CHAPTER 44-Disarrayed

The sun was just peeking over the treetops as I frantically shook the toms awake.

"Nnnggh...wha?" Dewstorm yawned sleepily as he cracked upon one eye to peer at me.

"Wake up!" I hissed. "It's important!" He only rolled over and dozed off.

Snowstorm wasn't doing any better. He kept on sleeping no matter what I did. The only one who stirred was Pip. She stretched her thin legs, yawning, and then sat up to stare at me with intelligent brown eyes.

I sighed and gave her a tiny smile. "These two louts are really heavy sleepers. Even if the whole meadow was on fire, I doubt they'd wake up."

Pip only tilted her head to one side and stared at me. I couldn't tell what was hidden inside those bright mahogany eyes.

Suddenly, I knew what I could do to wake them up. Leaning down close to Snowstorm's ear, I whispered, "Snowstorm! The dogs are attacking! One of them's got me! Heeelp!"

It was only a little joke. I didn't expect it to work, but all of a sudden, his amber eyes flew open and he was on his paws, crouching down with his fur bristling.

"Where are they?" he growled. "I'll tear their pelts off!"

He whirled around and glared at the imaginary intruders, and after a few seconds, he realized that we were still in the meadow.

He saw me. "What happened to you? Your fur is dripping wet."

I shrugged and mewed, "Oh, it's nothing. I just took a swim in the Lake." My eyes hardened. "But there's something important I have to tell you."

I shivered as a cold wind engulfed me. Snowstorm leaned toward me and began to lap my fur the wrong way so that it would dry faster.

"I have to dry you first," he said. "You'll catch a cold."

I stood there awkwardly as he groomed me.

Trying to focus on the reason I was here, I explained, "I met Yellowfang last night. She was one of ThunderClan's past medicine cat, in case you don't know. She told me that the Darklings were invading StarClan's territory, and if I don't stop them soon, the whole thing will collapse. The stars will die and disappear, and the Clans along with it."

I waited for him to stiffen and gasp in shock, maybe suggest the things that I could do to stop it.

Instead, he continued grooming me, his eyes relaxed and with a faraway look in them.

"Snowstorm?" I asked. "Did you hear what I said?"

He murmured, "Yeah, I did. It sounds like a pretty unusual dream to me."

I felt frustrated. "Snowstorm, it's not a dream. It was real. I saw Yellowfang and StarClan, and I even saw the Darklings."

He untangled a small burr on my spine while he talked. "Everyone knows that the Darklings aren't real. It's just a fairy tale that queens use to frighten their kits."

I flattened my ears and whirled around to face him. I said every word clearly in the hopes that he would understand: "Darklings are real. And if I don't find a way to get rid of them forever, then everyone is doomed."

The white warrior blinked at me with a confused expression on his face.

I looked up at him gently and murmured, "Don't you believe me?"

That jolted him a little bit as his eyes widened in disbelief.

He meowed, "What? Of course I believe you...most of the time. But the Darklings are only stories. They're not real."

I gazed at him with a pleading expression.

He looked away and muttered, "Oh, don't give me that look."

I looked over at Pip and meowed, "Pip, are the Darklings real?"

She threw a glance over her shoulder and barked.

I turned to Snowstorm. "See? She says 'yes'."

He sighed. "Shadefrost, you can't speak the fox language. That was just a normal bark."

I leaned back and sighed in defeat. The sleeping form of Dewstep shifted and he murmured, "Ugh, how can I sleep if I keep hearing you two arguing back and forth?"

The white tom said, "Hey, Dewstep, Shadefrost says that Darklings exist. What do you think?"

His brother draped an arm over his face and whispered sleepily, "Yeah, of course they're real. I saw them myself."

Snowstorm sighed again and turned back to me. "It's hard to believe that Darklings exist. It's like trying to believe in...what do you call them again? Griffons?"

"Griffons. Half eagle, half lion. A lion-tailed eagle. Or a winged lion. Things like that."

He paused, trying to imagine what it looked like in his mind. "You used to tell me stories about them when we were apprentices. You said they flew higher than mountains, alongside phoenixes, and that their roars were like thunder. I know for a fact that they're not real, and so I know for a fact that Darklings aren't real either. The queens say that the Darklings are part of a night, with teeth as sharp as thorns and claws as long and slender as porcupine quills."

My eyes widened. "What else did they tell you?"

"The stories say that they carry a part of the shadows inside their empty hearts. If you peer into their hollow eyes, they take away part of your soul."

He shuddered.

I asked impatiently, "And what else do the stories say? Do they tell you what the Darklings are afraid of?"

He thought for a moment. "Not really. They say that the creatures only scavenge in the darkest hours of the night, and they hide away from the daylight."

"Light. That's right. I almost forgot. They're afraid of light."

They fear daylight, fire, warmth, and everything else that gives off light, Furled Bracken had said.

I turned and sprinted away.

"Where are you going?" Snowstorm called.

"I need to talk to Bramblestar. Pip, stay here. Don't leave this meadow no matter what," I meowed to the fox.

The grass stalks snapped under my paws as I ran. Skirting a few trees, I paused at the top of a ridge to taste the air. I started sprinting again, bounding across the ground and over the hills.

Finally, the ThunderClan camp came into view. I brushed past a few warriors, ignoring the questions they threw at me, and hurried through the gorse tunnel.

I ran over to the leader's den, avoiding the tendrils of bramble, and scooted inside before I remembered to ask for permission first.

I stood their panting, my fur ruffled, with Bramblestar and Squirrelflight seated in their nest in front of me. They were sharing tongues, but broke off when I entered.

They stared at me with wide eyes, taking in my tangled fur that was still slightly wet, my heaving sides, and the desperate look in my gaze.

My ears turned a shade of bright red when I realized how embarrassing I must look.

Squirrelflight cleared her throat and meowed, "Um, well...do you have something to report, Shadefrost?"

After I regained my posture, I sat down and said, "Yes. This might sound weird and slightly insane, but I am part of a prophecy."

I expected them to stare at me as if I had grown another tail, but to my surprise, both of their eyes softened.

Bramblestar explained, "We know. Jayfeather told us. I admit, I was a bit surprised at first, but I accepted it. If StarClan has chosen you, then you really must have something ancient and powerful inside you."

They dipped their heads. I gaped at them, startled, but then took a deep breath and explained to them what Yellowfang had told me.

After I had said everything I could, Squirrelflight nodded silently and turned to the leader for answers.

The tom stared at the floor, his ears swiveling and restless. His amber eyes were troubled. "So the Darklings are afraid of light, of heat and warmth and everything that used to be light. So what can we do? We can't set the territory on fire. And we can't depend on the sun for protection if the Darklings are going to be prowling around at night."

He looked straight at me and said, "Do you know how many have escaped from the Boneyard?" A strange tension seemed to hang in the air right after he said that word.

I shook my head. I hardly even saw any at night, but there could be hundreds of them out there, hiding under the cover of the night and waiting for their chance to strike. They were great at hiding.

I suddenly understood what I had to do. "I have to go back to...to the Boneyard." A shiver went down my spine as I remembered that place. The answers could only be there, probably buried under all of those bones in the ground.

They glanced at me sharply, their muscles suddenly rigid. "You can't," Squirrelflight mewed gently. "From the tales that the elders used to tell me, it's a vile place filled with death and misery."

I managed to give her a weak grin. "Oh, it's fine. I've already been there once. I can do it again."

Ignoring the worried looks on their faces, I hurriedly padded outside, almost jumping out of my fur as I saw the shadow in front of me suddenly move.

But it was only Jayfeather standing underneath the shadow of the hanging leaves, his blind eyes narrowed and stern.

"I was listening," he mewed coldly. "You can't go there. Not to that place."

I hissed, "I have to! I have to find out more!"

He took a threatening step toward me. "I won't let you. What will happen if you get hurt? If you die? I can't risk that happening to the prophecy's cat. If you die, then the prophecy will never be fulfilled."

"I'll die anyway, no matter what you do. That's what the prophecy says," I snapped back, my eyes flashing. I felt a hint of sorrow, but brushed it away. "If I don't do this, then I'll never know the answers that only the Boneyard has."

Jayfeather glared at me for a while, his hackles rising. I was ready to fight him if I needed to. The Clans were in danger, and I couldn't waste any more time.

Finally, he gave up and growled, "Alright then, fine. But I'm...I'm coming with you."

OoOOoOoOooOoOoOOOoOOoOoOOoOOooOoOoOOoo

The sky grew colder as we neared that place.

"You seem to know a lot about it," I murmured. He padded silently beside me, saying nothing.

"So? What are you hiding?" I pressed on.

He shook his head and growled, "Nothing, it's nothing."

I wondered if I should pretend that I didn't say anything, but decided that I wouldn't be able to find out the answers if I didn't ask questions.

I whirled around and stepped in front of him. "Tell me," I insisted.

Jayfeather scowled at me with his famous death glare. I quickly shrank back but didn't look away.

He snarled, "You really want to know? Fine then, I'll tell you. I've been to the Boneyard before. Two times in fact. The first was when I was still a stupid apprentice and had run away from my duties. I was wandering around aimlessly, hopelessly lost, and the sun was setting. All of a sudden, as I walked, the ground underneath me grew hard and uneven with huge, sharp rocks jutting out of the ground. A chill crept into my bones, but since I couldn't see, I didn't know where I was going."

I listened intently.

"I felt something ancient stirring inside me, warning me not to go any further. I turned around and ran away as fast as I could, feeling something swiping at my heels. The warriors found me in the edge of their territory, but I wouldn't tell them where I'd been. After listening to the elders' stories that night, I realized that I had been to the Boneyard."

I asked quietly, "And what about the second time?"

He hesitated. "I was still an apprentice, about 10 moons old. There was a serious bout of greencough in the Clan, and we couldn't find catmint in any of the usual places. Without telling anyone, I visited the Boneyard, wondering if I could find anything there. As I neared the place, I felt that same feeling of dread. As a stupid apprentice, I wanted to see how much bravery I had, so I pressed on. The day grew darker as night came, when all of a sudden, I heard a scream."

He flinched. "I never forgot that sound, the sound of a Darkling. It lunged at me and swiped a claw, ripping a gash into my shoulder. Luckily, I was standing right on top of a cliff, and I fell off before it killed me. I landed on my side, injured my other shoulder, tumbled a little distance away, and was found by a patrol. I lied to them and said that I had been attacked by a dog, but I never did forget what happened that day. I never went back."

A few large, jet-black rocks jutted out of the grey ground like teeth. He glanced at me. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

I hesitated. The dreaded feeling of despair etched its way into my soul as we walked closer and closer to that place. "Yes," I said.

Jayfeather said nothing and only closed his eyes.

We continued on silently, watching as the wind grew colder and the birds grew silent. The sky turned into an ashen grey and more sharp rocks appeared.

Suddenly, Jayfeather stopped and hissed, "I can't go any further." His ears were flattened against his head and he was slightly trembling. It scared me to see him like this.

The fear was worming its way inside me, urging me to turn back. I forced myself to mew, "That's fine. You wait here, and I'll go alone."

When he didn't object, I resumed walking, slightly slowing down as a feeling of angst wrapped its claws around me.

I have to keep moving. By now, the ground had gotten so rocky that I had to step gingerly so that I wouldn't cut my paws.

After a few more minutes, I halted and gazed at my surroundings. The ground was nothing but dust that blew away with every breath of the wind, revealing white patches of broken bones.

There was nothing here except for the wind and sky. So barren, so empty. This was a forgotten land that the Ancients had tried so desperately to seal away. I sniffed the air, choking on the smell of smoke.

As I trudged through, I remembered the voices of the spirits calling out to me so long ago. They had begged me to save them, and their voices had long ceased after they realized that there was nothing I could do. Were they still here?

"Hello?" I called. My voice sounded hollow and dry, quiet and faint against the vastness of this place.

I nosed the ground, wiping the dust away and peering down at the old bones of the cats who had once breathed here.

The Ancients had tried to fight the Darklings and defeat them once and for all. This was their battlefield. They had ultimately lost and many were killed, their bones hollow and forgotten underneath the dust, buried under all those years of rain and sorrow.

What happened after that? Surely, there must have been some survivors. What did they do to seal the Darklings into the Boneyard?

There was a weak barrier around this place, but I couldn't see or feel it. Was it still there?

The dark clouds moved across the sun, cutting the rays off from the ground.

The landscape grew darker and gloomier. I froze when I heard a high-pitched shriek behind me and the clatter of long, slender claws on bones.

I screamed as it brought down one large black claw on top of me. It would have stricken me if I hadn't rolled away at the last second. The bones on the ground broke and cracked as the Darkling glared at me, snarling. It held me hypnotized in its soulless gaze for a few minutes. As it slowly advanced toward me, I broke out of the trance and bounded away as fast as I could.

"Jayfeather!" I screamed. I didn't expect him to hear me.

There was a thick silence behind me as I ran. Did the Darkling run off?

It was a mistake to look back. As soon as I turned my head around, I gazed into the hollow sockets in its face. A whimper leaked out of my mouth as it snarled, saliva dripping from its jaws, and it lunged toward me as swift as a lion.

Its movements were a blur as it advanced toward me. I felt a suffocating pain in my mind, as sharp and burning as a knife.

As I collapsed, the ground flew out from under me and I was looking up at the sky, with a feeling of light-headedness filling my senses.

I heard Jayfeather screaming my name a little distance away, I heard the sound of the Darkling snapping its jaws, saw it towering above me, but I couldn't move.

It opened its mouth wide, revealing its rows and rows of teeth, and leaned down to clamp them into me. I felt a bright, fleeting sense of pain, and before I knew it, everything turned black, and I couldn't find the strength to pull away.