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| - The sound of battle rang in my ears as blood flew through the air and cries locked the clearing. I swung my paw at a huge tabby, and she hit me back. The gorge was getting closer. My heart began to pound. "Watch it!" I hissed. The tabby sprang at me. "Never!" she spat. I scored my claws down her wriggling spine, and blood seeped through. Howling in fury and agony, the tabby fled. I hopped up to my cry of triumph. But all of a sudden, force yanked me from behind. My back jerked, and I found myself falling. My eyes bolted open. I was sweating, and tears stung my eyes. Sunlight slanted through the thorns of the warriors den. The pale sky stretched long and peaceful throughout the camp. The sun peeked over the edges of the mountain. Morning was here. It was just another nightmare. I saw Ferretstar pad out of his den, and stretch his legs. I did the same. "Petalshine, can you do the Dawn Patrol with Gorsetalon, Wavesong, and Sandfrost?" He asked me, yawning. "Sure," I murmured, blinking sleep out of my eyes. Still panting from the tension of my nightmare, I gently awoke the other cats. "Come on, guys. It's time for the dawn patrol." Gorsetalon woke up, and his piercing green eyes locked into mine. I blushed and looked away. Gorsetalon had been my friend since we were kits, but things had been awkward between us ever since I had accidentally killed his sister. We had been in a battle, and I was fighting near the gorge. But by mistake, I had knocked Dewflight off of it. Gorsetalon had been furious at me, and I didn't even know if I was to go to StarClan when I died. "OK," Gorsetalon mewed, getting up. He glanced at me. Maybe I liked him a bit, but he probably hated me. He could be afraid of me. As we left, I noticed Cherryfeather staring at me in a strange way. I shuddered. Why had she been looking at me like that? Ignoring, I led the cats to the border. Sleep still tugged at my limbs, especially after another nightmare. Maybe some pool water would wake me up. Quietly, I padded towards a shimmering pool. I sat down and dipped my paws in. The refreshing texture swirled around me as I thought about my same nightmare over and over again. Every night since Dewflight had died, I had dreamt that I'd been pushed off of the gorge. The nightmares were terrible. The last thought that always came to my mind was "help! Save me!" Then, right when I fell, I'd wake up. That moment where you're falling but you don't realize it until it's too late. I stared into the face of a killer as my gaze fixed on my reflection. Then, Gorsetalon gingerly padded up to me. "You OK?" He asked. I wasnt quite ready to talk to him, so my heart reacted differently. "Leave me alone," I snapped. He flinched. "Just trying to help," he murmured, hurt flitting through his green gaze. I lashed my tail. For the first time, I actually felt a bit angry. This cat had refused to forgive me before. Why should he now? Lashing my tail, I stormed away from the shimmering pool where the villain in the water followed me. "I never meant to kill Dewflight," I spat. Gorsetalon kept following me. "Look, Petalshine, I'm sorry. But I felt really bad. Please forgive me?" He begged. Pain nagged at my heart. It seemed to be saying: Just forgive him! But my dark side was saying: he'll never love you. And that was what I wanted. For my crush to love me for once. I stalked through a bush. "Are you saying you're sorry?" I asked him, whipping around. He nuzzled me softly. "I guess I am," he mewed. "You'd better be," I snarled. The willows hung down and brushed my sleek fur as I padded in circles stressfully. I knew that deep down, I wanted to forgive him. But something was just holding me back. "Just forget it," I hissed. "Let's go." The other cats followed me back to camp, and I helped myself to a squirrel. Sitting down in the middle of the clearing, no cat looked at me. They were still afraid of me, especially after the Dewflight incident. Couldn't the past be in the past? I caught Ravenshade staring at me. First Cherryfeather, now Ravenshade? Sometimes I wondered if my star even had a place in the sky. I heard a voice in my head. Don't feel bad, Petalshine. Gorsetalon loves you. "No, that's not true!" I hissed back. Gorsetalon might have apologized, but that was because he wanted to keep his perfect reputation. You know that's not true, the soft voice murmured. "Yes it is," I argued. "And who do you think you are? Stay out of my mind." The voice gave a sigh of defeat. I saw Gorsetalon stare at me with longing in eyes his eyes. I glared, thorns piercing my heart. I was determined to make Gorsetalon suffer, even though I loved him. I went to the hunting grounds. Maybe hunting would ease my mood. Dropping to a crouch, I drank in the air. The scent of mouse grew strong in my nose, and I stalked forward in the green grass. The furry brown creature had no idea I was there. I pounced. Quickly, I gave the mouse a killing nip. I picked the mouse up. But i still felt painful. So i took a big bite of it, and a juicy taste washed my mouth. I kept eating. Why keep following the warrior code when I was suffering? After finishing my food, I went to the pool to wash the mouse scent off of me. But i stopped again. I stared into the shallow waters, and the same murderer I'd known for years locked her gaze back at me. But something else caught my eyes. I saw a flash of red. I looked around, but no cat was there. I stared back into the pool as a new thought formed in my mind. Was that a prophecy? If it was, I new what it meant. I was meant to die. Taking a deep breath, I sniffed the air. I padded forwards. Finally, the scent of deaths berries filled my lungs. I followed the scent, and saw a bush full of glossy red berries. They were the same color of red that I'd seen in the pool. I picked one off with my teeth, and choked it down. A throbbing pain pounded in my limbs. Dizziness swept over me, and I fell. The only pain that hurt the most was my emotional pain. I could hear the sound of paws pounding towards me. Four paws. Cherryfeather? Ravenshade? I thought, as everything went black.
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