Cat's Alley
Written by Joshua Craig Beytien
The story goes with thrill-seeking young fan named Matthew who lived in a town of ugliness in New York.
This poor boy however lived as a laughing stock for being a nobody.
One night, Matthew caught a glimpse of a cat-like humanoid creature creeping through the dark shadows of a alley near his apartment home.
Having intrigued with this encounter, he stepped outside to follow the strange figure quietly from his human home and right through the darkening back alley.
There is where strange things began to take place.
Matthew followed the shadowy figure through the blackness of the night surrounded by long-forgotten buildings and abandoned warehouses.
But he was mysteriously watched by something who was following him unseen as well.
Then his meandering journey through the alley took him into a unknown larger-than-life scrapyard; where all the discarded was dumped and trashed, left to fall apart and rust.
Around Matthew though, he began catching glimpses of shadowy peculiar cat-like beings that crawl and jump about like ninjas and acrobats.
To him, these shapes must be the exact same shape as the other he was following unnoticed with a sound.
So who was watching him?
Presently he came to open clearing surrounded by piles of scrap much larger than the rest.
And under the brightful moon,
Matthew spied an unusual activity that amazed his curiosity.
Down at the floor of the vast junkyard, he saw a large group of adult cat-like humanoid creatures known as Grimalkins which all resembled human people but had the features and markings of cats, all in feline colorations all over including spots and stripes like leopards and tigers.
These catty-humanoids had gathered in the middle of the night to praise their master; a large eldely grizzled catman. Under his commencing performance, they danced wildly but magnificently like ballerinas and acrobats.
Matthew's first encounter with the Grimalkins didn't had to wait for long, when he found the mysterious figure he was following, revealing to be a very old catlady who was prowling nearby unnoticed.
The old catwoman was Elisa Creamdripper, drifting away from the activity where she was shunned off as a party-pooper.
But both she and Matthew were not alone for long.
An adult catwoman (younger than Elisa) emerged from the shadows, it was Elisa's daughter Judy; the very catgirl who spied on Matthew since he arrived at the junkyard.
But upon encountering a couple of catwomen, Matthew was then confiscated, shepherd into their lair inside one of the scrap piles, and there he was held captive for the whole night and the entire next day.
All the time, Matthew could feel Judy Creamdripper watching over him as a guard.
The next night, our young friend was let out by Elisa who took his hand into the junkyard, never to leave the entire landscape and back into his human world.
They both entered the clearing where Matthew met and encountered other Grimalkins around him, viewing him curiously but suspiciously.
Some of the Grimalkins appeared to be mischievous,
others such as Dominick Spawscer was a magnet for almost all the catladies around, showing off other tom catmen and flirting with several catgirls openly and closely.
A pair of catwomen; Nayla Fishchewer and Rosabella Birdcruncher were quite acting attractive lately, but only Rosabella was more voluptous than Nayla.
For that Fishchewer catlady had a thing from flirting with catmen in the past which she never liked to talk about.
One of the youngest adult catladies around was Gina Preenlicker, both sweet and boisterous, easily friendly on Matthew upon taking pity for him when he was snooted and scooted by the other catfolk during Dominick's performance.
As so do with Evolet Hairbottler; the daughter of the Grimalkin leader.
Giovanni Hairbottler was the chieftain of the Grimalkin tribe, probably the oldest catman of the bunch.
He was the only Grimalkin that emerged by day in search of food for the clan, aided by his advisor and second-in-command; Muskaban Clawsnatcher - a tall silver tabby catman.
Later on there was Finnigan Pawscraper; the railroad catman, known for living on trains he rode for free.
But also that he boasted the time he rode on the Ol' Engine 25 two nights ago.
So for a while, things were getting settled for Matthew after the first night being held by Judy and Elisa, slowly creating trusted friends with some of the Grimalkins.
Even one of them invited him into one of their dance hours that night.
However, there were robbers, bullies and gansters lurking in the shadows behind every corner of the great junkyard, waiting for a chance to attack.
One of the ambushing threats was called Depravity Fireclaw; a jealous tom catman whose entire purpose was to wipe out Giovanni in order gain authority of the Grimalkin clan, after years of rejection and banishment from the tribe.
Depravity also had the attempt to abduct Nayla as his bride since he was persuading her to become beloved until a horrible harassment act occured.
Next to him was his posse' of ravenous dirty street catmen; The Scruffers Minus Two.
More than their lethal weapons for killing, they contained a small menagerie of hideous bloodthirsty monsters, bred and taught for terrorism on the Grimalkin clan.
Among them however were also gangs of street rats and back-alley rodents with guns, knives and booby traps - meant for killing Grimalkins at will.
Each one of these heinous ruffians had a grudging thing about catpeople which they swore to skin every last one of them; including the Grimalkin's leader.
Some of the rats had viewed Matthew earlier unseen too, supposing that he was a potential threat to their operation, even after they were the culprits of butchering Matthew's parents on the night he left the human world.
But the worst of the horrors in the junkyard where the Grimalkins were being watched by rats was Sir Cardigan the sewer rat. This brutal boss of the street rodent colony was bent on demolishing all the catpeople to achieve his revenge for his deceased next-of-kin.
But he was especially obsessed with human blood which he believed he'd be enpowered by drinking it tenfold.
Good for him, but very bad for people.
On a very faithful night, Giovanni Hairbottler was killed by Cardigan's goons after rescuing Elisa Creamdripper and Matthew during the rat's invasion.
This brought tragedy and loss for the Grimalkin clan, but this could never go unavenged without a fight.
Thus, began the fight between the Grimalkins and the Ratfolk - raging for only two nights exactly because the odds were against the losing catpeople, having five of their friends being killed.
Outnumbered by Sir Cardigan and his ruthless band just seemed overwhelming, about to triumph over the Grimalkin clan.
At one good point on the third night, Elisa was injured while harboring Matthew alive from the crowding rat horde, fearing for our little friend's life under threat.
And just as things were looking blackish, when out from the darkness beyond the far Northern wilderness, emerged a mysterious grim hermit of a skin-changer that metamorphosed from a great strong man into a giant black bear.
Urog (was his name), and his overpowering wrath triumphed over the ratfolk, aided by three of his great ancient animals that helped the Grimalkin clan for three nights before the final battle.
Both Sir Cardigan and Depravity Fireclaw were the last enemy opponents to be exterminated in defeat, clawed and killed by the bearman's savaging rage.
On the 1st night before the last battle between catpeople and ratpeople, a burly gray horse came carrying supplies for the Grimalkin clan to construct a barricade against the rats.
That ancient equine even showed kindness and peace to Matthew and his 'new friends'.
The 2nd night came, and a great black dog came to the Grimalkin's domain as a dog-behaving canine to Matthew including some of the catpeople, despite its feisty edge of wrestling with Dominick and Nayla.
On the 3rd night, a massive bull-tempered ox arrived from the dark, assisting the Grimalkin clan to finish the battle on time.
It was also the toughest bovine in combat.
Even the Scruffer's terrorist beasts were entirely gored and trampled to death.
But there was no celebration after the Grimalin clan won, for Elisa was carried to Urog's house in the deep forests where she was given attention for her wounds.
Judy came along to be at her mother's side, while Matthew returned the favor by helping around Urog's lodging with chores throughout the whole day until nightfall.
By the time Elisa recovered, both she and her daughter were brought back to the Grimalkin clan with Matthew - now the only human child accepted into his new family, also leaving Urog as a newly worshipped demigod.
And so we returned to the junkyard where our orphened Matthew friend now cling to his new life with the cat-like Grimalkin clan, never-returning to the human world as he was held for three nights and three days.
From then on, Matthew had now considered the catfolk his new mom and dad, aunts, uncles and cousins.
And as all as I know, Matthew is never coming back for eternity.