AN: A new story – enjoy! I have really big plans for this one! All reviews welcome :)
A plummet into darkness, a voiceless scream tearing through her mind—help, help— Then, the abrupt, suffocating silence of nothingness. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound.
Everything's empty - so empty…
She awoke abruptly in a rolling landscape of darkness, sprawled in a miserable heap on the sodden earth of an alien landscape. It was nothing she had seen: rows and rows of gnarled trees irregularly standing behind her, their their skeletal branches clawing at the dim sky, their dry leaves occasionally trembling despite the absence of wind. Just being here sent immediate chills down her spine. This was a place where life withered, where hope went to die.
Get up! She willed her legs to move, but her claws sank straight into the mud, coming into contact with a dark, viscous water. She jumped back in alarm at its cold, unfamiliar touch. She tried to lick it off - yuck! A cold, foul-smelling mire clung to her fur, the strong odor permeating the surroundings. What kind of forest was this?
A crackle behind her, sharp and sudden. Hackles raised, she spun around, eyes straining in the gloom, looking for the source of the sound. Nothing. At least nothing she could see under the dim light of the ever-darkening night sky. It was curious: not a single star was visible in the vast expanse above her, only a slight bit of moonlight that trickled down cautiously from the sky and through the canopy overhead, pale and hesitant. Only the eerie silence, broken by the rustle of leaves in the unseen wind. Despite these vile surroundings, a flicker of recognition told her she had known, somehow, that she would end up here - some twisted turn of events from a previous life which she barely remembered.
Before she could make more sense of her surroundings, a searing pain ripped through her pelt, drawing attention to a series of scars on her pelt. She clenched her jaws in agony. Definitely caused by a cat, a skilled and brutal fighter. Inflicted during some vicious encounter, perhaps?
But what had happened to her? Why was she in this place? Who even was she?
Her mind was a mess; as she closed her eyes, memories seemed to flicker before her eyes like shards of broken glass, fast as a sweeping current and turbulent as a hurricane – a jumbled collection of fragments that she failed to make any sense of. The oppressive, sickening air was getting to her; she had to concentrate, to remember–
"So. Curlfeather. I must say I'm not surprised, considering what you've done."
A yelp of surprise escaped her; the voice, close enough to feel its breath on her fur, yet its source remained hidden. Not a soul in sight. This place is cursed! Haunted! Are there ghosts here?
"Oh, don't bother looking for me," the voice sounded amused. "You won't find me. You don't know me. But I know you, of course - not much excitement around here, you see."
Curlfeather. The name sparked a surge of memories. She finally remembered her past life, her plan – I failed, I died trying to be leader – the dog pack… It hurt to recall her failure, sharper than the scars that marred her body. She had been so close to her ambition, only to lose everything, everything in the final, cruel twist of fate.
"Looking just a bit remorseful, I see… You don't have to put up that act, you know," the voice sneered, dripping with contempt now. "I know what you did. You failed, and It sent you right here, to the Place of No Stars, where you belong!"
This… so this is the Place of No Stars?
In life, Curlfeather had known the risks she was taking. She knew the price of her ambition, that she'd end up in the Dark Forest when she died. But never had she considered the real gravity of the consequences: she would be stuck in here for eternity, until she was forgotten and slowly faded away. The Dark Forest was almost empty after the battle, they had said. They hadn't warned her about invisible spirits that lurked here and taunted you when you arrived.
Without warning, it struck; a sudden, crushing force slammed into her, a blow that seemed to come from everywhere at once, disorienting her, waves of pain exploding throughout her body. She fought back, but there was nothing to fight, no tangible enemy, no outstretched claws or bared teeth she could see coming for her. It was futile to defend; the attacker was nowhere to be seen, but it somehow had caught her in its deadly claws.
"W-who are you?" Curlfeather wheezed desperately, struggling for breath. "What are you?! How are you invisible?"
"Foolish kit! I am nothing you can conceive of, but I am everywhere – I am more powerful than any cat can ever imagine!" it roared, not bothering to contain its anger, a raw, uncontrolled force that seemed to shake her with its impact. "You drew me to your forsaken grounds. You unleashed me. I was nowhere, and then you came along, and then I was here. You foul creature. I was never supposed to be here!"
The unseen force tightened its grip; she could feel it brutally choking her, the pain intensifying, never releasing her. If it didn't stop soon, she would die like this – well, she wasn't sure she could die again in the Dark Forest, but anything could happen in this StarClan-forsaken place.
As sudden as it had struck, the attack ceased. Gasping for air, she staggered back with what little strength she had left, still in disbelief of what had happened to her.
I need to get out. Now!