You people BETTER like this chapter, because I stayed up ALL night finishing it, fell asleep, and woke up at four o'clock in the afternoon!
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Thanks to Tigerstep, WarriorsFreak, Dawncloud, Amberleaf, Revriley, Firestar of FireClan, StormyNight55, Xx-Willowsky-xX, and CRAZEDREADER96 for your reviews.
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Yes, Revriley, you got your wish. Cloudtail and Longtail have been captured.
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Read and Review!
Mistyfoot plushies and 'Murder Tigerstar' buttons for everyone!
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I lifted my head up as Blackfoot slapped me in the face. "Come on," he growled. "Tigerstar wants to see his three new captives." He and two other TigerScum warriors shoved Longtail, Cinderpelt, and I outside of the tiny cave we had been imprisoned in.
I thought back to when we had been captured, and my fur bristled at the thought of it.
I was on patrol with Whitestorm, and Longtail, and Cinderpelt had come too so she could gather some herbs. We were by the ShadowClan border.
Whitestorm stopped suddenly and tasted the air, his hackles rising. "I smell rogues," he meowed.
"Rogues?! On ThunderClan territory?" Longtail exclaimed.
Cinderpelt froze, the herbs in her mouth falling out. "Are they part of Tigerstar's Clan? Maybe they're those rogues that left with Brokentail when he was exiled."
"If those mangy crow-food-eaters have set one paw on our territory—" I began, but Whitestorm shook his head. "Brokentail's rogues joined with Tigerstar and took on ShadowClan scent long ago, Cloudtail."
"No, actually, some of us didn't join Tigerstar," a voice meowed. I spun around and saw a dirty black tom with four other cats. My ears flattened and I raised up one paw defensively.
"Careful," Whitestorm cautioned me. "We don't yet know what they want, and we are outnumbered." He glanced at Cinderpelt, whose crippled leg was shaking with the strain of staying still. "If we anger them, we might not get away without some nasty injuries."
I settled with dreaming of very colorful things to do the rogues, and then they began circling us.
Suddenly, they sprang. Two pinned Longtail down and knocked him out with a large rock. Only one rogue was needed to hold down Cinderpelt. He began dragging the gray medicine cat across the border, along with another dragging Longtail.
It was just me and Whitestorm now—and we were outnumbered three to two. One of the rogues jumped into a tree and fell on me—and blackness washed over me.
Blackfoot pushed me down when we reached Tigerstar's Bonehill, and I glared accusingly at the dark tabby seated on top of the bones.
"Greetings, captives," Tigerstar meowed. "Do you know why I have taken you?"
"Because you're a stinking piece of crowfood!" I spat.
Cinderpelt seemed calmer, though the way her fur was standing up suggested that she was furious. "Why have you done this, Tigerstar?" she mewed.
Tigerstar's eyes gleamed. "Because I'm trying to get Firestar to surrender by capturing his precious friends," he rasped. "Now I have his best friend, his medicine cat, his nephew, his mate, his WindClan friend, and soon his sister."
"But why me?" Longtail asked. "I'm nothing special to Firestar! He doesn't even trust me!"
Tigerstar turned his amber gaze on the pale tabby warrior. "I am giving you another chance."
"C—chance?"
"Join Darkstripe," Tigerstar mewed simply. "I can make you a leader, Longtail. I can make you great. What do you say?"
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Longtail's POV
"What do you say?" my once-ally asked me.
I thought about that. If I said yes, then I would certainly be turning my back on everything I had been taught since I was a kit. If I said no, then I didn't know what would happen to me. I knew it wouldn't be something good.
"No, Tigerstar," I declared. "I will never join you!"
Tigerstar hissed. "Are you absolutely sure, Longtail? I will not give any more chances after this."
"I. Will. Never. Join. You," I repeated firmly, but I couldn't stop the tremor of fear that rippled through my body. I glanced around at the few TigerClan cats that were seated at the edge of the clearing, as if they were waiting for something to happen.
Tigerstar paused. "Very well then," he meowed after a minute. "You will be taught with the rest."
"Taught?" Cloudtail mewed.
"Yes," Tigerstar hissed. "Tortured and taught."
"You'd never dare to hurt a medicine cat," Cinderpelt retorted.
"Oh, I would. But there is a ray of hope for you at least. You will be taught today and then you shall be helping Runningnose tend to my other—victims. Of course, if you misbehave, you shall be taught again."
"Other victims? Who else do you have?"
Tigerstar seemed exasperated. "I already said. I have Sandstorm, Onewhisker, Graystripe, Mistyfoot, Stonefur, Featherpaw, and Stormpaw."
Cinderpelt narrowed her eyes. "You are going against StarClan, Tigerstar."
Tigerstar smirked. "So? StarClan matter nothing to me." More briskly he added, "Blackfoot, Russetfur, Jaggedtooth. Please teach the captives—but don't kill them." Then, as if he was struck by an idea, he changed that. "No…Teach them one by one—and make them watch each other being taught."
Jaggedtooth grabbed Cloudtail by the scruff and hauled him into the clearing. "The kittypet goes first."
He unsheathed his claws and sank them into the sensitive part of Cloudtail's body—the stomach. Cloudtail yowled, and Jaggedtooth's paws were stained scarlet.
I couldn't bear to watch this. I closed my eyes and tried to back away, but Blackfoot pushed me and forced me to watch again.
Jaggedtooth sank one claw into the white warrior's belly again and slowly ripped it down his belly, slowly and painfully. Cloudtail screeched. Jaggedtooth sank his claw into the bottommost part of the belly and yanked his claw out. Cloudtail's white fur became red as the 'teaching' wore on.
Jaggedtooth pushed Cloudtail over to the Bonehill and snarled to Russetfur, "Take him to be treated." Then he grabbed me and I braced myself.
I was shoved to the blood-stained patch where Cloudtail had been. The first thing he did was sink his claws into the back of my ear, right where I had been stung by a bee a couple of sunrises ago. I yowled in pain, and Jaggedtooth ripped his claws from my head down to my tail, making my blood flow. I writhed, vainly trying to claw Jaggedtooth too, but I wasn't able to. Instead, he held me down and ripped at my already bleeding belly with his claws. I cried out and Jaggedtooth threw me over to where Cloudtail was bleeding on the ground.
They got Cinderpelt next.
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Cinderpelt's POV
Jaggedtooth dragged me into the clearing and dropped me on the ground—and my body crumpled on my crippled leg. I shrieked in pain and looked up at the sky. For a minute I thought I could see Yellowfang's face in the clouds, sad and sympathetic. Then she was gone and Jaggedtooth had thrown his entire weight on my already throbbing leg.
The pain was intense, almost as bad as it had been in the early days if my accident. It felt like it had been broken, and blackness pressed in on my sight. I forced it back and tried to bear the pain.
Jaggedtooth dug his claws into my flanks, making them red with my blood.
StaClan help me! I thought.
Jaggedtooth scratched me above my eyes and my vision was smeared with blood. I wasn't blinded for long, though, because I welcomed the wave of unconsciousness that StarClan was kind enough to send to me.
But when I saw Fourtrees, I knew I was dreaming.
StarClan surrounded me, and one cat stepped forward. Bluestar. She padded over to me and we touched noses. "Welcome, Cinderpelt," she mewed. "I know what Tigerstar has done, and I am sorry we cannot stop it. But I can do this." She touched noses with me again, and I felt new strength flow into my body, as well as courage.
"Cinderpelt," Bluestar meowed. "You must fight back. You have to escape."
"Yes, but Bluestar…"
Bluestar was fading away, and I woke up in a nest of thorns in Runningnose's den.
Thorns. Creative, Tigerstar. Good touch, adding the guards at the entrance.
My body felt stiff with cobwebs, and as I tried to get comfortable, I knew—I just knew—that, someday, Tigerstar would crack—and kill us.
And I was not going to wait for that day.
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Yay! How'd you like it? Poor Cloudtail, Longtail, and Cinderpelt!
Thanks, Revriley, for your torturing ideas! Everyone, send in ideas!
Okay, I'm going to tell you now that this story will not really fit with the actual book—but you probably already know that.
Hey, see that little button down there? The one that says: Review this Story/Chapter ? Yeah, that one.
Why don't you press it? Come on, listen to it. "Press me, strange person. Press me." Do what Button says.
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~LenzieKat~
