The Cat and the Fox

Chapter 8

            "Stonepaw! Get up!" Icestar yowled from outside the apprentice den. Another few weeks had passed since Stonepaw had become an apprentice and he had been working non-stop. The only good part was that Cottonkit and Ivykit would be made apprentices very soon.

            Stonepaw awoke to see the apprentice den empty. The other cats were already up and had gone. He sighed, knowing Icestar would be mad that he overslept. Stonepaw padded out of the den, grumbling. "Sorry," he grumbled. "I was just so tired from those fighting moves yesterday."

            "A warrior is never late," Icestar said. "You need to learn how to wake up on time.You aren't a kit anymore."

            "Sorry," Stonepaw said. It seemed like Icestar was drifting even farther away from him. All she talked about was being a warrior now. Cottonkit and Ivykit barely spoke to him. Life wasn't fun anymore. He felt like he was trapped, and everyone wanted him to do one thing, but he really wanted to choose for himself.

            They padded out into the forest, a few leaves falling off some trees. "I want to show you something," Icestar said. They padded past their normal training spot and came into a thick rush of trees and bushes. Stonepaw gasped to see all the rabbits and squirrels eating from the bushes. The birds chirped in the trees, their sweet songs filling the air.

            "There is so much prey here!" Stonepaw gasped. "We need to hunt here! We could be fed all the time!"

            Icestar shook her head. "That's what I thought at first, but do you smell those scents?"

            Stonepaw sniffed. "Smells like foxes."

            Icestar nodded. "Exactly. Foxes surround this place. They eat the prey from here. I don't want to endanger any cats. One fox we could get rid of. Maybe even two. But there's a whole bunch of them living beyond these bushes."

            "Oh," Stonepaw said. "That's a shame."

            Icestar nodded. "Exactly. Come on. Let's hunt."

            The clouds began to form as Stonepaw and Icestar hunted. Stonepaw caught a few mice while Icestar caught a huge squirrel and rabbit. Soon, there would be not a lot of prey. Leaf-bare would be in a few moons, and the race to survive would be on.

            They returned back to camp with their prey, and Stonepaw ate a rabbit alone while the other cats talked. Stonepaw sighed. He felt more lonely than ever.

            He finished his rabbit and padded into the apprentice den. "Hey, Stonepaw!" Smokepaw, one of the almost-warriors, said.

            "Hey, Smokepaw." Stonepaw sighed and layed down in his nest. Depression had come over him and it was affecting him badly.

            Stonepaw closed his eyes and fell asleep, trapped in the dark world that he was living in with no light that shone whatsoever.

Pitter patter. Pitter patter. Stonepaw opened his eyes. It had begun to rain. The rain touched the ground, and Stonepaw noticed the ground was damp. Stonepaw's nest was slightly soaked and it tickled his fur. He groaned.

            What was the point of life anymore? Icestar just lectured him. Blossom would yowl at him to get better moss. Cottonkit barely spoke to him since the "non-SnowClan cat incident", and Ivykit, who claimed she liked Stonepaw, barely made eye contact with him.

            "No one likes me anymore," Stonepaw whispered.

            Furious, Stonepaw padded out of the apprentice den and out into the forest. The trees shaded him from getting his pelt wet by the evening shower. Stonepaw knew exactly what he was going to do. He was going to that hunting place infested with foxes that Icestar had shown him previously that day.

            It was hard to find the place in the dark. Everything looked so different and odd. Soon enough, Stonepaw had found the ideal hunting place.

            He stepped inside. All the rabbits and squirrels had taken cover. The birds were nested inside the hollow trees. It was as if all life had fled from the grounds that had held such copious amounts of prey earlier.

            Stonepaw sat in the center of the hunting grounds, waiting. He knew exactly what he was waiting for. He began to yowl loudly, seeing if anything would notice.

            Stonepaw smiled when noises came from the bushes and an angry fox padded out. Stonepaw stood up nervously and faced the fox, a smile spreading across Stonepaw's face.

            The fox growled at him and leapt, snarling at him as if he was telling him to get away. Stonepaw didn't move. He would not fight. He had to do this right. The fox tore at his pelt, ripping fur from him. Stonepaw yowled in pain, but did not fight back. He remained limp, letting the fox do whatever he wanted to him.

            The fox clawed at his ear, leaving a nick in it. Blood and rain mixed together. Stonepaw was dying and he knew it. Suddenly, the fox clawed his neck. Stonepaw saw the world one last time, the rain dripping down onto his bloody pelt. Then he blacked out.