More silhouettes marked the sky, signaling some cats had entered from the camp entrance, which sat behind the Highrock. Without warning, the Clan scattered. Goldenpaw and Dreampaw dashed away in the heat of the moment. The strange cats were giving chase. Looking just to the side, she could see Wildpaw and Featherpaw being heeled by a dark tom. They broke off, causing the tom to stop for a moment to decide who to chase.
"No kill, capture least two!" A single cat sat at the top of the Highrock. He yelled commands to the cats. Lightstar was battling with a larger she-cat. Dreampaw paused.
"Don't stop!" Goldenpaw hissed. He grabbed her by the scruff, dragging her along. She looked back to see a pure black tom with ice blue eyes following closely behind. She regained her footing and both cats sped off, just to get cut off by an almost identical black she-cat with yellow eyes. Dreampaw could see white peeking from her belly. She grabbed Goldenpaw. In surprise, Dreampaw stopped and skidded. Before she could turn away, she too was grabbed by the tom. All cats stopped as the new apprentices struggled.
"Leave now before reaction." The Highrock tom yowled. The cats turned and ran away with great speed. Dreampaw and Goldenpaw squealed, as did another cat who was in too much fear to be recognized. The WaterClan cats chased, but were too slow and were outrun by the entrance. Dreampaw could feel herself swinging in the tom's mouth. She could feel trees and rocks brush her nose. The group turned, but the tom holding her fell in too close to a tree, knocking her out.
"Wake up." A tom's voice whispered desperately in Dreampaw's ear. She moaned, her body aching all over. She managed to open her eyes and lay on her stomach. Goldenpaw let out a sigh of relief.
"I had such a bad dream." She commented. Goldenpaw looked away.
"It wasn't a dream." He meowed, flicking his tail towards the entrance to the tiny den they were in. Two cats sat in the entrance, blocking out most light and making it impossible for them to get out. Dreampaw recognized the tom and she-cat who had taken them away. She sat up abruptly and looked around. Only two other cats were with them; a bright ginger and white she-cat and a white she-cat Dreampaw recognized as Morningfrost of her own Clan. The ginger and white she-cat didn't smell of any of the other Clans, which she had only been able to smell on the fur of border patrols, so she guessed she was a kitty pet.
"Good, your awake." Morningfrost meowed sadly.
"Where are we?" Dreampaw asked.
"The camp of BloodClan." The ginger and white she-cat replied.
"BloodClan? But why did they attack and take us away?" Goldenpaw hissed in confusion.
"We have always had trouble with BloodClan. Even the other Clans have. They are not so much a Clan as a band of rogues. Every time we name new apprentices and sometimes even warriors, they are there to take our cats away. Nobody knows what happens to them. A rare few have escaped, and they have said BloodClan takes the prisoner cats and turns them into their slaves, making them choose their fresh-kill, clean their dens, wash their fur. They are some of the laziest cats you will ever meet, according to the escaped. The only thing they do on their own is border patrols and have a few cats go with hunting slaves to make sure they don't escape." Morningfrost explained. Goldenpaw and Dreampaw gasped. The ginger and white she-cat moved over to join them.
"I had a friend who escaped from here after becoming a slave. She said that any cat over six moons was forced to have kits, mostly if they disobeyed. Sometimes the kits were a BloodClan tom's, but even a brother and sister slave have been forced to mate before. She left at six moons, but came back at about twelve moons with two litters of kits, both trapped here. She also said that every no and full moon, slave cats and kits are offered as sacrifices to Tigerstar, the cat who brought them here." She whispered, her eyes wide. All three Clan cats perked up in surprise. Dreampaw gulped. Forced to mate? She didn't want kits, at least not yet!
"Who are you?" Goldenpaw asked her. She laughed.
"Sorry. My name is Sandi." She meowed. The tom at the entrance snorted.
"My name is Morningfrost, and these two are Goldenpaw and Dreampaw." Morningfrost mewed. Both cats guarding snorted.
"Not for long." The she-cat meowed. All four cats glanced at each other just as a yowl seeped into the den.
"Cats join to gain more slaves. Night Wind and Black Raven, grab newcomers." A tom with a weird accent called from outside. The two cats came in and herded them, one on each side. In the clearing was a large hole that smelled of crowfood. Many cats were surrounding it, staring up at a rock jutting into the cent that looked like a path to a tall rock at the center. They were led to the edge, where his shadow covered up their pelts. Where they were, a path carved into the hole circled until it reached the bottom, where more cats were watching with sadness in their eyes.
"We have four new slaves. The kittypet will now be known as Dirt, the tom as Dead, the white cat as Plain and the calico as Pit. Night Wind and Black Raven, show them into the slave hole." He meowed.
"He changed our names!" Goldenpaw, or Dead, hissed quietly into her ear as they were pushed into the hole. Dreampaw, now Pit, nodded but said nothing. The other cats moved away.
"Haven't I seen you before?" A brown tom asked Dead, Plain and Pit. Pit noticed most were brown. She blinked. They weren't brown. It was dirt on their fur. Morningfrost purred and rubbed her muzzle against his.
"It is so great to see you Snowpelt!" She mewed. He purred as well.
"But under not so great circumstances." He pointed out. She nodded, glancing back at the two younger cats.
"You remember young Goldenkit and Dreamkit, right?" She asked him. He thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes. They were less then a moon old when we became warriors. Then I was captured by BloodClan and taken here." Snowpelt remembered.
"Yes." Plain's eyes glittered with both sadness and happiness.
"If our names were changed, then is yours too?" Dirt asked. Snowpelt nodded.
"Melt." He replied.
"Better then some names." A she-cat with calico spots poking through the dirt on her fur mewed.
"This is Crowfood, my kit. I am Carrion." A similar but larger she-cat mewed. Melt nodded.
"So, did you two become apprentices before you were captured?" He meowed. Pit and Dead nodded.
"Most of the older ones were taken as new warriors, if even of a Clan. Usually new apprentices are faster, but not against Night Wind and Black Raven. " Crowfood mewed. Carrion flicked her tail over her daughter's muzzle.
"Don't upset them. I am sure they are upset enough as it is!" She warned. Crowfood nodded. Before Pit could comment, she was barreled into by two kits.
"Sorry." The gray tom mewed. The silver she-kit nodded in embarrassment.
"Maggot! Rotten! Come back here! You are almost six moons, and you have to save your energy to work. Otherwise, you will be this moons sacrifice!" A ginger she-cat hissed.
"Fall, these are the newcomers. My sister, Plain, and two apprentices of WaterClan, now Pit and Dead." Melt called to her. She bounded over.
"Nice to meet you." She meowed, touching noses with all of them.
"Are these your kits?" Pit asked. Fall nodded sadly.
"Unfortunately, they are also Night Wind's. Most of us are forced to mate with the stronger toms. Depending on how strong and useful our kits are, they are either given to a queen in BloodClan or used later for sacrifices. Some lucky ones get to live, but by the time they can understand what is going on they would rather be sacrificed." Fall replied. Pit's heart went out to the she-cat. She wouldn't want to have kits of a tom she didn't love, especially a capture. Even worst, the kits possibly would be used for a sacrifice.
"That is terrible." Dead commented. All the cats around them nodded.