Facing A Forest of Shadows

Chapter Seven {Edited}

"Woah, is that Shimmerpaw?!" Blizzardstar shouted. Frostfeather turned her head to see who he saw. Elkleap had Shimmerpaw's scruff between his teeth as he carried her from the medicine den. Her throat was torn and her fur drenched in blood. In the minutes that she, Brokensong, and Blizzardstar had stepped away to talk, the sun had returned. It shined in the sky once more, back to normal. But things were far from normal.

Blizzardstar got to his feet in an instant and streaked over to Elkleap's side. "What happened? Where's Brokensong?" His voice was thick with disbelief and dismay.

He glanced back at the den entrance as Pinheart emerged. He dragged the limp body of Nightvolt behind him. Frostfeather noticed that her brother also carried injuries, his pelt scratched and spotted with blood. Brokensong came last. Her expression was blank, emotionless.

Frostfeather joined them, her fur spiked all along her spine. The few warriors that had stayed in camp must have smelled the tang of split blood; they started to gather in a ragged circle to see what had happened.

Lionpaw had come out of the elder's den and stared in shock at the body of her sister. This is really bad, Frostfeather thought as she looked at Shimmerpaw's mangled corpse. Pineheart had placed Nightvolt on the ground, the elder's wounds equally as hideous.

"What happened?" Blizzardstar asked again, his voice tinged with sadness.

Frostfeather noticed Pineheart glance at Elkleap, but the senior warrior just stared down at the lifeless body of his apprentice. She had never seen him look so haunted. Instead, Brokensong stepped forward.

"It was Nightvolt. He... he went mad!" she wailed. She paused to take a breath, her tail tip flicked once. "We heard Shimmerpaw's yowl, and when we entered he had already killed her!"

Frostfeather shuddered as her dreams surged back to the front of her mind. Nightvolt had been dangerous, but it wasn't Brokensong who he had caught in his grasp. No, it was Shimmerpaw.

"He was just as evil... just as ruthless as when he killed Webstripe, and Stormsurge, and Quickwater. I could see it, in his face," Brokensong explained, her voice strained. Never would Frostfeather had imagined that Nightvolt could have slain so many cats.

"But Nightvolt was a loyal warrior. Things have changed since the Great Battle," Blizzardstar murmured. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than the others. She could feel the same regret that burned in her heart. If she could have convinced him, Shimmerpaw might still be alive.

Weaseltail had padded forward to stand beside Brokensong. He looked down at her with concern, "I believe Brokensong. Before he had gotten sick, Pineheart and I found him out in the forest. He said things that make me believe he still felt like a BreezeClan warrior," he reasoned.

Frostfeather wasn't aware that the elder had been feeling such split loyalty. Maybe that would explain why he went crazy and attacked Shimmerpaw. The other Clan cats had inched come forward to sit in vigil for the two dead cats, as was tradition for all fallen Clanmates.

Brokensong caught the eyes of Frotstfeather, Pineheart, and Blizzardstar, a silent order for them to follow her into her den. The three cats padded after her as they left the others behind to start their vigil. Lionpaw's anguished wail followed them into the confines of Brokensong's den.

As soon as they were alone, Brokensong started to speak. "I don't think we can ignore these signs any longer," she asserted, "all of this is no mere coincidence." Frostfeather noticed the fresh blood that still streaked the ground. The stench made her toes curl with disgust.

Frostfeather unsheathed her claws as fresh anxiety rolled across her fur. This is it, we are finally going to decide what to do "I don't know how you think Nightvolt getting sick and going crazy isn't coincidence. Cats get sick all the time," Blizzardstar dismissed her stubbornly. Oh great, here he goes again, she thought in frustration.

Frostfeather could feel Pineheart as he trembled beside her, clearly still shaken from what he had seen. She pressed against him, greatful for his warmth against her chilly pelt. Despite her closeness, he still shook with barely concealed anxiety.

"No, Blizzardstar. The sun was a sign. StarClan are telling us that this forest in which we live is no longer predictable," Brokensong urged, her tone serious. The disappearance of the sun brought death and despair to IceClan.

Pineheart finally spoke up, "but it wasn't just that... right before Nightvolt died, he told me... that this wasn't over. He said we would never be safe." Frostfeather flinched as she remembered what Spottedrose had told her only a few sunrises ago.

"Well what am I supposed to do?" Blizzardstar huffed in exasperation. Frostfeather swallowed hard, this is my chance!

"I think we should leave the forest," she asserted. The other cats looked at her, trying to process what she had just said. "I think the sickness is what made Nightvolt crazy... and if it's something he caught out there, we should try and get away from it," she continued. She felt so much more sure of her suspicions than ever before.

"I think she's right," Brokensong agreed, "his condition was getting steadily worse. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to save him."  Blizzardstar bowed his head, finally accepting what his medicine cat was telling him. Sweet relief overwhelmed her.

"I guess you were right," he conceded, "but you can't ask me to leave my home... this is where Spottedrose is buried. And Snowpuddle... and Darkrose. I can't just leave them behind."

"But you'd leave us behind?" Pineheart asked, his voice tense with emotion.

He didn't reply at first. He just kept his white head bowed in concentration. "No, I couldn't... I couldn't leave you two."

Brokensong shuffled her paws, clearly uncomfortable at being caught between the father and his kits. "Maybe we could visit the Firestone. Neither of us have been there to speak with our ancestors in many moons," she offered.

Frostfeather jumped as she heard fresh voices in the clearing. The patrols must have finally returned. She wondered how long they had spent inside the den while the others kept vigil. It had felt like mere moments, but her paws ached from standing on the hard rock floor. Blizzardstar snapped out of his trance and strode to the entrance, peeking out at the returning warriors.

"Yes, we can take a visit to the Firestone tonight. For now, I will go and comfort the Clan," Blizzardstar meowed, fresh sadness pricked in his voice as he looked out at his two fallen Clanmates. The cats who returned already gathered around their bodies.

"StarClan will tell us what to do," Brokensong meowed determinedly as she followed her leader out of the den. Frostfeather was still leaning into Pineheart's side, feeling like she could just melt into the den floor. She didn't want to break away, to lose the comfort of his presence beside her.

He finally believes me, she thought with relief. She pulled back and looked into Pineheart's face, noticing that he was completely lost in his own thoughts.

"You can always talk to me about what happened," she whispered, pressing her muzzle into his cheek. She heard him take a deep breath. She hoped for a moment that he was going to open up to her. But just as she had hid things from him, he must have felt this was something he should bear alone.

"Thanks, Frostfeather," he purred weakly as he turned and leaped out of the den. She looked down at her paws, noticing that the streaks of blood had hardened into red scabs across the den floor.

"I wonder if any of our other Clanmates will fall ill before this is all over," she wondered aloud before she also turned and finally leaped out of the den to join her Clan in vigil for Shimmerpaw and Nightvolt.