Heart pounding, I dash away from the horrid house, towards the cornfields. I hear a shout come from the farmhouse.
“That cat!” The man leaves the house and runs towards me, arms outstretched. I whirl around, hissing and spitting, with my tail puffed out. The man jumps back in shock, and I take the opportunity to sprint into cornfields. “The human cannot find me,” I think to myself, “They have poor night vision, and my black coat blends into the night.” Just to be safe, I continue to run until I reach the edge of the fields. “I’m glad he hadn’t put a collar on me, like the one my mom had, yet. That bell would’ve given me away.” I shudder imagining the punishments if he caught me. “No food, no water, isolation…” Looking up at the crescent in the sky I yowl to the family I have left behind, telling all other cats of my sorrow.
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A slight wind ruffles my unkempt fur. Bounding through the golden fields of wheat, I realize that this is the first time I have felt truly alive. So many unfamiliar smells, rabbits, birds, herbs, and some sort of a large animal. Hearing my stomach gurgle, I think, “How do I feed myself?” Hearing the crunching of seeds in the distance, my instincts kick in. I use my ears to guide me as I prowl through the underbrush. Hardly daring to put any weight on my feet, the animal comes into view. A small squirrel sits before me, chewing on a sunflower head. Shifting my weight onto my hind legs, I leap at the animal. The squirrel hears me, but too late as I sweep him up in my jaws. “My first kill!” I chirp in delight.
I groom my tangled coat after finishing my meal, though it never seems to help. The glowing orb in the sky meets the horizon, filling the sky with all shades of color. I think, “Where will I sleep tonight? I have never slept outside before.” Searching for a place to sleep, I near the outer fence. I slip through the wooden beams.
Off in the distance I see a black path, different from the ground. Curious I bound closer to it. As I near it, I discover it smells foul and there is a yellow line running down the middle. I boldly step onto it, and feel it is smooth and, surprisingly warm. I walk all over it, warming my paws and investigating. When they do not feel so frigid, I sit down and again try to clean my ever-knotted fur. The path starts vibrating, and I hear a rumbling in the distance. I freeze, scared of the noise. The path vibrates faster, and the rumbling accelerates into a roar. I see something big coming towards me. It looks like a giant shiny monster, with glowing eyes, and round paws that roll instead of move. As it nears me, I see there are humans inside! “If this thing can eat humans, I’m dead if it catches me!” I think. The monster’s eyes shine on me, snapping me out of shock. I jump aside, with only a few yards to spare. The monster screeches to a halt, and its eyes stop glowing. I hear the roar fade away at the same time.
One of the humans opens the monster, and steps out of it. It picks up a cylinder and light comes from it. I flatten my body to the ground, trying to blend into the shadows. The light shines on me, and I spring up in terror. I spot a hole in the ground near the fence and sprint over to it. I hear the human say something as I dive in. I wake up a couple of sleeping rabbits. They try to run out but I block the only exit. I quickly pounce on them, thinking it was lucky I found them. I sink my claws into their backs and settle down for a nice meal.
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Yawning, I open my eyes. Bright light filters through the entrance. “I must’ve fallen asleep after eating the rabbits,” I think. I reach forward with my front paws and stretch, then sit up straight. I pick up the rabbits’ bones to carry them out of the den. Emerging from the hole, I take the bones and bury them so a larger predator will not find them. The sun, rising through the light blue sky, warms my fur. I turn towards the black path to see if the monster left. In the corner of my eye, I see something glinting in the sunlight. Off to the side of the path I see a small box with an opening on one side. Cautiously, I walk closer to the box. The walls are not solid, but made of lots of bars. I touch my nose to one of them, but flinch backwards. “Cold,” I think, shivering. Breathing in, a familiar smell comes to me. “Food!” I meow. I cheerfully walk inside, and devour the wet food. Some water sits next to the food, so I lap that up also. I turn around to walk out, and the door closes over the exit. I desperately claw at the bars, but to no avail. Spinning around I see no viable exit, and realize I am trapped.