I didn't know where I was at first, but the cawing of a crow soon pulled me out of my daze. I was back in the forest from before, from my dream. It hadn't changed from what I remembered. Misty, bleak, empty.

'That horrible X... he hurt you Roxanne.'

The fur on my neck prickled instantly, recognizing that strange, cold voice. I looked around, searching for the strange tom from my dream, but I didn't see him anywhere. I didn't know where I was or what to do, and I remember thinking those exact words when the voice answered me again.

'It's me, Roxanne. I will lead you back from this place, do not fear. Come along, this way, just over that log, and your reward will be waiting for you...'

Reward? A short crackling sound caught my attention, making me turn at an angle to see the trees moving and the undergrowth clearing a path for me. I could see a large log up ahead; it must have been the log he was talking about. I wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but I had better listen to him, I reasoned. What else was there to do? And what was this about a reward?

So I made my way down the newly cleared path and toward the log, brushing up small tufts of dirt from the lifeless ground as I went. The log lay across the path, large and rotted.

What was I supposed to do?

I touched a paw to the log out of sheer curiosity, feeling the soft, rotted wood beneath my pad. It instantly gave way, throwing off my balance slightly. The inside was hollow though, and as the log fell apart, dozens of rats spilled out from the opening. I stumbled back immediately, falling as I tried to get away. The rats sped by, squealing and screeching, and I felt their pelts rapidly brushing against me.

I got up as soon as they were gone and blinked at the log, not even bothering with the dust now in my pelt. The forest was quiet however, and as I looked over, there was nothing behind the log.

Was this supposed to be my reward?

Rats?

"I hate rats..." It dawned on me. "You lied to me!" I felt my body tense, but the energy was soon lost and my body fell ever so slightly, though I did not lose my tone or feeling.

No response.

"You lied..."

Why would he do that? Did he take joy in seeing me suffer, was it some kind of sick joke? Well, if it was... he had done a pretty good job of ruining my mood. I jumped easily over the now destroyed log, feeling impassive due to my previous experience. I continued walking, with no point or true destination. Until he spoke up again...

'Did you really think there would be anything special for you here? Just think of all those rats; dirty, disease-ridden creatures- And just like everything else in life, they will eventually die and cease to exist...'

The voice faded away, and as I looked down, a new line of stones lay at my paws; I was standing beside the river again. I knew what to do, just as I had last time I pulled one stone away at random, not bothering to look. It felt into the river with a plop and was swept away by the muddy current. A dull, clouded screeching and a horrible rip resonated in my ears and in the back of my mind.

My eyes snapped open.

I fell a bit at first, staggering forward against something hard. I soon realized my paws were wet and I was standing in water, in a very dark place. My heart beat rapidly in my chest, thumping loudly in my ears as I leaned against the wall for balance, breathing heavily.

Horrified, I smelled the sharp tang of blood, and looked down at my own fur to see it thick with the warm, dark liquid. A scream left my parted jaws, and it echoed around me along with the sound of dripping water as I tried to get a hold of myself. Staggering away from the wall, shaking on my paws, I attempted to catch my breath.

That treacherous, lying murderer! He killed me!

I opened my heart to him and he tore out my throat! He would pay for this. I swore it at that very moment... But this meant that cat from my dreams was right, I was immortal.

The water rose up to my paws, and a foul stench hung in the air in this place; I was in some sort of tunnel, which I soon realized was the sewer. A few bits of light came in from here and there from the potholes and grates above, offering a bit of light in the reeking darkness.

I jumped instinctively as a scream resonated through the tunnels, and I could hear the sound of sloshing further down the darkness ahead of me. A fire burned within my chest, and a cold iciness had begun to spread through my veins. It was time I found out just how mortal X was.

The screams continued down the way. I looked to find a passage behind me, only to find that I had been slumped against a dead end. Moving forward quietly through the water, I tried to make as little noise as possible in fear of what might be lurking in the shadows. As I moved in, my eyes quickly began to adjust to the darkness and what I saw made me stop in my tracks.

"Stars..."

Leaning against the walls and inside the small alcoves of the sewer were bodies of cats. Bodies set up in different poses. It was horrifying, and the smell, overwhelming. X had lined up all of his victims and kept them down there where he knew they wouldn't be found. He was sick, sick in the head. And he was going to pay...

The screaming was loud, it was a she-cat for sure; she sounded absolutely terrified, shrieking for her life. The noise seemed to be coming from all around me, from every single tunnel. This place was like a maze. The bodies seemed to be everywhere I looked, and I was horrified by the sheer number of them. There must have been over a dozen... and he had planned to set me up as well.

My first choice was a dark tunnel to the left, where I thought the sound might be coming from. A drop of water struck me on the head as I walked down the corridor, cold and sharp, but I didn't pay it any mind. My body was tense. I would find him, and when I did I...

That's when I stopped, seeing a tabby poised against the wall in one of the alcoves. My heart dropped in my chest at the sight.

It was Clara.

But that was impossible, I had spoke to her just the other night, had tried to stop her from jumping. And yet here she was, slumped up against the wall, looking like she had been dead for a whole lot longer than that... My eyes wandered over her corpse, and slowly I pulled her down so that she was fixed in a more peaceful position.

It made me wonder... Had she really ever been there at all? Or...was she already dead?

"I'm so sorry, Clara..."

I hoped that she would at least be able to find her peace in death.

This way was another dead end, but the pothole above was wide open, revealing the night sky. I could've left at that moment, but the screams were continuing on in the tunnels. I wasn't finished here just yet.

Discretion was no longer an option. I rushed back through the corridor and toward the cross-section where I had taken my first left. Only this time I went forward, then right. My paws splashed noisily in the filthy water, but the screams drowned out my noise. I was going by another opening when something caught my eye and I stopped, hurrying back to peer down the passage.

A large square area was up ahead, closed off on all sides by walls except one, a grate from above let in the light, revealing the figures beneath.

"Scream! Scream all you want you little brat! Louder, louder I said!"

I watched in horror as X, easily recognizable in the light, slammed a young she-cat into the hard, concrete wall. The poor cat was in hysterics, screaming and sobbing as she tried to get away, only to be pulled back through the water and struck violently by X's claws.

I hurried down the tunnel, increasing my pace with every carefully placed step. X was distracted. If I was quiet, I could surprise attack him from behind.

"Isn't it just the loveliest of sounds?! Your breed has a particular voice, so unique," he crooned, shoving her face first into the water. She struggled, splashing and writhing around beneath the much larger tom. He released her, and she came up with a large gasp, coughing violently while struggling for air. X slashed her across the side with glimmering, white claws, causing her to collapse and shrink back against the wall.

The water was dark with blood.

"Unlike you, I appreciate the uniqueness of beauty! Your body will make an excellent addition to my collection! Where it will always be appreciated by cats like me!"

That fool wasn't even paying attention. Anyone could have snuck up from behind; then again, he thought that I was dead and no one knew about this place. A mistake that just might be the last one he ever made, the biggest one of his entire life- That arrogant rat!

I slowly crept into the room, approaching the tom's sleek, black form from behind. I poised one paw in preparation, readying my claws.

"You've offended me..."

Leaving no time to waste I leapt forward and moved both my claws toward X's neck, pulling across his throat from both sides. I could feel the blood coat my claws and I released the tom. His body swayed for a moment, but soon collapsed into the water, his blood mixing into the already foul concoction. I stepped over his body and toward the still screaming she-cat, helping her up gently. Her breathing began to calm as she turned to face me, and I met her blue eyes.

I had just saved this she-cat's life, so why did I still feel so... angry?

Tears were streaming from her crystalline eyes as she sniffed. "Thank you..." she managed. "Thank you so much...he...he would've killed me...like the others..." She took a moment to let out a small sob. "That monster... you gave him what he deserved." The she-cat looked past me to X's body, now lying face first in the water of the sewer.

" Who are you?" she whimpered.

"Nobody important. Now get out of here, find someplace safe..."

I was going home.