Warriors: The Prophecy

Chapter Twenty Eight

Blood trickled down Thistlestrike's cheek, and she felt a sharp heat radiating from behind her as the flames in the hallow grew. She glared at the tribe cat and shook her head slightly.

"Your gonna regret doing that." She hissed between her teeth.

The cats eyes widened in slight fear before Thistlestrike lunged at him with outstretched claws. She pinned him easily, and the cat struggled desperately to get free. The cat began to claw at her underbelly, and she shrieked in pain.

For a slight moment, her vision was lined with red, and all she felt was rage.

Before she knew what she was doing, she hooked her claws into the cats shoulders and slammed his head into the hard, forest floor. The cat was dead in an instant. Thistlestrike backed away quickly, stumbling over herself as she gazed at the body.

I lost control...I didn't mean to...

She coughed hard from the smoke when suddenly she felt a swoosh of wind and turned in surprise to see Breezerunner sprinting past her.

"Breezerunner!" She yowled, but it was as if he couldn't hear her.

The tom ran towards what looked like Fernwish cornered in a wall of fire. Autumnleaf stood over her, preparing to strike.

Great Starclan!

She yowled in shock as Breezerunner collided with Autumnleaf as she was leaping through the air. The two cats then plummeted into the flames, screeching in agony as the fire engulfed them.

"NO!" Fernwish's agonized yowl was heard throughout the entire hallow, and all heads turned to her in surprise.

Thistlestrike rushed towards the she-cats side, her eyes wide as she watched the flames dance in victory.

Fernwish shook her head.

"He can't be gone...he..."

Thistlestrike placed her tail on her shoulder gently.

"Fernwish..." She whispered quietly.

The she-cat continued to shake her head, her eyes welling with tears.

"NO!" She screeched again, falling to her paws. She laid her forehead to the ground, yowling in agony.

Thistlestrike tried to approach her, but the she-cat shouldered her away.

"Breezerunner..." A cat meowed weakly from behind her.

Thistlestrike turned to see Brackenheart laying on his side, watching the fire with tears in his eyes.

"Brackenheart!" Thistlestrike rushed towards the tom, examining his wounds.

"I...couldn't save him." The tom whispered. "My paw it..." He shook his head. "It's excuses. I could have saved him. I just...wasn't strong enough."

Thistlestrike touched her nose to his ear gently.

"It wasn't your fault." She mumbled. "He...saved us. He saved us all."

She turned suddenly as paw steps approached. Cats from both the clans, and the tribe began to circle around the scene, watching the fire that had engulfed the two cats.

Tribe cats whispered amongst each other in shock. Their leader was dead.

The rain poured harder on the large group of cats. Their blood from their wounds and the dead ran like a river through the hallow, washing it away. The flames began to diminish and the smoke started to fade. The silence was deafening, the only sound being the sobs of grief coming from Fernwish.