BONES~ CHAPTER ONE

Instructions

CW/TW: Death, blood FLASHBACK I creep out of the apprentice's den, waiting in the middle of camp. It was the night of the Wintertruce, where any cat able to move around without help would leave camp to go to the Mossy Stones. This is where all three Clans- LightClan, ColdClan, and our Clan, MistClan- gathered to sleep in the snow and visit their warrior ancestors. I was forced to stay back, as punishment for being caught off Clan territory. The only ones in the camp were the kits and our lone elder- Doetail. I pad out of the camp and grab the fox fur I had stored. My heart thumps faster as I rub the scent all over me, and put some fur in between my claws for good measure. Then, I silently pad into the elders' den. Doetail's sound asleep. I wait. Then finally, Cloudgaze appears. Red light shimmers from him, and his black eyes flash with glee and malice. "Good job, Bonepaw," he whispers, grinning. "Now do it, and you become one of us." The words pound in my head. "Yes, Cloudgaze." I sneak up behind the elder and lock her in a chokehold. She startles awake and struggles hard, but I dig my teeth deep into her throat and she goes limp. Pride rushes through me. Cloudgaze's white tail thumps the ground as he nods approvingly. "Now the kits. I'll make this look like a fox did it, not a skilled apprentice like you." My claws tingle with excitement. "Okay, then," I declare, bumping snouts with him for good luck. I walk into the nursery and slide my claws out further. "Nighty-night, kits." Then I slash at each one until they are all dead, splayed out in a pool of scarlet. I head over to the stream cutting through camp and wash my red paws, grinning. "I've completed my task," I breathe. "I've done it." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After Cloudgaze went back to the Hollow, I survey the camp. Cloudgaze had rearranged them all to look like a fox did come in. He had even rubbed the scent all over the camp and stuck some fur in Doetail's claws. All that's left to do is injure myself to look like I fought the fox. I shudder, picking up a sharp rock and scratching myself with it over and over, wincing in pain but not stopping. Then I rub the scent of the fox on my pelt and stick the rest of the fox fur in my claws. There. Now this scene looks convincing. I wait, lying down, till sunrise when the rest of the Clan comes back. I hear footsteps. Then a screech. "Everybody's dead!" Chaos ensues. The medicine apprentice- Drizzlepaw- rushes over to me. "Bonepaw! Bonepaw!" I fake groan in pain and twitch my leg. Drizzlepaw shouts, "Bonepaw's alive!" and starts to patch up my wounds. "You'll make it! You're not really hurt, except that wound on your chest!" I whisper, "A fox...g-got in. It-" I fake cough "-attacked everyone. D-Doetail and I fought...and I d-drove it off...but she died..." Drizzlepaw snarls. "A fox," she hisses, tears in her eyes. "I'll get you to the medicine den. I stopped most of your bleeding, except the scrapes on your leg and muzzle." I laugh internally. My plan worked! I bet Cloudgaze was looking down on me proudly. I whisper to the sky, "Thank you, Cloudgaze."