The next day Sunfur sent me on a hunting patrol with Orangestripe and Fluffstorm, a fluffy mottled brown tom. He said he wanted me to get used to being with warriors. Bluepaw wanted to come with me, but she was sent on a border patrol to check out the border. Sunfur would show it to me later. Graypaw and Lionpaw were asleep from being on the moonhigh patrol.

"Okay Phoenixpaw, Sunfur wants me to keep an eye on you. Show me what you can do." Fluffstorm instructed. I opened my mouth slightly to catch the scent of prey. Instead, a strong, rank scent made me gag.

"Fluffstorm? What is that?"

Fluffstorm opened his mouth wide. Suddenly, his eyes flooded with fear and anger. "Fox! And not far too." Taking another gulp of air, he twitched his ears to where the smell was coming from. "It has a den nearby," he whispered. He climbed a ridge to overlook the grassy clearing. Instantly he ducked again. He waved his tail urgently to show that it was there. Orangestripe nodded and whispered something to him that I couldn't catch.

Orangestripe slunk through the brambles to flank it. I could see it now. It was long and reddish, with a big, fluffy tail and a wedge-shaped face. That's a fox? I wondered. It's snout is UGLY! A battle cry rumbled deep in Fluffstorm's throat as he jumped from his hiding place to confront it.

"This is our territory!" he hissed. "Out, or you don't want to know what will happen to you!"

Orangestripe turned to me. "Stay back, you're still a new apprentice. I don't want to go to camp and say 'sorry Sunfur, a fox gobbled up your apprentice'? Don't think so. He lunged at it, his teeth buried in it's throat.

Fluffstorm slashed at it's eyes. Ignoring Orangestripe's instructions, I leaped on it's back, biting it's shoulder. He shot a glare at me, but couldn't say anything with his teeth in it's neck. The fox twisted and slashed Fluffstorm's flank. He yowled and lay still in the dust, bleeding heavily.

"Fluffstorm!" I yowled, completely forgetting the fox. The fox snapped at Orangestripe and landed another heavy blow, before retreating to it's den. They both were sprawled on the ground. "Are you all right?" When there was no answer, my voice became a high-pitched squeak. "Guys?"

Neither if them were moving, and both had only received one wound, but they were both deep. "Spottedleaf! Sunfur! Pinestar, anybody! Somebody, please help! Fluffstorm...and...and Orangestripe! Their hurt!" No reply. I tentatively touched them. They were both cold, and their eyes were glazed and stared blankly at the sky. Anger welled up inside me. Why would Starclan allow this? "Why are you so cruel?" I cried to the starry spirits above, but they didn't answer.

Maybe...What if they're not warrior ancestors. Are they just petty balls of light? One by one, the lights became blotted out. I looked around, confused. The night was as dark as it had been, so the sun wasn't rising, and the sky was still clear of clouds. Then I saw Fluffstorm and Orangestripe in front of me. They looked at the peak of health. Their pelts were clean of the wounds that were so bad on them. In fact, they were sparkling with stars.

They both glared at her, and the next moment, they were gone. Now, she was walking in a dark, misty forest. No stars lit the way, but instead, the path was lit by the eerily glowing moss growing on the trunks. The trees grew closely together and their trunks were bare of any leaves, and they went as high as the eye could see. I padded along this forest for a while, trying to figure out where I was, when I ran into a she-cat. It was too misty to see what she looked like, but all I could see where the glowing, amber eyes.

"Welcome Phoenixpaw," she purred.

"Where?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't know, is this Starclan?"

Before she could answer, a female voice spoke up behind me. "Mapleshade, leave this apprentice alone," she hissed.

"Lickingflame? What are you doing here?" Mapleshade growled.

"I have come to show Phoenixpaw something," Lickingflame answered evenly, not even flinching at the evil tone.

"Don't listen to her Phoenixpaw," Mapleshade warned.

I flipped around, realizing that even with the heavy mist, Lickingflame was shining bright enough to see. I became uneasy, knowing that Mapleshade didn't possess that glow. I shivered. Wherever this was, it wasn't Starclan. "Phoenixpaw, this place is for cats who don't deserve entry into Starclan. Ones who have lied and murdered to many times to count just for the feeling of blood on their paws."

"Stay with me, you'll be treated better than ever here."

I shot a glare at Lickingflame. What could she promise? "No, come back to where you belong," Lickingflame pleaded. I snorted. Was she that determined?

"No, I'm staying." I muttered.

"What?" Lickingflame meowed sounding surprised and disappointed at the same time.

"Good, good," Mapleshade purred, sounding evilly pleased. "Now, a test to prove your loyalty." She looked at me closely. "Kill her."

"How? She's already dead."

"Your young and foolish, we'll soon change that. Every warrior fades eventually, unless, someone kills their spirit first. They'll fade instantly, now back to business. Kill her."

I turned to her. "Phoenixpaw! She's a killer, why do you think she's here?"

"How do I know your not the killer? You took Fluffstorm and Orangestripe away!" I lunged for her. She didn't even try to dodge, she just stood there like a statue.

"Phoenixpaw, you don't know what your doing! Your a great cat!"

Huh, empty praise. I buried my teeth in her neck, until she fell to my claws. I stepped back and watch her convulsing body. "Why Phoenixpaw? What did you think you have accomplished?"

"Ridding the world of a murderer." I hissed. Her life blood poured onto the grass of the misty forest. Eventually, she rapidly began to fade, the only thing left was the stain of blood on the ground, which was disappearing now. My paws were still soaked through and my mouth tasted of blood.

"Excellent," Mapleshade praised. "Now, one more thing," she pounced on my back.

I gave a yowl of alarm. "What are you doing?"

"If your to be with us, you need to be dead, like everybody else."

I flailed my outstretched claws at her, a couple on her shoulder, some on her flank, but she didn't let go of my neck. One of my claws pierced her throat, and she fell on top of me. I scrambled out from under the weight, and now she too faded away. Everything that happened came flooding back to me, making my mind cringe at the thought of finding out what Starclan would do to me.

What have I done? But that wasn't all. I had many claw marks on my flank, and a nasty bite on my throat. My legs began to weaken as blood, now mine, stained yet another part of the grass red, and I fell to the ground, giving in to a comforting blackness that swept over me like a wave.