Silent Shadows: Book One - Echoes of the Flame

XX

A thick, black blanket suffocated the heavens. A chilling wind combed the grass, the vast fields of the countryside were painted pitch black. The whole world was obscured as it was swept into the deadly magic of winter. Frosty winds silently swept through a stygian ocean of night dew.

Two shadows slowly slunk through ebony fields, camouflaged among a deep world of shadow. Far behind them was the unconscious body of an apprentice, strewn among the grass. Their eyes stern and cold with ruthless triumph, the two slunk away from the nearly lifeless apprentice and trekked away into the black country fields.

"So, do you think she's dead?" the molly asked. "I hope so, after I saved her life twice just to gain her trust. At least we got her to kill a bunch of those prisoners, little shit thought she was killing her enemies."

"She started screaming about explosions, then she passed out," her companion scoffed. "I'm sure the poor little fucker is dead. I'd feel proud if I was her, knowing the task of killing me was so important that a bunch of rogues fighting for your killers were murdered for it."

"Don't worry, Pebblestar always can recruit more rogues to fight for him when we finally kill all the idiots in NightClan," the molly spoke.

"Ha! Yeah!" He chuckled. "Man I'm excited. I can't wait to kick all their asses, it'll be the biggest fight in the history of the Clans! Ever seen a fight so big the entire Clan was destroyed? Nope, me neither. God damn, this'll be epic."

His partner lashed her tail, impaling his soul with a piercing glare. "This isn't trivial! We're on a mission to destroy an army of evil, don't you realize that?"

The tom snorted, unimpressed by her serious nature.

"You're always like that, Sirene."

-

Dawn arrived silent, the skies settled beneath a blanket the colour of a pale rose. No dreaming creature left their dorms to greet the hidden sun as he awoke from his resting place deep in the valleys. Not even the birds dared to speak over the muted whispering of the wind in the leaves. The wretched horrors of the night before had crept away to hide somewhere in the bushes, invisible as they stared with judging eyes.

Sunpaw sat in the silent clearing. The air pressure had fallen so low, the terrifying world was silent this morning. The skies were paler, and the lands were now bare to the rising sun. And yet every soul was still sealed away in their reveries. Even Silentpaw now laid unconscious in the cave behind her. After her mad breakdown the night before, the wakefulness had faded from her eyes and she'd fallen into a dreamless slumber. Sunpaw could already feel the icy breath of winter upon her neck. Soon the red blanket of autumn would wither and pale to a ghastly white, and the falling leaves would disappear into a carpet of freezing death.

Why? 

She could barely focus on the atmosphere of this sunrise, her mind was a dissociative mess of distressed images.

Why did this happen?

She'd remembered losing Shimmerpaw once before. Trying her best to keep her little sister from being taken away by some gang of ruthless BlazeClan soldiers. The gruesome memory pierced right through her mind, and with searing pain she forced herself to yank the blade out. It was that same old nightmare, returning to play the same twisted show for her. Shimmerpaw had survived that mishap, but the chance of fortune being as merciful yet again were slim. Her sister, that inseparable companion who'd always brought her such joy when they were together...her soul likely didn't even dwell in the same world anymore.

She knew she'd always been a few moons behind her younger sister, mentally. She was a youthful Pollyanna who stayed poisoned with optimism even when death was right in front of her. She was a fire set deep in a dense wood, ready to burst and let any emotion bothering her known. She'd never been the big sister, never had she ever tried protecting Shimmerpaw whenever she tried running off to do something reckless. Just foolishly tried to talk her out of whatever impetuous thing she would try to do.

The young molly could feel that cheerful personality she'd worn for so long begin to tear apart. She no longer held a spell of hope that would keep her afloat in this infinite ocean of gloom. A massive weight pressed down on her soul, pushing her down into the ground. 

Digging a grave for her old self to lay in forever.

Far away, a lone molly weakly stumbled through the woods. She slunk around the pale shafts, drowned in golden dapples of morning sun and tucked beneath the frayed blanket of cold shadow and morning dew. In the time since she'd begun her trek, the sun had awoken, bathing the forests in a heavenly atmosphere of golden light. Dizzying feelings of nausea tore her apart from within, while the despair of betrayal possessed her mind.

A frenzied swirl of visions jumped around her head, burning her thoughts with its dark fairydance. That illusion of death that'd dragged her mind down to hell still poisoned her sanity, in the reflective lakes of her thoughts she still saw flashes of fire and the explosive blaze that she'd been so convinced was real. Once she'd awoken on that early dawn, her senses were still hazy as she laid alone in endless fields decorated in morning dew. And yet, she was still so sure. Someone had tried to kill her, and it was none other than the two loners she thought wished to save her life.

The maze of trees fragmented, branches and trees unfurling to show an endless dimension of light. Dazzling golden light blared over the campsite before her, a dying dream of heaven wrapping its wings around her. She saw a familiar figure among the blinding mirage, that cat she'd loved as a big sister for so long was visiting her the last time in the form of a dream within an ocean of light.

Then, as she lied down among the leaves and stones, suddenly the endless sunshine ceased to swallow her. The sound of footsteps gently found its way into her hazy mind, and suddenly her thoughts resurfaced from the golden haze and she found herself looking up at the face of that big sister.

"Shimmerpaw! It's you!" she exclaimed.