Reedclaw`s Betrayal.

                                                      






   Redpaw sat in front of Nightfang. "Come on," he groaned. "What's the story you were gonna tell me?" The large black tom chuckled and sat, licking his paw. "Alright, alright!" Nightfang laughed. "Sit close and listen now, for I-"
  "Wait!" Redpaw interrupted. "Maybe the other apprentices want to hear!" Just as the apprentice said so, Ripplepaw, Sandpaw, Jaypaw, and Ashpaw all stepped out from the den. "I heard a story being told," Ripplepaw meowed. "Mind if I- I mean, we- join in?"
  Nightfang shook his head. "Not at all, young Ripplepaw." As the apprentices settled in, thunder boomed in the sky ominously, and lightning streaked the black night. "Now, gather, young apprentices," Nightfang whispered. "And hush! For I tell you a true story about the Oath of Reedclaw."

  Reedclaw sniffed. Her tortiseshell fur was plastered to her sides, and she tried her best to keep moving forward. The she-cat was far from home. RiverClan was too far away to be seen in THIS rain. Her fur got caught in bramble and thorn bushes.
  She sniffed again. Reedclaw heard snaps as three apprentices, Frogpaw, Droughtpaw, and Dustpaw followed her paw prints. She yowled over the rain, "Stay with me! I'm not responsible for any losses!" Reedclaw heard Frogpaw snort.
  "But you're the responsible warrior here," the she-cat sneered. "You are responsible, whether you like it or not!" Reedclaw flattened her ears and turned to the other two apprentices. "You two! Stay here!" She snarled.
  Reedclaw grabbed Frogpaw by the scruff and yanked her over to a nearby cliff, the WindClan border. She set the young apprentice down. "Listen, mousebrain," Reedclaw hissed. "You've always talked back to me like that, and I tell you every time to stop! I expected more from my apprentice." Reedclaw took a few moments to look over the side of the cliff.
  Her tabby apprentice gave a squeak and widened her brown eyes. "W...What are you gonna do?" Frogpaw mewed. Reedclaw got closer, face to face with her apprentice. "I'm teaching you a life lesson," she hissed. "Though, I doubt you'll ever find use for it."
  Reedclaw picked Frogpaw up. Frogpaw yowled in fright, and Reedclaw held her dramatically over the edge of the cliff. "Say hello to everyone in StarClan for me!" Reedclaw laughed. She slowly let Frogpaw's scruff slip through her jaws, and the tabby apprentice fell into the cliff, down to her untimely demise.
  Reedclaw sniffed. "Well, that's that," she meowed grimly. The warrior went back to the other two. They looked up in fright, as if they knew what happened. "Where's Frogpaw?" Droughtpaw meowed. Reedclaw twitched her whiskers. "Oh, in a better place.... At camp. You'll see her soon." The warrior continued her path, flicking her tail at the apprentices to follow.
  Few hours had passed, and Reedclaw heard a frightful meow. She turned. "What is it now?" She growled. Dustpaw's voice squeaked through the rain. "I c-can't find D-Droughtpaw!" He stuttered. "We gotta find him!" Reedclaw snorted. "He's probably at camp. Don't worry about it!" As the words left her lips, she knew why Droughtpaw disappeared. He had seen Reedclaw murder Frogpaw.
  "Dustpaw, Stay here and keep watch for a moment," she ordered the last apprentice. "I...have something to do." Reedclaw ran as fast as she could into the forest, and heard a desperate meowing. A cry for help. She jumped over a log, only to find Droughtpaw underneath it.
  Reedclaw gave an evil chuckle. "So, you saw me and Frogpaw? Decided to run, like a little coward? And leave your brother?" Droughtpaw struggled beneath the log. "I...help me, and I swear I won't tell!" Reedclaw unsheathed a claw, and ran it down Droughtpaw's cheek, making it bleed.
  "How cute," she muttered. "I can't trust you, I'm afraid. You apprentices are unpredictable." Reedclaw saw the fear in the sandy tom's eyes as she ran the claw across his chest. He gave a shudder and went limp, like worthless crowfood.
  "One more left!" Reedclaw cooed happily. "One more satisfying death!" She trotted over to Dustpaw, the rain coming up some. The tom smiled wide when Reedclaw returned, but it faded when he saw that his brother was not present.
  "Where's Droughtpaw?" Dustpaw meowed. He looked behind Reedclaw. "Is he at camp?"
  "Yes," Reedclaw replied. "He is...unwell." Dustpaw cleared his throat and nodded and bounced towards the WindClan border. Perfect, Reedclaw thought. I can be rid of the apprentice and blame it on WindClan!
  "Are we gonna hunt some mice?" Dustpaw squeaked. "Or maybe some fish?" Reedclaw nodded and flattened her ears. She felt guilty, honestly, about having to murder the innocent little apprentice. Oh well.
  "Let's go straight to the border, right next to WindClan." Reedclaw meowed. Dustpaw nodded and ran over to the border, which was right ahead. He looked around.
  "Get behind that bush," Reedclaw hissed. Dustpaw frowned. "Why?"

 "I...hear something."
 
  "Why do you do that?"

  "Do...what?"

  "You do this little pause. It doesn't seem right."

  "I don't do that!"

  "Uh, you do. Why are you so jumpy? It's not like anyone died."

  Reedclaw twitched her whiskers. It's now or never. She unsheathed her claws and bared her teeth. Dustpaw gave a confused look. Reedclaw tackled the apprentice, and he screeched. "What in the name of StarClan are you doing?!"
  Reedclaw grinned. "I have a big plan...bigger than the likes of you!" Dustpaw gave a horrified yowl, and Reedclaw growled, slamming her paw on his mouth. "What're you doing?!" She hissed. "You're going to alert the whole Clan!" Reedclaw felt Dustpaw's little legs push upwards on her belly and push away the paw on his mouth.
  "Yeah, that's the idea," he muttered as he slipped from Reedclaw's paws. "Stop this at once! You're making a mistake!" Reedclaw snickered as she lunged forward, and the apprentice flinched. "Oh, no. This is no mistake," Reedclaw said.
  She stepped forward, this time propelling herself into Dustpaw's side. He let out a squeak as he fell, almost rolling off of the cliff next to them. Reedclaw flattened her ears, and stood tall over the apprentice. "I killed Frogpaw and Droughtpaw!" She declared. "I threw Frogpaw off of the cliff, and I killed Droughtpaw as he tried to warn the Clan! You apprentices are foolish. Obviously, you are too weak to become warriors."
  "You aren't fit to be a warrior, fox heart," Dustpaw snarled back. Reedclaw reared up, and, in anger, slammed herself down on Dustpaw. Dustpaw moved out of the way and jumped in the air, giving just enough space to leap on top of Reedclaw. The warrior yowled in fury as Dustpaw clawed at her eyes. She threw him off and shook her head.
  She heard Dustpaw slam into a rock, and nothing more. Reedclaw snorted in satisfaction, but she realized that she couldn't see. "Great StarClan, he destroyed my eyes!" Reedclaw exclaimed. The blinded warrior sat to catch her breath. Her ears pricked as she heard a snap, but she didn't turn. A smell began to spring up around her. What's that smell, she thought. Probably the apprentice's rotting carcass. Reedclaw snorted in satisfaction.
  "Go to the Dark Forest, foul fox bile!" A voice screamed behind Reedclaw. The warrior turned around, just in time to see Dustpaw reaching out with his claws unsheathed, and pushing Reedclaw over the cliff.
  Reedclaw stared at nothing in disbelief. An apprentice, 8 moons, had killed me. She watched the dark gray clouds fade into blackness. Reedclaw soon hit the water, and she was swept away. She pricked her ears as the blast of cold water awakened her. "I...I swear..." it was getting harder to breathe, and every word was a struggle. Dustpaw must've stabbed her back with his claws. "I...I'll KILL you Dustpaw....I'll destroy RiverClan, n...no...no matter...what..." the darkness swallowed the coming dawn, and Reedclaw drew her last breath, staring at Dustpaw, who was watching above.

  "And that night," Nightfang whispered. "Reedclaw's spirit went to the Dark Forest. She still lurks in the shadows, waiting for her next victim."
  Redpaw flicked the tip of his tail. So this is the story he wanted to tell me, Redpaw thought to himself. His ears became pinned to his skull as he heard a snap and saw a shadow. Jaypaw looked at the spot next to Nightfang, and Ripplepaw hid behind Sandpaw. Sandpaw rolled her eyes, and Ripplepaw glanced at Redpaw.
  "N-Nightf-fang?" Ripplepaw stuttered. "W-W-Who's tha-at?" Nightfang turned around and gasped.
  "It...it's Reedclaw!" He yowled. "Run, apprentices, run!" Ripplepaw jumped a tail length in the air and ran to the nursery den. Sandpaw's eyes widened in bewilderment, and Jaypaw crouched, unsheathed his claws, and flattened his ears. A pair of glowing eyes appeared.
  "I told Dustpaw I would kill him!" Reedclaw's ghost looked at Sandpaw. "And I intend to keep that promise!" Sandpaw looked horrified-her father was Dustfur.
  "You stay away from my father, mousebrain!" Sandpaw hissed. Redpaw stood next to her and nodded. He noticed something. Nightfang was...laughing?
  "Oh...Oh...Gorsetail! You can come out now!" Nightfang called. A giant pale tabby stepped from the shadows, and Redpaw understood. It was a prank!
  "Good prank, Nightfang," Redpaw meowed as he nudged Sandpaw. He yawned. "Believe it or not, I'm tired after that scare." Redpaw noticed another pair of glowing eyes behind Gorsetail.
  "Hey, uh, Gorsetail," he meowed. "Who else wanted to scare?" Gorsetail frowned. "What do you mean? It was only me and Nightfang who planned this." Redpaw, Nightfang, Gorsetail, and Sandpaw all looked at each other as an evil laugh burst through the night. All of them screamed and ran off to camp.
  "I told you, I want revenge!" Reedclaw's ghostly image called. It shrugged, and padded home to the river at the cliff.