Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors or its characters.
This chapter gets a little dark near the end, but not too bad. Well anyway, you were warned.
Sandstorm followed Rain to a run-down, abandoned twoleg nest, which was separated from all the other nests. Rain had told her none of the BloodClan warriors ever came to this part of Twoleg Place, so they should be safe here. And even though the thought of staying the night in a twoleg nest caused Sandstorm to cringe and made her stomach coil like a snake, she was so tired and her body ached so much, she probably would have went to sleep on the Thunderpath if she had to. Monsters and all.
The two she-cats slipped through a little opening in the side, Sandstorm wincing as the small effort caused fiery pain to shoot through her back where a large wound sat clotted with her dried blood.
"We need to find something to put on our wounds to stop the infection," Rain told her once they got inside.
Instead of replying with a sarcastic remark directed at Rain for pointing out the obvious, Sandstorm just nodded. Her relationship wasn't very stable with her sister and she didn't want to totally destroy it with just one snide comment. "Alright, pretty much all of my wounds have stopped bleeding, but that gash on your shoulder is still bleeding some."
Rain studied her left shoulder. The she-cat she was fighting had claws reinforced with long dog teeth, which had tore a huge chunk from her shoulder. The gash started from the top of her shoulder and continued down almost to her leg. She was actually surprised it wasn't bleeding more.
"Right, so we need cobwebs. Simple enough, there are plenty in here," Rain said, gazing around at the many cobwebs that surrounded them.
"We'll also need something to prevent infection. Do you know where any herbs we can use to keep the infection down might be?"
Rain thought about it a moment. "The last time I came here, which was about a moon ago, I went down to the stream and thought I saw Marigold there."
"The last time? Do you come here often?"
The silver she-cat tried to nonchalantly shrug, but her wounded shoulder protested. "Just to be alone and to think about stuff. Come on, the stream's just over the hill."
Sandstorm watched as her sister limped to the opening and awkwardly scooted through the opening leading to outside. She followed her sister, sudden unease settling in her stomach once again.
Rain led Sandstorm up the hill, and when they got to the top, Sandstorm stared in amazement.
Below the hill was a small stream with clear water that shimmered in the moonlight. The grass was long and lush, and various colorful plants dotted the area. Sandstorm's emerald eyes widened. She could even see rabbits hopping along by the thin tree line beside the stream.
They both made their way down the hill and Sandstorm spotted the bright yellow flower immediately. It was only slightly drooping because it was night, but it would have to do. The two she-cats grabbed a mouthful each and went back to the twoleg nest.
Once they had treated their wounds, Sandstorm decided to go hunting. They hadn't eaten since earlier that evening, and it was almost dawn. The pale ginger she-cat sat up and stretched her cramped muscles. She crept by Rain, who was curled up in a ball asleep, and made her way outside.
After killing two squirrels, a mouse, and a rabbit, she returned to the twoleg nest as the sun began to peak over the horizon. She slipped through the hole in the side and woke Rain. The silver she-cat yawned and walked to her sister.
"You caught all this?" Rain asked, gaping at the pile.
Sandstorm nodded. There was plenty of prey around here, and she wondered why BloodClan didn't just live here instead of the alleys of Twolegplace.
The two sisters ate their food and Rain curled up and went back to sleep. Sandstorm tried to go to sleep, but rest kept evading her. She knew she would need the rest for tonight, but she had too much on her mind. Firestar, how to stop Shadow in her crazy quest for power, and if she was sure she could even trust Rain.
Sandstorm's emerald gaze landed on the silver cat sleeping in front of her. How could she be certain this wasn't all a trick and she was still loyal to Shadow? And what about during the fight with those BloodClan warriors? Rain had blood lust in her eyes, and Sandstorm knew if she hadn't stopped Rain, that cat would have been murdered by her. The thought made Sandstorm shiver, and caused her to lose all remaining hope of sleep.
'No, she can't be a murderer. She told me she's changed, and I have to believe her. She's the only one I can trust right now.'
Rain was covered in blood.
It wasn't her blood, though. She was ripping a cat to shreds with no mercy and evil in her pale blue eyes. Rain leaped off the cat and attacked another, a pale ginger she-cat.
She sunk her teeth into her neck and her body filled with excitement as the struggling cat went limp. But Rain jumped back in horror as she realized who the cat was. It was Sandstorm.
With wide, horrified eyes, she scanned the area around her. She was in a dark clearing, the clouds covering up the moon and crimson blood of several dead cats staining the grass.
"W-what have I done?" she asked to no one in particular.
Then a purr of amusement filled her ears. She looked and saw Shadow standing in front of her, seeming to have come from nowhere. "And you called me the monster."
"What do you mean? I couldn't have..." Rain looked down at her paws, which were soaked in blood. "No..."
"You obviously have no control while in battle. You fight to kill," Shadow grinned wickedly, "I've taught you well."
"No! You're wrong. I'm nothing like you!" Rain yowled, but Shadow only kept grinning.
"Of course not, you're far worse..." And Shadow then disappeared.
Rain's vision began to get fuzzy, and the ground beneath her paws opened up, and she fell into the darkness...
Rain's eyes flew open and her head shot up. Her fur was bristling, and Sandstorm gave her sister a look of both confusion and worry. "Rain, are you alright?"
Rain nodded as her fur settled back down and her heartbeat slowed. "It was just a bad dream."
"Oh. Well, we need to think of a plan for tonight. This is what I was thinking we should do..."
Rain tried to focus on what she was saying, but the silver she-cat's mind kept trailing back off to that dream.
'What have I become?'
I know, it's only a filler chapter. But it still is important. Anyway, please tell me what you think in a review!
Also, I went back and revised the prologue and the first chapter, but didn't change any important plot elements. I'll probably be doing that up to about chapter six, so people won't be discouraged by the awful grammar and spelling I had three years back.
-Friedchicken23