Venom Within - WARRIOR CATS

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Hey! Wait up, Rustkit!"

I glanced over my shoulder to see Burrowpaw racing to keep up with me. I was running down the dune, picking up speed as my paws thundered down the massive sand dune.

"It's dangerous in the desert!" Burrowpaw called. "We're not meant to stray too far from camp. There's a lot you don't know, okay?"

Once I got my footing once more, I turned to him, eyes glimmering with desperation. "I have to learn it all, don't you see?" Fear mingled with another tingly emotion I didn't quite understand flowed through me. "There's so much. What if I don't know it all? What if I never become a warrior because-"

"Hey," Burrowpaw slid the last way down to the bottom of the dune. "You're gonna be fine. Who said you had to know it all?"

Foxshadow, I thought, but didn't say my mother's name aloud. Maybe she'd be proud of me then, if I wasn't such a nuisance...

The desert stretched on endlessly into the horizon. I felt small, as though I was just one of the millions of grains of sand under my paw. In the far distance, I thought I could see some stretches of greenery; likely OasisClan territory. They were the only clan near us. I heard that there were rogues nearby, though, and vicious creatures like dingos and kangaroos.

Burrowpaw had reached me. He was kneading the sand with his paws, gazing at the first warriors of GalaxyClan, which were beginning to appear in the sky. I blinked at him with my large blood-red eyes, wondering what we were about to do next.

"Can we explore further?"

Burrowpaw hesitated, glancing around. "Yeah," his voice sounded oddly strained. "Yeah, let's do that, Rustkit."

"Is something wrong?"

Burrowpaw was suddenly looking very tense. I tried to shake off my unease. If warriors can handle the desert, then I can too.

I streaked off into the distance as images of the warriors running alongside me filled my head. I pretended I was keeping pace with Darkember, his black tabby muscles pumping hard to keep up with me.

The wind was picking up, sending sand spraying into my eyes. My legs burned, and my paw pads ached from the grainy terrain, but I relished it. I imagined myself leading a patrol off to defend DuneClan's home. We would leave the scouts, especially Dingofoot and his weird eyes, far behind.

Ruststar.

A warrior.

I clambered up a dune, my lungs aching for air. My legs trembled as I forced them to keep climbing. With each pawstep forward, I felt as though I was taking two steps back. The only thing that kept me going was the thought that I was training to become a DuneClan warrior.

"Hey, wait up!"

As soon as I realised I'd reached the top of the massive dune, I slumped against a cold grey stone, gasping for air. My paws trembled and shook. Little black dots swirled in my vision. Chest heaving, I glanced up to see Burrowpaw looking up at me.

"StarClan, you're fast!" His voice was bright, but something about his expression was foreboding.

I sat up at once, and promptly fell into him.

"I'm glad I didn't eat that mouse," I admitted quietly. "Wh-where are we?"

I turned and glanced around. The sky had rapidly darkened, and now the moon was rising in the sky. It was nearly full, illuminating the sand, and making it shine like gold and silver. The blowing sand around us made my eyes burn. In the distance, I could see thin shrubbery, and large white things. I narrowed my eyes...