Chapter 8

"Ivypaw." A voice called. Ivypaw glanced up from her nest, her face still covered in tears. Lightningpaw was padding toward her. "Ivypaw, you haven't left your nest in a few days. Do you want to come hunt with me?"

"Yeah, okay." Ivypaw sighed, stretching out her legs. It was true. She hadn't left her nest since Applefrost's death. The grief of losing yet another cat, her brother none the nonetheless, had made her feel as if she was drowning in misery. So many cats dead, just during her apprenticeship. Mintleaf, Longstripe, Silvermist, and now Applefrost.

"Ivypaw?" Lightningpaw's voice snapped Ivypaw out of her thoughts. She looked up at her friend.

"Yes?" Ivypaw asked. Lightningpaw flicked her tail, pointing at a rabbit. Ivypaw nodded to her before dashing toward the prey. The rabbit let out a squeal of surprise as it tried to run away. Ivypaw lunged, and ended up missing. Before she could get up, Lightningpaw leaped in front of the rabbit, blocking it's path. Ivypaw lunged again, this time sinking her teeth into the rabbit's neck. She was able to kill it with one swift bite.

"Thanks, Lightningpaw." Ivypaw smiled.

"Of course!" She replied cheerfully. The two both went to grab their catch, accidentally touching noses in the process. Ivypaw jerked back, blushing in embarrassment. Avoiding Lightningpaw's gaze, she began to dig a hole to bury the prey. Lightningpaw dropped the rabbit into the hole, and Ivypaw helped her bury it with dirt. Ivypaw sniffed the air, in search of more prey. She was surprised to catch the scent of two Windclan cats. "Eaglefeather and...Amberstar!" Ivypaw meowed aloud. Lightningpaw sniffed the air and nodded. "What are they doing out here?"

"Don't know." Lightningpaw replied. Ivypaw stalked forward. "Where are you going?"

"To ask Eaglefeather and Amberstar what they're doing out here." Ivypaw answered.

"That's kind of nosy." Lightningpaw commented. Ivypaw ignored her and padded off toward Eaglefeather and Amberstar. Lightningpaw sighed as she followed her. "I have a bad feeling about this, Ivypaw."

"Me too." Ivypaw admitted. "Something feels off about this."

"That's not what I meant but...sure." Once Amberstar and Eaglefeather were in earshot, Ivypaw and Lightningpaw darted into a nearby rabbit burrow.

"This is the snake pit." Eaglefeather spoke. Ivypaw and Lightningpaw shifted in their spots until they were able to peer over the grass, just out of eyeshot. They noticed Eaglefeather and Amberstar standing in front of a our. Ivypaw had to stifle a mew of fright at the sound of snakes hissing. Amberstar peered into the pit.

"It does look dangerous." she commented. A sly smirk formed Eaglefeather's face.

"Yes, indeed." His tone was dark. Suddenly, Eaglefeather shoved Amberstar forward. She let out a squeal before falling into the pit of snakes. The leader screamed in pain as the snakes sank their teeth into her flesh. Ivypaw and Lightningpaw were unable to hold in their gasps of horror.

"You think I've forgiven you for what you did to my mother?!" Eaglefeather demanded, his voice cracking "No! You deserved to watch your friends and family die, while you were absolutely powerless to stop it!" He began circling the pit. "Just...like...I was! And before you die a painful, slow six deaths, you might as well know that it was me who poisoned your clanmates." Amberstar let out another wail of pain which was abruptly cut short. Then there was silence. All that could be heard was the sound of many snakes slithering and hissing. Not wanting to hear anymore, Ivypaw blindly bolted into the rabbit burrow. She had no idea where she was going. All she could think to do was run, far away from Eaglefeather. Suddenly, Ivypaw's head was met with the wall of the tunnel and she fell to the ground. Ivypaw shook her head and looked around. It was too dark to see a thing. Either that or Ivypaw hit her head harder than she realized. She was barely aware of the loud pawsteps filling the tunnel. Ivypaw sniffed the air. It was Lightningpaw! She skidded to a halt beside Ivypaw.

"I don't," Lightningpaw panted as she spoke. "Think...he followed us." Ivypaw didn't respond. "Hey? Are you okay?"

"NO!" Ivypaw snapped. "I am not 'okay!' Our medicine cat, and a cat I thought was my friend, just murdered out leader and has been poisoning our clanmates this entire time! Why would I be okay?!" Ivypaw felt tears form in her eyes.

"Oh…" Lightningpaw sighed. "He was your friend, wasn't he?"

"Mhm." Ivypaw replied.

"I'm sorry…" Lightningpaw gasped. "You must feel so betrayed!"

"I do!" Ivypaw sobbed. She bit her lip as more tears poured down her face. "I just can't believe this, I don't wanna believe it! I don't understand why!"

"Ivypaw?" Another voice asked. Ivypaw sniffed and wiped away her tears with her tail. She and Lightningpaw unsheathed their claws.

"Who's there?!" Lightningpaw demanded.

"It's just me," the voice replied.

"Mistpaw!" Ivypaw and Lightningpaw sighed in relief. Mistpaw's scent drew closer.

"What are you two doing down here?" The tunneler asked curiously. Ivypaw and Lightningpaw remained silent.

"We were out hunting," Ivypaw began. "Then we saw Amberstar and Eaglefeather and decided to follow them."

"We kinda eavesdropped on them…" Lightningpaw admitted.

"Yeah...Eaglefeather lead Amberstar to a pit of snakes." Ivypaw shuddered as she remembered her leader's screams of agony.

"He pushed her in." Lightningpaw finished.

"What?!" Mistpaw gasped.

"Yeah!" Lightningpaw stepped closer. "And he admitted to being the one who poisoned our clanmates!" A stunned silence followed.

"Look, I know it seems hard to believe-"

"No, I believe you." Mistpaw interrupted. "I knew that piece of fox dung was a traitor!"

"What?!" Ivypaw and Lightningpaw exclaimed. "How?!"

"The day Applefrost died." Ivypaw felt tears form in her eyes. "I smelled Eaglefeather's scent all over the tunnel. It hadn't been there when me and some other tunnelers were doing final checks on it."

"You think he destabilized the tunnel?" Ivypaw asked.

"He must've." Mistpaw replied. Ivypaw allowed more tears to stream out of her eyes. Eaglefeather had killed her brother!

"But why?" Lightningpaw asked. A thought hit Ivypaw quicker than a speeding monster.

"Amberstar was with that patrol." Ivypaw replied quickly. "He must've been trying to kill her!"

"Maybe." Mistpaw replied. "Either way, we need to tell someone about this."

"Will they believe the word of three apprentices?" Ivypaw asked.

"We've got to try!" Lightningpaw replied. "Mistpaw, can you take us back to camp?"

"Sure, just follow my scent." Ivypaw and Lightningpaw pressed against each other before blindly making their way through the tunnel. As they followed Mistpaw, Ivypaw was unable to calm her anxiety. She had so many doubts and fears running through her mind it was hard to keep track of them all. She even doubted if she should do that breathing trick Eaglefeather taught her after what he had done. It might not be as helpful as I think! After all, Eaglefeather wasn't who I thought he was!

"Ivypaw?" Lightningpaw's voice sounded. "You're being awfully quiet."

"Just lost in thought." Ivypaw sighed.

"Hey, I know you're upset," Lightningpaw replied "But we'll get through this together."

Ivypaw's eyes widened.

"How'd you know how I was feeling?" She asked.

"Come on, we've been together our entire lives!" Lightningpaw gave her a light nudge. "I can tell how you're feeling!" Ivypaw smiled a little. "And if you have an anxiety attack, you can just do that breathing trick." Ivypaw's eyes widened.

"Yeah…" She replied uncomfortably. Ivypaw glanced up to see a light in the distance. Looking around, she realized she could now see Mistpaw, Lightningpaw and herself in the faint light. After a bit more walking, the three apprentices emerged from the tunnel. Ivypaw had to blink a lot to adjust to the new light.

"Mistpaw!" A voice called. Ivypaw looked up to see Fuzzytail, one of the tunnelers. "How is the tunnel?"

"Good." Mistpaw answered. "Everything is stable." Fuzzytail's gaze shifted toward Ivypaw and Lightningpaw. "Aren't they moor runner apprentices? What were they doing in the tunnels."

"They were chasing a rabbit and got lost in the tunnels." Mistpaw answered. "So I lead them out." Ivypaw and Lightningpaw exchanged confused glances. Mistpaw shoved Ivypaw, and prompted her with her eyes to say something.

"Oh! Thanks Mistpaw." Ivypaw replied. Lightningpaw nodded, still looking confused about the whole situation. Fuzzytail smiled and walked away. Lightningpaw's gaze jerked toward Mistpaw.

"Why did you lie?" Lightningpaw demanded.

"Yeah," Ivypaw added. "Don't we have to tell the clan about Eaglefeather?"

"We will!" Mistpaw insisted. "I didn't want you two to get in trouble though." Lightningpaw shrugged.

"Let's go tell Snowpelt!" Ivypaw cut in. "Before it's too late." Mistpaw and Lightningpaw nodded and padded after Ivypaw. Snowpelt was lying in the clearing."Snowpelt!" Ivypaw called, rushing toward the deputy. Mistpaw and Lightningpaw stopped beside her. Snowpelt looked up at them.

"Oh hello, you three." The deputy greeted casually.

"Snowpelt, something terrible has happened!" Ivypaw exclaimed. The deputy's eyes widened.

"What's happened?" Snowpelt asked.

"It's Amberstar!" Lightningpaw cut in. "She's-"

"Amberstar is dead!" Another voice rang through the clearing. Ivypaw turned to see Eaglefeather at the front of camp, with the leader's corpse at his paws. Gasps of horror rose from camp.

"What happened?" Snowpelt demanded.

"She fell into a pit of venomous snakes." Eaglefeather explained. "I tried to save her, but the venom had already taken hold by the time I was able to get her away from the snakes." Ivypaw bristled with undisguised rage. That lying foxheart! Ivypaw longed to scream that he was lying but that would probably get her killed as well.

"So I am to be Windclan's leader now…" Snowpelt meowed once all the cries of grief died down. Eaglefeather nodded and padded toward Snowpelt.

"I will take you to the Moonstone." Eaglefeather replied. "Now let's go." Snowpelt nodded and followed the medicine cat into his den without another word. Ivypaw's eyes widened. She casted a glance at Lightningpaw and Mistpaw.

"We have to tell Snowpelt before it's too late!" Ivypaw whispered.

"Ivypaw," Lightningpaw sighed. There was a grim expression on her face. "It already is."

"What?!" Ivypaw exclaimed.

"She's right." Mistpaw had the same look on her face as Lightningpaw: a look of defeat. "Snowpelt is alone with Eaglefeather and we can't tell Snowpelt in front of Eaglefeather."

Lightningpaw nodded. "If Eaglefeather finds out what we know about him, he might kill us too."

"Then there will be no chance of us ever revealing the truth…" Ivypaw realized aloud. She looked up at her two friends. "But...who will we tell? Do you really think Eaglefeather will bring Snowpelt back?"

"Eaglefeather just seemed to want Amberstar to suffer." Lightningpaw pointed out. "Now that Amberstar is dead, maybe he'll stop."

"Or he'll continue and try to destroy Windclan!" Mistpaw shrieked. Ivypaw glanced around frantically. No one was looking at them.

"We'll just have to see." Ivypaw sighed, as she spoke she could feel her skin trickling with unsease. Ivypaw watched Snowpelt and Eaglefeather make their way out of camp. Snowpelt, please come back alive.

"Hey Ivypaw." Lightningpaw meowed. "We need to go and get that rabbit we caught earlier."

"Oh...right...Let's go then." Ivypaw replied.

"I'll come too." Mistpaw butted in. Lightningpaw and Ivypaw nodded and padded out of camp with Mistpaw. The three apprentices walked through the moor, retracing Lightningpaw and Ivypaw's steps earlier. Mistpaw was stumbling around slightly as she followed her two friends to the spot on the moor where the rabbit had been buried earlier that day. Ivypaw sighed as she began to dig up the rabbit. Her and Lightningpaw's hunt had only been that morning yet it felt like a completely different world now. Ivypaw grabbed the rabbit out of the ground and dropped it aside. Lightningpaw pushed the dirt back into the ground and patted it down.

"Wanna do a bit more hunting while we're out here?" Lightningpaw suggested.

"No." Ivypaw sighed. "Let's just go back." Lightningpaw gazed at her in concern but didn't object. Ivypaw grabbed the rabbit in her jaws and began dragging it back to camp. Mistpaw padded after them, now a bit more accustomed to the light. Ivypaw looked up at the sky. So much had already happened, and yet it was only sunhigh...