Nooooooo! I have fallen behind! I WILL catch up! Here is number 8!!! Next is Expectations!! AHHH! MUST CATCH UP! FREAKING OUT! AHH!!

Can't Even Save Myself

The night was a cold one; dark, freezing, quiet. Most cats were in their dens, sleeping soundly at such an hour. The cats of FlameClan, IceClan, BreezeClan, and DarkClan were quietly snoozing in their nice, warm dens. All but three of the cats.

A very large black cat silently crept along the river edge with a tortoiseshell tabby cat following closely behind him. Their paws flittered across the ground, somehow staying noiseless at the same time. The large tom suddenly glanced back at the smaller she-cat.

"Turtlepaw," he whispered, looking the apprentice in the eye. "You must be silent here. We don't know if Falconshadow is waiting for us somewhere along the riverbank." His long tail swept over her mouth, so she would get the message. Turtlepaw nodded frightfully and her blue eyes shone with terror. The big tom froze as her gaze traveled over his shoulder and widened in even greater horror. Slowly, he turned around.

There he was.

Falconshadow purred manically at the sight of the two IceClan cats. "Well, well. Well, if it isn't my old friend, Stonegaze! Oh, who is this? Turtlekit? Turtlepaw now? I've missed a lot, haven't I?" he growled, unsheathing his claws and dragging them along the ground. His yellow eyes sent fear and anger into Stonegaze's heart, reminding him of how the old traitor had killed his mate.

"You traitor!" he yowled, lunging forward to the other tom. Falconshadow was taken off guard, and the IceClan tom pinned him easily on the ground. "I will avenge Littlenose's death! How dare you kill her!" he hissed. Stonegaze snapped his jaws on the black tom's throat, about to bite down to draw blood.

He was thrown up suddenly, and Falconshadow stood up. Blood trickled down his throat, and his eyes blazed with anger. "Fool!" he screeched. "I am stronger than you! You will not beat me! I know something that will destroy you!" Falconshadow crouched down to the ground and very suddenly pounced for Turtlepaw. "I will kill your daughter!"

Stonegaze's eyes clouded over with anger as he watched the rogue bite down on Turtlepaw's throat. A cry erupted in the air, and then was cut off by a gurgling noise. Falconshadow stepped aside, and revealed Turtlepaw on the ground. She was dead.

"No!" he hissed, leaping and extending his claws. The black tom stepped sideways, sending Stonegaze crashing to the ground. In less than a heartbeat, Falconshadow had Stonegaze pinned to the earth, his long claws on his throat.

Falconshadow purred. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a pity, me having to kill such a loyal warrior of IceClan. You were out here to kill me, weren't you?" he hissed, sinking his claws into the other cat's neck. "Well, you failed. You lost your apprentice and daughter, and now you can't even save yourself. What a shame."

Claws tore into Stonegaze's throat, making blood flow out from the open wound. He had come out here on a mission, and he had failed. Falconshadow was right.

I can't even save myself!

Yeah, I know it was short. :( Sorry. Now I have to go write up to chapter 11 or something! -faints-