Descent Into Madness

## Useful Links

* **Chapter Notes**
* **Trivia**

# Story

## Prologue: Before

The sound of a roaring beast woke the thin and elderly tabby she-cat that slept with a Russian Blue tom curled up to her. Her head lifted in fear and horror as the sound reached her ears. Not even five feet in front of her was a big black beast with a single white stripe down the middle of its head going down to its spine. Badger. "Blue!" Her southern accented voice almost yelling at the tom. The beast snorted in recognition. Arcadia nudged her son, the son she had adopted after running across a queen's deceased body. There had been four kittens but she had taken the first three to the Clans giving two to RockClan and one to CaveClan.
Suddenly the beast roared again, only louder. Blue jumped up in fright. The small kitten's sea green eyes wide with fear. "Mama," he whispered. She turned to face the badger which was lumbering towards her, its glowing, crazed yellow eyes intent on hurting something. "Blue, remember what I told you." She whispered glancing down at him with her solemn blue eyes.
Blue nodded, his body shaking. "Go there, hide until I come get you, okay? Wait until its safe." Blue swallowed visibly and the tears in his eyes said that he didn't even want to do that.
"W-what about y-y-you?" He stuttered, biting his tongue in the process. Arcadia felt her heart breaking when he said this. She knew she wouldn't live, but needed no wanted to give her son hope.
"I'll be fine. I promise." She said turning and giving him a hard nudge in the direction of the forest. "Go. Now." The loner said in a hard voice. Blue took off running his paws stumbling over the rocks, sharp pieces of wood and leaves. Arcadia turned to face the large beast, now upon her. Striking her, she went flying. She landed several feet away with a soft thud. She struggled to stand back up. In her old age she was no longer strong enough to fight and win. She didn't want to leave Blue, not now not ever. *Forgive me, Blue.* She thought as the beast attacked once more, its teeth snagging on her neck. She clawed as best she could trying to fight it off but couldn't. Everything happened in slow motion now. It was like her life flashed before her eyes.
First she saw the fawn-colored queen's body with four kittens; a black tom, a mottled grey she-kit, a black she-kit with tiny silver speckles, and Blue. Blue, her lifeline. The one thing she'd loved in this hard life they lived.
An instant pain gripped her neck and it took her almost a minute to remember what was happening. Before she could fight or summon the energy to the badger gave a strong shake and the snap of her neck was heard. The loner lay limp in the badger's jaws. The beast dropped the lifeless loner and lumbered off.
Blue shook as he pressed deeper into the hollow tree he was in, that was when he saw the badger run by. Blood covering its mouth and grinning teeth. *Arcadia!* Was his only thought. He raced out back to where both him and Arcadia had been sleeping only..now his mother lay dead. No sign of life on her body. "Mother.." he whispered as the tears began to fall. "No, please don't go! You promised." He wailed. His sea green gaze filled with anger, hurt, betrayal, and sadness. So much sadness.
Blue knew she had given her life to save him and he knew he needed to bury her. With great effort he hefted her heavy and thin body onto half of his back. His small body barely supporting her weight. *Be brave, Sweetheart.* He heard two female voices then. He looked around wide-eyed. In his mind he saw a fawn-colored molly and Arcadia smiling at him. Was that his *real* mother? Shaking it away all he could think about was how he needed to bury Arcadia.
After burying her he just stared at the newly covered hole. No tears came this time, just pain. Pain that he was alone now. The pain that he had nobody left to depend on. The pain of hunger and fear. He knew now that he needed and had to grow up. *Now everything was different than* before.