Chapter One

She made it back to where the others were waiting before she collapsed into her makeshift nest.

"I'm back," she panted, voice hoarse.

"Nothing?" The large brown tom who had been talking to three other cats turned to her. "But you stayed out so long, I thought . . . " He glanced guiltily at the three cats.

The smallest cat, a lithe white she-cat, meowed, "Prey is scarce. You know that." She looked at the gray she-cat, the one who had been out searching. "You tried hard, right?"

The gray she-cat could only nod.

"So we're all going to starve." A strikingly thin ginger tom spoke for the first time.

"That's how it was always meant to end. I mean, we all knew that." The brown tom shook his head regretfully. "I had hoped for something more, but..." He sighed, bowing his broad head.

"It can't be true," a silver-and-black she-cat protested. "They promised us . . . I mean, they . . . " She broke off, tears filling her eyes. "Is this really the end?"

The gray she-cat's tailtip flicked. "I'll only believe it when I live it," she rasped. "I don't want this to be the end."

"No one does," the ginger tom said grimly.


Far away, someone was listening in.

So they have given up, the someone mused. After all this time, all these promises, they give up so easily? She shook her head. They are even more hopeless than I had originally thought. I must watch closer; otherwise, they might all die, and then where would this world be?

She stepped out of that dreary line of existence and vanished without a trace.


Night fell slowly, being drawn out even more by the terrifying thought that it could be someone's last night. As the moon overtook the sun once again, drawing its long black pelt along with it, all five cats stared dimly at the sky.

Finally, unnerved by the silence, the gray she-cat spoke. "Please, don't die tonight."

She heard a snort, followed by the sardonic, straightforward meow of the ginger tom. "We wouldn't be able to control that, now, would we? It's the end, you need to face that. Go to sleep." She heard him roll over, followed by his gentle snoring.

No one else had woken up, and the gray she-cat felt alone, trapped by the darkness pressing closer around her. She didn't want to believe that this was how their lives would end, separated from the rest of the world and starving.

Resolutely, she stood on shaking paws and made her way through the nests, careful not to step on any stray tails. The stars, peering out of their home cloaked in darkness, were hardly reassuring. They were so far away... so cold.

She jumped up the rock ledges to stand at the top. She had no idea what it was the top of, for every time she stood there, a fog seemed to roll in by chance, obscuring her vision. It was puzzling and aggravating. If she only knew where they were hiding, she could help the others escape!

An idea struck her, and she climbed down carefully, pawstep by pawstep, into the fog, away from where the others were sleeping. It was freezing, and not being able to see where she was putting her paws became disorienting very quickly. Her head spinning, she made her way back up to the top, relieved to at least see the ground again.

It was time. She had to face the truth, the truth that the others had already come to terms with. She had just wanted to be certain . . . and now she could be.

There was no way out.


A/N: Welcome to Otherwise, a new story that won't be too long. I plan to have some fun and experimenting with this as well.

Reviews are appreciated! c: