BONES~ CHAPTER SIX

Instructions

CW: Blo0d, mentions of de4th, murd3r, and child abus3 I feel something pressed against my shoulder. I jump, claws unsheathing, but it's just Grasswhistle. "Hey, bud," he meows. "I know it's traumatic for a fox to attack you twice- and for you to barely survive. But you still have to be a warrior. That's why we're on this patrol." I groan internally. I complain about patrolling literally once, and now I'm getting this boring lecture! He yaps on and on, but I feel my thoughts get hazy, and in a moment, I'm in the Hollow. Cloudgaze glares down at me. "You fool!" he yowls, fur bristling. For a moment, something slips, and fear, horror, all the emotions I haven't been feeling come rushing back. He swishes his tail and the sensation disappears. "Do you know why I sent you here?" he hisses. I shake my head. "Because YOU FAILED!" he screeches, stomping his left foot angrily. "Ravenkit is still ALIVE, idiot." I feel a small jab of fear, but it's washed away. "I'll kill him again, Cloudgaze." His expression softens and he sighs. "He's lost in the wilderness, wandering around outside Clan territory. Go find him so we can finish the job." The blackness swirls and I'm transported to the real world with a pop. Grasswhistle stares at me like I grew an extra eye. "You okay? You seemed a little off, lost in your own world." I shake my head. "I'm fine." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLACESKIP Cloudgaze instructs me as I dash through the forest. "Turn right at that boulder. Right again. Left at the tree." We reach a huge oak tree with a hollow den in the middle. "That's Ravenkit's shelter," Cloudgaze informs. "Dumb," I sneer, flexing my claws. "When does he get back?" Cloudgaze flicks his tail towards some rustling bushes. Ravenkit comes through, carrying a mouse. "Hi!" I mew, lunging for him. He shrieks and bolts into the forest. My blood runs cold when I realize he's heading towards camp. "It's fine, he doesn't know where he's going!" Cloudgaze says, catching up to me. "He can't, or he would have gone there ages ago." I see the back of the rock where I killed Jumpwind. Ravenkit seems to recognize it too, and pumps his legs harder. "You can't let him reach the camp!" Cloudgaze yowls, picking up a stick and throwing it at Ravenkit. He dodges it and enters the camp. "Heronstar! Otterswish! Mom!" he yowls. All three cats race out, just in time to see me skidding into camp. "Mom!" Ravenkit sobs, burying his nose into Splashfrond's fur. "Bonepaw tried to kill me!" "That's absurd!" I sputter, lashing my tail. "Why would I do that?" Heronstar silences me. "Let the kit talk." Ravenkit sniffles and begins his story. "Me and Bonepaw and Marigoldkit went to go play hide-and-seek. But when Bonepaw found us, he tried to kill me by dropping a rock on me. Except it hit the ground next to me and I lived. "Then I heard Bonepaw bite Marigoldkit, and he left. I checked on her in the morning and she was dead!" He starts to shake uncontrollably. Splashfrond flashes me a look of pure evil. "You monster! I knew you were up to something!" I bristle. "You can't prove that!" Splashfrond slices me across the face. "Why'd Ravenkit suddenly come back and tell this story, then? He doesn't lie, nor have anything against you." "This is ridiculous!" I hiss, backing up and trying not to let blood get into my mouth. Heronstar clicks his tongue and warriors swarm around me, blocking my exit. "Tell the truth," he hisses, stony-faced. Cloudgaze signals not to. So I don't. "Ravenkit's delusional! I was patrolling when I saw him, alive! But he started to run to camp-" "THE TRUTH!" Heronstar's eyes light up with fury. "Now." The warriors around me advance, expressions showing pure anger and horror, claws unsheathed and teeth bared. Otterswish steps up. "Heronstar, I have evidence, no need to question him. I know he's guilty." The camp goes silent. She continues. "You know why I didn't come to the Gathering? I wasn't sick, like I told you. I wanted to stay back to guard the camp. Then I saw Bonepaw, waiting in the camp, not asleep." She lets that sit in the air. "Then he enters the elders den and comes out streaked with blood and with Jumpwind trailing behind him, yammering about something." "That's a lie!" I yowl, trying to push past the warriors, looking them in the eyes to see if they believed me. No one does. Rootfoot, one of my best friends, isn't even looking me in the eye. I even see Grasswhistle in the crowd of cats, watching with sadness in his eyes, not doing anything. Ottersplash keeps talking, exposing me. "I followed them both through the forest, wondering why they were leaving camp so late. Then I watched him kick Jumpwind's skull straight into a huge boulder. That's why he had that dent in his head. "And if that's not enough, too bad. That's all I witnessed, apart from Ravenkit's story. I can say every word of that it true." No, no! They...found out.