Feline

She dreamed of them, thought they were merely created by her subconscious. But what she doesn't know will be the biggest revelation of her existence. Other than the grave danger she was in.

 

I was dreaming. There was no other way to explain it; it was too realistic. The feeling was very extraordinary, like floating in mist. Everything was light and slightly blurred. I could see the familiar, vast forests of Honey Grove.

It was a misty night, the moon perfectly round and shimmering. The trees were very still though I could sense that the breeze was strong. Then suddenly, out of the stillness came a rustling sound that broke the silence. The bushes were beginning to move, the leaves of the trees swaying indignantly. Silence.

I couldn't make out if my feet were touching the ground. The feeling was so incredibly light that I was almost sure I was airborne. Then, something leaped out from behind the bushes. It wasn't exactly large, but the way it sprang from one place to another in less than a second was frightening. I tried to raise my hands in alarm but it seemed that I had no arms at all. Or the ability to smell. I could only see the scene before my eyes, hear the scrapings and every other sound within the vicinity.

I lowered my gaze to the creature. It was a cat, or at least I thought it was. But it wasn't like any other cat in the city. It was unnaturally large for a normal stray cat, with charcoal-black fur and strange, black markings around its eyes. The eyes were lamp-like and orange. I felt fear throbbing somewhere in the back of my mind, but a nonexistent voice told me that nothing was going to happen to me.

The black cat turned its head around and hissed. Then two more cats darted into view, landing noiselessly on either side of the black one. They were both gray, had identical, scarlet eyes and were slightly smaller than the first one. I don't know how long I stood, floated or existed there watching them for it seemed like hours. If one or two of them hadn't raised their paws to lick them or turn their heads behind, I would've thought they were carved out of stone.

A little while later, two more cats joined the group. These ones were black too, but the eyes were either electric-blue or yellow. I couldn't decide in the pitch blackness. Their arrival startled my senses so much that I was nearly roused from my sleep. Or was I really dreaming? Before I could decide between the possible options, there was a loud chorus of hissing coming from the cluster of creatures that sounded more like snakes than felines.

The next minute (Or was it merely a second?), their shadows, reflected palely against the moonlight, began to grow.

It took shape and as soon as I started thinking that my eyes were deceiving me, there now stood five people where the cats stood barely a moment ago.

The man in the center was the tallest, with short, ruffled jet-black hair and a skeptical expression dawning on his handsome features. The two women on either side of him were about a foot smaller. The left one had her reddish-brown hair in waves that reached her hips. The right one had very short, spiky white hair.

She was tougher-looking and more intimidating. The last two men completing the group were of average height. One was two inches taller than the other. They looked strangely alike, except for their hair. One was yellowish-blond, the other blue. It was plain to me that their hair resembled the color of their eyes. Apart from the two ladies who were wearing tight, leather outfits and stilettos, everyone else was clad in dark everyday clothes. The only thing they all had in identical were the small, black tattoos on their wrists that symbolized a serpent.

They stood there again like statues, exchanging brief worried glances as though listening to something from afar.

“I can't hear them anymore,” growled one of the men who arrived last in a voice full of hatred.

“Good,” breathed the man in the center. He sounded much better, but he too looked as worried as the others. “I thought we lost it.”

“Are you serious?” laughed the woman with white, spiky hair. “That'll never happen. Never. They can't win against us.”

“You never know what might happen,” the man in the center whispered to her.

“Keep your mouths shut,” the other woman said all of a sudden. She held her hand up to silence them. Then she closed her eyes for a while as the others stared her way.

“What is it? Do you hear something?” the spiky-haired woman asked her in a much more worried tone.

The other woman shook her head and opened her eyes. She looked terrified.

“We have company,” she muttered as though she couldn't believe herself. “There is someone here – possibly invisible.”

The others looked around in alarm, moving into a tight circle.

“Is it one of them?” whispered the deep-voiced man.

“Werewolves can't be invisible, silly,” the spiky-haired woman told him.

The other woman shook her head. “No, no, it is not a werewolf.” She turned to the tallest man with the jet-black hair. “Lewis, I haven't felt anything like this in all my existence. He or she is too powerful to handle. She knows! She knows!”

“Knows?” Lewis echoed, confused. He grabbed her by the shoulders gently and spoke into her face. “I don't understand. What do you mean, Florelle?”

Florelle lowered her head and began to cry. “This is not possible, Lewis. This can't be! A human. A human knows. It can see us right now.”

“See us?” Lewis cried and stared around the clearing. “I don't sense anybody. But I trust you, Florelle. You have the best senses among us. However, it is, as you say, impossible.”

“A human?” chuckled the other woman. “Humans are not gifted with such abilities. And don't be such a crybaby.”

Lewis silenced her with a hard look and turned back to Florelle.

“She's right,” he agreed. “They can't. What makes you sure that it's a human?”

Florelle sniffed and closed her eyes again. “It is a human. I am sure of it. Or part-human, at least.”

Lewis seemed to take this into consideration. Then his eyebrows furred. He paced around the clearing, muttering under his breath. Everyone's eyes followed him.

“This cannot be,” said Lewis in an agitated voice. “No human or part-human for that matter can find out about us! It's against the oath of the Elementals!”

“We are going to die if we don't kill him or her,” said the spiky-haired woman. She didn't seem as bothered by the news as the others.

“How big is this city?” Lewis asked no one in particular.

“Not very big,” answered one of the men. “Two thousand locals at most.”

Lewis stopped dead in his tracks and stared directly into Florelle's eyes.

“Do not worry,” he whispered in a dangerous voice. “We are going to find it.”

I felt the scream escape my lungs as I woke up in bed, drenched in sweat. My chest was heaving up and down as I slipped out of bed. I realized my hands and knees were shaking. Sunlight was pouring through a gap in the blinds, creating striped shadows over the whitewashed walls.

I buried my face in my hands, my elbows resting on my knees. I tried to recall the dream, and every single detail was as fresh in my memory as though it had really happened. I was trying to tell myself that it was all a nightmare, but something inside me suggested that I was in danger. Grave danger.

 

 

Author's Note

I might have to edit it soon after finishing this novel.

Reviews

[Donna DeLong Matthews a..]

Very good .... I will have to keep an eye on this
and read it all once you get it all posted
Hugs
D

[Truc]

Wow. Your words gave me a clear image of the story!
This chapter is awesome!

[C.L. Wilson]

I'm in the middle of a first person novel myself. I like yours. You did a good job with the dialouge.
It has an original concept and I'll be sure to read the next part when I have time.