--Prologue--

One warm summer's night, in the cozy suburbs of the city, smoke and spicy scents drifted from the Williams family's backyard, lacing the air with smells of summertime and delicious food. The neighborhood was holding its annual cookout, and families crowded the lawn as they ate barbeque, salad, and home-made cake.

But in one corner of the large, grassy space, around a small campfire, a group of teenage kids paid no heed to the events nearby. They were having a party of their own.

"So, who broke up with who?" inquired a blonde girl named Angela, as the boy in front of her looked around nervously. "And where are they now?" Her friend Sandy leaned over next to her and whined, "Come on, Jeremy, tell us!"

"I told you, I don't keep up with that stuff!" said Jeremy, the red-haired boy across the circle being questioned. "Ask Brian if you want to know," he said, pointing and making a noise of disgust once the girls were gone. Brian, who was sitting a few spots over, turned to the two girls and began to answer their question; this soon turned into a heated discussion.

The third girl in attendance rolled her eyes and sighed. "Really, don't you all have anything better to talk about than the personal relationships of everyone in the school?" Gesturing at Jeremy, she added, "And you know Jeremy doesn't bother with that junk." She crossed her legs and sighed again. Jeremy turned bright red.

"Gosh, Samantha," Brian said, pretending to be offended. "Don't be so harsh."

"Me, harsh? I'll give you harsh, Brian Williams..."

Before any fights broke out over the importance of everyone's gossip (or lack thereof) the last person in the circle said to Brian, "Actually, Samantha's right. Didn't you say that you had some sort of story to tell tonight?"

Brian jumped to his feet, remembering what the boy had told him. "Oh, yeah; you're right, Matthew," Brian said to the dark-haired boy next to him, acting as if he had never forgotten at all. Leaning over towards him, he whispered, "Thanks for reminding me."

"No problem, Brian," Matthew said with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Ooh, a story?" Angela squealed in delight. "What kind? Is it a fairy tale? A scary story? A romance?" Samantha groaned.

"Has anyone," whispered Brian, beginning his story, "ever heard of a Jellicle?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"You wouldn't," he said. "Jellicles never dare to make themselves known. But they are always watching..."

"What in the world is a Jellicle?" asked Jeremy. "Shut up, I'm getting to that," said Brian.

"A Jellicle is one of the strangest creatures known- or rather, not known- to humankind," he continued. "Why, you ask? Because it's almost human itself- but not quite." Brian paused for effect. "A Jellicle is part human- part cat."

Angela and Sandy both gasped. "Like, a furry person?" Sandy asked. "That's really disgusting if it is..."

"Who knows?" said Brian in a spooky voice. "No human being has ever seen a Jellicle, except for fleeting seconds. And that's only one way we know they exist..."

"What's the other way?" asked Jeremy. It didn't sound like he believed the story.

"On nights when the moon is full and the night seems unusually dark, people have heard singing coming from odd places like junkyards and alleyways. In fact, someone got the name 'Jellicle' from something they heard them say..." Everyone perked their ears up in spite of themselves.

"The few people that have seen a Jellicle have very different ideas of what they are like. Some say they have magic powers. Some say they can dance. But they all agree that a Jellicle's best skill is dancing."

"Cats can't dance," said Samantha.

"These can," Brian said, "with the best of them."

There was a very long silence. Then Jeremy abruptly said, "That story was the biggest load of trash that I have ever heard!" He stood up and crossed his arms. "People that look like cats? With incredible dancing skill? Excuse me, but that's not possible."

Samantha stood up and gently nudged Jeremy back down into his seat. "Calm down, Jeremy. It's just a fairy tale, it has to be. Cat-people don't exist," she said.

Angela looked around warily. "Real or not, I'm still freaked out." She pointed at Brian with an accusing finger. "Next full moon, if I hear singing, you're going to get it, young man." She sat back down, still glancing around nervously.

"Samantha and Jeremy are right," Sandy said. "We're being silly. Cat-people don't exist." She glanced at Matthew, who hadn't said a thing the whole time. "Right, Matthew?"

"Right," he said, and Samantha and Jeremy beamed. "Right," he repeated, though not as sure this time.

Brian got up and began to walk away from the small campfire. "Come on, let's go get something to eat," he said, gesturing in the direction of the house. The rest of them got up and followed suit.

But unseen to Matthew, as he walked away with his friends, a pair of bright eyes looked at him through the trees before a dark, mysterious shadow disappeared into the night.

To Be Continued...