Warriors: Shadestar's Agony

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

                Shadekit hurled himself towards the ShadowClan warrior closest to him and his friends followed. The she-cat yelped in surprise, quickly rolling over in an attempt to dislodge her attacker, not realizing Shadekit was the one sinking his thorn-sharp claws into her back.

                Bramblethorn scrambled back to his paws as his opponents suddenly staggered away from him and stared around in bewilderment. His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw the four kits, two on each warrior’s back. As he reared back and slashed at one ThunderClan cat’s nose, he mouthed the words, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!?

                Shadekit didn’t answer. As the ShadowClan warrior that Firekit and Darkkit were attacking looked over to see if his Clanmate could help him, his eyes narrowed. “What? Sootsplash, they’re kits!” the tom yowled.

                Sootsplash’s head snapped back towards her Clanmate. “What? Ashtail, you’re kidding, right? Why is ShadowClan letting kits fight?”

                Bramblethorn glared at the four kits. “They weren’t supposed to be here. Apparently, they snuck at of camp.”

                Ashtail nodded to his Clanmate. “Teach them a lesson!”

                Sootsplash rose up onto her hindlegs and Nightkit tumbled to the ground with a squeal, but Shadekit desperately tightened his grip. Ashtail followed the dark gray she-cat’s example and Firekit and Darkkit slid to the ground. The black-furred tom heard their cries of terror as they fled.

                Bramblethorn was forced to face both opponents once more. Shadekit summoned his courage. I belong to ShadowClan. I will not surrender and I will help my Clanmate!

                The young kit sliced his claws across the back of Sootsplash’s ear and she screeched in pain. Ashtail rushed over to help his Clanmate. Shadekit felt teeth meet his scruff and he wriggled around fruitlessly, attempting to escape. The ThunderClan tom turned his head and tossed the kit across the clearing.

                Shadekit hit the ground and agony exploded in his head. Everything was engulfed in darkness momentarily but his sight quickly returned. Still, his vision was blurred and pain pierced through his entire body.

                Directly in front of him, he thought he recognized his father battling on fearlessly against a massive white-furred tom. Snaketooth’s pelt was covered with scarlet blood and from his posture, he seemed exhausted. He tried to sidestep out of the way of the ThunderClan tom’s newest attack, but suddenly, his knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground. Shadekit wanted to hurry over and see if his father was okay, but the excruciating pain made it impossible to do anything other than breathing.

                Shadekit heard a distant yowl. “ShadowClan, retreat!” Maplestar cried. “Poppystar, you can have the territory for now. But I warn you, we will not allow you to keep it for long.”

                Frigid blackness swallowed him. Shadekit drifted in and out of consciousness. At one point, when he was half-conscious and his entire body felt as if it were on fire, he thought he heard voices calling, “Shadekit! Shadekit!”

                The next time he returned from the dream world, the pain had subsided slightly. Pungent odors immediately reached his nostrils and his eyes flickered open. He was in an unfamiliar den and a bluish-gray she-cat he’d never seen before was staring at him with twinkling green eyes. He let out a soft groan. “Where am I?”