What's going on. . .?
Silence lingered in the air and there was very little light entering the cold room. He rolled aimlessly around on what he believed was a table. There was a pain in his neck which made the rest of his body feel numb as he awoke from his long-lasting coma. The ginger glanced down slowly, there were wires wrapped around his paws, blood oozing from where it dug into his flesh. He ignored the stinging pain that slowly grew, allowed the new scents to flood his nose as realization crept after him and he jumped up. The jump made the pain worse and hard to ignore. His fur raised as he shivered in fear. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the dark room. The tom glared around the room, growling loudly. "Come out!" He howled. There was a disgusting yet recognizable scent that was coming closer. He unsheathed his long claws and got down on all fours. . .
Click!
A blinding light flashed a few times before it stayed permanently on and the ginger charged, slamming head first into a window. He stumbled back, stunned by the sudden pain. He rubbed his head with one paw and shook off the vexatious feeling. Now his body wasn't numb but he felt awfully dizzy and weak. His ears lowered as he saw who was there - but he wasn't going to show his fear. It was the man - the human - who captured him and his friends. He been using them for tests. The ginger was the last cat of his species to be captured and while he tried to fight back, he failed horribly.
The human stared down with dark eyes. He wiped the blood off a scar on his forehead, and placed gloves onto his large hands. He laughed maniacally and looked at him. "Hello, there. Do you remember anything?"
The ginger shook his head. "Just how you humans took me from my forest!" He spat, his fur bristling. "Let me go!"
"Still feisty, so unnecessarily hostile." The human stared at him calmly but not welcomingly. For a crazy man, his face was quite appealing. He reached out to the animal, placing a hand on its head. He carefully scratched the back of the cat's ears and stroked its head as if it was a pet. "Do you at least remember your name?" The ginger cat stood still, frozen. What was his name? What was it? How could he have forgotten his own name? He was surprised at himself and was too embarrassed to speak. The human nodded. "It's okay, many animals here have forgotten their name. Some forgot where they've come from, their friends and family and some. . . Let's say it hasn't worked out well."
The ginger gulped. "What does that mean?"
The human hesitated but didn't answer the question. "Your new name is #809." The ginger blinked and cringed. What kind of name is that? The human walked in and the ginger howled at him, batting at his arms as he was grabbed. The human removed the wires and pulled out a long syringe, the needle at least the length of his finger. It was wide as well, #809 had never seen anything like it. He stabbed it into the resisting cat's back and #809 fell, weak.
He was only able to move his head up towards the human, his eye lids felt heavy and he whimpered softly. "W-what, why? Why are you doing this?"
"Isn't it obvious?" The human murmured. He stood, pushing out his chest to make himself look bigger and smirked. "All animals are divided, correct?"
"Sure, but what-"
"We must all speak the same language and live as one."
The ginger stayed still as every drop of the substance reacted with his body, getting to his head. He whined, rolling and squirming on the table which he had been laid out on. He cried out in agony, not because of pain, but because of the fear of what he would become. He saw visions, visions of the forest he once knew being demolished by evil things, the things that humans created. Giant car-like objects crashed into the trees, dead animals would lay around with their bones poking out their bodies. Blood was splattered onto the grass and the silver rocks by the moors. His once green eyes turned into glowing, blood red slits. He scrambled to his paws and looked up at the human, allowing himself to break free from the wires by heating them up past their boiling points. He knew what to do, he suddenly knew what they'd done and took advantage of that.
He lunged towards the human, dodging the arms that tried to grab hold of his small body and clung onto his shirt. His paw pads warmed up until they burned into the grey fabric and skin of his victim. The human yowled as he turned dark red, and #809 climbed up his burnt, grey shirt. He bit down on the human's neck, drawing blood as he let out a gush of flames, his unadapted lungs burning. The human fell back, crying out as #809 clung onto him until the human couldn't take it anymore. "P-Please, I'm sorry!" #809 ignored his begging. He slashed a paw over the human's eyes and clawed at the back of his throat while his mouth was still open. The human collapsed and #809 bit into his neck. When the human wasn't responding with any noise, he left.
He jolted down the hallways, releasing all the animals that had been captured with his flames. "Follow me!" He yowled, leading them back into the wild. Cats, wolves, foxes, rabbits and so many more animals followed him. They assaulted the human guards, using their powers that had been mistakenly genetically modified into them. Four cats jumped forward.
"We'll guide you!" One announced.
They led the animals outside of the building. Like the animals they were, all of them raided the streets, towns and cities alike. None of them would stop for days; not until they'd found a home.
At last they arrived at a forest. The animals were careful not to cause danger to their new home. Their genes had been modified so they could all speak like humans. They're brains had gotten bigger, which meant that they weren't as stupid. They looked like regular animals though. Humans believed that their brains were protected by a special membrane and they were right. This membrane also helped give them their unique magical abilities.
Life was unfair though. Only some of the animals had this power, and as time went on, generation after generation, it disappeared. The four animals that could control the elements whenever they felt like it ruled their forest.
--
#209 stood at the moor. Her silver pelt glistened under the moonlight like a star, making her easy for everyone to see. She sat down, licking her pelt clean. The night was quiet but not silent. The silence was only broken by the soft movements of water and lonely crickets. She stiffened and her ears perked up, catching two warm scents. "Come out." She meowed harshly, almost in a demanding tone and two cats appeared.
#419 came out first, his brown pelt matching the trees. He looked at her with his only eye and dipped his head before stepping aside so #809 could walk over. He too dipped his head to the molly.
"Hello, #209." He greeted calmly. "Have you been well?"
She gave him a small nod. "Very well. Prey has been plentiful, as you know. What about you?"
"It's been great! The wolves have been eating less so no animals are going to go extinct or die from starvation."
"That's good to hear. How have you been #419?"
#419 hesitated. The tom was scrawny and looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks but still managed to look strong with his glossy coat. "Humans came and took part of our territory." He growled. "Prey is scarce now."
#209 nodded in understanding. She had noticed dead animals on her territory that reeked of their scent, it poisoned her own animals. The forest was equally divided yet cats were allowed to cross the borders. The scents had all been marked down and they lived in peace. Furthermore, the humans had been cutting down trees in #419's territory. It wasn't fair. They agreed to let him have that forest. Just as she thought she was angry, the ground began to shake. #419 was losing control of his powers.
That's when a sleek, orange and white tabby cat appeared. #68 made the breeze blow thickly, letting the cats know she was near. She appeared from the shadows and dipped her head when all the cats turned to her. Then, she turned to #419. "Why don't you just give them that part of the forest then?"
#419 turned to her in shock. "Just hand it over to them? Not a chance!"
#209 shrugged and rolled her eyes. "It is a better option, you won't have to worry about animals being taken either."
"How do you know they've been taken? Have you been spying?"
#809 stood up before they got physical, allowing the flames to burst from his paws. "Enough! There's no need for us to spy. We are allowed to head onto each other's territory." He pointed out. "Maybe she-"
"You can't head onto other animal's territory without permission!" He responded angrily.
#68 sighed. "He's right. You had no right to go on his territory."
"I had every right!" #209 defended herself. She knew she was wrong but didn't want to justify herself. She couldn't justify herself. "#809, you're the spirit of fire and all things good and evil-"
"I can't fix this #209." He said. He jumped when the water shot into the air and back down again and the shadows loomed over them. She too was losing control.
"Then it's settled." #419 spat, his fur bristling. "We'll make rules right here, right now. We mustn't cross territories or we'll be able to attack."
The cats agreed and spoke to each other before making rules for their animals and reciting them. To make it fair, they agreed to kick out animals and only make their own cat colony. The other animals had to make their own home. Since the forest was large and being expanded by the good humans, they could move there.
#809 walked and sat beside #419. He smiled, "you know there's going to be a fifth one day. Another one will join us, and protect our forest."
"How do you know that?" #419 snorted, the other cats looked intrigued.
#809 chuckled lightly and stood, "when you die, you'll find out for yourself." He told him. "You'll find out for yourself."
At last, the forest was thrown into imbalance as the cats vanished from the new world they had banished. The animals owned the forest now and they would until the end of time. The animals even came up with their own religion, similar to a human's one but more strict and flawed. If any animal wanted to survive, they would have to follow the rules of their religion.
That's just life.