Cracklepaw and Silverpaw are fighting him off?" Laurelpaw asked with dread, realizing with a heart wrenching jolt that Pinepaw had not said Firepaws name. "Is Firepaw okay?"
Pinepaw didn't reply, and started to cry, shaking even more. Laurelpaw stared up at Snowsong, realizing she had her answer. It felt like her heart was breaking inside her, and she felt dizzy. But she didn't break her gaze with the warrior, staring at her without speaking.
"Fine," Snowsong whispered, stepping aside. "You can come, Laurelpaw. But I warned you."
"He's not dead," Laurelpaw whispered. The thought alone was nearly enough to send her into complete hysterics. "He can't be dead."
"If you're coming, we need to go now," Snowsong said, ignoring what Laurelpaw had said with dull eyes. "But you're not going to like what you see."
a/n: Cliffhanger ending again, I know! I'm sorry! I'm writing the next chapter now though, and it will be posted later today.