Mudpaw woke up in a dark forest. He glanced around, the scent of rotting plants and blood filling his nose. The dark, rotting trees stood tall above him, and he stared up st the sky, which was black. A slightly red fog swirled around the apprentice and twisted around the trees.

What is this place? Mudpaw felt leaves crunch under his paws, and beyond the leaves on the ground he could see that the grass was brown and wilted. Mudpaw looked towards the trees and peered through the fog, seeing fungus on the trees. Whatever this place is, I don't like it. It's definitely not StarClan.

Mudpaw snapped around when he heard a crunch. He could see a figure in the fog. "Hey, where am I? Who are you?" He questioned.

"You're in the Dark Forest." A dark gray tom with amber eyes padded out from the fog, his tail in the air. "My name is Wolffang. And I'm part of your kin," he meowed.

Mudpaw bristled and narrowed his eyes, his claws sinking into the ground. "Part of my kin?" He questioned. Wait, Wolffang, I've heard of that name!

"I'm your sister's older brother," Wolffang responded. "And I'm going to train you to become a better warrior."

"I don't need help from a murderer," Mudpaw spat, about to turn away. Wolffang then suddenly pinned him to the ground, his amber eyes burning with malice. "Don't run away, apprentice. You need this training, trust me, unless you want your little friend to die," Wolffang growled.

"What friend?" Mudpaw asked, kicking the dark gray warrior off. He stood up, his tail lashing. When am I gonna wake up? And will this stupid tom leave me alone!

"You're growing close to Snowy. I saw how you looked at her. I sensed your concern for her," Wolffang sighed. "Don't you wanna protect her?"

"W-Well I do," Mudpaw murmured. "I feel bad for her, that's all! I just want them to escape safely!" He growled.

"Then let me train you. You want to protect cats? Then let me help you. You know, Mudpaw, Sharptalon, Frostheart's brother, trained here. I was involved in training him. We are friends," Wolffang meowed.

"Why would Sharptalon train here? I heard that he was a good warrior!" Mudpaw gasped. Did he really train here, or is this cat lying? 

"Sure, you heard that he was a good warrior. But you never knew what he did," Wolffang snapped. The gray tom sat down, his tail curling neatly around his paws. "Sharptalon murdered his brother, Lighttail."

Mudpaw gasped. No, he's lying! Lighttail is alive in RiverClan, so that's not true! "I don't believe you. Lighttail is alive and well in RiverClan," he hissed.

"Yeah, he is alive. But he was killed by Sharptalon. Sharptalon says it was by accident, but I know he did it because he was misted by anger and distrust. For some reason, when he died, StarClan felt as though it wasn't his time to go, so they gave him a second life. Haven't you noticed those nasty scars across his throat? I'm sure if you asked him, he'd tell you," Wolffang meowed.

"Why would they do that?" Mudpaw asked, his interest peeking. "He isn't a leader," he pointed out, shaking his head.

"Like I said, maybe StarClan thought it wasn't his time to go. But do you know what else Sharptalon did?" Wolffang questioned. When Mudpaw didn't reply, Wolffang lifted his head. "He killed a StarClan cat, which was Softpaw. She's my sister that never made it to a warrior." The warrior paused suddenly. "Because I killed her."

"W-what?" Mudpaw gasped. "You killed your sister? What kind of cat are you?" He growled. "I love my sisters, I can't imagine what it would be like for them to killed by some cat, let alone by me!" He hissed. He then closed his eyes tightly, hoping he could end this.

"Mudpaw! Wake up!"

Mudpaw woke up in his nest as a paw prodded him sharply in the side. He scrambled to his paws. "What's happening?" He growled. 

"Come on, I'm taking you home," Frostheart's face appeared in front of Mudpaw's vision. "We don't have any time to waste."

Mudpaw stood up, seeing Nightpaw beside him. The black she-cat looked unsteady, as if she was scared to leave the camp. Snowy was standing beside Frostheart, her paws shuffling. "Where's your other kits?"

"I doubt they'll come. If I ask them, I fear that they'll tell Darktail. Featherclaw and Tabby are too loyal," Frostheart sighed. "Now lets go."

As Mudpaw followed the white cat, a sinking feeling set in his chest. Is some cat watching us? It feels like it. He glanced over his shoulder, peering through the darkness at Darktail's den. He wondered if the tom was sitting up there, ready to pounce. 

Frostheart then suddenly stopped in her tracks, her tail bushing up. "There's cats guarding the entrance, mouse-dung," she mumbled. "Uh, lets go the other way."

Mudpaw turned, staying close to Nightpaw. If something were to happen, he would protect his sister no matter what. Suddenly, a yowl pierced the air, sending chills down Mudpaw's spine. Mudpaw stopped in his tracks, his heat beating quickly. The clouds covering the moon suddenly dispersed, which made moonlight shimmer down on the cats and light up the scene in front of them.

Mudpaw gasped as he saw Darktail. The large white tom was leaning over Snowy, his jaws clamped around the white she-cat's throat. Blood spilled from the cat's throat, dripping onto the ground and forming a scarlet puddle. Snowy was limp, her blue eyes clouded as she stared lifelessly up into the sky.

Mudpaw yowled in pain and fear, then jumped forward without thinking. He lashed at Darktail, but the tom easily dodged. The rogue dropped Snowy's body in her puddle of blood. "This is what happens when you try to sneak out."

Mudpaw lashed his tail. This wasn't supposed to happen! "I'll kill you!" He yowled, leaping forward, his claws extended. Darktail moved away from the apprentice's claws. Mudpaw turned, blinded by rage and pain. He leaped at Darktail again, but the rogue simply jumped to the side. Mudpaw then gasped as claws raked down his side. He turned towards Darktail, leaping at the tom once more, but the rogue leaped in the air and grabbed Mudpaw's scruff, slamming him into the ground.

Mudpaw hit the ground with a thud, his chin hitting the ground so hard that he could taste blood in his mouth. He coughed as he tried to regain his breath. You're gonna pay for killing her! He stared ahead at Snowy's corpse, seeing the puncture holes from Darktail's teeth in the cat's throat. Blood was pooled under her and the scarlet liquid stained her pretty white fur. 

"Why were you trying to leave?" Darktail growled. 

"I-I just wanted to get out," Frostheart mumbled. "Why did you kill my daughter?"

"Well, you can leave. Killing your daughter is a much better punishment," Darktail laughed. As the other rogues started to gather around, Darktail began to lick his bloody paw. "You can live with the guilt of knowing that your daughter's death is your fault. That's a better punishment than killing you myself," Darktail spat. 

"Y-you're right," Frostheart stammered. Mudpaw stared at the she-cat, his eyes widening. This she-cat was really gonna let Darktail do that to her? He slammed his paw on the ground. "You're really gonna let him get away with this? He killed two of your daughters!" He yowled, baring his teeth. 

Mudpaw got to his paws, trembling. He faced Darktail. "You think you can get away with this? You're gonna pay really soon!" He hissed. 

Darktail turned towards the cat, his lip curling. "Pretty soon, ThunderClan will pay for causing so much trouble. Just wait and see. All the Clans will be taken over."

Mudpaw took a step back, looking at Nightpaw. His sister was clearly concerned for him. "Are you ok, Mudpaw?" She asked, glancing asked the scratches along his side.

"I'm fine," Mudpaw mumbled, his tail drooping. One day when I'm a warrior, I'm going to get revenge. 

Crowfrost padded up, his eyes dark. "I can't believe my kits want to leave me," he sighed. He glanced at Mudpaw and Nightpaw. "Don't you want to stay with me? I'm your father!"

Darktail lifted his tail. "Redwillow, Moldclaw, Nettle, Raven, and Roach, chase them off the territory," he ordered, flicking his feathery black tail.

Mudpaw glanced at the rogues that were padding up. He then turned and raced towards the camp entrance, his paws almost slipping in Snowy's blood. Nightpaw appeared at her brother's side, along with Frostheart. 

"Keep running until we reach ThunderClan camp!" Mudpaw yowled, his paws carrying him across the forest floor. The rogues were chasing after them, their eyes dark. Will they kill us if one of us falls behind?