Needlebanger's POV

I was woken up by the sounds of laughter and playful yowls. Blinking open my eyes, I found myself in a messy den. It was almost familiar; the shaggy den had several holes in the top where rays of sunlight poked though and many stale nests were scattered around. My heart began to race as the realization hit me... There was no longer the comforting - and almost overwhelming - smell of lavender and heather, only a musty skunk smell that wafted in through the entrance like fog. It was true. I was now in... DrugClan.

They weren't joking... I thought to myself as I got out of my ragged nest. Arching my back in a long stretch, I took in a deep breath and prepared myself to meet my new Clanmates. My joints cracked and I stumbled as my vision suddenly wavered. Shaking my head, I realized how awful this "Needlebanger" was treating herself...

Padding out wearily, I exited the warriors den into an open clearing. Beech trees surrounded the perimeter of the camp with a rock wall at the back. A large oak tree with long, gnarly roots sat beside the rock wall. On those roots sat a matted white tom, a tom I knew instantly was Crackheadstar. His tail twitched as his bulgy blue eyes watched the sky. Anything that he heard made him jump, his ears flicking toward any and every noise.

I had barely stepped out of the warriors den before a kit tumbled into me. A small grey she-kit bared her teeth at me challengingly as a grey point tom skidded to a halt at my paws. He was full of purrs and his breath stank of something bitter and musty. It made my nose wrinkle, but the tom was too out of it to notice the gesture.

"Finally, eh? Figured you would never wake up!" Coldshot. The name came to me as if I had a cat on my shoulder guiding me. I blinked at him and nodded, glancing back down at the small grey kit that was now biting at my tail. Smokekit.

The tom watched with a deep warmth in his eyes as his spunky kit batted at me. I shooed her away, her tiny claws feeling like pine needles in my pelt. "If only Rainkit would play with us. She's always sleeping or off in a corner on her own... Rainkit is just as miserable as her mother." Coldshot sighed and looked over his shoulder. I followed his gaze and found the tiny kit off by herself, using a claw to draw in the dirt.

"Bet you can't get to that stick before me!" Smokekit squealed, taking off toward a stick in the middle of the clearing. Without saying anything, Coldshot took off after his kit. He stumbled and tripped over his own paw on the way, leaving Smokekit victorious. "Haha! You're as blind as a bat!" The she-kit teased.

A familiar grey tom padded over to me, his eyes half closed and fur knotted. "What's up, sista?! Wanna come to the drug-nest with me? Cocainenose and Bone have been askin' for ya." He winked at me and for some reason I figured he was talking more about Bone than Cocainenose.

"Not right now, Lostpossum... thank you though." I purred, and realized I knew this cat's name too. Wow, they weren't kidding when they said all of the information needed would come back to me.

Lostpossum nudged me softly and snickered, "Understandable. You just about died last night!" I blinked at him and suddenly a brief memory of a firefly-lit stage and dancing she-cats came back to me. A shiver ran down my spine. What did they get me into? Or more over, what did I get myself into...? "Come on in whenever you want, sis! Bone misses ya." He padded off toward the rock wall and ducked into the crack on the right. Beside the place he disappeared into was another crack. I recognized it as the medicine den.

Taking a seat, I watched the Clan through narrowed eyes. First day awake in the Clan and I already think they're complete mousebrains. I wonder how long I'll be able to stand these cats before I snap and kill some cat...

A beautiful lilac tortoiseshell she-cat staggered around with a marbled tom. Immediately I recognized them as Moonshine and Blazeleaf. I watched them giggle and stride toward the den entrance beside me until they eventually made their way in. Tilting my head to the side, I briefly glanced at Crackheadstar and studied the dense tom. That's my leader? A tom who lets his mate fool around with other cats? StarClan, get me out of here!

The rest of the Clan went on doing their own thing. Munchbelly and Mintclaw sat together with a hunk of rabbit while Penguin cleaned Bill's pelt. I watched Lazypaw and Bluntpaw follow Meowmeow out of the camp as Chickenwing, Pouncepaw, and Hazecloud came back with fresh-kill.

Pouncepaw skipped happily to the empty prey-pile, humming as she went. "Mother!" She called as she deposited her share, a plump dove. Pouncepaw searched the camp and when she noticed her father sitting alone, she rolled her eyes and turned to the warriors den. "Mother, you whore! I caught a fat dove! Are you proud of me yet, or do I have to join WhoreClan to win your respect?" She screeched.

Moonshine didn't reply, but I could hear her and Blazeleaf's purrs. Mintclaw, Munchbelly, Chickenwing, and Hazecloud roared with laughter as Moonshine's own kit called her out. Pouncepaw shook her head and skipped away toward the drug-nest. They let apprentices sit around them while they do drugs? I wondered and without really thinking about it, I headed for the cave.

Ducking in through the crack, I entered the passageway with confidence. It was like my paws had been using the cave since birth. I travelled down the slanted path and took a sharp left to continue down. From there I could see several cats huddled around a flat rock where several white lines, a small pile of dried mushrooms, and a couple of round white rocks lay. A couple of clear jars holding fireflies were set here and there behind the cats to illuminate the cave.

As I entered, each cat turned to me. Pouncepaw was cuddled up next to Twitch. The scrawny brown tom held a white stick in his mouth as he looked up at me but he didn't waste any time watching me come in. Instead he grabbed a thin brown stick and scrapped it against the rock to ignite it. From there, he lit his white stick and held it to LilPlump who held a fatter white stick. The fat reddish-brown tom dipped his head, lit the stick, and put out the fire.

Bone winked at me and smirked as he patted the empty spot beside him. Adam payed no attention to me as I took my seat in between Bone and Cocainenose, he only continued to sniff the few white lines on the rock. Cocainenose and him took turns taking one line after the other.

"Well, well, well," Lostpossum mewed, taking the white stick from LilPlump as he passed it along. "look what the fox dragged in." He took a long drag and breathed it out, a dank cloud escaping his lips through a wide smile.

I rolled my eyes at the mellow tom. "Don't be weird."

"Yeah, Lostpossum, my girl don't need yo shit!" Cocainenose snorted. Lostpossum shook his head through purrs and passed the stick back to LilPlump. The white she-cat winked at me as a drop of blood dripped down her nose. I lifted a paw and wiped it off for her; she blinked in surprise but the tall she-cat licked my ear thankfully.

Adam sniffed the two last fat lines before grabbing an ivy leave from under the rock. Sniffling, the black tom dumped out a small pile, returned the tied ivy leaf under the rock, and separated the cocaine into several lines. His eyes were dilated as he nodded to Cocainenose, "You get three. Bone you get two since you only had one. The rest are mine." While Cocainenose did her share, I watched Bone pull out a long tube and hold it to his lips. Drawing in a deep breath, he then breathed out a thick cloud onto the flat rock. Adam's eyes flashed with annoyance and he blew the cloud away.

"Adam!" Bone gasped.

The black tom let out a growl, "Piss off with that pussy ass vape shit! You want those lines or did your balls go up your ass again?"

Bone was much larger than the ragged black tom, but even as Bone bared his teeth at Adam, he remained unfazed. After he sniffed his two lines, Adam took his turn and took the rest all at once. I watched through stunned eyes. That's... a lot of cocaine...

The rest of the cats didn't seem to notice. They all continued to do their own thing; LilPlump and Lostpossum cheered as they ate the mushrooms and Twitch whispered in Pouncepaw's ear seductively. Watching Adam, I started to feel anxious. His face and legs would twitch occasionally while he stared at the rock through a blank gaze. After what seemed to be only a few moments, the tom's eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and he collapsed.

"SOME CAT CALL AMBALANCE!" LilPlump yowled, "HE NEEDS SOME MILK!!"

Adam started to seize on the floor, drool spilling from his parted jaws. He moaned as the seizure failed to ease. Twitch and Bone immediately were at his side, one licking his neck while the other made sure he stayed in fetal position. LilPlump and Lostpossum scrambled out of the cave and I rushed to follow. I don't want to see him overdose!

Emerging from the drug-nest, I was almost trampled over by Amalance, her thick body barging past. "I'm comin' sweetpea!" She called with LilPlump on her heels.

I was stalking away sideways from the cave with my eyes watching the opening when a deep meow sighed behind me. "He's going to be the fifth fatal overdose this quarter-moon... It's a shame, Adam and Ambalance were very close." It was Mintclaw; his eyes were hard and serious.

"What makes you say he's going to die?" I scoffed, suddenly defensive.

Mintclaw's ear flicked but he didn't look at me as he replied solemnly, "Have you forgotten how long and hard he's been into cocaine? This isn't his first overdose, you should know," He shook his head, "First Pepperspray, then Noose, and then both Teddy and Airhead in the same night... things just keep getting worse. Munchbelly worries the Twoleg drugs are getting more dangerous."

I blinked with shock. In a quarter-moon, DrugClan has lost four cats, maybe even five, because of their poor decisions? I guess this Clan really does need help...