Lost Hope: Book 5: Forest of Vipers

Chapter 1

Forestpaw had wondered many times when she might see the real world again. She had been growing used to the damp old den that Viperfang had forced her to stay in, and she was beginning to think that she might not like the sun if she didn't get out and see it soon.

    It had only been a couple days, the dark tabby she-cat had informed her, but Forestpaw thought it felt more like a few moons. She was seriously considering digging a hole out of this place, even if it wasn't possible, but she knew Viperfang would not be merciful if she did. Better to play it safe until she had a concrete plan to get out of here.

    "Oh, little Forestpaw." She stiffened as she heard a voice at the head of the tunnel. She got up from the meager pile of scrappy moss she'd accumulated by collecting it in her claws every time Viperfang let her step outside, and stood as tall as she could under her mounting fear.

    Viperfang appeared in front of her, grinning an ever-present smile of sharp fangs. "I know it's been so boring for you in here. Come with me, I'll give you something to do."

    Forestpaw's whiskers twitched curiously as she followed Viperfang out of the den and into the dark trees that greeted them. The eerie atmosphere gave her small shivers of dread.

    They hadn't been walking long when they came upon a couple cats that Forestpaw didn't recognize. They didn't smell like any of the Clans. Viperfang was training rogues.

    A larger brown tom was sitting on the sidelines while two rogues fought and Viperfang went to stand beside him. Forestpaw followed in her shadow.

    "This is your little complication?" the tom asked Viperfang, flicking his tail at Forestpaw. As if I'm not here, she thought indignantly.

    Viperfang rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dogtooth. But she isn't a complication anymore since she isn't with her Clan. She can't tell any of them about the visions she's been having from StarClan."

    Dogtooth wrinkled his nose. "I still find it so weird how dead cats can talk to living cats," he said.

    "Well, I'm dead," Viperfang said matter-of-factly, grinning at him.

    "I know, it's just weird," Dogtooth repeated with a bit more of a growl in his voice. If Viperfang noticed, she didn't acknowledge him.

    Forestpaw didn't ask why she was here. Maybe Viperfang just wanted to show her more up close how much they were going to destroy the Clans, but she had a feeling it was something else.

    The two cats that were fighting were tearing clumps from each other's pelts and spraying blood everywhere. Forestpaw winced at the sight, but Viperfang and Dogtooth seemed to be rather enjoying it.

    The first cat leaped at the second and bit down hard on his neck. Forestpaw thought he was going to kill the other right on the spot, but Dogtooth jumped up and said, "That's enough Thistle."

    Thistle leapt off the other tom and trotted over to sit near Dogtooth, but not quite beside him, and he began to pick the fur and blood from his claws. The second cat remained laying where he was, but Forestpaw could tell that he was still alive by the slight rise and fall of his chest.

    "You can go get Cactus and Jaguar," Viperfang told Dogtooth, he nodded and padded off at a swift pace. He returned after a few minutes followed by a skinny tom with green eyes and a larger golden and spotted tom.

    "This is where you come in, dear Forestpaw," Viperfang said, standing up and staring at her with her snake-like eyes.

    "Me. . . ?" Forestpaw stuttered, suddenly terrified for her life.

    Viperfang purred, "Of course. And don't worry—it's very simple. When I say 'go,' just take off running, in any direction, and don't stop."

    Forestpaw gulped. "Um, okay."

    "GO!"

    "Now, uh—?"

    "I said GO!"

    Forestpaw whipped around and took off running. She decided on a more open area, but soon realized this was a bad decision because Cactus and Jaguar were right behind her. With a terrified yelp she swerved into the forest and ducked under a fallen log that would slow them down, although she didn't know by how much.

    Taking a quick glance behind her, she saw that Cactus had leapt over it easily while Jaguar took a slightly longer time climbing over, but they were soon both back on her tail.

    She looked around frantically for an escape, and an idea came to her. She didn't care if it was against the rules—the little that Viperfang might've set.

    Taking a leap of faith, she launched herself at the nearest tree and started to climb up it, digging her claws in deep. She was halfway up the trunk when Cactus started to claw his way up to her. Trying not to fall off, she quickened her pace and was soon in the closest branch to the ground. She looked down and saw that Jaguar had also begun to ascend the tree, albeit a little slower than Cactus.

    Forestpaw jumped up to the next branch, and then the next, trying not to pay too much attention on how high up she was. The tree swayed under her weight a little, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to go up much higher. Cactus was coming closer, followed by the much heavier Jaguar.

    Taking a breath, she crouched down on the tip of the bare branch and judged the distance between her current tree and the next. If she could make the jump, she knew she'd be able to avoid them completely.

    Forestpaw leapt forward, closing her eyes, feeling the rush of air around her, and expecting the impact of the ground at any second. When she opened her eyes again, she found her paws scraping the bark of the next branch and she clung on tightly, swinging the rest of her body onto it and sticking close to the trunk.

    She turned around and saw Cactus sitting on the branch she'd been crouching on moments earlier and felt a rush of satisfaction. It was quickly diminished by the appearance of Jaguar.

    "Let me," the spotted tom growled and shoved Cactus back. The skinny gray tom almost lost his balance and fell off, but he managed to cling onto the branch.

    Jaguar crouched and sprang forward, the branch bouncing under his weight. But his leap was powerful and carried him to the next branch, where he landed and stared at Forestpaw with a satisfied grin. "Gotcha," he said.

    The branch creaked and Forestpaw saw cracks appear in the wood beneath their paws.

    "Not yet," she said, high on adrenaline, and leapt up to the next branch up that was staggered at a different angle. As she did, the branch holding her advisory split and he plummeted toward the ground with a screech.

    She stared down as he fell, but suddenly, his form disappeared into thin air. What in StarClan? Not that she had wanted him dead necessarily, but what had happened to him?

    Forestpaw started making her way down the tree when the landscape suddenly changed around her, the breath sucked out of her lungs and her paws flailed slightly, and then she was beside Viperfang. The she-cat could transport her at will. She gulped in the stagnant air, feeling dizzy.

    "Ah," she said. "I see you managed to survive. Very good. And it seems Jaguar has woken up. Falling is so very jarring."

    Forestpaw was shocked by her nonchalance. All three of us could have died and she couldn't care less.

    "I'll be sending you back to your little den now," Viperfang told her. "Bye-bye!"

    And then she was suddenly in her damp hole again. Forestpaw realized her heart was beating what seemed like a thousand miles a second, and she worked to regulate her breathing, and when she had finally relaxed a little, it dawned on her; I just outsmarted two fully grown cats and lived to tell the tale.