Monday, April 18, 2005

This is part one of currently the biggest fan-fic I've writen for this site. So grab a drink and get comfy.

Strays part 1 Out of the Shadows A silver moon shone down on the city of Metrolex. Onto the skyscraping office buildings, to the condos and apartment complexes, and down into the streets it bounced. In a dismal alley on the west side of town (the fish market district to be exact), there came a rustle from a pile of newspapers. A small white figure emerged from underneath and into the moonlight. It was a cat: a beautiful white cat with green eyes and a coat that almost glittered in the dim light. It stepped out cautiously, flicking it’s ears and smelling the air to make sure no-one was there. After confirming its surroundings, it looked back and let out a loud “meow.” Three more cats came out of the shadows. One had green eyes as well and was yellow with stripes of a darker shade, almost looking like a miniature golden tiger. Another was jet black with yellow eyes and a bit more slender than the others. The last was the smallest of the four and had orange and white fur and sky blue eyes. With the white one in front, the feline quartet navigated its way around the broken bottles, garbage bags, and other assorted trash that littered the alleyway. When they came to the entrance, they spied a truck making a late delivery. A man opened the back and called to his partner, “Hurry up, Tony! They’re not gonna stay fresh forever!” The man began to hand down one of several small crates to his friend. The other man set them on the sidewalk in front of a small shop. Back in the alley, the white cat looked at the orange one and flicked its ears in the direction of the truck. This was obviously some sort of signal because Orange immediately started running towards the man on the ground. He was about to set the next crate on the curb when he heard a small “meow” from at his feet. He looked down and saw Orange eyeing the crate and licking its lips hungrily. “No, no, kitty. Go home,” he said. But then he heard another “meow” behind him. He turned around and saw Black with the same expression. “Go home!” he shouted. At this point, Yellow had joined in and was jumping and pawing at the crate. “Damn cats. Hey Byron!” He called to his friend in the truck. Byron looked out and asked, “What’s going on?” Tony was holding the crate up to his shoulders while the three cats jumped and pawed at him. “I’m surrounded!” he yelled. Muttering under his breath, “Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Byron jumped down and went to aid his colleague while White jumped into the truck unnoticed. As the men tried to shoe the cats away, White pushed a crate towards the edge of the truck. Summoning all her strength, White pushed and pushed until the crate was teetering over the edge. Then she gave it one final nudge and leapt back behind the remaining cargo as the crate crashed onto the street. The two men looked back to see what had made the noise. They saw a small pile of splintered wood, crushed ice, and fresh mahi-mahi. “Aw, crap!” Byron yelled. The three cats rushed towards the wreckage. “No! Bad cats! Get away!” Tony screamed. But Byron held him back. “Aw, screw it. Let’em have it. We can’t sell damaged goods anyway. C’mon! Let’s get the rest unloaded before anything else happens.” As Byron jumped into the back and lifted up another crate, White silently made her getaway and rejoined her accomplices on the ground. The cats quickly gathered up their spoils and ran back into the alley. Mission accomplished. Meanwhile, a few blocks down, a gray van patrolled the streets. A man sitting on the passenger side rubbed his arms and blew into his hands. “Tell me again why we’re down here,” he said. “We’ve been getting numerous reports of strays in this area,” said the driver. “No, I know that,” the other replied. “What I’m wondering is why we’re out here when it’s frikking freezing.” “Stop complaining. We just need to do a quick survey and then get back to the shelter. Besides, I do have the heat on.” The man gave a confused look and checked his vents. They were still closed. Smiling sheepishly, he opened them up and put his hands against them. As he warmed himself, he glanced out his window at the alley. “Hey, I think I see something. Stop here.” The cats sat silently enjoying their hard earned reward. For a moment, they were unaware of the two men with snares and crates slowly approaching them, until Black caught them. She arched her back and hissed at the intruders. “Don’t worry, kitty. We’re not going to hurt you,” said one of them. White, Orange, and Black slowly started to back away into the shadows. “That’s weird,” said the man. “I thought I saw four.” In a warlike screech, Yellow leaped off the top of a dumpster and lunged at the other man’s face. He screamed in shock and the thought of his face getting torn off flashed through his mind. But the golden feline simply bounded of his chest, as if trying to knock him back. Then she ran to her companions and they all disappeared into the shadows. Running at full speed, the four dodged and weaved past the trash bags and miscellaneous garbage. White lead them to the hole in the chain link fence where they had entered from. One by one she ushered them through to safety, but she stayed behind to make sure they weren’t being followed. She stalwartly guarded the opening and flicked her ears. After a minute, she decided the coast was clear and she was about to pass through the fence herself, but stopped. The fish; they had forgotten the fish. It had been so long since they had a decent meal, and those fish were too good to leave behind. In the end, her stomach and her concern for her friends won and she started running back. She made it back to the alley and spied the largest piece of fish left. She went into a full sprint straight towards the deliciously sweet meat. But, unfortunately, she was motivated too much by hunger this time and didn’t even notice the man’s snare come around her neck. Like lightning, she was jerked back and into a plastic crate. “Couldn’t resist, could you?” the man said. White meowed loudly, hoping that her family would hear. “What about the others?” his partner asked. “We’ll get them eventually. This’ll be enough for now,” he said as he laid the crate in the back of the van. As the door closed, White continued to cry out into the night. But when she heard the engine rumble and felt the van start to move, she sorrowfully lay down and closed her eyes in submission. As they drove back, the two officers started to make small talk. “Hey, did you see last night’s episode of ‘Space Opera 7?’” “You actually watch that crap?” “I happen to think it’s very funny. What do you watch?” “Oh, I don’t watch a lot of TV. Mostly I... what was that?” They had gone about five miles when the man in the passenger seat heard a strange sound. “What was what?” the driver asked. “Eh, nothing,” the other shrugged. “Probably one of the crates falling over back there. So anyway...” They were about to continue when they heard a deafening “BANG!!!” come from the back. “What the hell?!” the driver yelled. The noise persisted “BANG, BANG, BANG!!!” and every time it sounded the whole van shook violently. The other man slowly turned around. He looked into the back through a small window. All he saw was black. But then suddenly, two big green eyes moved right in front of his and a low growl resonated from the back. The man whipped back around, his face deathly pale screaming, “Pull over! Pull over!” The driver slammed on the breaks and the van screeched to a halt. “What the hell is going on?!” the driver screamed. “There’s something back there,” the other whispered. “Something big.” “Wh... what?” the driver stammered. But before the men could think another thought, the van started to rock and up and down as if it were in an earthquake. The two held on for dear life thinking this was the end. Then there was one last colossal BANG...... and everything was still. The two men just sat there panting, their faces white. Until finally, they mustered up all their courage, opened the doors, and leapt out to see what had caused all this. They could already see that the doors were flung wide open. As they got closer, they noticed that the doors were now bent and distorted. They cautiously peeked around the warped doors and looked into the back. There was nothing there. Nothing but a busted up pet carrier that looked as if it were torn in half. “Oh my god, look at this,” the driver said as he examined the inside of the door. It was mutilated: riddled with deep claw marks and humungous impressions that resembled giant fists. “What the hell was that thing?” Although free, the enigma that was now “Little White” was also in unfamiliar territory. She looked up at the moon with her small green eyes and let out a lonesome yowl. She was lost. Lost........ and left alone........ crying........ in the darkness.

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