Chapter two: Something’s Coming

                Eli awoke with a hiss and stared wide eyed into the cool darkness in front of him. He had been dreaming of a strange voice that would say things like, “You are no ordinary cat.” And a warning of, “Something’s coming from the dark.” He shivered as he thought of the voice. This time also, he had seen a cat but the cat had run away from him. Eli felt a weird feeling toward this cat, he felt oddly connected to it even though it was just a dream.

                Kevin awoke panting a little bit and went over to a stream to drink some water. He sat by the stream, calmly taking in his surrounding and remembering his dream. He heard noise behind him and saw that Dongho was coming to him, with a fat mouse in his jaws. The smaller cat dropped the mouse down and nodded toward it, “Do you want to share it with me?”

                Kevin nods and sits closer to Dongho as they eat the mouse in silence. After they are done eating Kevin starts to talk about his dream, “There was a weird voice and a cat but I ran away from him.”

                “What did this voice say to you?” The kitten asks curiously.

                “It told me and the other cat that we were not ordinary cats and that something is coming from the dark.”

                “What did this cat look like?”

                “He was bigger than us, black and white. He just wanted to talk but I felt weird around him so I ran away.”

                The three cats walk until Kiseop stops abruptly and starts to sniff the air with caution. “Dongho, do cats live here?”

                “I’ve never been this far before, I don’t know what’s out here.”  The little cat replies while feeling tense.

                “I think we might be being watched by something in the trees and it smells like a cat.” Kiseop says in a low tone as they begin to move carefully.

                “It won’t hurt us though, right?” Kevin asks with obvious fear.  

                “If it’s just one then it’ll most likely stay hidden and just watch what we’re doing.” Dongho explains as they pick up their speed.

                Eli had his eyes closed when he heard his friend AJ come back. The black and white cat opened an eye to see that AJ seemed tense which was unusual. “What’s the matter?”

                AJ looks at his paws then back at Eli, “There are new cats in the area, three of them. One looks like a kitten and the other two can’t be very old either. The two older ones move like pets but must have been out for a while.”

                “They don’t sound too bad. What color are they? We should see if they stay or move on.”

                “The kitten is almost all white, one is red, and the other is a brown striped one with a white line on his back.”

                Eli opens his eyes in surprise, the last cat sounds exactly like the one from his dream. “I have to see them. Where were they?” He demands as he rises to his feet in a hurry. AJ gets up to take his friend to where he last saw the intruders.

                Kevin is trying to rest until a scent comes invading his nose. He opens his eyes wide realizing what the scent is and gets up to tell Dongho and Kiseop. He finds then lying down a little bit away and rushed up to Dongho. “Dongho, I need to tell you something.”

                “Tell it to me later, Kevin.” The kitten replies tiredly.

                “The cat from my dream is coming here.”

                Dongho lifts his head up and tests the air then stands up when he can smell cats getting closer to them. Kiseop is standing now too and the three of them face the two cats that come out from the shadows and Kevin remembers the strange voice.

                Eli stares at the young cats in front of him and can tell that they’re afraid of him and AJ. “We won’t hurt you.” He says as he sits down calmly in front of them, staring the brown striped one in wonder. AJ sits next to Eli and begins to groom himself but keeps an eye on the three bodies in front of him.

                Kevin feels nervous as the cat in front of him is actually real. “What are you?” He asks as he stares at Eli.

                “I think I’m a cat but that feeling has been changed a bit, hasn’t it? Don’t you feel different?”

                “I am a normal cat!” Kevin hisses, surprising Kiseop and Dongho who have never heard Kevin hiss before.

                “Believe what you want.” Eli finally looks away from Kevin and stares at his own paws now, unsure what to do.

                “What do you want with us?” Kiseop asks while glancing back at Kevin and Eli wondering what is going on.

                “I just wanted to meet him.” Eli says while standing up, looking at Kevin once more before walking away but says, “Come if you want, stay there if you want, it doesn’t matter but we have shelter and food.” He and AJ slowly walk away and then when they hear paws following them, Eli grins to himself.