If anybody was troubled by that last chapter, I regret to inform you that the rest of the story will be no better. More death, more graphic violence, more peril, etc. It just gets darker from here. I wish there was a 'dark' genre here on fanfiction. Suspense/Drama is the best I can do, although there is a tad of horror and a hint of angst.
-Pan
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Darkpaw
Smokepaw stayed on the island over the next few days. It was pure torture. He didn't really know any of the other cats from the other Clans. His only companion was Blackpaw, who hardly knew what was going on, and who spent the entire time sleeping. Maplepaw and Quailpaw, the WindClan representatives, were nice, but they stuck to each other more. Rainpaw and Emberpaw, of RiverClan, were nervous and frightened. And the ShadowClan cats were...just plain scary.
Cederpaw was confident all the time, however. He strolled about the island commanding hunting patrols and ordering things to be done. He was troubled about the strange changes in the fresh-kill, but simply ordered more hunting patrols.
There was much speculation about Dawnpaw and Darkpaw. Dawnpaw was nice enough, but she was quite arrogant. Darkpaw was just...mean. Already, he had punished two cats in awful, bloody ways that made Smokepaw feel revolted. He had a creepy grin and creepy eyes and nobody wanted to hang out with him.
However, nobody since Rabbitpaw had died. Lilypaw had gone home degected and miserable after his death, hardly accepting a word of comfort from Smokepaw. She just trailed back to camp. He had watched her disappear into the darkness that evening and hadn't seen her since. He hoped she was doing okay with Hawkpaw, Flamepaw, Stainpaw and Greypaw.
Smokepaw was now sleeping underneath a bush on the island. He longed to be back at camp, sleeping in his own den in familiar territory, his slumbering Clanmates beside him. The island was cold and open.
"Um...Smokepaw?" Came a timid voice from behind him.
Lying on his back, Smokepaw flipped over. "What's up Rainpaw?"
"Cederpaw ordered us to go hunt."
"Me and you?"
"Yeah."
Smokepaw yawned and got to his feet. "Alright."
They padded off the island. The treebridge bucked and swayed beneath their feet. Smokepaw glanced sideways at Rainpaw and couldn't help wishing she was Lilypaw.
"I was thinking..." Rainpaw began.
"Yeah?"
She stopped and sighed as they made their way into RiverClan territory. Cederpaw had said his helpers were allowed to hunt and enter any Clan's territory as they wished, but Smokepaw noticed how Rainpaw stuck to her own familiar territory.
"Well," she tried again, "Like, back in the day? Of Firestar and Squirrelflight and those legends? I mean, what did they do when something horrible happened?"
Smokepaw sighed. Rainpaw looked miserable. "Um...there was the battle with BloodClan. That was horrible. And they fought. That's what they did."
"Yeah, but there's nobody for us to fight," Rainpaw said, a tremble in her voice.
"Hey, you okay?" He asked, noticing she was close to tears.
"I just miss my Clan," she sniffed, looking at her paws. "Me and my mother were always close. And Talonstar was a really nice leader. I can't beleive their gone."
"They'll come back," Smokepaw promised her.
Rainpaw sobbed and nodded. Smokepaw nudged her. "Come on. Let's hunt."
Rainpaw looked up and set her face. "Right."
They stalked through the dry marshy undergrowth. Smokepaw hardly knew RiverClan territory so he didn't know where prey was. So he followed Rainpaw as she padded deeper into the territory, through the grass, passing the occasional oak tree, all the leaves shedded from their dry branches.
"There's mice here a lot," she said, "Only these mice aren't normal, I guess."
Smokepaw crouched and sniffed. He did smell mice. He went into the hunting stance, heart pounding, prepared for whatever was coming. He located the mouse and leaped foreward. He pinned it down. It screamed and struggled, little claws drawing blood on his paws. He winced and bit its neck before it could get away.
"I hate these things," Rainpaw said, shaking a dead one that had bitten onto her paw off.
"Yeah, me too," Smokepaw said, wishing once again that Lilypaw were here. He remembered her gentle touch when she had checked over the bite on his nose that other day and felt the skin on his face grow warm.
They hunted a little longer, and managed to catch one more mouse before turning back toward the island. There was no point trying to catch the birds – their curved beaks and long talons looked incredibly dangerous.
They dragged the catch back to the island. They dropped it on the newly made fresh-kill pile, next to the pile of boulders Cederpaw liked to rest on with his two accomplices, Dawnpaw and Darkpaw.
Cederpaw jumped down as they dropped their kill with a welcoming smile. "This looks good. Which territory did you find this in?"
"Why does it matter?" Rainpaw asked innocently.
Cederpaw's smile disappeared instantly and he stared hard at her. Instantly her eyes grew wide and she backed up.
"RiverClan," Smokepaw supplied weakly.
Darkpaw had jumped down from the boulders and stood at Cederpaw's side. "Is everything okay?" He asked slowly, without any concern. He smirked as he looked between Rainpaw and Smokepaw.
"It's fine," Rainpaw squeaked.
"That's good," he said and flashed a sharp-toothed grin. Rainpaw whimpered. "We don't want any trouble, now do we?" He turned his head sideways and bored his icey eyes into Smokepaw's.
As soon as his cold gaze locked with Smokepaw, Smokepaw winced and jumped back. He felt burnt. Scorched. Bruised.
"I'm just going now," Rainpaw said in a tiny litle voice and hurried away.
There was a flash and a crack. Smokepaw saw several images, superimposed upon each other. Darkpaw lunging foreward. Darkpaw slapping Rainpaw down to the ground. Darkpaw leaping back. Darkpaw sitting there calmly again.
"OW!' Rainpaw screamed. She lay weakly on the ground, her face raw and red. She looked up at Darkpaw, staring coldly down at her with monster eyes. "You mousebrain!" She screamed, "Ow, it hurts! You pile of foxdung!"
Darkpaw's eyes went dark. Shadows fell across them. He moved closer, step by step. Rainpaw fought to get away. As she got to her paws to run, Darkpaw tripped her, put two paws on one leg and pushed down. There was an awful crack.
"OW! NO! NO! STOP! OW!" Rainpaw screamed, her huge, terrified eyes probing the air around her. She lashed desperately.
"Shut up," Darkpaw snarled, and then he broke another leg. Rainpaw screeched.
"Stop!" Smokepaw said before he could help himself but was so scared he didn't say anything else.
"I hate you! You hurt me! Oh, you hurt me!" Rainpaw shrieked, "It hurts!"
"Don't," Darkpaw said, and then stomped down on her ribcage. It cracked. "Ever." And he pounded his paw into her face. Blood splatted. "Insult." Pounded her face again. It was all bloody and mangled now. "Me." Slammed one last time. Her nose smashed into her face and blood splashed onto Darkpaw. (I told you guys it would be gory and dark!)
"No!" Smokepaw squealed, barely muffling himself. Rainpaw twitched feebly on the ground, like a wounded spider.
"See you," Darkpaw said and pressed both paws into her head. Rainpaw, her eyes ruined, gave a awful, gut-wrenching cry as Darkpaw swiped her away. Her remains hit a tree and she lay there, a bloody mess.
"Rainpaw!" Emberpaw, Rainpaw's RiverClan companion, screamed. She raced over, paws flying. Nudged her friend's broken body. Wailed to StarClan.
Smokepaw gave a moan of horror, spun around, and puked his guts out into the bushes. He felt sick and sad and angry, and he thoguht of how he had Just been hunting with Rainpaw, how she had admitted how much she missed her Clan. It brought stinging tears to his eyes.
"StarClan?" He whispered. There was an empty ringing in his head. He thought of what Lilypaw had said, "No. StarClan isn't with us anymore."
She was right.
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Yum. Gore and violence. Blood! -drools- Just kidding! Ew! I know it was gross and probably sickening but I warned you. Darkpaw is...what is the word for people like that? Sadists, I think. I once knew a sadist. Not cool. Worse than in the movies and books and stuff. More like this. (I never actually saw him do anything bad but I heard stories and he once grinned when I broke my finger...eek) Next chapter we get to know more about Dawnpaw! Yaaaaay!
-Pan
