Seeing Red

chapter ???
I'm surrounded by strangers. I'm used to it by now - unfamiliar cats with slashes in their fur. They're not the first thing I notice. No, the first thing is the dead apprentice at my paws.

Aspenpaw's pale tabby fur is stained with blood. His amber eyes are wide in terror as he stares up at me. The long slashes over his back still gush blood. His jaws are gaped in a silent scream, one that won't sound. His claws uselessly scrabble at the rock, growing weaker with each movement. But I'm not going to feel fear.

This isn't real, and I know it.

I look up to meet Darkstripe's piercing amber gaze. A huge grin is plastered to his face. "Great work." he says approvingly. His dark form flickers twice before becoming solid again.

I don't reply. I know the vision's about to end.

The cats surrounding me disappear, and the ThunderClan camp returns to normal. I look down at Aspenpaw, expecting the blood to be gone, and for Aspenpaw to still be alive.

...No.

No, no, no, no. This can't be real. No. This isn't real, this isn't real. I keep telling myself that, waiting for the vision to flicker out and for everything to turn back to normal.

It doesn't happen.

Blood still coats Aspenpaw's head and flanks. His eyes are clouded. His forelegs are stretched toward the Highledge, his paws just barely touching the rock. Gashes snake over his back, but there's no blood flowing from them.

He's still dead.

He's... still dead...? No, this still isn't real... Th-they're just being cruel... the vision will die out any time now...

I wait. Five, ten, fifteen minutes pass, and Aspenpaw is still motionless and covered in blood.

Then I whisper, "Aspenpaw...?"

He doesn't look at me. He continues staring blankly at nothing.

"ASPENPAW!" I yowl, starting to shake him with my forepaws. No reaction. Frantically I place a paw to his chest, hoping to feel a heartbeat. I'm aware of the cats emerging from their dens, but I don't acknowledge them. "ASPENPAW!" I wail again. My paws are stained with his blood, and that's when I give in.

Aspenpaw's dead, and I killed him.

Horrified screams and shocked voices erupt from the cats behind me, and I hear cats trying to calm each other.

Someone shoves me to the side, and I only collapse onto my side without even attempting to resist. Cats swarm around Aspenpaw's corpse. A few cats help me to my paws, but I don't bother trying to recognize any of them.

Bramblestar's commanding voice sounds. "Everyone, get away from the body! Dovewing,