Forbidden Shadows - Chapter Two

"Ahem," Stormcloud cleared her throat, making her presence known. She stood tall next to Bluejay, who stood tall as well. Both had the most serious faces you could imagine.

"Could we go to the meeting headquarters, please?" Bluejay said after all cats were facing them and listening. "I'm afraid we have some important - and grim - news for you. And it's got to be dealt with fast."

The cats padded after Stormcloud and Bluejay, all the way back to the headquarters.

The leader, Hawkscreech, sat down in his usual place: On top of the highest dumpster. The two cats, because they were the ones with the message, were given permission to sit next to him. "You may begin your message - er, warning, I suppose," Hawkscreech said, his voice adding to the grim feeling around the alley.

Stormcloud cleared her throat again, to indicate she would start. "Last night, we were given a dream - more of an omen. Both Bluejay and I had it, so we knew we had to be connected. And the dream told us how. The dream began with me sitting in the forest. A clearing, to be exact. It seemed normal at first. But then, there was a flash of light, and a line of three cats appeared," Stormcloud explained. "They were not tattered. They seemed to be made out of lace, that beautiful human clothing material we have stolen sometimes for bedding. They introduced themselves. The first was a white female, who said her name was Angel Feather. She said it as two words, unlike we do, so I knew they were not from our past. The second was a completely black tom whose name, he said, was Dark As Night. This time it was three words. And the last was a reddish female whose name was Fire, only one word."

Bluejay took over and said, "Angel Feather spoke first. She said, in an echoing voice, 'You must be careful. Your world will soon be destroyed faster than it came. You must beware.' And with that, Angel Feather faded away. Before I could speak, Dark As Night said, 'Angel Feather is correct. The Humans plan to take over the land. They will begin with trapping you, move on to poisoning you, and then you will dream nightmares for eternity.' His voice scared me into silence before I could even meow. And Dark As Night then faded as well. Fire spoke now, in a gentler voice than the other two, which was surprising given her name and harsh appearance. She spoke, 'The others have warned you well. The humans plan to banish you from their land, and they want you all to perish. They never want to see stray cats again. You and Stormcloud, you must be the leaders. Lead your Stray Corporation out of the city and into the unknown by Friday, or you shall have no hope of ever living again.' 'Wait!' I had said, but Fire faded too quickly."

Stormcloud began again, "Yes. I got the same message from them. We need to lead you all out of here and into safer grounds by Friday. It is Wednesday. We wanted to warn you sooner, but we could not. If you don't believe and trust us, you will see for yourself what dangers they brought. We have seen them, for they showed us in the dream. After all three cats had faded away, something else faded: me. I was taken to the city, this very city. But instead of the hazy cars driving by and humans strolling around, there was peril and trouble surrounding me. Humans shoved cats into cages. They filled the cages with a white gas, like clouds. It covered the cats beyond seeing through. Once it cleared out of the cage, the cat was on its side, never to wake up again. And it felt so strange, for the gas left no mark of death on the cat - and no struggle at all. The cat had simply taken a breath and instantly, it was gone. We need to lead you out of here, and quick."

Bluejay and Stormcloud looked worriedly to their leader. The cats had meowed their horror, their fear, their distrust, their sadness. It was all mixed together, and the two cats telling the story did not know who believed yet and who did not. Hawkscreech looked at the cats. He had a competitive anger to his eyes.

"I see what you are trying to do. You want to drive us all out of our home for an untrue omen. Then, since your fake little dream says YOU two must lead, you grant yourselves permission to knock me out of leadership. Everyone will follow what YOU say, and you'll drive me out. Then you'll return with MY Corporation that I STARTED and live normally again as royalty and heroic cats!" Hawkscreech spat. "Well, I won't let it happen. I'm not letting ANY of my cats go with you."