Chapter 3
Murder
Shorttail, a sand colored tabby with a stub tail, hissed, her hackles raised, "Murderer! Your own brother and leader of the clan, murderer! Do you think you are fit to rule then? Are you going to stand there and proclaim yourself leader? Rule the whole forest? Murderer, you're not fit to lead!" The she-cat looked back over her shoulder to see who stood with her; her brother Longear and cousin Sharpclaw padded up on each side and shouted at Fallenheart "Yeah, Murderer!"
"I will not lead a clan of ignorant fools," Fallenheart hissed, jumping down from the Tall Stone. Her eyes flicked to Lazerkit for a brief moment before she looked at Shorttail, "But no cat who denies their clan the right to sit vigil should lead; no cat who thinks they are better than the rest," she growled, her tail lashing back and forth.
Longear spat on Fallenheart, "We should kill her ourselves!" he shouted, claws digging eagerly in the dirt. "Then we vote on a new leader."
Sharpclaw turned "And you'll just vote for yourself won't you!" she hissed.
"Then let's have a vote right now; the rules: no voting for yourself and no killing anyone." Fallenheart interrupted. "Why don't you vote first Sharpclaw?"
The white she-cat hissed, "I vote that you don't get a say in ShadowClan anymore. In fact, you should just leave."
"If she leaves I'm going with her!" a young, leopard spotted apprentice shouted padding up to Fallenhearts side.
"What, you think you can take on the whole clan, you and a weak apprentice?" Sharpclaw taunted, stepping with malice toward Fallenheart.
Lazerkit bounded quickly over to Fallenheart and the apprentice "Her, an apprentice and a kit." He challenged.
The spotted apprentice's fur bristled, "Why would Fallenheart kill without good reason? She's always been loyal and it was her brother."
"Things are changing," Shorttail spat back. "Maybe she was biding her time! Does it matter? She murdered Brackenstar, how can you defend her!"
"I- I can't explain it," the apprentice mewed, "but I feel like I'm supposed to be a Medicine cat and that…" she hesitated "and that Fallenheart was right."
"She killed her brother and his mate in cold blood, how is that right? How can you even begin to justify that?" Longear shouted.
"How do you know it was in cold blood?" Lazerkit countered, "You weren't there were you?"
Fallenheart shook her head "Don't defend me, It was in cold blood." She glared at the clan "But he refused medical treatment to his daughter and she died. He murdered her, how do you justify that?"
Sharpclaw, Longear and Shorttail glanced at each other, "He's the leader, he made the decisions, we don't question them." Longear answered after a pause.
Fallenheart looked at them sadly "Murder is not justified just because he was the leader."
Several others in the clan shifted nervously, "Leave!" a couple shouted.
"Make your vote, Sharpclaw. The sooner you do, the sooner we leave."
The same cats who'd been shouting padded behind Sharpclaw, others joining them. "Looks like the votes in," she grinned "You can leave, or die."
"You want more blood to be spilt," she hissed, taking a step back.
"We didn't have a problem with Brackenstar, only you and your nephew. I'm sure Leopardpaw wouldn't have even considered changing loyalties. If anymore blood is spilt it's because of you and your choices, not ours."
"You were fine with breaking the Warrior Code? Not paying respect to the dead?" Fallenheart shouted, their ignorance angering her.
"If that's what Brackenstar thought was best," Longear shouted, "it's called loyalty."
"Loyalty," she hissed "is better given to StarClan than a dead-beat kit killer, don't you even remember our past? How we had to have some stuck up ThunderClan leader save us?
Shorttail hissed, "Just leave, no one's listening to you anyway!"
Fallenheart growled and backed into the forest, her eyes glowing in the night "Fine, but don't come crawling after me when you kill yourselves." With that she was gone, Lazerkit and Leopardpaw with her.
Sticking close to the shadows, Fallenheart padded slowly to the edge of camp. "Stay out of sight," she said, turning to Lazerkit and Leopardpaw, "no matter what happens." She licked their heads affectionately and padded to the back of the Leader Den next to the Tall Stone. She heard Sharpclaw yelling over the chaos as cats yelled over one another "I will be the leader!" she growled fiercely.
"What makes you leader!" growled a young black warrior, several others nodding their heads with him.
Sharpclaw hissed, "I got rid of the traitor!"
"You let her leave!" someone challenged.
"We should have killed her!" another shouted.
"Silence," Sharpclaw hissed, "I'm leader, deal with it." Longear padded up next to Sharpclaw, daring anyone to challenge them.
"I'm leader," called out a fox red she-cat.
The black warrior lunged at her, "No I am!" he hissed. Several cats lunged for him, Longear and Sharpclaw, ShadowClan thrown into fighting amongst themselves. When the din settled Longear and Sharpclaw stood panting, the others dead.
"Great now how are we supposed to lead?" Longear sneered, limping a few feet, his ear ripped off and leg bleeding. Sharpclaw pinned her ears back and growled at Longear.
A dark chuckle floated through the chilly night air, a cat standing on the Tall Stone silhouetted against the moon. "I told you, you would need my help." Fallenheart whispered darkly, Lazerkit and Leopardpaw padding up beside her.
Sharpclaw looked up, fear plain in her eyes. "You- You knew this would happen." She hissed feebly.
Fallenheart smiled sadly and leapt from the Tall Stone, her paws thumping quietly on the bloodied grass, "Yes."
Sharpclaw hissed as Fallenheart padded closer, she backed up and tripped over the fox red she-cat, her dead face looking up at Sharpclaw. With fleeting hope the she-cat scrambled up and tried to run, but Fallenheart was faster.