Rising from the Ground/Eleven

ELEVEN. STORMSHADOW

 You can take everything I have

“Where have you been?” Ravenflight all but shouts in my ear, “I’ve been worried sick about you and Gwyn for nearly five days! You didn’t bother coming to main camp and telling us what happened?”

“I didn’t want to-”

“WELL YOU SHOULD HAVE!” Ravenflight interrupts my excuse, “I thought you were a prisoner to the Raiders! I thought you were dead!”

“I didn’t want to-”

“And if you really couldn’t leave camp - which you totally could have - you should have sent a messenger!” Ravenflight paces in front of me, “You’re never to do that again, do you hear?”

“I DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE HER ALONE!” I finally manage to squeeze my words in, “I would have came back to main camp but I didn’t want to leave Gwyn alone.” Again.

Ravenflight stops in front of me, her eyes blazing. But they soften when they meet mine. “Don’t do it again,” she murmurs.

I manage a smile. “I won’t.”

“We need to do another raid,” Blackthorn’s gruff voice sounds behind me, “We’ve delayed for too long. The recruits are already here, ready to begin their training. You five need to set out to free another one of those camps.”

Just thinking about the prison camps make a shiver run through my pelt. All I can see is the sharp edge of a bramble whip and the mud dens that confine the prisoners.

“Stormshadow,” Whiteflame glances expectantly at me and I hurry to catch up.

“Sorry,” I murmur as I fall in step with them, “Just... thoughts.”

They don’t reply and we trek through IceClan territory. Ravenflight is muttering to herself quietly while Mintsplash takes the spot next to the black she-cat. After a bit, Ravenflight stops in front of the Raider border.

“I’m not Gwyn, but I can assume by Blackthorn’s directions that the camp where we found Stormshadow is just north of here. If we go west, we’ll find a prison camp that holds ground warriors only.” Ravenflight turns her paws to the left and begins walking once more.

I take a deep breath before following. We’re deep into Raider territory before I finally spot the barriers of a prison camp. Ravenflight waves her tail and we all stop, hidden behind a thicket of bushes.

“Remember the plan,” she murmurs, “Stormshadow, Sootflight, and Whiteflame will distract the guards while Mintsplash and I head for the prisoners.”

I nod tersely with the others before detaching myself from the group as I follow the other two toms out.

We’re silent until Sootflight lets out a low hiss, alerting one of the guards standing near the entrance to the prison camp. He pricks his ears, his eyes scanning the horizon and I wave my tail slightly before disappearing behind the bush again.

Immediately the three guards start stalking towards us. I tense. I’m not fast enough to handle on of the guards by myself.

But Sootflight explodes from his hiding spot before I can object about the plan and Whiteflame tackles the other guard. “Great StarClan, keep me safe,” I mutter before launching myself at the last guard.

He falls in surprise and lets out a fierce yowl.

To my dismay, more guards stream out of the camp and while I’m distracted by the scene, the Raider I’m wrestling flips me over and pins me down before I can blink.

“You rats think you can liberate another one of these camps?” He hisses, spitting in my face. “We won’t be taken down that easily, mind you. If you want to destroy us, you’ll have to try harder than that.”

“I’d love to,” I try on a fake smile, “but you won’t get off me.”

He sneers, “I recognize you. You were in the prison camp not far off from here. You a river warrior? Well good, because I hope to keep you away from the river for so long that your fur will dry and burn into crisps.”

I don’t recall Artic or even Gwyn being this disgustingly repulsive.

“That’s great,” I mutter, “now just get off me.”

He hauls me to my paws and starts dragging me towards the camp. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the others being restrained and taken towards the camp also. “Can’t wait to play with you fellows. New toys for us.”

I can’t help but replay memories of prison just as they shove me into a mud den.

~

''I wake up to showers of dirt falling on my head. I glance around in the dim lighting and I still can’t see a thing. I’m not sure how long it’s been since my squad had been captured, but it’s starting to feel like moons. I haven’t seen daylight since day one of my capture.''

''Suddenly the bramble screen is torn open and the harsh rays of sunlight hits me. I blink blearily just as someone snarls. “Time to answer a few questions, IceClan scum.”''

''I shiver and the cat grunts. “What’s your name?”''

''My name? Why would they need my name? It’s not like I’m one of those pristine fly warriors they’re always trying to get their paws on.''

''My hesitation costs me something. The guard slams his paw down on the mud above me and dirt rains down. I cough and when I peer up at the cracks of the den, I realize that the guard must know how to hit the den exactly to cause the dirt to shower down. And if I’m not careful, the guard would bury me alive.''

“Your name?” He prompts.

“Stormshadow.”

“Your age?”

“Seventeen moons.”

''The questions go on forever before the guard smirks. “What do you know about the fly warriors?” I frown at this one.''

''“Not much,” I say truthfully, “I know who they are, but I’ve never met them myself. They reside in the main camp whereas I worked in one of the lesser camps.”''

''“Useless,” the guard sneers, “all of you are so useless. I can’t wait until Arder tosses you all into a pit and leaves you there to rot and die.”''

''A pit? I feel a rush of fear and before I could say another word, the screen comes slamming down and I’m left alone in the darkness once more.''

 You can break everything I am