Forest's Fate

Chapter 1

I wake up to the sounds of my humans yelling to each other downstairs. They eat their breakfast loudly, not to mention chattering and shouting, as I said before. I, groggy from sleep, curl up and try to cover my ears with my tail from the sounds, but of course, it's no use. Sighing, I finally get out of bed and silently leave this section of the human den, where I can get some peace and quiet outside when I slip out through the cat door.

This is how it is every single morning since I started to live with these humans. They don't really care that I'm an outdoor cat, and in return, I don't really care (or at least act like I don't really care) that they're loud. It's actually nice for me. I like the outdoors more than I enjoy being indoors. All of the other cats I know live indoors. I pity them; being outside is fun. I was even named Forest, since I was born somewhere out there, and my favorite place outside is the forest that's literally next to the human-den-thingy.

        Today, I decide to just go to the forest. As I slink into the trees, I dive behind a bush just as a tiny human comes strolling along. My muscles become stiff as I attempt to blend into the background as well as possible. I hate those tiny humans because as soon as they spot me, they get so excited for some reason and dart after me. Once, I wasn't careful enough, and a tiny human got me! Luckily, I have sharp claws, though, so that scary little thing let go of me when I unsheathed them.

        I'm not so lucky this time, though. The little, young human spots me somehow-probably my tail or something-and it yowls something in its crazy language and stumbles after me with its stubby legs. I curse under my breath and dart farther into the forest, panic making my heart beat faster and faster in my every step. Just when I'm sure that my heart is going to leap out of my chest, I slow my pace. Of course, that stubby little thing has no chance of getting me! I chuckle to myself and sigh, the panic seeping away. I have no idea why I'm so scared of them.

Breathing deeply into the forest air, I pad over to the pond I was nearby and glance at my reflection. My fur is pretty ruffled from my panicked sprint, so I lick my paw and use it to smooth down my fur. For a little bit of effect, I curse out loud for that darn baby human as I look around. I don't recognize where I am; I don't know how far I went, but it must be pretty far in the forest. But my thoughts of being lost are forgotten when I hear a voice from behind.

"Hello."

The voice is rough and deep, with a strange accent. It definitely came from a cat. I automatically whip around to see an old, black cat. "Who are you?" I cry out.

"My name is Name," the strange newcomer growls, taking a step closer. A chill runs down my back. I'm really surprised. Usually, there's no other cats than me in the forest. I've never even seen a cat like him before, and I start to wonder where he came from. He is muscular, and he's really tall. I mean, he's really tall. Until this moment, I was basically the tallest cat I knew, but now, I literally only reach up to his chest. His cold, ice-blue glare stares straight into my eyes. It's like he's trying to challenge my soul to a fight!

I take in what he just said, and-I can't help it- I let out a long chuckle. "You mean, your name is Name? Are you joking around with me?" Even before the black cat opened his mouth, I know deep down by his icy glare that he wasn't joking around. Right away, I regret what I said.

"No, I am not joking. I am from the world of Gardinia. It is in deep trouble, so you are coming with me." Name stalks even closer, and I back away slowly. I have to take a moment to process what he said, though, because of his peculiar accent. Seriously, I met a lot of cats with many different kinds of voices, but not as unrecognizable as that one.

I stammer, "Uh, no I'm not." Now, I'm completely convinced that this cat is nuts.

"Yes, you are. I will not leave you here. You will help in saving Gardinia." He narrows his eyes into slits. I keep backing away as he pads forward. I realize that I'm about to run into a gigantic tree, so I take two steps to the left. Wrong move. The annoying cat took that to his advantage and suddenly, his face is inches from mine.

        Alright, then. If that cat won't stop talking nonsense, it's time to step up to him. I rise to my full height, although I'm still shorter than him by a lot, and snap at him. "You're insane. I won't help your stupid made-up world of Gardinia. Keep your kitten-tales to yourself and leave me alone!" I narrow my eyes, matching his glare to the best of my ability.

        I see the black cat's fur bristle. He unsheathes his long, sharp claws, and I have to force myself not to flinch at the dreadful sight of them. My claws are probably not even half as long as his. "Gardinia is real," he growls, his voice dropping to a tense, harsh whisper. "You will see when we get there."

        Maybe it's time to run. "No. You need help with controlling your messed-up mind," I spit. My voice is shaking. This cat is crazy. I need to run away. I start to back up again, only to hit another tree with my tail after a couple of steps.

        But it's too late. Right at this moment, he pounces at me, knocks me over, and pins me down with incredible speed.

        "Let me go!" I screech. To my deep irritation, he doesn't respond. His grip holding me to the ground is so strong that I feel like my bones are going to break.

        I can't get him off of my back. I need help. "Help me! Anyone, please!" Desperately, I scan the area of where I am, but no one is around to save me. A sudden indigo foggy thing surrounds us, strangely blinding me.

       "What is that?!" I screech. "Answer me! Please!" Panic starts to overcome my heart, and I'm terrified that it's beating so loudly that my invader will hear its pulse. Speaking of said invader, he still doesn't respond to anything I say. It's getting close to being really creepy.

        The eerie indigo foggy thing is so strong now that I can't see anything else. I curse out loud, and then I start to scream as I try to fight the stupid cat holding me down. I must be hallucinating, though. This can't be real!

        But I feel dizzy for some reason, and my attempts to get out are failing. The color indigo is whirling around in my head.

          There's indigo everywhere. And then suddenly, everything fades to black.