Warriors: Rising Tide

Chapter 38: Maplestar

PREVIOUS NIGHT

I followed Coldheart towards the moonpool. The path to it was a little steep and rocky with a few large rocks one had to climb over, but nothing hard to handle. What bothered me was the cold. My pads stung as I walked across the freezing path. It was hard to keep my grip on the ground as the wet ground froze and my cut leg making it harder. We both hadn't said anything since we left Puddlesplash in the leaders den. I eyed the large black cat suspiciously. Coldheart hadn't much as even looked at me as we made this small journey, which worried me.

He would have complained or had said something snarky by now. What is he thinking?

"When we reach the moonpool, we aren't to speak to eachother. Nor do we speak of what happens tonight to each other or to any cat" Coldheart stated numbly. He didn't even look at me as he spoke.

"Understood Coldheart"

"Good" the large tom muttered. The rest of the walk was silent. I got bored just looking at Coldhearts furry tail and looked up at the sky. The white frosted moon glimmered above as its light filled the sky. The moon was no where near full, only a sliver left out of the dark. I leaped up onto a few more rocks before landing softly in a stoney clearing. The moonpool was gorgeous as my eyes laid upon it. The surface was clear as it captured the dark night sky above to perfection. The small waterfall trickling into it sent tiny ripples across the surface, however it barely altered the reflection. I cocked my head to the side and looked from the sky to the pool in speculation.

There are no stars reflected in the moonpool. I shrugged the oddity away, maybe the stars are too dim to be reflected in the pool. I laid down next to the pool in a comfortable position and curled my tail around my paws as I tried to reflex to the cold, wet stone bellow my belly. I gently pressed my nose to the pool surface and closed my eyes. I fought myself to not crinkle my nose to the feeling of the freezing water. After a few moments of just laying there with my eyes closed and my nose to the water I sighed. Nothing happened... I opened my eyes to a surprise. I wasn't next to the pool. I was in the middle of a black, empty landscape with nothing around in sight. I got up in frustration and looked around closely. "Hello?!" I called out to the darkness. Only my echo could be heard. This can't be Starclan! What is going on? I was suddenly aware of the warm, sticky feeling engulfing my front paws and looked down. I yelped and jumped backwards at the sight. My paws were thickly drowned in blood, as of I murdered someone. Fear swept my mind into a mess as I tried to regain composure. Then a light thump sounded in the empty chasm around me. I looked around spastically and quickly saw just a large splash of blood cover the ground to my left. The blood pooled and grew larger from an unknown source, just continued to grow from an invisible wound. Then another thump behind me. I turned my head around to see a second pool of blood splatter the ground and grow slowly like the first. And then another thump followed swiftly after. It-it sounds like bodies hitting the ground... the image sent a shiver down my spine. Invisible bodies bleeding out around me. A fourth thump rang in my ears and I closed my eyes. Why is this happening?! Is this a prophecy?! Why can't this end?! Wake up Mapleclaw! I never felt fear like this before as I felt the four pools of blood begin to drift and lap at my paws.

"We know what you did, we know what you did, we know what you did, we know..." a chorus of several cats began to chant the same line over and over again. I realized what they meant immediately and felt myself lash out to the vacant air.

"I did what I had too! They had to die! I am sor-" I stopped screaming just as the group of invisible cats simultaneously stopped chanting as well. The-th-there was only four thumps... Applestar? I felt myself get dragged backwards by claws and I screamed out loud. I lashed at the empty space behind me with a fury of claws. I felt the cold stone beneath my paws and the even colder sting of the water on my nose. My eyes flew open and I leaped away from the pool with a hiss.

"I knew it!" Coldheart growled furiously as he leaped at me. I was able to leap out of the way before the large tom was able to land on me.

"What the-" I snarled. I placed myself quickly into a defensive position as Coldhearts blue eyes bore into me with fury I had never seen in a cats eye before.

"You killed Applestar, or at least attempted to!"

"I did no such thing you crazy old bat!" I said truthfully. It was that dark forest cat! Who ever he was!

"Don't lie to me you snake" he growled lowly before launching himself at me. I clawed his chest which made him take a few steps back. I didn't break any skin, just had clumps of his fur in between my claws. At this, I leaped backwards again. Coldheart is much larger than me in both height and weight. If I get pinned by him I should just except death right then and there.

I need to run...run from everything.

"I bet you killed Pineclaw and Petalclaw as well all those moons ago!" Coldheart crouched down. His blue eyes slits as he clawed at my soul with them. "And let me guess, you killed Foxhop too? Because he became deputy"

"Look I am sorry!" I hissed back, realizing too late I just admitted to killing the orange tabby.

"Well, you sure don't deserve mercy now" Coldheart lunged at me and I dived away from him. I barely escaped by a tail length as I tried to scurry out of the clearing. I could hear Coldheart behind me closely. My mind was frantic as I tried to figure out a plan.

I can't fight him! Even if he is a medicine cat I am out matched! I just gotta run, run as- I skipped out of my thoughts as a large weights crashed down onto me, knocking me into a small hallow of the path. I hit the ground hard on my back. The air escaping my lungs from the impact. I gasped and panicked as I regained air but I didn't get up in time before Coldheart was on top of me, one claw poised for my neck. I felt blood soak my neck from where he must of snack me with a claws-out paw.

"Look what you did to Puddlesplash! You killed his brother!" Coldheart spat. The large, black tom was ready to bring down his large claw and tear into me. I couldn't look the medicine cat in the eye and went eye level with his belly. The ice bellow me prickled my skin and mixed with the blood from my fresh wound. An idea came to mine as I spotted Coldhearts back legs. "Don't you have any remorse for anything you did, any?"

"Just get off!" I kicked his back legs hard with mine and pushed with all my might with my front legs. To my surprise Coldheart lost his balance and fell forwards, missing crashing on top of me and landing to the side of me unsteadily. His head colliding with a rock. I scrambled to my paws and prepared myself to fight him. My eyes went wide with shock though, as his body twitched softly against the ground. The rock he hit his head on was jagged and glistened in the moonlight with dark blood. The blood trickling onto the ice from an injury just below his ear. I sat down and calmed my body as it fidgeted restlessly from the adrenaline rush and cold air. My mind began to race though with questions and fear however. How am I gonna explain this to my clanmates? Please oh Starclan I am sorry! I glanced up at the direction of the moonpool and instinctively pulled my ears back. Starclan didn't gift me any lives. I pawed the ground from frustration realizing they really do know of what I have done. Then relief flooded me. Applestar is alive... thank the star above! He survived! He survived that entire ordeal! If he comes back to camp then he will tell everyone about that dark forest cat. But... wouldn't he had been back by now? Or is he stuck, losing the last of his lives? Or did something else happen?