Chapter 18: Scarlet Rain

We were starting to get close to the edge of the city with Mom's guidance. There was a brief brush with a rogue group, but they cleared off pretty quick after Mom declared that it was Pulse business. It was nice to not have to constantly watch over my shoulder for any signs of danger while ensuring that no one steps right into something any city cat would know is dangerous. Squirrelpaw and Crowpaw of course being the biggest offenders followed strangely by Feathertail. Either way, the edge was in sight.

We'd just pushed our way through some bushes when some frantic barking was heard from nearby. Mom's fur immediately bristled, and she shouted, "Run!"

We all pelted off, hoping to outrun the coming dog. Unfortunately, the dog was much closer than we thought. It was on our tail in moments. Not only that, but the dog was obviously a stray. There was no collar denoting that a Twoleg would deal with it. It was gaunt yet spry. I managed to get through a gap in a fence, but Squirrelpaw wasn't so lucky. She got herself treed by the dog. She wasn't the only one trapped up there. Tawnypelt had beaten Squirrelpaw to the tree hoping to wait out the dog. Meanwhile, there was still one more cat within the dog's reach. Feathertail was huddled beneath a bush. The dog had not yet caught on that she was there, but that would only hold out as long as Tawnypelt and Squirrelpaw kept its attention. Was this the fate I needed to defy? Was Feathertail destined to die by this dog?

I felt my claws itch at the sight of the dog barking and yapping at the tree. The world began to shift into the awful monochrome. I hated it, and I hated that dog. So noisy, so gray. I once more heard the alluring whispers of the claws placed upon my paw. Sweet promises of scarlet echoed throughout my mind. It would be freedom from the gray. I wanted, no, needed the red. I could feel my heart pounding in desire. A strange sense of calm washed over me. I would get the red. I would get lots of it. I needed a body though, and one annoying yappy dog promised enough to sate my desires. I couldn't help slightly purring in anticipation. Then I sprinted in. The dog heard my approach, but that mattered not. It'd soon feed my cravings. The beast was a fool, the claws cried. I could trick it. I stopped on the spot, waiting for the stupid thing to act. I could hear shouts, but I ignored them. They wouldn't help my desires. Finally, the beast lunged. This was the moment. Contorting and rolling beneath the bite, I found the dog's neck wide open. I smiled a twisted smile as I raised my paw and dragged the claws through its neck.

A rain of scarlet fell towards me, and it was nirvanic. So much beautiful red. I closed my eyes, feeling its warm and sticky embrace cover me. I was beautiful. I was red. I pulled myself free from the dog who was going through its death throws to examine my glorious form. Beautiful scarlet pooled off my paws. I even saw a drop condense and fall from one of my whiskers. Already, the dog had gone still. The pool of red coming from its neck had stopped expanding. The claws cheered with joy, now coated in a glorious scarlet, but the claws felt lonely. There was a dead dog right here. It wouldn't take more than a day for me to cut some fangs loose and fashion some claws for my other front paw. Then I could make even more red!

My thoughts were cut short by someone licking me. It was brisk, as if they were checking for wounds on me. I looked back with hatred towards who would besmirch my beauty until I realized who they were. It took a long time for my mind to process it. What kept me from hurting them was the fact they were orange, which was close to red. I saw their mouth moving, but I just couldn't make out the words. My own beating heart drowned out the sound. It was only when more cats appeared, did I get a wrangle on myself. It was Smoke and the rest of the journey cats. The world was shifting back into color. All at once I realized how uncomfortable all the rapidly clotting blood was in my fur. The worst part was my whiskers. They felt stiff, and it constantly felt like I was brushing my face against a wall. I even had to remove the claws Father gave me, them having filled with the blood of the dog. I let Squirrelpaw guide me out of the pool of blood as I rapidly tried to clean my face of the blood.

"Darkpaw, are you alright?" Tawnypelt fussed, having climbed down the tree after the dog fell.

"I'm soaked in blood and caught a mouthful of it. Would not recommend by the way. I am physically unhurt." I answered. Tawnypelt and Squirrelpaw caught my drift that something else had happened during or before the dog attack.

"Ok. We'll stop for the night as soon as we get somewhere safe." Tawnypelt consoled.

The rest of the cats were soon around me. Brambleclaw and Stormfur were making comment on how reckless my actions were. Feathertail was grateful that I managed to deal with the dog before it found her. Crowpaw was strangely silent, but he did press his paw against the dog's wound, seemingly measuring how deep his claws would have went. I saw him grumble unhappily at his discovery that they likely wouldn't have even pierced a vein. Finally Smoke dragged me over to get a thorough grooming. It was obviously very embarrassing, but could I do? Squirrelpaw brought the claws over for me after I asked, and I set to removing all the blood and reequipping them. I did hear Smoke mumble about how dirty of a kit I must have been, having thoroughly soaked my ears in blood as well. I mean, she wasn't wrong, but I blame Squirrelpaw for having been a rambunctious kit who dragged me into everything. I felt better having recalled that memory. The monochrome seemed a little further away, but I could still feel it. I could still feel the desire to coat myself in red and the indignance for allowing someone to remove it from me. I could beat it. Father trusted me to. I could do this, right?