Chapter 1

I woke up with the kitten in a strange place. My description of it wouldn't do it justice. There was nothing like it in the forest. I looked around hopelessly. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦? There were big gray blocks that seemingly stretched all the way up to the sky. As I was about to pick up the kitten and hide under some wooden contraption I saw on a patch of pavement, I spotted a huge object running toward us. There were big creatures with flowing tails and manes in front of it. Ropes attached from them to some different creature, and they were presumably pulling the object along.

I was frozen in fear as I watched it get closer. They always say that when you're in danger you either fight or flight, but I always just seem to choose the hidden option and freeze. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't move. Was this it? Had Momma sent him and this kitten to some other part of the realm just for them to die five seconds later? It.... couldn't be… The sound of the creature's large paws and the object rolling pounded in his ears.

Wait - what?

A gray female cat with black stripes lunged towards us and scooped us both in her jaw, her paws skidding as she leaped out of the way just before the creatures trample her, landing on both paws. They were now in a gap between two of the big tall blocks. As she was leaping out of the way, I heard a loud squeak from behind me and it wasn't the orange kitten. I couldn't see what it was because I was in the cat's mouth.

The cat dropped us both carefully on the rocky, gray ground. "Now, what are two tiny kittens like you doing in the middle of a pathway?" She panted, fear in her voice. Oreo's heart pounded in his chest. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘦. My thoughts shot to Momma. In the end... I would never see her again. They could be thousands, if not millions of miles apart. But... now, I was alone. In the middle of nowhere with two cats I didn't know. Oreo looked down, letting out a small weep. "Kid!" The she-cat meowed again.

I looked up. "What were you two doing in the middle of the pathway? Don't you know it's dangerous? Those horses could have trampled you, and the wheels on the carriage would have squashed you if the horses didn't!" "P-Pathway?... What's a pathway?" The cat looked confused. "Don't you know what a pathway is?" "N-no…"

"Uh- whatever, you're still young-- First of all, where are your parents?" I didn't want to tell her. This place could be completely different from the place he lived in with Momma. I had no idea what a 'pathway' was, or a 'horse' or a 'carriage', or a 'wheels'. So- what if she didn't know what a portal was or a monster was or a power? If I didn't even know what a 'pathway' was, how could she understand what happened if I told her?

I barely even knew what happened myself. "Uh-" I started, but was cut off. "𝘡𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘢!" A she-cat with golden shelled fur and heather eyes screamed from the other gray block. I didn't notice she was there earlier. The she-cat ran to where the creatures and object passed. I looked to where she was and saw a dead gray calico she-cat on the pathway. 𝘖𝘩 𝘯𝘰. "She tried to save them, didn't she..." The gray she-cat muttered.

Did.. did Zinia attempt to rescue us, but fail? The golden furred she-cat wailed as she dragged the calico off the path. She put herself in harm's way to save them, and in the process, she was killed.

"Jen, why did she run onto the pathway?! Why??" She bawled as she buried her nose in the calico's fur. Oreo backed up, crouching in fear. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴?! Jen sighed, taking a few steps forward, not seeming to care. "She died honorably, Orb. She tried to save these two kittens," she meowed, pointing to me and the orange kitten. Orb looked up tearfully as she stared at them but then began to growl.

"𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳? 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳?! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳?! 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴?! 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴!" Orb hissed with pure hatred in her eyes. Oreo and the kitten hid behind Jen. I started to shake, terrified. "Orb, how can you say that?!" Jen snarled at her. "Jen, I don't care what you think! I'm… I'm going with her!" ...what.

The golden she-cat ran towards the 'pathway'. Wait--was.. she going to 𝘎𝘖 𝘖𝘕𝘛𝘖 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘗𝘈𝘛𝘏𝘞𝘈𝘠 𝘓𝘐𝘒𝘌 𝘡𝘐𝘕𝘐𝘈 𝘋𝘐𝘋?

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵!" She lunged at her to stop her, but Orb growled, stopping mid-run when Jen landed on top of her. As a result, they started fighting. The orange kitten was pawing at a cloth, no idea what was going on, while I just crouched in the corner.

Jen growled, biting into Orb's leg. With fury, the she-cat swiped with claws fully extended over her right eye. Jen let go with a loud screech of pain, and Oreo couldn't bear to watch anymore. Jen swiped at her back with sharp claws as Orb ran towards the pathway and disappeared behind a gray block. She stood there, panting, as blood streamed down one side of her face. "Fool!" Jen yelled, but then, crouching, groaned in pain from her injured eye.

But after a moment, she got up and yowled in rage. My ears were pinned to the back of my head in fear. Jen walked towards us, spitting. "We need to go to another alleyway. Their bodies will attract humans." Oreo stared at her, still scared. "Listen, do you two have parents? Because if you do, then go back to them and stay off the pathway!" She quietly hissed. I shook my head, my eyes round. Jen sighed. "Come on, then!" She yelled to the orange kitten. The kitten ignored her.

She picked me up, then padded to the kitten, scooped her up in her jaw again and ran out of the alleyway.

The orange cat with black spots mewed, confused. Why did Momma send us here… Why did the monster have to get her... Millions of questions raced through my upset mind. I sniffled. The cold weather was making me tired... Oreo shivered. I slowly closed my eyes, drifting off to the soft back and forth swaying as I hung from Jen's jaws.