Chapter 37: Crimson Moon

He could hear the cheering ringing in his ears as the six Clans got a look of the winner of what everyone assumed to be the final Game of Blood. The scars he had gathered on his body stung as memories of his horrific time trapped and used for entertainment clawed at his mind. Sure his claws hadn't stripped life from another cat but he had still heard their agonising shrieks of pain as death swooped down to claim them; watched as their blood melded with the ground beneath them.

He had been there – watching from the cover of leaves – as Sinkingsun had met her end at the fangs of a snake. His eyes had seen the Callers in their animal shapes argue over the death of the yellow she-cat before vanishing into the night. When he was sure the coast was clear he had made his way gently down to where Sinkingsun's unmoving body lay still and murmured his goodbye to her.

When Burningmoon had torn the throat out of Badgerstrike but left the tom still alive, he had been there to watch as Badgerstrike crawled away like a mewling kitten. For days he followed the weakening tom until the ferocious storm had appeared on the horizon and laid waste to the arena. He had watched as Burningmoon once again collided with Badgerstrike in yet another bloody battle. It had surprised him when Badgerstrike had fallen first followed shortly after Burningmoon. But only Burningmoon had received his murmurs of goodbye. He had also been there when Badgerstrike had killed Tinder for merely getting in the way. And that had secured Badgerstrike's place as a monster created by a game overflowing with blood.

Nightmares had plagued him ever since witnessing that fight. Sleepless nights filled with images of bloody claws reaching out to pluck him from the living world and deposit him in the world of the death.

"Thornfoot?" Suddenly there was light in his dark thoughts as the cheering faded away into his imagination from whence it had come. Light that was brought with the smell of flowers and a voice softer than a breeze. Oh how I've missed hearing your voice. I missed it so much more than I thought I would. "Are you okay?"

"As fine as I can be with the nightmares constantly playing in my head," he murmured hoarsely as he opened his yellow eyes to meet soft green ones. A blurred vision of a sleek orange she-cat with a pelt dotted with creamy white spots appeared before his eyes. But Thornfoot knew it wasn't just a vision. He knew that the cat standing before him was very real, so real that if he had the energy he could reach out and poke her.

A small pitiful sound threaded its way from Firestrike's throat as she settled down beside the traumatised tom she loved and began to groom his matted light gray fur; working the knots and dried blood out from it. She didn't say anything because there was nothing she could say. There was no way she knew how to comfort a survivor of the Games simply because she'd never had to comfort one. Sure she'd met and congratulated past winners from other Clans but only at the Celebration given by the High Stars for the winner. Even then she had seen the sheen of insanity touching the fringes of their eyes. They'd seen things some cats mightn't see in their entire life; things that could only be described as nightmares.

"They're waiting for you to make your appearance; all six Clans are waiting for you. Does it make you nervous to know that cats are going to think of you as a hero now?" Firestrike asked quietly as she paused her grooming.

Thornfoot was jerked back into reality as Firestrike's rhythmic grooming halted, "extremely nervous. Earlier…earlier I could hear their cheering. They sounded so bloodthirsty, as if they were yearning for even more blood to be spilt so that they could have another Celebration. Were they cheering, Firestrike? Was the cheering I heard real? Or was it just another figment of my imagination?"

Agony, fear, pain, loss; they were all emotions shining in the tom's wide eyes. Firestrike lowered her gaze. How was she supposed to tell Thornfoot that the cat he had thought to be his unrelated sister had betrayed all six Clans and let a tyrant take over the Clans? How was she supposed to tell him that the cheering he'd heard wasn't a figment of his imagination but the sound of Crimson's mindless followers as they bayed for the blood that had been spilled; as they bayed at the utter shock and confusion that had griped the Clans as Crimson had explained of the destruction that had plagued and destroyed the afterlife?

"I need to tell you something," Firestrike began slowly but Thornfoot cut her off with a swish of his tail.

"Can I go first?" his voice was still rough.

Firestrike inclined her head and Thornfoot took a deep breath. "Back before I was dragged into that..nightmare of a game; back when everything was normal and we were all close friends you'd walk by and I'd try so hard to say it but then I'd freeze and never say it. My tongue would get tied, the words trapped. I love you, Firestrike. Not because you make me feel happy, not because you make me feel special nor because you're the sweetest cat I've ever met but just because I love you and I don't need any reasons for that."

"You love me?" Firestrike managed to squeak out after falling silent for a few moments. Her green eyes were stretched wide with disbelief but a sheen of unfailing happiness glowed within them. Had she not dreamed of this moment for moons before the chaos of Crimson? Had she not attempted to tell Thornfoot of her feelings long before he had been dragged away from her? Had she not fallen into a dark depression when her tongue could no longer smooth down his gray fur? She had.

The gray tom nodded, yellow eyes rounded hopefully. "I used to think the feelings I had for you were hopeless because you'd never fall for someone like me. My mind – my stupid mind – told me that there were many other she-cats in the Clan that you'd prefer over me. For moons I tried to hide my feelings; smother them under the exhaustion that came from working to feed the Clan and keep the Clan protected but they just kept coming back. They grew into something more. Into love. And when I tried to tell you I couldn't and then you were taken away, cast into a bloody nightmare where I wasn't sure if you'd return. But you did and you love me and that means the world to me because I love you too."

Thornfoot curled his larger body around Firestrike's smaller frame, warming her cold body with his own. Her small purr warmed his heart, filled him with unfathomable joy. The she-cat he had loved for so long returned his feelings. And here she was, curled up against him. "Never leave me," he whispered as the clawed paws of the creatures that spun his nightmares hooked onto the edges of his vision and pulled him back into a world of darkness, "don't leave me alone with the nightmares."

"I never will; I promise." Firestrike could only watch as the tom she loved was plunged back into a violent nightmare that was filled with creatures of the shadows and memories that were enhanced by boiling fear; twisted into memories that bordered on the edge between reality and dreams. Her green eyes saw the magnitude that was Thornfoot's growing insanity as he shoved himself to his paws and stumbled away; only to fall to the ground mewling pitifully. "Oh, my Thornfoot," Firestrike murmured as her voice wavered. "What can I do to stop nightmares that I cannot even see?"

As the tom's frantic spasms came to a halt, Firestrike laid down beside him with her nose pressing against his fur. Her soft breaths stirred Thornfoot's fur and told him that he was no longer alone in a world where every cat seemed to be against him; that in a world filed with darkness he had found a light that would burn strongly, a little flame that would never go out.

When a soldier of Crimson entered the small den situated behind the thrones that had been built for the High Stars upon High Star island and told Firestrike that she was to leave, Thornfoot did not fear being alone because wherever he was he would always be in the heart of Firestrike. She would never forsake him for another because her heart was pure as was her mind. Unblemished by despair, untouched by evil, Firestrike was his guardian; the keeper of his heart.

When Crimson arrived flanked by her oath-takers and mindless soldiers he was confused but remained silent, trapped by his demons. When claws tore through his eyes rendering him blind he did not flinch. When fangs stripped down his ears and claws drew blood from within rendering him deaf he did not shout. When bloodstained claws ripped apart his nose and slit out his tongue taking away his ability to smell and his ability to taste he did not cry for help. All he did was scream a sentence aloud in his head and hope that Firestrike would somehow be able to hear it because he'd known he was going to die. No cat had told him but he had known. There had been no reason for him to worry about his imminent death until Firestrike returned his feelings but now he wished he could've had more time to love the she-cat that didn't deserve him but loved him anyway.

"I hope you'll miss me a little when I'm gone."

-000-

Blood dripped from the body she carried in her jaws. She had found it strange that the tom had not uttered a single sound or flinched as she and her oath-takers took away his senses. Had he not felt the extreme pain she'd administered? Of course he had, she growled in her head, he just chose not to give me the satisfaction of hearing us scream. No matter. He won't get the satisfaction of hearing all six Clans scream as I slaughter him before their eyes in return.

For once her followers – the ones that still had most of their minds – had not argued with her plan. They were still suffering from seeing an entire realm destroyed by fire just because time had passed. She understood. Her mind still hadn't managed to wrap itself around the idea of realms fading out of existence. Frozengaze had explained the detailed parts of how but left out large chunks of the why leaving the three she-cats to wonder if the same destruction might one day happen on their home realm.

"Was such a bloody sacrifice needed to show the Clans of your dominance?" Frozengaze's tone was a little too regal for Crimson's liking.

She narrowed her red eyes. "It was; this tom represented a light of hope for the Clans. By crushing it I crush their hopes which in turn will lead them all to believe that I am the supreme ruler. Besides his blood will fuel my power for my ultimate show of dominance," she hissed from around Thornfoot's scruff.

"I suppose. Your willingness to spill blood surprises me, Crimson. For me she-cats have always been portrayed as the weaker gender; created to merely see to the needs of toms and produce the next generation but," he added hastily as all three she-cats turned on him with menacing looks and unsheathed claws, "all three of you have shown me how untrue that is. Perhaps she-cats are the stronger gender; perhaps a she-cat with a mind warped by darkness and evil is needed to quell the constant war raging over this realm. Or perhaps I am wrong and a tom is needed. Only time will tell."

Crimson turned away without answering the arrogant tom, continuing on her steady jog to where the six Clans were waiting for her to arrive with their champion. A cruel grin pulled at the corners of her mouth as she imagined the looks of horror and hopelessness that would be reflected on the face of every cat when she threw Thornfoot's bleeding corpse onto the dirt and then proceeded to tear his throat from his body. Such a bloodthirsty way of killing a cat might've been looked down upon by other rulers but Crimson lived for this unnecessary killing. It was a way of life for her; destroying the lives of other cats. She'd been accidentally created to do it despite Death's wishes.

The cheers of her growing army of mindless soldiers mingled with the less enthusiastic cheers of the Clan cats reached Crimson's ears as she came to a halt behind the largest of the four thrones. Her entourage fanned out around her, feeding the excitement of the gathered cats as they caught glimpses of fur between the thrones. She shared a look with Tornheart and the red flecked she-cat meowed a quiet warning, "these cats might attack."

"My soldiers will tear them limb from limb if they try," Crimson soothed before taking a deep breath. Unsteady nerves might ruin her spell. No time like the present! Then she flung Thornfoot's bloodied body out from around the throne and stepped out into the full view of the gathered cats. Empty yellow eyes were the majority that stared up at her but the Clans combined made up a fair chunk of the eyes. They were focused solely on their champion's fallen body. Silence fell upon the island as every cat watched a drop of blood drizzle from Thornfoot's blinded eyes and fall to the ground.

Then hell broke loose. Shouts of anger melded with screams of horror in the darkening evening sky. No cat noticed the sudden decline in light. Crimson placed a single bloodied paw on Thornfoot's flank and stared out into the writhing mass that was the six Clans. Her soldiers remained perfectly still, leering at the fallen body with pale yellow eyes. Sometimes it unnerved her to see no emotions portrayed in their eyes and then other times in comforted her to know that her own soldiers wouldn't turn on her because they didn't know how to.

One scream split the chaotic night in two. It was purely heart wrenching as if the cat that had screamed had had their heart ripped from their very body. An orange cat – green eyes spilling floods of tears – stepped out from the crowd and collapsed on the ground near Thornfoot's body. Crimson recognised her as the she-cat Thornfoot had asked to see. Firestrike was her name.

"How..how could you do this!?" the orange she-cat demanded hoarsely.

"Easily," Crimson shrugged. "I don't find killing a cat as unacceptable as you do. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."

By now the screaming and shouting had quietened as the Clans listened into the two cats. "He had survived something you could not survive and then you kill him just for being in the way!?" Firestrike cried.

Crimson snarled, "I could survive the Games quite easily and win because I know how to kill and because I know how to avoid being killed. The things he saw are things I see most days. Your friend was weak. He didn't kill a single cat in the entire Games and only won because all the others died off. Hardly a champion if you ask me. Now I recommend you move, little she-cat, or you might find his blood staining your pelt."

Firestrike rose hurriedly to her paws as four soldiers ushered her back into the crowd. Over the din of cats calling her name her voice could be heard crying to Thornfoot's lingering soul, begging him not to leave her in such a dark world. "Those are she-cats that were born to worry after toms and produce kits," Crimson hissed to Frozengaze.

The blue-furred tom inclined his head in agreement and returned to watching in stony silence. "Cats of all Clans," Crimson began as she unsheathed her claws and pressed them against Thornfoot's throat. "This was a cat you all looked up to as a hero for the few moments he lived as a winner of the Games. You all thought of him to be some sort of amazing fighter with the ability to strike down any cat that dared attack him. But you are all wrong. This cat was a coward. He slunk in the shadows, remained away from other cats. He daren't go near other cats in the Games for the fear of losing a fight and dying away as nothing more than another failed contestant. Yet you still gathered hope from him. Allow me to strip away that hope." In a single swift movement she slit Thornfoot's throat and revelled in the shocked gasp from the gathered cats as the tom sputtered for air and then lay still.

"I am your only leader. I will lead over you – whether you like it or not – for eternity. There will never be a time when a cat ever gets close enough to me to deal a killing blow because none of you will ever have the guts to. You all praise yourselves as warriors that would do anything for your Clan yet none of you have even attempted to kill me. You're all nothing more than cowardly mice pretending to be something you're not. Shame on you. But I will be a kind leader that will teach you how to become the warriors you so desperately wish to become. In return I want nothing more than your unwavering loyalty."

When no cat objected Crimson continued. "As a reminder of this promise and of my supremacy I give you a sign that will remain in the sky for as long as I shall rule. A reminder that no cat will ever be able to ignore or forget." As she spoke the moon rose from behind the mountains casting an eerie red glow across the valley that was home to the six Clans. Every cat watched as a moon so red in colour it looked like blood ascended into the sky. A blood moon. A crimson moon.

The End

AN: It's over...this fabulous story that has taken me over a year to finish is over. Holy crap I cannot thank all my readers enough. Thank you for taking time out of your lives to read something that started off as a small story and developed into something big. My reviewers I especially thank you for showering me with your amazing reviews that always make me smile. 220 reviews is a massive amount for an author as unknown as me. Honestly I don't know what I would've done if this story hadn't had gotten so many reviews; probably would've scrapped it as another failed attempt.

This chapter has one instance of foreshadowing and occurs during the ending of Thornfoot and Firestrike's part of this chapter. If you've seen the reference sheets on my deviantart account (there's a link to it in my profile) for the next story then you might get it.

I can never seem to keep many of my characters alive. Although I have planned Thornfoot's death for quite a while now. He was always the one that I had chosen to win so it was interesting when most of the votes on the poll I had on my profile voted towards Berrypaw being the winner.

Keep an eye out for the next instalment of the Game of Blood trilogy; Game of Blood: Chasing the Sun. There's a link to a youtube advertisement on my profile as well. I might take a bit of a break before I start writing Chasing the Sun to plan it out a lot more than I did this story. To be honest I didn't plan this story out at all and it was a real pain at times not knowing how each chapter was going to pan out. For the next book I'm going to have each chapter link more closely as well as just focus on a few chosen cats instead of the so many POV's I had in this book. So don't expect the sequel to appear for a little while. If you want to send in cats to appear in the next book then I'll have a link in my profile for a thread over in a forum on this site.

Again, thank you guys so much for reading this story. It means so much to me.

Until next time.

-Hunter