Chapter 24: The Act of Being Terrified

Terror: The terrible black sea of hatred and murder.

It's a weird definition. Not something I would expect. Not something anyone would suspect. It's not a very good way of describing the word. I had always learned it as extreme fear. Because that's what it is. Fear to the next level. I say that my victims' eyes are full of terror all the time. So why did Nightpaw suddenly dream, or think, that terror would be a 'black sea'? Sense? I think not.

I know I said that it was a weird prophecy by this weird StarClan, but I threw that idea out the window. It wasn't logical. Prophecies aren't logical. Nothing that tells you the future is logical. Neither are dead cats who talk to you in your dreams. It's not possible. Same with mind control. Not possible. Yet, somehow, Opin managed to control Blaze. To get him to kill me.

I was already angry. Thinking about all of this just made me angrier. I looked over at Cloudbreeze, still stuck in her little trance of weirdness. I have to say, emotions can be really funny. I thought about erasing her mind from all of that mind debate, but then realized I was somehow angry enough to kill anyone who said something I didn't like.

Then I thought back to that she-cat. She was strong. Able to match me. I needed to kill something right now, but I didn't want to hurt anyone. I could tell by that she-cat's attitude she didn't have many friends. If she did, they probably wouldn't care that much if she died. So why not go find her, and fight her for no reason at all? It would be fun.

"Cloudbreeze." I mewed. I couldn't bare to look at her for the fear I might injure her in some way, "I'm going out to kill something. If I'm not back by sunset get Hollystar to announce that the demon is dead." That last part was a joke. But I'm sure Cloudbreeze was smiling while my head was turned. I'm sure she hates me.

"O-okay." Was her response.

Then I left.

It wasn't hard to find this mysterious she-cat. I had her scent memorized. She didn't even go far. She was following me, so I wouldn't be surprised.

"Why are you back?" She growled, "Didn't I make it clear that I hate you?"

I stared at her without emotion, "Hate fuels anger. Anger makes us thirst for violence. Violence is the source of most problems in this world." I smirked, "So lets make a problem."

She growled furiously and leaped gracefully at me. Ugh. She-cats and their built-in grace. It wasn't useful for fighting. It was useful for practically nothing. Our claws clashed like last time, only this time I was letting her get a little bit ahead. She claws off tufts of fur and nicked my ear. Nothing else was touched. I was invincible. She was practically invincible too. It was like we were the same. It was like me and Hollystar. Though this she-cat didn't have the exact taste for murder that I have. She just kills for fun. I kill because I lose control. Completely different states of mind. I wanted to figure it out.

"You have a death wish, don't you?" She spat.

I broke off our fight for a heartbeat and shrugged, "I'm a demon. I can't stay dead."

Her eyes narrowed in absolute hatred. Her whole scent gave off the want to murder. Her small body ready for another attack. Crouched down low, like she was hunting a bird. Ready to spring up higher than believable. She would come behind me and attack my flank without giving me a chance to think. Then, I saw blood seeping out of her paws. Pouring from her eyes. Followed by black. It quickly spread throughout the rest of my vision. Was this Opin? It couldn't be! She couldn't have this much power! I backed away, completely terrified.

Terror: The terrible black sea of murder and hatred.

It was her. She was Terror. Spreading extreme fear wherever she went. Torturing innocent souls with death. Black...nothing but black...slushing around my body. Getting into my eyes, mouth, and ears. I stepped back, only feeling more of the sticky blackness. My eyes were wide open, but I couldn't see anything. I couldn't ear anything but a buzz. A little buzz of a voice. I couldn't recognize it.

I was completely helpless.

"Give up living your own life." A tom's voice growled. It was the same tom from the dream I had the day before. When I collapsed while fighting Hollystar. When I was near that star covered pool, "Give up on writing your own story. You're supposed to follow the story."

I couldn't speak through the black sea. I couldn't move. I could only blink.

"Do you want to know this story?" He asked me.

Yes. Yes I do. Whatever will stop you from sending me these weird visions. I don't want to be a crazy madman for the rest of my life. I want to be at least slightly normal.

"Appropriate response..." He stalled for a while. I was stuck in the blackness. The flowing, sticky, mushy, blackness, "Very well. I shall tell you the story." His voice darkened, "But...if there happens to be someone you tell this story to, I will not hesitate to send you back to where you came from."

Okay. I mentally nodded, as I couldn't in my current state. I waited for the tom to continue. The voice never came. Instead, I heard a she-cat's voice. It was muddy and weird. I could move again, though, and I could scent trees. I felt ground beneath my feet instead of slush. I blinked a million times before the voice I was hearing cleared.

"Hey! Tom-cat! Are you dead? I'm sure I killed you, right?" It was that Terror cat(I'm not actually sure if that's her real name since she never told me). Surprising, I would've expected she ran away seeing my frozen position. Though, I'm also sure anyone sane would've wanted to know if I was alright.

Sharp claws poked my abdomen. I growled in response, "What are you doing?"

My vision was still black. My eyes were blind. I felt so weak. I'd never experienced something like this before. It wasn't normal. Nothing that's happened since I joined ShadowClan has been normal. I've had weird visions. I've started to see other cats' souls. I can't help but think about how much better the world would be if I killed everyone. There's a she-cat who's too hyper for her own good, and another she-cat who's terrified of feeling. My life has really took a turn for the worse, hasn't it?

"I'm...checking to see if you're dead yet." She replied, "You suddenly stopped moving, with your eyes full of fear. I would've taken advantage of that and killed you...but you just looked like you had seen your best friend die...I know too much what that feels like."

I don't know if I was looking towards her face or not. I don't even know if she was looking at me. The black wouldn't go away. I couldn't use my eyes. I couldn't see. I couldn't do anything about it. And I know my eyes aren't just closed. I can still feel the black on my eyes. The stickiness. The flow of the terrifying black sea.

"Terror." I shuttered, "The terrifying black sea of hatred and murder." I don't know why I said that, but it just felt right to say it at that specific moment. The black corrupting my eyes slowly flowed away, letting me see the she-cat staring at me in complete disbelief. I stared back, "What? It's just a couple of words."

"I must be going crazy." She muttered, then walked away. Our fight and mutual hatred forgotten. I stared at her back until she disappeared.

"Everyone's crazy." I whispered. Then I shivered, wanting warmth. I thought back to that morning. Nettlepaw's warmth...what was that? I remembered thinking of her warmth the night before. Comforting. Something I wanted. But I didn't really want it. It was more like...something I had to have. Some cat to comfort me when I was sad. I've never felt like this before. It was new. New for me usually meant bad. Though, ShadowClan hasn't been all bad. It's helped me unlock powers I didn't know I had.

But these new feelings I had discovered? That was the thing that surprised me most. No matter how I picked at them in my mind I couldn't make any sense of them. I could analyze them in any way. They were completely foreign to me.

And I was absolutely terrified.

YAY I'm not dead! I went camping this weekend in the wild wilderness. I would've updated sooner, but unfortunately my family forced the unplugged journey. So here's the next installment of your favorite demon's story.

-Moon

(P.S. I'm thinking of doing a Halloween special that I'll upload on October 31st. Recommendations for scary peeing pants happenings?)