Rain of Terror

Allegiances

Rain’s Clan

Leader: Rain (very dark gray tom with black stripes and yellow eyes)

Deputy: Skull (black tom with a white skull-like mask)

Warriors:

Moss (brown tabby she-cat with green eyes)

Dark (gray she-cat with a darker forehead and golden eyes)

Blood (red tom with lighter patches and yellow eyes)

Claw (stormy gray she-cat with a white chest and aqua-green eyes)

Sparrow (brown striped tabby tom)

Flame (ginger tom)

Bee (striped golden tabby she-cat)

River (black she-cat)

Dawn (long-furred light brown she-cat)

Strike (pale gray tom with dark blue eyes)

Queens:

Night (sleek black she-cat, Flame’s mate) mother of Feather (stone-gray she-cat with dark green eyes) and Pine (deep reddish brown tom)

Sun’s Group

Leader: Sun (yellow tabby tom)

Deputy: Wind (white she-cat with gray swirls)

Healer: Leaf (calico she-cat)

Warriors:

Fox (dark red tom with a white tail tip and dark green eyes)

Thunder (bright ginger tom)

Swift (blue-gray she-cat with amber eyes)

Birch (pale brown tabby tom)

Stone (white tom)

Ripple (young black she-cat with barely visible swirls)

Snow (pure white tom)

Hawk (light brown she-cat)

Queens:

Sorrel (tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes, Thunder’s mate)

Prologue

“Strike, you are useless to us all,” Rain hissed. “You can’t hunt, or fight, or climb. You do nothing but sit and wait to grow old. Everyone else has at least one acceptable skill. Even Night’s two kits are learning basic battle skills. All you are is another mouth to feed.”

Strike’s blue eyes were wide with terror. He seemed to shrink back as Rain went on.

“Do not fear, I will not kill you. I only have need of what lies inside you. Blood.” Rain circled around his victim. But I would kill him, Rain thought. I was only lying so that he’d let his guard down. The truth would be revealed to everyone soon.

Suddenly, Rain pounced. He landed on Strike’s back, and sank his claws in. Strike couldn’t move. Not that he was ever strong enough to fend for himself, Rain thought.

Strike seemed to come to his senses. “Rain, forgive me! Let me go! I promise to be a better—”

But Strike’s terrorized wails we’re cut off. He was dead.

Rain stood and glanced down at Strike’s body. One less weak cat in the group.

Chapter One (Claw)

Rain killed Strike last night. For being a weak cat.

I didn’t think that he was weak, but I didn’t want to object to Rain, or he’d kill me. If any cat challenges him, Rain kills them. He makes it a show, in front of every cat. And any healthy kit over three moons old had to watch too. That part was cruel, but it was necessary.

Every kit gets assigned a trainer to teach them how to hunt and fight. Everything they need to survive. Once their trainer approves, and Rain assesses them, they become a rogue warrior. I’ve never had a trainee before, but Rain says I’ll be ready soon. Night’s kits are almost five moons old. That’s the age that a kit becomes a trainee. And I hope that I get one of them as my own.

If it’s not me, it’ll be Moss, Dark, or Blood. They’ve been warriors for moons and moons now. But I have a chance still. Anyway, let me tell you about our Clan’s cats.

Rain is leader, of course. Skull is the deputy, and is just as bad as Rain. All of the warriors are kind of the same. Rain mainly has the she-cats hunt (they are smaller and can move silently) and the toms fight (they are bigger and can take out a cat easily).

When a cat dies, Rain just scrapes some earth over their body. We have no healers, so a sick or injured cat is exiled, or killed. Mainly just quickly killed off. Basically, if you’re not completely healthy and ready for a fight, you’re gone.

If a she-cat decides to have kits, she can. But the kits will have to be good warriors, or else they and their mother will be exiled.

But anyway, Rain is a terrible leader. He kills for no reason at all. He leads us into pointless battles, takes lots of prisoners, and slaughters them. Rain has not a care in the world for sympathy or love.

Chapter Two (Ripple)

Digging up the mouse that I had caught earlier, I tasted the air. No fresh prey around here. But the oak grove always had a lot of squirrels. I would head there next as quickly as possible.

Suddenly, I heard a rustle, and saw a flash of bluish fur. Swift had found me. She was the fastest runner in the Clan, and so could deliver a message very quickly.

“You’ve got to head back to camp now!” Swift hissed. There was worry in her tone. Had Rain’s Clan ambushed us? “I’ll take the mouse! Just go!”

I run back to camp, where Sun and Birch are arguing. What is going on?

“You’re a terrible leader,” Birch is growling at his leader. “Lately, Wind has been taking charge. She makes all the decisions now. She’s a better leader than you could ever be. You’re a coward and a fool. You lead us into battles, and then retreat as soon as you get near Rain. A newborn kit would have more sense and bravery. Either let Wind take over, or die.”

Sun looked quite offended. “You don’t tell me how I lead my Clan. Any cat not involved in this can go hunting, or back to their den.”

I had no choice but to head back. Swift was in the nest beside me. She had the mouse at her paws.

“Do you want to share this?” She asked. “Sure,” I replied. In the Clan, every cat eats when they want to. If a cat wants prey, they catch it themself. And any cat can share if they want.

From outside, I hear Sun. He isn’t exactly being quiet, and every cat wants to know what is going on. They are all listening, I’m sure of it. But nothing prepares me for what Birch says next:

“You know that Sorrel had her kit—Storm— yesterday? A single kit. He’s bright white, with red raindrop-like marks covering his pelt. The sign of rebellion. Blood rain.”

Chapter Three (Claw)

“All cats old enough to kill their enemies gather beneath the Boulder for a Clan meeting,” Rain called.

“We have two trainees to make today. Feather and Pine. Sparrow, you will train Pine until he is old enough to survive on his own. Claw, you will do the same for Feather.” With that, Rain jumped off the Boulder.

Finally, I’ve gotten my first trainee! I can already tell that Feather will be a great hunter. She’s quick and has a good sense of perception. And possibly a good fighter...

Feather turned to me. “How did I do?” I hesitate. “You’re pretty good, for such a young cat. Don’t worry if you aren’t a good hunter. Rain will let you fight if he knows you’re good.” And she was. Feather was a very good fighter. She always caught me unaware with a blow. “There’s a shrew over there,” I whispered to her.

Feather started stalking it, then pounced. She had caught it! “Nice,” I told her. “You‘re really good, if you try.”

I knew that this was true. Feather would only become a better warrior.

Chapter Four (Sun)

The sign of revenge on that kit’s back. No wonder Sorrel named him Storm.

Moons ago, there was a cat from Rain’s Clan named Storm. He was a pure white cat with fiery golden eyes. Eventually, Storm became leader. He killed many cats, but the most noted kill was the murder of Tiger. Tiger was the last living cat from my Clan, and Storm killed him. He then, by chance, had a raindrop-shaped patch of blood on his paw.

My Clan rebuilt over time, as several of its cats had fled. They restarted the Clan, and life has since blossomed. But the sign of blood rain has been one of revenge. And that is why Sorrel named her kit Storm. After a legendary warrior.

But Birch is still speaking. “Storm is a traitor,” he continued. “He will kill us all someday.”

If I killed Birch, then he would possibly be proved correct. For if he was dead, then Storm might be evil with no one to speak against him. Birch alone spoke up, and so if he was killed, all proof would be lost.

But I had an idea.