Nothing left

Prolouge:
"Today, Smallwillow was captured by two-legs. They took her away in a cage. When I choose the next deputy, It's not that I don't think Smallwillow will come back, but just that I am making precautions." Stripestar addressed the clan. Behind all the kind words and sad looks, you could tell he wasn't sad all. He was happy. Very. It was common knowledge among all Skyclan cats that Stripestar despised Smallwillow, that he despised almost all cats.

"From this day on, to if - I mean when- Smallwillow gets back, Crookedclaw will be the deputy." Stripestar smiled malisiously. "All cats must now proceed to bed." Crookedclaw smiled and bowed his head before he stepped up to his leader. We watched as he whispered something. Stripestar looked up, glaring, and saw all of Skyclan still gathered below. "I said all cat MUST go to bed!"

The den didn't feel right that night as I fell asleep. Like something was wrong. Something very wrong. As I tossed and turned, I got this feeling that the whole world was screaming. But there was silence. So silent it chilled me.

Chapter One:
My new Mentor looked at me with such loathing I wanted to yowl. I didn't even know him, but by the looks of it, he knew me. He was, I hate to admit, a handsome cat, with a firey red pelt, and deep black eyes. His mucles rippled under his polished any shiny coat, and if it wasn't for the nasty snarl on his face, and the cold, hard glint in his eyes, he would have looked perfect. "Sooo... Darkpaw, I am Firewind. First, I want you to show me what Smallwillow taught you."

"Hello Firewind."I said, nodding my head in greeting. "Here's one of the first hunting skills I learned," I tried my hardest to sound sincere and nice. I decided I would try to impress him with my hunting techniques. I jumped up into the air, landing on a trre branch. I then jumped higher, snatching a fat sparrow out of the air. Apperently I had The Skyclan ancestors' blood in me.

Firewind did not look impressed. "The sparrow was an easy catch. Even cats without jumping skills could have caught it." He smirked.

Anger prickled up into me but I fought to keep it down. "Well, then there's this," I said, and started slowly creeping forward toward where I smelled a mouse. I swiftly killed it after a few seconds of stalking.

"That was a good skill, but you exicuted it horribly and took forever to get the mouse,"

I gritted my teeth. Did Stripestar give Firewind specific orders to hate me or what? "And then there's this!!!" I hissed, and sprang on top of my menor, digging my claws into his chest.

"Get of me you piece of mouse-dung!!" He yowled. I carefully stepped off him and sheathed my claws. "We're reporting this to Stripestar... now," He added, as he saw I wasn't coming.

I missed Smallwillow, one of the only cats who understood me. ..........................................................................................................................................................................................

I sat on the cold hard floor of the punishment den, mindlessly licking my paws, even though they were already clean. The punishment den was a rather new addition to the clan. Originally, all the dens (Warriors den, Nursery, apprentice den, elders den, leaders den) had all been in the rock caves up above me. But the medicine den was made below, on the ground. Stripestar had the idea that the punishment den should be rock, so the nursery was moved to the ground and the punishment den took it's place. Large rocks Strpiestar had placed here himself divded the den into four sections, so that If there were multiple cats to be punished, they wouldn't have anyone to talk to. Over-all, I thought it was a good way to keep cats in line, but when I was actually in the den itself, I begain to re-think that.

Currently, Hollypaw and I were the only cats in here. Hollypaw had protested about me being punished, and had landed herself a spot here too. Guilt crept up into me. It was my fault Hollypaw was here.

"Holly? You there?" I called over the rocks that seperated us, hoping she could hear me. "Hollyyyyyyy????????"

I could faintly hear the words "What is it?" snapped at me.

"I'm sorry. About...everything. I just, ummm, lost my temper, that's all. I really am sorry."

"Darkpaw, everyone was upset about Smallwillow, but do you see us scratcing up warriors? No. And don't try to apologize. It's my fault I'm here. Now please leave me alone. I'm trying to sleep."

I sighed. "Smallwillow wasn't just the deputy to me, she was my friend and mentor. You know that. And, anyway, I'm sure you would have attacked Firewind too if he had acted like that to you,"

I waited, leaning forward to hear Hollypaw's reply, but none came. I tried to settle down and get comfortable on the hard, cold rock floor, but the more I tossed and turned, the more restless and wide-awake I became. It would be a long night.

Chapter Two:
"Ewwww..... Yuck. This is disgusting." I took anther tentitave step on the mud, then quickly hopped off onto a nearby stone. "Something bit me! I am so not going back in there,"

I begain to clean my mud-caked tail in slow, shuddering licks. A fly buzzed near my ear, and I swatted it to the ground. Flys were everywhere, though, and it was hard to drive away them all. I was in the swamp, which was basically a breeding ground for flys, frogs, and the occasional rat. The mudmy chin. was up past my belly, and it stinked. Scraggly trees hung down along the bank. This was where all Skyclan apprentices had to go on the eighth moon of their life. I envied the cats who were apprentices before the age of graduating into a warrior was increase two moons, because along with the increase of graduating age came this. It's yet another of Stripestar's crazy ideas. It's mean to be "Good skills for life" and "Character building" and fox-dung stuff like that. Mainly I think Stripestar just created it to tourture apprentices. I've dreaded it my whole life. I'd always seen shivering, mud-caked, flea-bitten apprentices coming back from this, and I wasn't too fond of the idea.

"Hurry up Darkpaw! Why are you lounging around like that?" Firewind was marching up the bank- warriors don't have to go in the swamp- looking annoyed.

"Nothing, sorry Firewind." I said quckly, and got up, racing through the muck, hoping that I could ignore it that way. I leaped across a large pool of mud, trying to reach the rock on the other side. Squelch. I landed in the muck. Iwas up to my chin in the foul stuff. I moaned.

Brookpaw landed on the rock in front of me, laughing. "Having fun?" She asked, smiling.

"Yes, the time of my life, in fact," I mewd sarcastically back. I choked on the mud."Umm, a little help here?" I asked.

Brookpaw, still laughing, leaned down and dragged me up onto the rock. "There. That better?" She absently licked her spotless fur.

"Why aren't you dripping in mud like the rest of us?" I tried to keep the jealousy and bitterness out of my voice, but Brookpaw sensed it. She scowled and hopped to another rock, leaving me alone.

Brookpaw was the favorite of the mentors. Despite that fact that she was a little weak, and always sneezing due to the fact that she caught pneomia as a small kit, she was obidient and nver complained. She was nice almost all the time, and never seemed to get the worst of things Besides all that, she was quite pretty, a white tabby with light grey stripes. "Where's Hollypaw, Swanpaw, and Littlepaw?" I asked Brookpaw.

"I think Holly's up ahead, and Swanpaw and Littlepaw are behind." Brookpaw leaped to another rock. Now she was a good distance away. I tried jumping to the next rock, and landed instead on a lilypad in front of the rock, and just managed to claw my way up before the lilypad sunk. Seriously, this swamp was stupid. I swatted as a circle of files begain to crowd around me.

As the day wore on, I continued jumping. To one rock, then the next, and next. I wasn't really paying much attention. My legs begain to tire, my joints ached, and I was starving. I looked around for the next rock to jump on, but there wasn't one. Stretched in front of me was a greenish mud pit. Great. Just great. "Brookpaw?" I called, hoping she wasn't far off and maybe she could tell me how to get around the pit. No one answered. "Hollypaw? Littlepaw? Swanpaw?" I called out. Silence. "Firewind?" Much as I hated it, I was willing to ask my loathesome mentor for help. "Specklefur?" That was the other mentor who had came with us. I sat down in defeat, admitting that there was nobody near me and I would have to figure out my own solution. Think, I told myself. All I could come up with was that I would have to swim across the mud. Not the most pleasurable thing to do.