Split Souls

Dedicated to Tangle, who never fails to make me laugh. Like Ever

Separation
Twigclaw breaks our terrified silence. "We just released to biggest threat to the Clans out into the open." I'm speechless. ''This is all my fault. I wanted to protect my clanmates. Instead, they're probably dying as we stand here.'' Twigclaw sighs. "We better go. I-We have to get back to DewClan." Nodding a reply, I deploy myself from the cavern and run outside. Rain has begun to fall, and we struggle to keep going, but we must outrun Darkshadow. Twigclaw is old, but he has strong stamina, so he can keep up with my long strides. It seems that Darkshadow has not yet reached the camp, but we keep running. ''We must stop her. I can't let- oh fox-dung!'' We scurry into the edge of camp, but she's there. Poppystar is crouched in surrender. She's struggling to stay alive, I can tell. Darkshadow is making an announcement. We can't hear it, because of the bracken by our faces, but her cruel voice rings loud inside my head. I quietly relay to Twigclaw what she's saying. "I am your new leader. The age of your Clans are gone. It is my destiny to rule over you measly flea-bags." A few cats hiss angrily, including Pebbleheart, Littlefawn, Quailheart, Ambershine and Willoweyes. Darkshadow continues on. "I am also telling you now, if you have a complaint, file it to the complaint department." She flicks her bushy tail to a large tabby tom, that I've never seen before. "This is Stitch. Talk to him about your problems." Stitch flexes large muscles. Littlefawn steps out of the crowd, hissing violently. "What if we don't want you as leader!" She shrieks, loud enough for us to hear. "What if we'll fight you?! You don't deserve to be a leader of any kind! Poppystar is the rightful leader of DewClan!" I admire her courage, but she's just made a terrible mistake. Darkshadow laughs. "This miserable tabby? Your leader? Ha! It's not wonder you're weak. Now, cats of 'DewClan', your friend here, whatever her name is, is going to demonstrate what happens if any of you defy me." She leaps down from the Leader's Rock. My voice grows thick, and I try to call out,  but it's too late. Darkshadow has ripped her claws through Littlefawn's neck. Her brown and white tabby pelt is oozing scarlet blood. The once beautiful tabby is dead before me, and it's obvious that the others are terrified. Darkshadow leaps back up and licks her claws. "And that my friends is what will happen if you dare defy me. Meeting dismissed." She walks into Poppystar's den, signalling for Stitch to follow. The others retreat quickly. Before anything else can go wrong, I hiss to Pebbleheart and Cherrypaw, who are passing by. "You two! We're in here!" Pebbleheart stops dead, and whips around. Seeing my yellow coat, he relaxes, and brings the startled apprentice into the bracken. I nod at them to follow us, and we run as far as we can. I know Twigclaw must be tired after running all the way back from Starpool, and to wherever we're going. We stop in a small glade, just outside the Clan's territory. Cherrypaw looks from me, to Pebbleheart to Twigclaw with a confused expression. "Now will someone please tell me what's going on?" Twigclaw looks at me. "Sunheart should explain. She knows the most." Of course. I lean down to the she-cat and tell her about Darkshadow. She's real angry, but she's calm enough to listen. "So it's all your fault that she's just taken over the Clans." I nod. "That pretty much sums it up." Pebbleheart intervenes. "It's not all her fault. Don't blame her Cherrypaw." The russet she-cat backs down. I realize she's almost as big as me. She should have been a warrior a long time ago. She doesn't seems to care about that though. She's too busy examining some plants. I leave Twigclaw to tell her what it is. I lie down in some mossy grass. Pebbleheart lays beside me. "Rough night?" He mews jokingly. "You don't know the half of it." I mutter. He licks my sodden, mud  splattered, pelt. I feel like a kit again, back when Morningleap was still alive. ''Back when my biggest worry was who my mentor would be. ''Pebbleheart senses this, and tries to make me calm, but I'm freaking out! I can't stand it. I begin to shutter and shake, foaming, and trying to keep myself together. But it's not working. ''I can't deal with this separation. I'll never be the same.'' Little do I know, I'm right in more ways than imaginable.

''Thump, Thump, Thump. '' A loud noise wakes me up in the middle of the night wakes me. ''They know! They are coming!'' I try to run, but my legs are melting into the ground. I'm running, but I'm stuck, I can feel them coming closer. Darkshadow has slain my friends, she coming towards me, and she slashes my throat. I die, and hear her voice laughing. Her cruel, cold, malicious laugh. ''I've lost. We lost. The forest is doomed. It's all my fault.''

Then I wake. It was a dream! But it was not just a dream. More than a nightmare even. The echoing tells me that it's a prophecy.