A gentle breeze stirred the ferns as the tomcat stalked closer to his prey. The tom, his dark brown tabby pelt blending in with the grass and earth, silently crept closer to the vole, his muscles tense and ready to spring.

Closer… Closer…

The tom pounced. His paws slammed down onto the vole's back. The creature's thin squeal of terror died out as he unsheathed his claws, digging them into the vole's throat.

Yes! Feeling triumphant, the tom turned to bury his prey underneath a bush. He would pick it up later when he was done hunting.

Suddenly the tom felt hot breath on his hindquarters. He whipped around and saw three huge dogs standing in front of him, their eyes gleaming at the thought of an easy kill.

But there was something different about these dogs. Something just felt… off. The tom couldn't find the words to describe it. Their eyes were a little too wild, their steps a little too clumsy. Even their mouths… foam gushed out of them, dripping onto the ground. All three had a jagged bite mark somewhere on their necks, showing red and angry and covered with flies. The tom turned and sprinted away, his pelt bushed up in fear.

The dogs gave chase.

One dog, a big black and white male mutt, bolted up to the cat and lashed out with one forepaw at the cat's left hind leg. The tom tripped and fell to the ground.

The black and white dog leaned over him, pinning him down. The tom let out a hiss of rage and slashed his claws across his cheek. The dog didn't even flinch. He was focused on nothing but his prey.

The hunter becomes the hunted, the tom thought. Before the tom could slither out from underneath the dog, the dog lurched downward and wrapped his jaws around the tom's neck.

The tom felt the beast's teeth sink into his throat. He screeched and clawed the dog's muzzle, and then twisted his head backward to bite the loose skin above his eye. The dog yelped and dropped the tom, then turned and fled into the bushes with his two companions at his heels.

The tom started to limp away, blood gushing out of his throat and staining the fur on his chest. I need to get back to Alderheart and Jayfeather. They'll know what to do.

But the wound was starting to overpower him. The tom fell twitching to the ground. All his limbs started to spasm, and his eyes closed as he started to feel faint, the world spiraling away into blackness.

The tom suddenly felt something snap inside of him. He rose to his paws, feeling suddenly empty of all emotion. He felt as if everything was a threat to him now, and those threats needed to be eliminated. Shaking out his pelt, he turned and stalked toward the camp, foam and drool coming out of his mouth.

Meanwhile, a very young she-cat crouched underneath a nearby bush. She watched with wide, startled green eyes as the tom left. Feeling more terrified than she ever had before, she bolted away as fast as her paws could carry her.