There was a loud, bone-chilling cry and it made Birdpaw shiver, her fur pricking up. She padded forward slower, but still at a reasonable pace. There were no birds chirping, no prey scuttling along the ground, the forest was silent, deathly silent. There was a strange scent in the air, and Birdpaw couldn't pick out what it was, but as she walked on, the scent came stronger and stronger. The she walked into a clearing, a very familiar clearing, and her clanmates. Flowerstem was on the ground, a large, gaping wound in her leg. Then there was Stagleap, his front leg at a crooked angle and blood pouring from his stomach. Moonflower, with a torn ear and the blood was staining the ground. Then there was Dewpaw, he had the worst injuries, a broken back leg, a torn eye, missing teeth, claws torn out.

Birdpaw stumbled, her blue eyes wide as she saw all the cats she loved, slowly dying as their blood pulsed onto the ground, staining it forever. The apprentice cried out in disbelief and she felt tears pour down her face, landing on the ground. It felt like she had been physically wounded, there was no doubt about how Maplestar had done this, probably to intentionally hurt her. Dewpaw let out a groan and the younger apprentice rushed over to him, nudging him with her nose. The cream tom let out a wheezy breath before laying still, not moving again. Birdpaw howled, backing away from his dead body before rushing away into the forest. Branches whipped her face and she tripped multiple times, but she just wanted to get away from the death and blood that surrounded her Clanmates.

"Birdpaw," whispered a voice, sounding from very far away, but the apprentice kept running, tears freely streaming down her face. The voice repeatedly whispered her, but she was too focused on getting away.

"Birdpaw!" cried a voice, and the apprentice suddenly opened her eyes, breathing heavily with sweat spiking in her long coat. Her eyes took a few moments to adjust but she made out the shapes of Chiveleaf and Flowerstem bent over her, alarm and fear alight in their eyes.

"Birdpaw," breathed Flowerstem, "are you okay?" The apprentice blinking a couple of times, trying to comprehend what was happening before she nodded, plastering her best smile on her face.

"Yeah, fine," she dismissed, slightly breathless from what seemed like her nightmare. She really hoped it was a nightmare, and not a vision of the future, of what could happen if Maplestar continued roaming free in the forest.

Chiveleaf snorted, her heartbeat of compassion gone, and the apprentice could tell that the older medicine cat didn't believe her. Flowerstem rolled her eyes but turned to the apprentice, nudging forward a small-leafed green plant that had a very strong smell.

"It is thyme," said the medicine cat, use to the apprentice's never-ending questions, but Birdpaw didn't even think to ask what the plant was, she was still too caught up in her nightmare-vision. She licked up the bitter herb, barely wincing at the taste. As she continued to chew on the herb's small leaves, she felt her breathing begin to slow down and she felt her heart begin to beat slower.

"How is Whiskerstar?" Birdpaw asked once she felt capable enough to talk again. Although her memory was not great, she could still, unfortunately, remember Maplestar severely injuring Whiskerstar. Flowerstem sighed and looked over to a spot in the den, which was probably where the leader was laying, and spoke in a quiet voice.

"Not that well," she said, "he has not been making any progress, and if anything, he has just been getting worse. The smaller wounds have healed pretty well, but the wound in his side..." She broke off and Birdpaw knew that the wound in his side was life-threatening.

"But he is going to stay alive right?" asked the apprentice, "I mean, he has nine lives, so of course he is going to live." Flowerstem shook her head.

"Not necessarily," she replied, looking down at the ground, "if the wound is really bad, which it is, it could end up taking all of his lives at once."

"All of them?" breathed Birdpaw, her blue eyes wide. There was no way that her mentor could lose all his lives. The grey tabby was strong, he would be able to pull through the injuries... right? Flowerstem nodded again, before taking a deep breath and turning back around to look at the apprentice again.

"But we shouldn't dwell on that," she said, using the young apprentice's tactic of the 'fake smile', "he is strong and of course he will be able to survive." There was a silence and all the she-cats in the den knew that this might not be true.

"Can I go outside?" asked Birdpaw, desperately wanting to get away from all this gloom. But unfortunately, Flowerstem shook her head, apology glistening in her green eyes.

"Your leg is damaged, remember?" she said, gently, "you have to stay in your bed until it is healed enough not to become damaged again." The apprentice sighed but she put her head on her black paws, looking out of the den and resigning to the fact that this would be what her next quarter moon would be like.