"Cherrystripe! Cherrystripe! Cherrystripe!"

Cherrystripe's chest swelled as the clan called her name. I'm finally a warrior! She thought with excitement.

Breezepaw and Graypaw padded over to congratulate her. "Congratulations Cherrypa-, I mean Cherrystripe!" Breezepaw meowed, her tail flicking with excitement.

"We'll be warriors soon too!" Graypaw added, "Only a moon or so more until our final assessment!"

Breezepaw shivered with excitement at the thought.

Cherrystripe's former mentor, Talonclaw, padded up to her. "Congratulations!" He said, gazing at his former apprentice with pride.

"Thank you Talonclaw!" She responded happily, blinking at him. Several more cats crowded around her, congratulating and praising her.

At last, night fell and Cherrystripe settled into her spot to sit vigil.

The new warrior watched as cats drifted to their nests one by one.

The moon had passed overhead and was now heading back down. Cherrystripe felt her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier.

Snap!

A snapping twig jerked Cherrystripe wide awake. She stood up, ears perked and alert. She sniffed the air for the scent of a possible intruder but couldn't find any.

Cherrystripe settled back down after a few heartbeats, It was probably just a rabbit or a mouse. she thought.

After a while, she heard a bit of rustling a few fox-lengths away from where she sat. She glanced around the clearing, it was deserted, all the cats were already asleep in their nests.

Cherrystripe stood up again and went over to investigate. She saw some gorse bushes quiver nearby, was it just the wind, or was there something moving it?

She padded closer carefully, the shadows that had looked normal before now took the shapes of cats, badgers, foxes, and other frightening beings.

Cherrystripe took a deep breath before plunging into the bushes, claws unsheathed and fur bristling. She found herself in a small clearing surrounded by gorse bushes.

In the middle of the clearing, a deep tunnel plunged downwards into the ground. This must be one of our old tunnels! Cherrystripe thought, thrilled at having discovered it.

Never go into a tunnel you don't know! Cherrystripe could hear her former mentor's words echo in her head.

She shrugged, it might lead to a rabbit den, imagine how surprised and delighted the clan would be if they woke up to a full fresh-kill pile!

Cherrystripe pushed her way through the narrow opening and was met with a strange sight. Glowing moss covered the walls everywhere, illuminating the cavern she had stumbled into.

The amazing she-cat wandered further into the cavern, she suddenly saw a small gap in the wall, just the size for a cat to squeeze through.

She climbed through the small hole and found herself in a dark tunnel, leading steeply upwards. She followed it for a long time, heart beating in her chest at the prospect of what she might find.

Cherrystripe finally saw a faint light shimmering up ahead and quickened her pace.

Soon she was in another cavern, this one smaller than the previous one. A tunnel in the ceiling of the cave let a small amount of moonlight filter in.

She glanced around the stone cave until she spotted a small boulder in the shadows. She walked over to it and began pushing with all her might.

Soon Cherrystripe had succeeded in rolling the boulder under the spot where the tunnel was. She clambered up unto it and sprang for the opening.

Her claws caught the rim of the entrance and she pulled herself up. She lay panting on the ground for a few heartbeats, tired from the climb.

Then, Cherrystripe sat up and surveyed her surroundings. She was sitting on a patch of grass in the middle of what looked like a bog or a marsh.

It looked gloomy and spooky in the moonlight, shadows were everywhere. She shivered and turned around, she was about to jump back into the tunnel when one of the shadows sprang at her.

"Trespassing on ShadowClan territory eh?" A deep, flint-hard voice rumbled. Cherrystripe yowled in fear one last time before a sudden slash of claws silenced her forever.

The dark shape kicked the limp body before turning to the tunnel, the cat had smelled of WindClan. His leader would be interested in this tunnel, a secret entrance into WindClan territory.

A/N: Oooh that was creepy lol. I hope you guys get the title. The rustling in the bushes was the same ShadowClan cat that killed poor Cherrystripe, he had disguised his scent and raced back to his territory before she could catch him. In this story, ShadowClan is evil and is ruled by a tyrant like Brokenstar or Tigerstar.

(710 words excluding Author's Note)