Forest of the Night

         ‘This darkness would drive anyone mad’, Shadowclaw thought. It had only been a week since Tigerclan was ordered to live in darkness for a month, and already the night was getting to him. Night after night, the moon was covered with clouds as if nature itself had shunned the clan. Not even a tiger’s eyes could pierce the pitch black in the forest.
         And they expected him to hunt under these conditions? Shadowclaw had been a warrior for less than two moons! True, tigers had powerful senses of smell and hearing, but he did not have the experience to rely on these senses alone. Even so, he would never admit his inexperience to the clan.
         Shadowclaw flexed his claws in determination, mumbling, ‘I am a warrior, I have honor, and I will not wimp out like some moon-eyed kit!’ With new courage, he set off into the shadows.
         Trees loomed high on all sides; these and the underbrush pressed upon him, creating a sense of entrapment. The forest feels smaller when you cannot see it, and it felt like a cave to Shadowclaw now. Strange, wild calls echoed around his head, coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once. Even if he’d never reveal it to anyone else, Shadowclaw had to admit to himself that he was terrified. He knew he had nothing to be afraid of; he and his clan were the only ‘monsters’ in these woods. Still, not knowing what could be one tree behind him was horribly eerie...
         ‘For some reason I feel like something’s watching me, and I doubt it’s a rabbit.’
         A leaf crunched and Shadowclaw nearly leapt out of his skin. ‘Idiot! It’s probably one of the critters I’m supposed to be hunting right now.’
         He swished his tail in annoyance, setting off deeper into the forest with even more determination to prove himself.

............

         Two weeks, and still no light. Not even the stars would look upon Tigerclan’s dishonor. Shadowclaw felt his sanity crumbling by the minute. Long hunts and solitary patrols left him alone for hours every night, alone with the darkness and his imagination. Those damn sounds! He swore he’d never heard the likes of them beneath sun or moon. There were creeping sounds like other cats, though he knew he was alone (but perhaps it was a deer?). He heard shrieks and growls, yowls and...purrs? It definitely seemed like there were other cats around him, but he couldn’t smell anything other than faint traces of his clanmates.
         ‘Perhaps Leopardclan is playing tricks on Tigerclan. I probably couldn’t smell them if they jumped from tree to tree.’
         But none of his clanmates had reported any strange sounds, and he daren’t bring it up. They’d laugh him into a corner! Hearing sounds in the dark? He could hear the taunts now: ‘Oooh, is da widdle kitty scared? Does he need a warrior to protect him from the scarey forest bogies?’
         No, Shadowclaw wouldn’t go there unless he had to. He’d try everything else first...
         ‘Hey, there’s an idea! Why don’t I just ask and see if someone’s there? Sort of dumb, but I can’t think of anything better right now. So why not?’
“Is anyone there? Hellooo....! Nightfoot? Willowfur? Leopardclan?”
         There was a flurry of motion around him, sounds like laughing hyenas, cracking branches, and cats in pain. Ears back and hackles raised, he peered anxiously about trying to make out any kind of shape in the darkness; there was nothing. But he could hear them! It sounded as if they were talking.
         “Hellooo? Hah, we’re here little kitty, but we ain’t no willowfoots or leopardclans or whatever. Come on, stay and play with us a while.”
         Ok, that was definitely someone talking to him. Brave Tigerclan warrior or not, Shadowclaw wasn’t about to find out the source of the voices. Hunt forgotten, he fled back towards Tigerclan’s cave, hoping his clanmates could help chase the madness away.

............

         Three and a half weeks. He was right, they had laughed. As if there was anything stronger than Tigerclan in these woods, they had said. A few had stayed quiet, but maybe they were just embarrassed for him. It was hard to tell in the dark. His reputation was in shambles, but that didn’t matter now. Shadowclaw’s pride had given way in the face of sheer terror.
         Every night, the sounds became more frequent, the voices more distinct. They seemed to be getting closer. Last night, he thought he felt something brush past his tail. He wanted nothing more than to go back to the cave and never leave it again, but that wasn’t an option. When he begged Shadestar to let him stay, the great cat had smacked him across the cheek, loudly voicing his disgust in Shadowclaw’s cowardice. Shadowclaw knew he would have taken worse if he had stayed in the cave after that.
         So here he was, slinking through the undergrowth with deep slashes still dripping blood down his face. Every sound made him jump; every sensation made him start in surprise.
         And then they found him. He felt claws and paws clutching at him from all sides and the voices seemed to be right next to his ears! Shadowclaw dropped the rabbit he had been carrying and ran for his life. Blind in the darkness, he crashed through thorns and bushes and streams and vines, trying desperately to escape. He heard them right on his tail, cackling like hyenas on a chase. Surely he would run into a clanmate soon, and they could help him! But it was no use. He never encountered any other animals, much less tigers, and his stamina was running out. Soon they would catch up, and then? Who knew what would happen?
         In a last ditch effort to escape, Shadowclaw leapt off a cliff ledge. He didn’t even know how far he would fall; he just wanted to escape. But while he was falling he noticed something odd; it was taking him far too long to hit the ground!
         ‘What did I do, jump off a mountain?!’ he wondered. Then he heard them again.
         “We’ve got you now.”
         Claws snatched at him, pulling him deeper and deeper into the bottomless shadows. He roared in terror and rage trying to shake them off, but there was no escape now. The darkness had swallowed him whole.

............

One week later.
         Today was Tigerclan’s first day back in the sun. Cats were scattered about, staring at each other’s pelts in wonder. Their once plain coats were now streaked with the darkest of black. It was as if their month away from light had permanently scarred them. Well, at least they got unique markings like they wanted.
         That evening, the entire clan (it wasn’t kitting season) made their way to the Gathering. At least, most of the clan went.
         “Where’s Shadowclaw?” Willowfur whispered.
         “I’ve no idea! Greatpaw and Oakenpelt are gone, too!” Nightfur said back.
         The two soon discovered that no one had seen their friends since the month had ended. In fact, no one had heard from them in the past few days. Everyone just assumed that the three were not near them in the cave those nights. Some speculated that they had run away together, or perhaps been murdered by another clan. But there was no way to prove the first idea, and the second was highly unlikely. Lionclan had gotten their justice; there was no way they would kill three Tigerclan cats in secret.
         Only Shadestar recalled Shadowclaw’s report of voices in the forest, and he never spoke of it to anyone. With no trace of a struggle and no scent trails left behind, Greatpaw, Oakenpelt, and Shadowclaw appeared to have vanished into thin air. Ever since the days of Tigerclan, apprentices of many younger clans have reported hearing great roars and heavy, quick pawsteps moving through the woods, but no one believes them. Like most young cats not yet experienced in the sounds of the forest, they’re just jumping at shadows.

............