Warriors || Hopestar's Choice: Book 1 (1 of 3)

Chapter 9

The sun set and the clan was anxious to get going. Tigerstar spoke with his warriors while Hopepaw sat with Bramblepaw, Tawnypaw, and Owlpaw. Darkness was taking hold over the forest and a shiver crawled down Hopepaw's spine. A sense of foreshadowing overwhelmed Hopepaw.

Suddenly, the world around her faded. When she opened her eyes, she realized that she stood at Fourtrees just like that night with Bramblepaw. Voices whispered to her but she couldn't see any other cat. "Who's there?" Hopepaw wondered with a shaky voice.

Shadows slunk along the edge of the clearing. Their glowing eyes pierced through the darkness. Fear took over Hopepaw's heart but, when she tried to run, she found that she couldn't move her paws. Was this real? It felt real.

"Hopepaw... Hopepaw..." The voices whispered through Fourtrees.

"W-what do you want?" Hopepaw demanded, spinning around in an attempt to find the voices.

"Look..." The voices ordered.

Suddenly, the trees around her disappeared and she could see the lay of the land. There was TigerClan's camp! And the river! Oh, there was the Thunderpath, and past that was ShadowClan's territory. The forest looked green and lush, bursting with life.

Then, something changed. Darkness ate away at the light in TigerClan's camp. Hopepaw watched the darkness spread throughout TigerClan's territory and it devoured every bit of good in its path. The forest turned dark.

Hopepaw watched the darkness envelope ShadowClan and then it moved on to RiverClan. Finally, the darkness devoured WindClan. All four of the clans were completely covered in darkness. What could it mean?

"Save them..." A voice whispered in her ear. Hopepaw spun around and came face to face with a fiery orange tabby tom.

"Who are you?" Hopepaw demanded. The tom simply blinked his green eyes and turned away. As he started to walk away, Hopepaw could feel the vision starting to fade. "Wait! Come back! Tell me who you are!" But it was too late, the vision evaporated from her mind.

"Hopepaw? Hopepaw, are you paying attention?" Owlpaw poked at his sister with a claw. She nodded her head to feign interest. "Good, I thought you'd fallen asleep for a moment. Come on, we're leaving."

Hopepaw followed her brother over to where the clan was gathering. She came to stand beside Bramblepaw. Tigerstar stood at the head of the clan with Darkstripe and Longtail at his flanks.

"Today," Tigerstar's voice boomed all the way across the clearing. "Today is the day that TigerClan makes history!"

The clan yowled in excitement and it felt as if the ground were shaking. Hopepaw couldn't get the image out of her mind of the orange tabby tom. What had the darkness meant? Did it represent Tigerstar? Was he the darkness that would devour the forest?

Suddenly, Tigerstar spun around and led the clan out of camp. They moved through the forest like a tidal wave, strong and unstoppable. It wasn't long until Hopepaw could hear the Thunderpath. The clan came to a halt.

"We'll cross in groups." Tigerstar announced. "The first wave with me will be Longtail, Brackenfur, Dustpelt, Sandstorm, Thornclaw, Bramblepaw, and Hopepaw. The second group will be Darkstripe, Whitestorm, Mousefur, Runningwind, Ashfang, Tawnypaw, and Owlpaw. And everyone else will cross with Swiftwind."

Tigerstar pricked his ears, and when the Thunderpath was clear, he lunged forward. Hopepaw stayed glued in between Thornclaw and Bramblepaw. Her paws hurt from the hard Thunderpath. How could it feel so hot and dirty? It smelled horrific. Finally, they reached the other side and Hopepaw allowed her heart to calm down.

The second group and the third group both crossed successfully. Tigerstar led the clan further into ShadowClan's territory. Hopepaw flinched at every little sound but she tried not to. Her heart raced with fear and anticipation. This was her first battle!

After what seemed like a moon, Hopepaw could finally see what appeared to be the ShadowClan camp. Tigerstar stopped the clan and turned to them to give a battle strategy.

"There will be two waves." Tigerstar growled and his amber eyes glinted in the moonlight. "The first will enter into the camp and directly attack the sleeping warriors. At the same time, the second group will divide and conquer the medicine cat den, apprentice den, and the nursery. Don't worry about the elders unless they attack you."

"The first group will be with me. You are Longtail, Runnningwind, Mousefur, Sandstorm, Brightflower, Ashfang, Brackenfur, Sorrelpaw, Rainpaw, Bramblepaw, Tawnypaw, and Hopepaw. The second group is with Darkstripe. You are Whitestorm, Goldenflower, Dustpelt, Willowpelt, Brindleface, Thornclaw, Ferncloud, Sootpaw, and Owlpaw." Tigerstar eyed every single cat. "Let's make history."

Tigerstar spun around and dashed into the ShadowClan camp. Hopepaw stayed somewhat close to Sandstorm, but far enough away that she didn't seem weak. She saw her mother give her a reassuring smile and it surprisingly helped calm her nerves. This was the calm before the storm.

Suddenly, screeching filled the air. The warriors that had been sleeping were now waking up. Hopepaw braced herself to fight. The clearing suddenly became a mess of screeching, clawing, biting cats. A huge tabby tom fell on Hopepaw with all of his weight.

Hopepaw spit in anger and clawed at his stomach with her claws unsheathed. She felt proud to see the drops of blood. It left a thrill deep inside her chest. The tom swung at her, but she dodged him and lunged at his neck. Her jaws locked around his neck, not enough to kill him. He struggled to detangle her and she raked her hind legs down his chest.

She released herself from him and lunged at a ginger she-cat with white flecks. The she-cat swung at her with claws outstretched and caught her along the face. Hopepaw fell back and was soon pinned beneath the powerful she-cat. She struggled to free herself, but it was no use.

Suddenly, a flash of pale ginger rammed into the enemy warrior, knocking her free of her attacker. Hopepaw scrambled to her paws to see Sandstorm locked in combat with the warrior. She turned away and looked for a new opponent. Blood stained the clearing and many cats had already fallen in battle.

Then, a new attacker collided with her. Hopepaw reeled back and hissed in the face of a dark brown tabby tom. "Where's my brother, fox-heart?!"

"Oh, do you mean Rowanpaw?" Hopepaw tried to imitate the same sadistic look that came over Tigerstar sometimes. "It was quite entertaining to watch Tigerstar rip him limb from limb."

Snarling, the apprentice lunged for Hopepaw's throat. She dived underneath him and propelled him with her back legs into Dustpelt. The dusty brown warrior soon had the ShadowClan apprentice screaming for mercy.

Hopepaw attacked a small brown tom and she clawed him across the face. The tom knocked her off of her paws and clawed at her stomach. She screamed in pain and kicked him away. Then she immediately lashed at him with her claws outstretched. She felt satisfaction when she tore into his shoulder. He collapsed from pain and she moved on.

TigerClan was slowly taking dominance. Hopepaw was breathing heavily from the fight. Her sharp green eyes easily found Tigerstar battling with a dark ginger she-cat. From behind Tigerstar, Hopepaw noticed a huge white tom with jet black paws sneaking up from behind.

"No!" Hopepaw screeched and she soared over Tigerstar and landed squarely on top of the tom whom she assumed was Blackstar. The ShadowClan leader reared back and she jumped out of the way before he toppled over.

Hopepaw swiftly pounced on him. Despite all her training, her strength just simply couldn't match the seasoned warrior. Blackstar easily threw her off and she flew into a tree trunk with a thud. Tigerstar turned on Blackstar with rage in his eyes. The two leaders battled for dominance as Hopepaw struggled to stay awake.

Sandstorm was immediately at her daughter's side. She looked on as Tigerstar pinned Blackstar and clawed his throat. It was over.