Disclaimer: I do not own "Stray." It is owned by BlueTwelve Studio and Annapurna Interactive. No profit is being made from this story.
Author's Note: "Stray" is an amazing game but I was a little disappointed with the ending so I decided to write my own. Sorry it's so short.
Life for the four young cats was idyllic. The ancient ruined facility in which they had made their home, long-abandoned by its creators and overrun with greenery, was free of predators, food and water were abundant and there was plenty of shelter from the elements. The four cats, one black, one ginger, and two white and ginger piebalds, spent their days contentedly hunting and eating small animals, sleeping, grooming themselves and each other, playing together and exploring their home. The extensive network of pipes, girders and rusting industrial machinery provided ample opportunities to satisfy their natural curiousity. When the sun shone, they basked on the grass. When the rain fell, they hid in their favourite alcove where they often slept on a flattened cardboard box.
All was good until one terrible day.
It had started off harmlessly. The four of them were crossing a great chasm that led down into darkness. The most direct way across was by leaping across two halves of a pipe that had somehow been severed, leaving a gap between the two halves. Both halves bent downwards so that they pointed into the depths of the chasm.
The black cat, always the most adventurous of the four had led the way. One of the piebalds had followed him while the other had found an alternate route. The ginger cat had hesitated at the end of the pipe. He had noticed the creaking sounds the other end had made when his friends had landed on it and he sensed that they meant something bad. For a brief moment he considered going another way, but the jump wasn't far, he could easily make it and both his friends had already done so without a problem. He had decided to risk it.
But as he landed on the other end of the pipe it had creaked much louder than before and bent alarmingly. The ginger cat had lost his balance and fell, landing on a concrete slope that he had slid down until he was barely hanging on to the edge. Desperately he'd tried to climb back up, his claws gauging furrows into the concrete while his friends looked down and meowed sympathetically. Despite his best efforts he had fallen down into the chasm, disappearing into darkness.
His friends had searched for him. They had combed the area, looking for other ways to get down into the chasm. All of their efforts were in vain and reluctantly they had returned to their alcove. That night their sleep was troubled by dreams of their friend's fall.
The cats were woken by the familiar sounds and smells of a thunderstorm. They stirred faintly as they smelled ozone from the lightning bolts high overhead and the fresh scent of rain. They heard the drumming of rain on concrete, the plopping sound of raindrops hitting puddles and the crash of thunder.
One of the piebalds meowed as they recalled there had been a thunderstorm the night before their friend had been lost. The black cat and the other piebald licked their face comfortingly. After a moment they settled down.
Just as the three of them were starting to drift back to sleep they all heard another sound that made their ears stand up.
"Mrrp."
Fully awake now they all looked over at the entrance to their alcove. Standing there was the ginger cat. He was tired and soaked from the rain, his fur matted and stuck to his skin, but was unharmed.
"Mrrp" he repeated.
"Mrrp" they all trilled back in greeting. Happy and relieved to see him again they all trotted up and began grooming him, licking his face gently as they welcomed him back. He purred happily as he enjoyed the attention and the other cats purred back.
After a few moments of this he padded over to the flattened box and curled up. The others joined him, huddling together to share their warmth with the friend they had thought lost. A few moments later they were all sleeping soundly, this time untroubled by disturbing dreams.
The following morning the ginger cat awoke to find that the storm had passed and the sun was shining brightly. After his experiences underground it was a relief to see the blue sky again. He yawned, opening his mouth wide to display his long, pointed teeth and looked over to see that the piebalds were play-fighting and the black cat was grooming himself. Seeing that he was awake the piebalds trilled a greeting and the black cat trotted over and licked his forehead.
The ginger cat purred happily. It was good to be home with his friends again.