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"Thorn, get a move on!" Swiftdapple hissed impatiently at the matted brown tom, who limped slowly towards her, wincing at the pain that shot through him. Golden Berry gave a sympathetic stare at her brother as she stood on the hill next to the Pine's deputy.

"I can't!" Thorn called from the bottom of the slope. "My leg hurts too much! Just forget about me. I'll be fine."

Flames lapped and blazed through the forestry of the Pine behind him. He took a glance over his shoulder, his paws trembling beneath him. Clouds of smoke raged through the air and hit Swiftdapple's nose as it wrinkled. She hated the smell of smoke from fires.

Most of the forest had been destroyed by the fire; the pine trees had been burned from their roots and some of the trees even collapsed. The bushes were on fire and got burned down. Everything Swiftdapple had grown up seeing had been burned away by the fearsome fire.

"Nonsense! I'm not leaving any of my camp mates to get burned in a fire!" Swiftdapple retorted. "Golden Berry, Jaggedclaw, help me."

"Help you?" Golden Berry's outrage mew broke through the air. Swiftdapple stared at her with a puzzle expression. "Help you?" the golden tabby repeated herself, her voice rising. "I would rather die than help a useless cat like you!"

"Stop being mouse-brained and just help! Do you want your brother to die?" Swiftdapple couldn't be bothered scolding her for her remark. She just wanted to make sure Thorn wouldn't get himself burnt to his death.

Suddenly claws glinted as Jaggedclaw and Golden Berry tried jabbing at her. Her gaze wide, Swiftdapple kept moving backwards. Thorn looked astonished as he tried forcing himself back. The two cats' eyes were blazing with bloodthirst as they pushed the tom and she-cat into a smaller clearing enclosed by lapping flames that blazed angrily.

"Jaggedclaw, go back to the others," Golden Berry instructed. "I'll take the pleasure of killing these two pathetic cats."

"''What?" ''Swiftdapple couldn't believe what she heard. "Why would you want to kill us? Have you no loyalty?"

"Golden Berry. . ." Thorn's voice trailed. "Are you okay? You might need to see Silverfeather. I think you might have greencough or something."

"How dare you!" Golden Berry hissed and sliced her brother's ear-tips. "Never mock me again!"

''Golden Berry better be joking about this. . . ''Though Swiftdapple kept trying to reassure herself that Golden Berry didn't mean anything, deep down fear prickled at her as she knew the golden she-cat's intention was to kill rather than save them from the fire.



"I'm going to do what Ashfur failed to do," Golden Berry meowed darkly while a silence loomed over the burning clearing. "He failed to burn the cats in the fire. And it looks like I could burn you, Swiftdapple, my foolish deputy."

"Why?" Swiftdapple growled. "Why would you betray your Group like this?"

<p align="CENTER">"Why would you be so gullible to believe I was innocent?" Golden Berry shot back. "My kindness and sweetness was just a facade. You see, I blamed my father for everything. He left before I was born because he never wanted me. But guess what? I'll destroy his kin and friends to get back at him for leaving my mother with Thorn and I."

<p align="CENTER">"You're crazy!" Swiftdapple retorted, feeling her fur beginning to spike up. "No cat would have ever believed you were going to betray us. . . We trusted you too much, and now we're suffering for it."

<p align="CENTER">Golden Berry let out a purr. "Isn't it great? I gained so many cat's trusts and played with their hearts. They believe I'm loyal and just like my father. But Ratfang is dead to me. I will never be like him. He's just lucky he gets to miss out on all the fun I was going to make him endure."

<p align="CENTER">"Why would you harm me?" Thorn demanded. "We're littermates, Golden Berry!"

<p align="CENTER">Golden Berry stared at him pitifully, tipping her head to the side as her tail whisked behind her. "I'm so sorry, dear brother," she meowed, "but I cannot spare any cat for the sake of doing what Ashfur should have done back in Firestar's time."

<p align="CENTER">"That was long before the Groups!" Swiftdapple told her. "Why would you do this now? Ashfur's long dead and faded. He wouldn't even know there's a she-cat copy of him."

<p align="CENTER">"But what separates me from him is the fact I can successfully do what he didn't," Golden Berry pointed out. "I'm not exactly like Ashfur, am I?"

<p align="CENTER">''I should have never trusted Golden Berry, yet I did anyway. . . ''Swiftdapple felt angry at herself for believing Golden Berry's facade that had everyone fooled.

<p align="CENTER">"You're my sister. . ." Shock took over Thorn's mew. "I thought you cared about me. Why would you kill me when I hate our father just as much as you do? If anything, we should be teaming up against the Pine."

<p align="CENTER">Golden Berry shook her tabby-marked head. "I'm sorry, but I work alone. I cannot let a foolish tomcat like you ruin everything. I will not fail, and I will kill you. And don't bother stopping me because I will throw you into the fire and watch you burn with enjoyment."

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