EOTW: Code of the Forest: Chapter Twenty Three

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War
Book 5: Code of the Forest
Chapter Twenty Three

     “Attack!”

     The moment Mistystar's cry rang through the air, the Clan cats burst from the sparse undergrowth, pouring down into the hollow below. Blazeheart heard the cats below giving startled cries as the Clan cats flooded into their camp, throwing themselves at the cats. Blazeheart raced into the hollow beside Ambertalon, tackling a long-furred tom before he had a chance to do much more than get to his paws. Blazeheart dragged the tom down into the dirt, wrapping his forelegs around his neck and forcing him down, while Ambertalon clawed at his flanks.

     All around them, yowls and screeches filled the air, breaking the peaceful silence of the night. The battle had begun.

     At first, the rogues had been too shocked to react to the attack. But once that shock faded, they began to fight back. The long-haired tom thrashed and writhed, shrieking as his claws struck against Blazeheart's chin.

     Blazeheart bit down on his shoulder, but before he could sink his fangs in very deep, teeth gripped onto the back of his scruff, and he was suddenly pulled away from the tom. He whirled on his new enemy, a speckled she-cat, ripping free from her gasp and dodging a swipe from her paw. Ambertalon tried to join him, but the long-haired tom snapped his jaws down on her paw, pulling her away from her mate.

     The tabby spun away as the she-cat snapped at the open air where he'd been, whirling back around to slash at her flank. She bore down on him faster than he could pull away, her foreleg wrapping around his shoulder and digging her claws in, and her jaws clamped down over his ear.

     “Re-ee-owr!” Blazeheart screeched as her fangs tore through the delicate skin of his ear. He struck out blindly, his claws slicing through the fur of her shoulder. Her fangs sank in deeper and deeper; he reared up on his hind legs, trying to push her chest away from him, but her claws still dug into one shoulder, and she managed to jerk him to the side so he fell off-balance, crashing to the ground. He screwed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the agony in his ear.

     Suddenly, the fangs were pried from his ear, the weight of the she-cat lifted from him. Gasping, Blazeheart twisted around to see Swanfall wrestling with the speckled she-cat, snarling as she fought to pin the she-cat. Blazeheart scrambled to his paws, ignoring the fierce throbbing in his ears as he joined Swanfall in her attack. They leaped in and out, swiping and clawing and biting, until the she-cat tore away, fleeing for cover and wailing.

     Blazeheart looked up for a moment, surveying the battle. He still couldn't see where Breeze was, but every other cat was up and fighting. Lakebird and Hawkbriar were batting a tom between them, Pepperpelt shrieking as a large tom snapped at his throat, Graycloud and Petalfur working together to fight three larger cats. The warrior spotted Night and Drizzle fighting Tunnelshade and Skystripe, but even though they fought as fiercely as any cat, he noticed Night bite the shoulder rather than the throat when Tunnelshade slipped and left his throat exposed, and Drizzle didn't bite on Drizzle's leg quite as hard as he could have. Shrieks and wails rose in the air as Breeze's campmates threw themselves fully into the fight. They had quickly gotten over their surprise, and the Clan cats were outnumbered.

     But not for long.

     Sedgewhisker's caterwaul rose over the shrieks of the crowd. “Attack!” Through the darkness and the chaos of the battle, Blazeheart could see cats pouring into the camp, yowling and extending their claws as they threw themselves into the fight. At the front was a skinny black she-cat, fury burning like fire in her green eyes, and her green collar still hanging on her neck. The city cats!

     Cries of confusion rose from Breeze's campmates as Rizzo and her fellow city cats leaped into battle. Blazeheart saw Rizzo drag a large tom off of Marshcloud, Velma and Cosima jumping in together to fight a lanky she-cat. Cosmo quickly ran to Darkbreeze's side, joining her as she faced off against two toms. Breeze's cats seemed confused again, a few running off. There were still more cats on Breeze's side than theirs, but the gap was no longer as great. Slowly, the Clans were getting the advantage back.

     “Get back here you cowards!” Blazeheart whipped around to face the cry. Breeze was standing atop a boulder towards the center of the camp, his black pelt bristling with indignant fury, rage burning in his eyes. “Defend your campmates! The Clans cannot be allowed to destroy what we've worked for!”

     Traitor! Blazeheart thought, fuming. He started racing towards the boulder, claws sliding out. Breeze was what held these cats together; kill him, and the battle was over. But Breeze quickly leaped down from the boulder and back into the fray, and Blazeheart lost sight of him.

     Before he could keep looking for him, a black she-cat rammed into Blazeheart, throwing him to the ground. He landed hard on his shoulder, his pelt scraping against the hard dirt. Before he could get back to his paws, the she-cat was on top of him, biting down on his shoulder. He screeched, twisting around to kick hard at her belly with his hind paws. She stumbled as his claws tore through the soft fur of her belly, and he took advantage of it by wriggling loose, scrambling back to his paws and twisting around to meet her claws as he reared up and batted her paws away. He leaped nimbly to the side as she struck out at his face, instead grabbing her tail between his teeth and yanking hard. When she wailed in pain, he bit down harder.

     Claws dug into his side, tearing him away from the she-cat. Blazeheart pulled free, whirling and finding himself facing two larger cats. He shrieked as they tackled him, using their weight to pin him down. Their fangs and claws dug into his pelt, making him wail.

     One cat's weight was suddenly lifted from him. He turned quickly on the other cat, landing a hard blow across the cat's jaw to throw him off balance. Once he had pulled free, he looked up to see Mallownose pulling one away, delivering a series of slices to her face. She reared back with a shriek, but the other cat was faster than Mallownose; before the warrior could lower his paws, the tom lunged at him, catching his throat in his jaws. Mallownose gave a choked cry, blood gushed from the wound, but the rogue tom held on tighter and tighter.

     Blazeheart scrambled to his paws, quickly lunging at the tom and pulling him away from Mallownose. The second the tom released his grip on Mallownose, the RiverClan warrior crumpled, falling to the ground with a groan. He twitched a few times, blood still pulsing from his torn throat, before he stilled forever.

     “Murderer!” Blazeheart hissed as he brought his claws slicing down on the tom's flank, ducking as the tom tried to snap at him. He tried ducking in and out to make attacks, but the rogue was faster than he'd expected, and stronger, and he quickly realized he was outmatched. He barely managed to scramble out of the way as the tom's jaws nearly closed on his spine, and his fangs still closed on his flank. Blazeheart shrieked, twisting around to slice the tom across the muzzle. When the tom's grip loosened, and more warriors started to close in on the tom, Blazeheart turned and ran. He dodged and ducked through the throng of cats until the tom was well behind him.

     He had only gotten free from the tom when another yowl sounded. “Attack!” Tigerstar's yowl rose above the chaotic cries of the battle, giving Blazeheart a new rush of hope. Nearby, Night and Hollow had been fighting Sedgewhisker, Breeze's cats striking and clawing and snarling as they drove Sedgewhisker back. But when Tigerstar's cry rang out, Night instantly turned on Hollow, slicing her claws down his muzzle and shoving him hard with her shoulder. Hollow yowled in confused fury as Sedgewhisker and Night began working together, driving Hollow back until he had to flee back into the crowd.

     All around Blazeheart, the rest of their allies were doing the same thing. Tigerlily was dragging a large tom off of Hoover, Petalfur and Pine were driving back a white she-cat, Hurricane bearing down on a smaller tom until he squealed and ran away. The Clans and Breeze's cats were now evenly matched, and with some of Breeze's cats already having run off, the tide was turning in favor of the Clans. Blazeheart was finally beginning to hope that this would work after all.

     Then, a furious yowl sounded. “Traitors!” Blazeheart spotted a flash of Breeze's black fur through the sea of pelts. The black tom had tackled Snow, hissing in her face, “I took you in! The Clans betrayed you!”

     “I betrayed them,” Snow snarled in his face. “And I won't help you destroy them!” She tried to twist free, but the stronger tom kept her limbs pinned. All she could do was snarl in his face. Blazeheart tried to approach them, but was blocked off by a dappled tom, who slashed at his muzzle with hooked claws. With a frustrated hiss, Blazeheart dodged the next blow, grabbing the tom's paw between his teeth and pulling.

     Breeze snarled, tail lashing. “Then you'll die like the traitor you are!” He jerked his muzzle down, about to close his jaws over her throat, when suddenly a nearby yowl sounded. The tom looked up, giving Snow enough time to pull free and escape, but he didn't seem to mind. His amber eyes were gleaming with delight, his purr sending a shiver through Blazeheart's pelt. “Finally,” he hissed.

     Blazeheart hardly had time to appreciate what he'd said before more cats began flooding into the camp. He could see Scorch at the head of this new group, but he didn't recognize a single other cat that followed her. The newcomers poured into the hollow, leaping straight into the battle with fangs flashing and snarls in their throats. Blazeheart saw Owlpaw try to block one of them, but the massive tom tore the apprentice's throat open with a quick flick of his paw. Owlpaw's eyes were already glazed over with death by the time he hit the ground.

     After giving the dappled tom a last nip before letting him flee, Blazeheart raced over to where Sedgewhisker and Night were. They had just chased away their opponent, and were panting from the effort when Blazeheart ran over, thrusting his muzzle in Night's face. “Who are they?” he demanded, his snarl heavy with rage. These had to be new allies of Breeze's, and if he had recruited them, he must have known that the Clans would attack. She must have betrayed us!

     Night's amber eyes were wide with shock. “I've never seen any of those cats before!” she gasped. The fear and shock in her tone was enough to make Blazeheart back down. “Why would he make new allies and not tell any of us?”

     “Because I knew some of my cats were weak.” Blazeheart barely had time to register Breeze's hiss before the black tom was on top of them, barreling into Night and pinning his mother to the ground. Blazeheart and Sedgewhisker moved in to help, but some of the new rogues got in the way, drawing them into battle again.

     As Blazeheart struggled against a black-and-white she-cat, he heard Breeze sneering, “I suspected some of my cats were planning mutiny – some cats stayed away from camp too long, and whispered to each other in camp.” He dug his claws in deeper, making Night gasp. Anger filled his hiss as he continued, “But I never expected you to turn traitor. My own mother.”

     Night's voice came in a low rasp. “I couldn't let more cats get hurt because of our mistakes, Breeze. Your father and I –”

     She gasped against as his claws dug in. “I hated my father,” he hissed. “I killed him. He never cared about me, and he let the Clan hate me. But you... you told me to be the best I could. You supported me.”

     “I spoiled you,” the she-cat rasped, her breath hitching as a sob broke through. “I let you grow arrogant. I didn't see how hateful you were becoming... I'm sorry.”

     Breeze thrust his muzzle in her face. “You made me what I am,” he snarled. “And now, you think you can just wash your paws of me? This, all of this, the death and the blood, it's your fault too. You'll never escape that. I will destroy the Clans for what they've done, and you can sit by and watch, knowing it's your fault.”

     Blazeheart hissed as the she-cat scratched her claws down his side. He whipped around to snap at her neck fur, yanking to the side to pull her off balance. As he managed to wrestle her to the ground, he heard Night say in a stronger tone, “No, Breeze. It's your fault. It's time for you to stop blaming every other cat for the choices you've made. Crowfeather and I weren't good parents, but you chose to kill cats!”

     “I'm righting the wrongs of the Clans!” he screeched, all semblance of the calm, confident, well-spoken leader gone. Now Breeze was shaking with rage, amber eyes blazing with hatred and hurt. “And if you're so precious to fight for the Clans again, I'll send you to StarClan myself!”

     He raised his paw, about to deal the death blow, when Sedgewhisker finally beat off her attacker. The WindClan leader gave a furious battle cry as she leaped onto Breeze, tearing the tom off of Night. “Leave her alone!” Sedgewhisker snarled, all the righteous fury of a leader in her yowl. Breeze screeched furiously, turning on Sedgewhisker and tackling her. The two cats were locked in a shrieking, tearing whirl, Blazeheart's view partially obscured by the she-cat he fought.

     Their furious snarls were suddenly broken off, a wail of agony rising from one cat. Then Sedgewhisker was on the ground, her throat torn open. Her amber eyes were wide as she tried to gasp in air, but the blood just pulsed more and more from her torn throat with every breath. Finally, her eyes glazed over, and her sides stilled, her head slumping forward to the ground. The WindClan leader was dead. Breeze stood over her, panting and spitting out blood. He had killed the WindClan leader, but she had left him wounded.

     “No!” Night had been struggling to get back to her paws after Sedgewhisker saved her, but now she was flying at her son, rage burning in her eyes. “That's the last innocent cat you get to kill, Breeze!” She slammed into his side with surprising strength, sending him tumbling, but he quickly rolled back onto his paws and rose to meet her. They disappeared into the crowd, until Blazeheart could no longer see or hear them.

     He sent the black-and-white she-cat running with a fierce bite to her shoulder, panting and shaking as she fled. The battle was starting to take its toll on him; his sides and flanks were scored with clawmarks, and he could still feel a terrible throbbing in his ear, where he was sure part of the skin was torn away. His legs were starting to tremble with exhaustion, but he forced himself to stay standing as he stumbled towards Sedgewhisker's body.

     Blood still flowed from her wound, but the she-cat was motionless in death, her amber eyes glazed over and dull. Blazeheart lowered his head to her, just for a moment. She had been uncertain of her leadership at first, having only been deputy for a moon and having to lead WindClan in one of its most desperate times without guidance. But she had shown courage and dedication in that trying time, and had become the equal of any other leader. If she had lived, she would have been a great leader.

     The moment over, Blazeheart looked back up at the battle, trying to assess the odds. His blood chilled as he realized the Clans were losing. Grasspelt was shrieking as he was swarmed by enemies. Petalfur leaped in, pulling them off of her brother, but three cats quickly brought her to the ground. She gave a final wail, which was abruptly cut off.

     Toadfoot and Smoke were lying dead together, Toadfoot's claws still covered in Smoke's blood. Birchfall was trying to defend the elder's body from the cats who had killed him, but soon he too fell, strewn out beside Toadfoot as he bled out his life. Blazeheart couldn't see Mistystar or Tigerstar, but he could hear Tigerstar's furious roar through the chaos of the fight. Bramblestar was fighting Scorch and another cat near him. He tried to twist away, from Scorch's claws, but he wasn't fast enough, and they slashed down across his head. Bramblestar was brought crashing to the ground, gasping and bleeding heavily. In a few moments, his eyes glazed over, his breath falling silent.

     Blazeheart froze, horror creeping through his pelt. He's losing a life! he realized, starting to tremble all over. Every horrifying nightmare he'd had about how this battle could go wrong was coming true. The Clans were horribly outnumbered. One leader was dead, another one dying, warriors had been murdered, and they were losing, badly. He looked, frozen, at the body of his leader, wondering how it could have all gone so wrong. Was this really how the Clans were going to end?

     Blazeheart heard Tigerstar cry, “Retreat!” Some of the warriors followed him as they made a break for the ridge, but Breeze's cats quickly cut off their escape, chasing the warriors back into the camp. Blazeheart felt a blaze of terror. The Clans were trapped. He could see Berrynose and Poppyfrost lying on the ground, the she-cat dead avenging the tom. Chipmunk gave a shriek as Oak was swarmed by rogues, brought to the ground. “No! Leave him alone!” Vinescar stumbled from a fierce blow to the shoulder, Winnie and Maisie jumping in to defend him. The she-cats were elderly, but they fought with surprising ferocity. They were getting slower, though, and their pelts were already covered in the marks of battle. Whisp was fighting side by side with Stone, but was quickly dragged away by more cats. He gave a shriek as one cat's jaws snapped down on his spine, then fell silent, dropping limply to the ground when the cat released him. Everywhere Blazeheart looked, Clan cats and their allies were lying eerily still, dead or dying, and those still fighting were hopelessly outnumbered. It was over. They were all going to die here, and the warrior code would be lost forever.

     He cast one last glance at Bramblestar's body, then took off, racing back into the fight. Terror still coursed through his blood, but determination was starting to take over, anger pulsing through his pelt. If the Clans were going to die today, he was going to take as many cats down with him as he could. I'm sorry, Wrenkit, he thought as he tackled a large black tom. But I'm a warrior – I have to fight. I just hope you know that I died tying to make it right for you.

     The smaller tom delivered a series of vicious slashes down the tom's side before the tom was able to whirl on him. He darted quickly out of reach, snarling vicious taunts as he ducked back in to deliver a bite to the tom's flank. The tom snarled, rearing up on his hind legs to bring his paws smashing down on Blazeheart.

     A gray blur hurtled into him before he could, snarling and biting, jaws closing down over his paw. Blazeheart didn't stop to think; he took advantage of the tom's distracting, bringing his claws slashing down on his flank. When the tom yowled, he grabbed the tom's tail between his teeth, biting down hard. He tried to tear free and run away, but the gray cat and Blazeheart wrestled him to the ground, the tom's thrashing growing weaker and weaker. Blazeheart only backed away when the tom stilled, his eyes glazing over with death. It was the first time he had ever killed another cat, but instead of horror, Blazeheart felt nothing but grim satisfaction as he looked at the tom's body.

     Blazeheart spat out blood and fur, finally glancing at the cat who had helped him. Larksong was panting, her gray pelt covered in clawmarks and gashes, but her green eyes still burned with fury. She met Blazeheart's gaze for a moment. The tom could see his own sense of hopelessness reflected there – they both knew that this battle was lost, and that they were going to die. But as Larksong spat fur out, all she growled was, “That's one down.”

     The tabby dipped his head. “Let's see how many more we can take down before they send us all to StarClan,” he growled.

     Larksong's whiskers twitched in an odd show of amusement. Then, suddenly, she stiffened in horror. “Oh, StarClan no,” she breathed.

     Blazeheart followed her gaze. At first, he was unsure what she was looking at. Then, he saw Shadepaw, Nightfern's daughter, locked in battle with a dark gray tabby tom. He stiffened, realizing how similar the tom looked to Darkbreeze, and to Wetwhisker.

     “Gray!” Shadepaw gasped, trying to struggle free as Gray fought to keep her pinned. “Gray, it's me, your sister!

     Gray's amber eyes were filled with cruel glee. “I don't care,” he hissed. “Clan cats are the enemy, and Breeze wants you all dead.” Before Shadepaw could protest again, he closed his jaws over her throat, biting down hard. Shadepaw shrieked her agony.

     “No!” Larksong and Blazeheart took off running towards the apprentice and her brother, ready to get between them.

     But Nightfern was faster.

     The mottled she-cat shrieked in fury as she hurtled towards her kits. Blood was trickling from a wound above her eyes, and her flanks and shoulders were covered in gashes, but it didn't slow her down. She grabbed Gray's neck in her jaws, biting hard and tearing him off of her daughter, throwing him to the side. Gray went skidding across the dusty ground, gasping from the wound in his throat. He gave a few feeble twitches, then stilled, his eyes glazing over.

     Nightfern was still trembling with fury, but after a few moments, the rage of battle seemed to seep from her as she realized what she'd done. “Gray!” She raced to Gray's side just as Blazeheart and Larksong reached Shadepaw. Nightfern sniffed him all over, nudging him, her voice breaking with sobs as she pleaded with him. “Gray, please, you have to get up! I can still take you home! Oh StarClan, what have I done?” She threw her head back in a desperate wail. “I killed my own son!”

     Shadepaw wasn't moving when Blazeheart and Larksong reached her side. Her throat was bleeding heavily from Gray's bite, and her amber eyes were dulled over. A quick check showed that she wasn't breathing. “Nightfern...” Larksong murmured, eyes wide with horror.

     The horror in Larksong's tone was enough to draw Nightfern's attention to her. Her amber eyes widened in terror as she saw the body of her daughter. “No!” She hurried to Shadepaw's side, nudging her and sniffing just as she had with Gray, but it was no use. Shadepaw was already dead.

     Nightfern collapsed this time, burying her muzzle in her daughter's pelt as she wailed her loss. “StarClan, no! I killed Gray to save you, and you're already gone! I've murdered my own kits!” Her words gave way to a hair-raising shriek of loss, her entire pelt shaking.

     Blazeheart took a step back, too overcome with horror to do anything except stare. He had no words for what he'd just seen, and a look at Larksong told him that she was just as lost in her horror as he was. StarClan, how could you let this happen? he wailed internally, wanting to blame someone, anyone, for the blood scene he'd just witnessed. How could you abandon us like this?

     Suddenly, a new weight slammed into Blazeheart, carrying him off his paws, and away from Nightfern and her loss. A large tabby she-cat was staring down at him, eyes flashing with fury as she pinned him down.

     Blazeheart stared dully back at her. He was too tired, too numb with horror, to fight back. This is it, he thought as the she-cat's jaws closed down on him.

     I'm sorry, Wrenkit.