Part 1

It was a dark winter night and the starry skies were looking down on a dark street where the only thing out in the cold was the street lamps. At least… at first. Had you stood there you would soon here the soft sound of running paws in the deep snow. A form came crashing around the corner and almost ran into a street lamp as it slipped on the ice buried underneath the snow. The form was a grey tom with brown stripes. He was a thin thing and a shaggy thing but still strong and agile, his claws were long and his whiskers uncombed. That was what life as an alley cat, a stray, could do to you. His eyes were haunted and he was looking over his shoulder every now and then as he ran. He got looked forward and stopped in horror. In the dark he saw a silhouette of a cat.

"NO!" he screamed and ran to the side, into an alley, to avoid the other cat. When he got into the alley he realized it was a dead end.

"NO NO NO NO NO" he yelled frantically as he tried to climb up somewhere, anywhere, to avoid his pursuer. He turned around and saw the silhouette of the same cat but in the dim light he saw two more join it. His lips trembled and his paws could barely keep him up. He had tears going down his face.

"No please", he begged. "Please I… I don't want this."

His pursuers didn't say a word and someone walked past them and towards the terrified alley cat.

"No", the alley cat said. "No please, not him… not you."

The figure coming closer looked up at him and smiled.

"But brother", he said. "We are all the same and should unite as they did."

"No… No I don't want to… I… I wanna live on my own." He pressed against the wall.

"But brother dearest, we live together we survive together. Alone like this, you will not live to see the morning. This winter has been hard. Do you really believe you can just survive another week?"

"I… I know I can… please I don't want…"

The figure looked at him with cold, emotionless eyes.

"You, have no choice", he said.

"No", the alley cat begged. "No no no! NO!" the other cat held up something. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A light lit up the alley and when it was gone, the alley cat was lying in the ground and someone got closer to him. He opened his eyes, they were emptied of all emotions.

"Come", the figure above him said. "Let's go home brother."

The alley cat rose and stood tall.

"We live together", he said. "We survive together. We are the Strays."

The figure smirked so you could see his white teeth.

"Exactly", he said. "We are the Strays, let's go home brother."

They turned and started to walk to the end of the alley, where the three silhouettes were.

"Good job", the figure told one of them. "Keep this up."

"And your part?" the silhouette answered.

"You will get your part when I get mine."

"Haven't you already?"

"Have I?"

"I bring you soldiers and tribe members. You better give me what I demand", the silhouette and figured looked eyes and the figure shuddered. "Or you will wake up tomorrow finding no trace of your tribe… Stray leader."

The Stray leader cleared his throat.

"As you wish, tomorrow I will keep my part of the barging."

"The price just went up", the silhouette said as he and the other two beside him, and two across the street, left. "Pray to Bast that you can pay."

Macavity was sitting on a roof top watching the town when he heard a soft thud behind him.

"There's been one more", he said.

"I see", Griddlebone said as she got closer. "How many is it now?"

"Fifteen, one each night whatever is going on is big."

"How big?"

"I-don't-like-it big."

"And the Jellicles?"

"They don't know anything."

"And the Strays?"

"You know as well as I do that they haven't been seen for months."

"Their yard is still protected by that dog."

"Yes and he can keep it. Why would I want anything that useless mutt Alonzo owned?"

"Because you can't take being defeated?"

"He did not defeat me", Macavity snarled. "Our chess-game is not over yet."

"You think he's behind all this", Griddlebone asked looking at the dark city.

"No", Macavity said. "But I want to know who is." He turned around and walked inside. Griddlebone made to follow but he gave her an order:

"Find him, I want my dark comrade."

Griddlebone sighed.

"Fine give me the easy jobs", she grumbled and left. "How do you find a monster in London?"

TBC So what do you think?