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| - I stared at the two glowing orbs in front of me. The shadows hid the rest of this cat’s body, and I probably looked the same – a pair of eyes looking out from the darkness. We stood there a long time, blue locked with amber, until I blinked. He disappeared, and so did the dream. A rough paw prodded at my skinny grey side. I wondered who it was, as prisoners were not allowed to speak and guards certainly did not want to talk to a ‘dirty-blood’. To them were specks of dirt that they could kick around because our blood wasn’t ‘pure’. Though nowadays most were either half-blood or less. “What?” I hissed, batting the paw away. I blinked my eyes opened and looked up at a large ginger striped tom. His name was Razor and he was a prison guard. “Get up,” Razor growled, curling his lip to reveal chipped yellow teeth. I stayed where I was, curled up on the cold and rocky ground. “I did nothing wrong,” I snarled, glaring up at him fiercely. My eyes alone were enough to turn any cat to ice, but Razor barely flinched. “You can’t punish me.” “That’s for Scar to decide,” Razor retorted, narrowing his dark eyes. “Now get up now.” I took one glance at Razor’s long, curved claws before getting slowly to my paws, using up as much time as possible. As I stretched, my bony spine rising in an arch, Razor gripped the scruff of my neck with his jaws and hauled me across the clearing, dragging me in the direction of Scar’s den. I tried not to think of the cruel punishments he had in store for me. Razor let go of me as we entered the freezing cave. I shivered, fluffing out my grey fur in an attempt to keep the cold out, and followed the tom forwards. I tried my best not to be spooked by the acrid water that lay black and shimmering on the smooth cave floor or the distorted shadows that hung at the end of the tunnel, but my fur rose along my spine and my claws dug into the solid ground. As we headed onwards, I was well aware of my paws slapping against the stone floor and the noise that echoed around the low-roofed space. We followed the twisting tunnel forwards for what seemed like a moon before reaching an unyielding rock wall. I glanced at Razor, confused, but he simply gestured at a small crack close to the base. Throwing the tom an unpleasant glare, I dropped down to the crouch and slid forwards towards the hole. The water felt thick and sticky on my belly fur as I wriggled my way through the gap, the stone digging into my back as I slowly inched my way through. At last I found myself sitting on a rock-ledge, looking down onto a lake of icky black water. It was beyond me how the ginger-prey-guard had managed to get through the small space in the wall, but in less than a moment he was perched beside me, his tail tip flicking impatiently. “Are you planning on laying an egg?” he snapped. I had my reply on the tip of my barbed tongue, but before I had a chance to open my mouth, Razor shoved me forwards with his muzzle. Taken by surprise, I had no time to steady myself and went tumbling into the unforgiving waters below. Waves tugged at my fur and the dark goop was sucking me in, swallowing me under its surface. My hind legs churned, my front paws digging furiously as I forced myself up. As I was preparing to launch myself upwards, a violent wave swept me further into the heart of the water-like substance. My lungs were aching for air, screaming at me to breathe, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t! Thick, unpleasant liquid filled my mouth and I had no choice but to swallow, gagging at its awful taste. The need for air did not become any less pressing; in fact it was even starting to become more intense. My limbs were too exhausted to even attempt to fight as the water tugged me this way and that, folding me deeper and deeper under the never-ending lake. Dizzying blackness was about to take over when teeth pierced my muzzle and I was pulled upwards…
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