Yay! Another chapter! I had a sudden spurt of inspiration for this book and decided to try and continue on with this chapter! So I have dedicated this weekend to writing Crimson Moon and playing Sims!

Another chapter is unlikely..but it could happen!

Anyway I just want to say this in regard to Hawkfrost;

Even the darkest hearts can hold love for another.

Read and enjoy my Duckies!

*~*~*If you believe that the stars hold hearts then death is simply another stage of life*~*~*

Chapter 11: Always

A sharp screech pulled Galesong from her deep and peaceful sleep, the first dreamless sleep she had had since arriving in the Dark Forest. She raised her head, blinking her eyes to chase the fuzziness of sleep away. "Did you hear that?" mumbled Nightfall from across the cramped den.

"Yeah," Galesong replied. "Any idea what it was?" She looked over at her Clan mate and a wave of realisation washed over her. They only had tomorrow left before the Games would start. Only one last day to spend with the Clan mates they had known since kit hood. Time was running out for all but one of them. Soon only one of them would remain standing. Remain victorious over the dark hold of the Dark Forest. They would return home to their family and Clan whilst the rest…the rest perished, never to see or speak to their loved ones again. Snakepaw..if you're there, if you're listening to me. Help me! I want to go home but..but I want to be with you too! Help me make the right decision. I know you're up in those vast stars somewhere. Please. Help me.

Nightfall shook his black head, "No idea."

"I'm going to go look. See you later, Nightfall." Galesong pulled herself to her paws and trotted out of the den. She lapped at her shoulder, smoothing down the ruffled fur from her peaceful sleep. As she groomed her eyes searched for the source of the loud screech. They came to rest on a very angry looking Badgerstrike, who was glaring at Burningmoon. Galesong braced herself for another fight to break out. But Burningmoon just walked away.

Galesong watched as the ginger tom strode over to the fresh kill pile, grabbed a mouse and began to eat it. Badgerstrike just started after him with a dumfounded expression on his face. It was as if he had wanted Burningmoon to attack him. It was a scary thought. "Morning, Galesong," came Sinkingsun's voice.

"Good morning, Sinkingsun," Galesong replied kindly, turning to face the lithe she-cat. "How was your sleep?"

Sinkingsun lowered her eyes. "Filled with nightmares."

"I think most of our dreams have been filled with those over these past few days," Galesong sympathised. The yellow warrior sighed and nodded.

"Thank you, Galesong. If you don't mind I'm going to get something to eat," Sinkingsun murmured and walked over to the fresh kill pile. As soon as she sat down a dark tabby slipped from the surrounding shadows. The stranger's icy blue eyes flashed in the dimness and Galesong raised her hackles as she realised who it was.

Hawkfrost sat down beside Sinkingsun, their fur just touching. It made Galesong shiver knowing that the dead were becoming involved with the living. She was certain that Hawkfrost was playing with Sinkingsun, toying with her emotions, worming his way into her comfort zone. It could only mean bad news.

"No cat wants to spend time with you?" a soft voice murmured. "Do they?"

Galesong whipped around, claws unsheathed and hackles raised, only to relax them slightly when she saw Ivypool's dark blue eyes. "The feelings between us are mutual," she responded cautiously.

"Mutual?" Ivypool repeated in her silky tone.

"We want to be friends and get to know each other but we also know that friendships between us will lead to weakness and ultimately death," Galesong hissed.

A malicious smile spread across Ivypool's jaw. "Indeed. But friendships can path the way to victory. You use them, manipulate them, and kill them when the time is right."

Galesong gaped at Ivypool with shock. "Well, now I know why you are in this dreadful place. But I would like to know what happened to your ears, they look like two leaves torn apart my kits."

"My story is not one to tell. It happened in the past and will stay in the past for the rest of eternity," Ivypool spat. Galesong glared at the white she-cat as she stalked away, tail held high.

As the contestants gathered around Ivypool to be taken to their next lesson, Galesong watched Ivypool closely. She was fairly surprised when she saw how sad and dim Ivypool's eyes were. Her story would be an interesting one to learn.

XxXxXxXxXx

Berrypaw entwined her tail with Screech's, purring at his warmth. She had never felt this way about another cat before, especially one from another Clan. For the first time in a while she felt content whenever she was with him. "What are you thinking about?" Screech rumbled.

"Just how lucky I am," Berrypaw replied.

Screech purred and licked her muzzle. He then stopped and looked at her with sudden serious. "You'll always be with me, right?"

"Always."

XxXxXxXxXx

Thorntail padded into the training clearing behind Shadepaw. A cold wind blew over them, piercing their fur and chilling their very bones. He was certain that it had been growing colder as every day passed. Maybe they're just letting us know how cold it is to die. He shook the thought away. His mother had always told him that positive thoughts can change the world. If only they could now.

As his paws hit the soft sandy floor he looked around for their teacher, surprised to find that there was no High Star sitting in the middle. "Who's our teacher today?" Badgerstrike growled at Ivypool.

Ivypool curled her lip at him, "You have no teacher for today. Instead it is up to you all to train each other in battle. Get into groups, share battle moves and teach each other the moves that might save their life in days to come."

Badgerstrike sent Burningmoon an icy cold look that was filled with malice and murder. Nightfall stepped between the two toms. "You two will be in separate groups," he warned. "Understand?"

"Yes. I will obey your order," Burningmoon dipped his head and moved away from Badgerstrike. The black tom hissed at Nightfall before stalking over to the middle of the training clearing.

Ivypool watched them with amused eyes. "I will leave you alone now. Remember, we don't want any deaths until you are playing the Game!" Then the reserved she-cat was gone, slinking away into the shadows like a ghost.

"Burningmoon, Galesong, Shadepaw and Tinder," Nightfall called. "You will be one group."

"Screech, Shadepaw, Thorntail and Sinkingsun, you will be another." Screech gave a sad look to Berrypaw, untangling his tail from her and moving away to join his group.

"Berrypaw, Thornfoot, Badgerstrike and I will be the last group. Try not to draw blood, I'd rather not have someone die of infection," Nightfall ordered.

The groups padded over to different parts of the training clearing and began showing each other different moves. Thorntail pinned Screech to the ground, slicing his sheathed paw across the apprentice's neck. "You're dead."

"I wasn't ready!" Screech protested.

Sinkingsun shoved the apprentice heavily, causing Screech to topple over. "You're enemies in the Game aren't going to warn you of their attack. You must be on guard all the time, ready to fight for your life against another cat," she purred. "Try and copy this move."

She looked over at Thorntail for a split second and then leaped; her powerful back legs carrying her over the short distance between her and Thorntail. She landed just in front of Thorntail, lashed out with her paws and watched as Thorntail stumbled and fell, revealing his underbelly to Sinkingsun. "Its game over if your enemy pushes you over."

Screech gaped at Sinkingsun with awe. He didn't know anyone in his Clan who was as strong as or stronger than the yellow she-cat. "Can I try it?" he asked. Sinkingsun nodded and Screech got into position and waited for Thorntail to scramble to his paws. As soon as Thorntail was standing on four paws, Screech leapt across the clearing, landing a few paw steps behind where Sinkingsun landed. He did, however, manage to swipe at Thorntail's paws causing the warrior to stumble a few steps.

Screech huffed at his failure. "Your back legs aren't as strong as mine yet," Sinkingsun soothed. "But they'll grow. And if you train hard you will develop stronger muscles."

"They're pretty strong now," Screech replied indignantly. Sinkingsun just smiled at him. Thorntail was staring at Sinkingsun with curious eyes.

"Where did you learn that move?" he asked slowly.

Sinkingsun glanced over at him, "My father taught it to me."

"And who is your father?" Thorntail asked again.

"Hiddenshade." Sinkingsun's answer cascaded silence over the group of four as the others realised that the she-cat standing before them was the offspring of the infamous assassin. Many of them had heard dark tales about Hiddenshade's teaching methods, from physical violence to mental assault.

XxXxXxXxXx

Sunset had fallen by the time the contestants dragged their weary paws back into the camp. A freshly stocked fresh kill pile was there to greet them but no cat felt like eating. The realisation that they had only one day left of training before the Game started had finally set in and fear was working its way into every cat's heart.

Burningmoon, Galesong, Nightfall and Tinder were loitering around near the den entrances, none of them wanting to go into them. A dark feeling suddenly shot down Burningmoon's spine and he turned, expecting to see one of the Dark Forest cats standing beside him. But nothing was there. He wrinkled his nose and turned back to the others. His eyes caught something strange in the darkness surrounding them, a flash of something red. The flash came again, only this time it was closer to camp. By the third flash he was certain that they were blinking eyes. "Hey guys," he murmured. "Can you see those red eyes over there?" He pointed to the place he had seen them with his tail.

Galesong fluffed out her fur and glared at the orange tom. "Are you sure you're not losing your mind?" she scoffed, "because I can't see any red eyes."

Nightfall and Tinder twitched their whiskers in amusement. "She's right. I didn't see anything either," Nightfall purred.

Burningmoon shook his head and blinked a few times. "Maybe I am going crazy!" he joked.

A few more heartbeats passed before the four cats said goodnight to each other and retreated to their dens.

The red eyes appeared once more, shining like two red stars amongst the tight darkness. At the paws of the eye's owner lay a large autumn colour tom, blood blossoming at his neck like a deadly rose. "Why?" he rasped weakly.

"Your name is Thunder?" the other hissed. Thunder nodded weakly, his breathing weak and shallow. "Then your death will be the final one in my first task."

"Wind, River and Shadow…you killed them didn't you? Left them hanging in the trees for the rest of us to find," Thunder whispered weakly.

The stranger curled its muzzle in a cruel smile. "I did indeed. And I enjoyed tearing their throats out. Their blood spilt over the ground in a pretty way, swirling around in strange patterns and symbols. And I will do the same to you."

Thunder stared up at the stranger who had jumped him on the border between dark and light. Her black pelt blended so well with the darkness that surrounded them, she almost disappeared in the darkest shadows. But her eyes…her eyes were her greatest weakness and her darkest asset. Blood red eyes would stand out among the shadows but strike fear into the hearts of those around her. "Why are you doing this?"

"Life must go on Thunder. Things must change in this world and I will be the one to change them. No cat will stop me, especially your group of founders. I will create a better empire, ruled by blood only. Mistakes cannot be risked."

As the she-cat bent down and sunk her fangs into Thunder's neck, he stared past her and into the sky that rippled above him. He was certain that he could see a red moon. But as he took his final gasping breath he watched as the blood began to ooze from the moon, dripping from it and disappearing into the darkness that swept him away.

So, what did you guys think!?

Drop me a review and ask me anything you want!

Hunter Out~