The Wrath of the Golden Fire [Book 1 of the Fire series]

Chapter 1: On The Run

"You'll never catch me!" I yowled behind my back to the ugly gray yellow-striped cat, Scratch. I pushed harder, and sped past an alleyway.

"Yes I will!" Scratch growled back, seeming to get faster right behind me. I tried to run faster, but it was no use. I was running out of juice.

I skidded to a stop, and Scratch crashed into me. He immediately stood up, and realized what he crashed into.

While he was in shock, I thought of something fun to do. I changed. My fur retracted into my body, leaving it smooth with light tan skin. Most of the orange stripes went onto my long, wavy, waist-length black hair.

I didn't have a tail, I didn't have paws or claws, or ears on top of my head. My panther choker, anklet, and earrings were back.

I was human.

I bent down to look at Scratch. "Awww," I cooed, acting like a lady who found an adorable kitten on the street. This was total opposite. "Are you lost kitty?" Before Scratch could answer, I grabbed him by the tail, and shoved him in my black messenger back.

Quickly buttoning the flap shut, I ran down the street.

Skidding around a corner, I now ran down a different street.

And so on.

Scratch was thrashing around in my bag, trying to escape.

"Shh!" I hissed at my bag, slapping it. "Ow!" I'd run into a door. I looked down, then pulled it open.

I stepped out into the lobby of a hotel. A crystal waterfall was running swiftly behind the front desk, which looked to me like it was made of ebony wood. There was a lady, maybe in her thirties, at the front desk.

She had glasses, and long, brown hair. The woman was typing very fast on a computer.

I walked up to the lady at the front desk calmly, trying to ignore the thrashing in my bag.

She looked up at me. "Are you lost, dear?" She asked, still typing things on her computer. I shook my head. "Where is your mom?"

I shrugged. "If I knew, I wouldn't be here right now. I don't have a mother."

"Father?"

"No."

"Well, I'm sorry, girl," The lady said, looking at the screen on her computer. "but we don't permit fourteen year-olds to stay at hotels without a parent, or guardian."

I scowled at her, then turned on my heel, and left, smashing my bag angrily against the door.

Scratch yowled, and I smiled at the thought of him bleeding to death.

I walked down the abandoned streets of the city. I hated this city. Laranua. Even the name disgusted me.

"Stupid hotels," I hissed, kicking a stray pebble with m foot, and sending it tumbling across the street. "Not permitting fifteen year-olds to stay without parents. It's not my fault I don't have parents!"

"Haha, maybe they left you because you're stupid," Scratch sniggered from inside my bag. I smashed it on a building.

***

The sun was sinking below the buildings by the time I finally flopped down in a dark alleyway. I snuggled next to a trashcan (which wasn't very comfortable, or sanitary), and watched the fading rays of pink in the sky.

I felt a sharp claw poke my butt.

I stood up, and started jumping on my bag. "Stop......that.....you.....stupid.....cat!" I noticed that the flap had fallen open as I was jumping on it.

Scratch crawled out, and glared at me. His ears flattened. "Seriously?" He looked at himself. "Oh, I'm out, now I can kill you!"

He lunged at me, but I stepped on his tail. "Not a good idea, Pussykins." I laughed at my joke, then picked Scratch up by the belly like a kitten.

"Let......me......go!" Scratch hissed, struggling to get away in my arms.

I held him tighter, and tickled his head. "Let's go see my friend Stripe, shall we?"

"No!" Scratch struggled harder, but I started rubbing him between the ears. He fell limp, and started purring.

"Always a cat's weak spot." I said, picking up my bag and slinging it around my shoulder. To prevent Scratch from trying to kill me, I rubbed him while I was walking.

I walked out of the alley, and into the city park, also known as the only place that I know of with trees around here. Seriously though, there were like, only three trees there.

I went onto the stiff grass, and stood next to the 'pond'.

"Stripe, you up there?" I called up to one of the trees.

"No, but I'm up here," I turned to the tree that was behind me, and I saw my violet-striped friend slither down from the tree.

I waved. "Hi!"

"You might want to keep your voice down," Stripe hissed to me. "Scratch could probably hear-" She stopped abruptly in the middle of her sentence. The cat stared.

"What?" I looked at Stripe. "It's not like he's dangerous or anything."

"Says the girl petting the feral cat!" Stripe yowled. Scratch hissed. I started petting him again, and he fell limp.

"Listen, as long as I'm doing this, he's fine." While petting his head, I lay Scratch gently in my bag, and quickly snapped the flap shut.

"I still don't think it's a good idea," Stripe meowed, hopping back into the tree. "You don't want to know our past." She looked as if she instantly regretted the words that came out of her mouth.

"Actually, I do."

"I-I-I didn't say anything!" Stripe mewed quickly.

"Yeah, you did!" Stripe wasn't listening anymore, she was pretending to be asleep. I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." Changing into my panther (well, small panther) form, I took the strap of my bag in my mouth, and climbed up the tree that Stripe was in.

I climbed to the very top, and sat down, having a good view of the city. I watched cars go by down below, and wondered if the people in there were good, or not.

Finding a branch, I settled down on my bag (A.K.A. the Scratch pillow), and closed my eyes, watching the thoughts swim through my head.

The thoughts became fuzzy, and I realized I was asleep.

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Holy crap, finally done! So, how'd you guys like it? Okay, I need your opinion, do you people want me to delete the old version? Cuz its way worse.

Anyway,

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Until next time!

~Neon