A/N I'm so sorry guys I haven't updated in a while, school has kept me busy, and these chapters take so long to write. Keep with me these last four chapters, I promise something exciting will happen this chapter! I'll try to finish the book by the end of March, so then I can start the next book in the series!

I didn't really pay any attention to the days passing by. They all seemed to contain the same thing: wake up, hunting patrol, eat, clean out someone's den, border patrol, eat, sleep. Still, Hollypaw was becoming increasingly more and more angry at the world. One day on a hunting patrol, I caught her turning her catch into a bloody red mush. She was clawing her catch as if she would claw an enemy. I shivered, then turned away, not wanting to have anything to do with it.

Finally, the moon was full, and the time for a gathering had arrived. I was not chosen to go to the gathering, but Stormpaw was. "Tell me all about it when you get back," I had told him. He nodded his dark gray head and turned to follow the Clan out into the snowy weather. It felt as though something was going to happen at the gathering, like the air was supercharged, and everyone was on edge.

I went into the empty apprentice's den and curled up in my nest, then fell asleep.

Next thing I knew, I was being prodded awake by a paw. I turned over, trying to ignore it. "Go away."

This time the paw poked harder. "Ow! What do you want?" I turned back to see a gray pelt, white flecks of snow sprinkling it. The Clan must have just arrived back from the gathering.

Stormpaw's eyes were sparkling with excitement. "Rowanstar declared that we would battle them at the next half moon! He was talking nonsense, stuff about ThunderClan scent drifting over the border. He must have nettles in his brain to think that! Anyway, everyone is preparing for battle and are fixing the barriers. Come and help!" I looked up to a pre-daw sky. I wanted to sleep, but realized I would have no chance. A warrior or someone would tell me to come and help either way.

I heaved my body out of my nest reluctantly and stretched. As I emerged from the apprentice's den, I saw the snow-covered clearing bustling with cats working. Stormpaw walked over to Honeypaw and asked her something. I couldn't hear what he was meowing, but Honeypaw nodded and scooched over to let Sormpaw join. She was eating a vole.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. He had just told me to come and work, yet here he was, sitting there having a meal with another apprentice. I huffed an annoyed sigh. I could never figure out those two.

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Paws thundered out of the clearing, leaving me behind. The ThunderClan patrol had just left the camp, heading for the long-disputed clearing in ThunderClan's territory. This was the battle that Rowanstar had picked, thinking that ThunderClan scent had somehow strayed across the border. Obviously Rowanstar was no more peaceful than Blackstar.

A lot of cats were on the first battle patrol, but I had not been chosen. I was on the second, back-up patrol with a handful of other cats. Jayfeather had cleared me for the battle. I just had a few minor scratches from Spiderleg, and slight head damage, but nothing worth the medicine cat's time. Whitecough had begun to spread throughout the camp, its first victim being Blossomfall.

Stormpaw was not on the patrol either, he was with me on the second patrol. The gray apprentice was hopping on one foot to the other, as if he was on burning coals. "You excited?"

He stopped. "Of course! Aren't you? This is what we have been training for, all these moons, and I finally get to expirience a real battle!"

"I never thought of it that way," I replied in thought. It sort of felt like we were getting our skills tested to the limits, but Stormpaw wasn't thinking of the cats that would be injured, or killed. He was just thinking of the rush of power and enemy fur beneath your claws. Bumblestripe once told me that that quality makes a cat a great warrior if put in the right paws, but if put in the wrong paws. . . Bumblestripe never finished his sentence.

We waited, milling around the camp, as if trapped in its artificial walls of stone. The sun went down, and the moon rose. Still the second patrol was ordered to wait. Screeches and yowls ripped through the still night air every so often, and it sent a chill, down my spine. Finally, a cat burst through the entrance. Every cat looked up.

"The second patrol. . . We need backup now. . ." Lilypaw wheezed and lay down. It looked as if she had run all the way here without stopping. Every cat on the second wave gathered up and headed through the entrance, Lionblaze leading. As we got nearer and nearer to the battle, the screeches of cats in pain got louder until it felt as though all the Clans were fighting here at once.

We emerged onto the moonlit battleground. The only word I could describe it as was chaos. Cat versus cat until one begged to be let go. The sound of fur ripping and bone thumping against ground was clear now. The central place where most of the fighting was taking place at the core was about a tree-length in front of me. There were about seven or eight cats on my patrol-

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud yowl from Lionblaze. "ThunderClan, attack!" We shot down the clearing and plunged into the mass of fur, teeth and claws. Immediately, a dark brown she-cat thumped into my side, throwing me off my paws. I crashed into another ThinderClan warrior, Thronclaw as I would realize later. I got to my paws instantly and raked my claws across the ShadowClan cat's face. Blood spurted out from the wound I inflicted, and the warm sticky liquid got in my eyes. I blinked several times, and when I recovered, I saw the she-cat had ran into the forest on her side, presumably been beaten. Then, I realized I must had blinded her. Permanently. I didn't have time to feel sorry, because an even larger tom that stunk of pines and sap lumbered up to me.

The white and gray warrior lunged at me, but I ducked under him and ran my claws across his belly as he flew above me, using my size as a skill. As soon as I landed, I whipped around, but my opponent was faster. He bowled me over and we rolled, locked in vicious combat, swiping claws at each other. Suddenly, his weight lifted, and I saw Bramblestar, who had arrived in the first patrol. He was beaten and bloody, but still battle-hungry. "Need some help?" Together, we drove the tom backwards into his own territory. I gave him a last stinging blow to his flank, and he fled off, in need of medical attention.

This victory relief didn't last long as another opponent lunged for me, a scratch on his eyes bleeding heavily. I dodged just in time, and he flew past me. As I turned, I heard him jeer at me. "Stupid little kit! You think you could beat a warrior like me?" I turned to see if Bramblestar would come to help me this time, but as I looked, he was fighting alongside Sandstorm a couple of fox-lengths away.

"Your puny little leader isn't here to save-" I cut him off with a yowl of rage. I flew at him, taking the tabby by surprise and knocking him off his paws. The warrior recovered quickly though and shoved me off him. I smacked against a tree hard, and I heard a disturbing crunching noise. Pain shot up my spine as the opponent grabbed me and started to claw my exposed stomach. Over and over again, he raked his claws across until I was bleeding heavily from my belly.

"Stop!" I gasped out through the pain. "Stop!

He stopped, and growled, "Oh? Had enough?"

He raised one claw, glistening with my blood in the air, intending to finish me off, but instead a cat yowled from the thickest of the fighting, "ShadowClan, retreat!"

My almost-murderer cursed and meowed, "This isn't over, kit." He sprang to his feet and hurtled away with the rest of his Clan.

I got to my feet, shakily and stumbled over to the main clearing. Blackness stalked at the edge of my vision, and my stomach was on fire. Most of the ThunderClan cats were standing, but some were sprawled across on their flanks. I went over to one unmoving body, closest to me. It wasn't breathing. As I took a closer look at the pelt, I realized it was Stormpaw.

I collapsed on my side, unconscious, realizing that I might never see my brother alive again.