The apprentice was trembling, soaking wet, in the middle of a forest clearing. He could still see, so he knew he was still dreaming. What kind of hell have I stumbled upon?
A sharp bark rang through the air, making Wolfpaw’s heart stop. He watched in horror as a huge black and white beast with shaggy fur burst from the undergrowth. Its lips were curled into a snarl, but it didn’t seem to even see Wolfpaw. In fact, it ran straight through him.
Without his permission, the medicine cat’s paws began following the dog. No matter how fast it was, Wolfpaw was always behind it. Dread built in his chest with every step he took. Soon the scent of blood filled the air – not cat blood, Wolfpaw realized, but fox blood.
With a resounding howl, the dog burst through the underbrush, Wolfpaw behind it. Three cats, all carrying herbs, froze in terror.
“Run, you fools!” Wolfpaw shouted, but to no avail. They couldn’t hear him. A straw-colored she-cat turned a moment too late and the dog was on her, fangs sinking into her body and shaking her like a ragdoll.
Wolfpaw staggered in pain as he felt the fangs ripping into the she-cat’s back. He reeled as the world shook around him and collapsed when the she-cat was flung against a tree. His spine snapped with a crack and his entire body seized in pain.
When the waves of pain drained away, the medicine cat got to his paws in time to see a tom, this one a stone-gray cat with the same bright golden eyes as the she-cat, rush towards the dog. The beast didn’t even flinch. Using one paw, it rolled the gray tom onto his back and used its powerful teeth to tear open his stomach.
Wolfpaw almost vomited as pain lanced up his body. He looked down and saw his stomach was a bloody hole. Blood and entrails dripped from the wound, splattering on the ground with wet plops.
Trembling, Wolfpaw wondered if he was going to die now. However, whatever twisted deity ruled the realm that he had stumbled upon had a different plan for him. As soon as the third cat fled and the dog began feasting on the corpses of the fallen warriors, teeth tearing into the muscle and splintering bone, he was whisked away yet again.