The Shattered Clan- Book One- The Red Waters

Chapter 1

Redpaw flinched as a paw came slamming down at him. He was supposed to dodge, but the prick of uneasiness came back in his brain and he got distracted. "Gotcha Redpaw! You were too slow!" said his denmate, Dawnpaw. "Redpaw." his mentor, Whisperwood said softly. "Yes Whisperwood?" he replied. "You really need to work on dodging. Even a kit could do that!" "Oh, sorry Whisperwoo-" Whisperwood suddenly snapped at him, "You better work on them on them or else!" "Oh. Ok Whisperwood..." he said quietly. Whisperwood put one paw over her muzzle and said, "Sorry if I let you feel unwanted Redpaw. You know I was just telling you're father about your amazing skills at hunting!" Redpaw thought to himself, I am really good at hunting. It's become one of my specialties! He was so happy, he nearly crashed into Stonewhisker if he hadn't accidentally tripped over a mouse's tail. "Are you okay Redpaw?" Stonewhisker asked. "Yeah, I'm fine Stonewhisker. Don't worry about me. I'll just be in the apprentice's den." Redpaw said wearily. It was a long day of battle training and he just wanted to sleep until it was sun-down. He drifted off into sleep from his weariness and slipped into his dreams.

He was in a forest alone. A cat stepped out from one of the trees and said to him, "Hello, Redpaw." "Who are you?" Redpaw yelped in fear. "Don't worry young apprentice, I am Brackenfang, one of your ancestors." Redpaw knew from the elder's tales that Brackenfang was the bravest warrior of StormClan ever to step in the woods. He stared in astonishment and finally brought his words back to his mouth. "Why are you here? I'm not destined to become a medicine cat, am I?" he asked. "No, it is because we believe that you are a cat of many strengths and will become a brave and strong warrior in the future," Brackenfang said. "We?" Redpaw asked questionably. "Yes, the whole of StarClan," Brackenfang said.  Then he muttered under his breath, "Well everyone except for Yellow-face."  He walked to the open canopy and stared at the sun. He sighed and said, "When darkness meets light, the lake will run red, and many will lose their spirits." "... what?" Redpaw said after a few moments. "Is that supposed to be a prophecy?" "Well duh," Brackenfang said. Well, that was slightly weird. He said to himself. Brackenfang's shape started to fade and Redpaw yelled, "Wait! Brackenfang! What did you mean by that?" He woke from a paw prodding him in the side. "Redpaw! Wake up! We have hunting practice today!" Dawnpaw and her mentor, Tallstorm, were waiting patiently outside the apprentice's den. "You were thrashing in your sleep and muttering words!" Dawnpaw said, replaying what had happened last night. "Let's go Dawnpaw and Redpaw! Whisperwood is waiting for you Redpaw." Tallstorm called. He rushed off to meet Whisperwood.

Redpaw caught two mice and a blackbird and buried them to take to camp later. Whisperwood was watching him and he didn't want to disappoint her. He spotted a squirrel nibbling on an acorn and he dropped down into a hunter's crouch and started to stalk towards it. He pounced on it at the last second and killed it with a swift bite to the neck. "Thank you MoonClan for this prey," he muttered. Whisperwood came out of the trees with a vole in her jaws. "Goof job Redpawf," she managed to say with the vole in her jaws. "Let's take them back to camp!" They walked back to camp while dragging many tails of mice and birds. They were greeted warmly by Blazeroar. "That's a lot of prey for sure! Our clan could be fed by all that!" he said jokingly. Redpaw and Whisperwood dumped their prey on the fresh-kill pile and went back to their dens. Redpaw's father, Cloudrunner, padded up to him and licked his ear affectionately. "Was hunting okay today?" he asked. "Yeah. I caught two mice, a blackbird, and a squirrel." "That's great Redpaw!" He left the den and walked to the warrior's den. Suddenly, he collapsed near the entrance of the den. Redpaw panicked and screamed, "Sanddust! Cloudrunner has collapsed!"