Umbra (Pt. 1)

Comet sprang up, the sound of the clattering letterbox jolting him awake. The bell on his blue collar jingled as he rushed over to the door, just in time to catch the falling letter in his teeth. It was odd that there was a letter—his humans were away, and he had heard them talking about asking the post office to hold their mail. He set it down in front of him and walked around it, trying to see what it said. There seemed to be a picture rather than a name. What was it? He looked at it at an angle, and suddenly it hit him. It’s… a comet! Upon realizing that, he slit the envelope open with his claws and unfolded the paper inside.

Dearest Comet— you are Comet, aren’t you? I do hope so. If you are reading this, it means that Bob (my pigeon friend) has managed to find you at last. I have heard from other cats that you are one of the few of us who can read and write, and I needed a friend. I hope you will read my letters and hear my story—maybe you could even rescue me from whatever this darkness out here is. Please write a "yes" or "no" on the envelope, and if you do, return the paper to Bob; he will know where to find me.  

-A new friend

Comet stared at the words on the letter. A new friend? Well, he could say yes at least. This stranger’s story sounded interesting, and if he could help them… that would be amazing. He quickly walked into the Big Human’s study and picked up the inkpot there (Big Human liked quills, even though people hardly ever used them now). He unscrewed the lid, dipped one claw in, and scrawled out one word on the envelope before sliding it under the door.  

YES

Comet padded over to his cat tree (which his humans had gotten for him after he started climbing the curtains) and jumped up onto the highest platform. It would probably be a good place to wait for the next letter since it was near the door. Now he just had to keep himself amused enough while he did the actual waiting. He waited… and waited… and waited. Just as he was falling asleep again, he heard the sound of the letterbox once more. He jumped down from the platform and sliced the newest letter open with his claw.

Thank you so much, Comet! I have been searching for a long time for a friend who is safe from the dangers the rest of us face. Now that you have accepted hearing my story—and maybe even writing back to me—I will tell you my name. I am Blizzard. I am a white she-cat with grey paws. I live away from humans, but I am not a wildcat. I wander with my friends, Leopard and Echo. They know how to write as well, but neither believes we can find help from any of you cats on the inside. I do hope they are wrong. Maybe I can begin my story properly now. Me and Echo were out hunting—Leopard wasn’t feeling well, so we let him stay at The Den with our other friend (who only comes sometimes)—Firecracker. So, we were hunting, right? And we found a huge mouse. Well, maybe it wasn't that big, but it was to us. And we were just about to jump on it when… how do I explain this? There was a sort of… solid shadow thing. It was in the shape of a cat, but it made no noise, and it had no obvious features—you know what I mean? Like it had no nose, no paw pads, that sort of thing. Like I said, a solid shadow. Except for… its eyes and claws were a horrible red. No pupils or whites in the eyes, just plain red, and the claws looked like they could be glowing a little. Me and Echo (obviously) ran away as fast and quietly as we could. We caught three more mice on the way back, but none were as big as the one that the creature stole. That's all we know right now. Thank you for listening, Comet. I hope you’ll write back!  

- Blizzard

Comet stared at the letter in shock. Stuff like solid shadows didn’t exist, right? Or… did they? Or maybe Blizzard was just playing a prank on him. That would be good. Then everything would be safe. Then nothing would be dangerous, and everyone would be fine, and everything would be good. But—if it was real—he couldn't leave those other cats to face it alone, could he? He ran back to the Big Human's study and began work on another letter—a proper one this time.

Hello Blizzard! You have a very pretty name! The shadow creature sounds really scary; I hope you are all safe from it in your den! I will do what I can to find out more about the creature, so don't worry; it won't hurt any of you if I have anything to do with it. I hope to get another letter from you soon, my new friend.  

-From, Comet

Days passed with no new letter from Blizzard. Comet was beginning to feel worried that the shadow had somehow done something terrible to her when, one afternoon, another letter addressed to a Comet picture came through the letterbox. He sliced it open quickly, worriedly reading the words inside.

Hello Comet. Today is a sad day for us all. We three hadn't seen Firecracker in a while (he normally visits every couple of days). We weren’t worried, though, since he sometimes takes long journeys to faraway places. But then… me and Echo were hunting together again, since although Leopard was better, he wanted to hunt alone, and we—we were running along a wall when we saw a flash of a yellow-orange pelt and—well, the shadow cat. We jumped down and hid behind a strange human contraption. We watched him fighting the shadow cat, their yowls echoing through the alley we were in. There was a dead rat between them, probably why they were fighting. And so, Firecracker managed to slice the creature’s nose. But then—then its claws and fangs glowed red—bright, blood red—and it—it sliced open his neck. He was dead in a second. We watched as he fell limply to the ground, and the shadow picked up the rat, leaving the alley. We ran straight home after that, and while Echo told Leopard what had happened, I wrote this. I really hope you can help us, and that you can do it soon. I am scared now—properly scared.  

-Blizzard

Comet ran straight to the window, looking for any shadow cats—or any normal ones for that matter. He thought he saw a black tail slip around a corner, but it could have been either kind. No one else, though. He guessed that everyone was scared now, like him—and poor Blizzard and her friends. That night, when he slept, he saw her in his mind. Her white coat flashing out of view as her bright amber eyes looked back at him, and a strange desire to protect the little she-cat rushed through him. He wanted to make sure she would be safe forever. It was unusual for him to remember a dream, but this one was clear in his mind when he woke up. He thought about it, then realized. Amber eyes? Blizzard had never told him her eye color… eh, it was probably wrong. He jumped up onto the table to get a fresh sheet of paper and wrote his most recent letter.

Hello again, Blizzard! I hope you are safe. Please don’t be scared; I promise I won't let you get hurt. Everything back here is okay, although I think I may have seen one of the shadows. Technically, it was only a tail, but it was black, so it could have been a shadow? I have heard from some of the other house cats that there are white shadows too, though… although they don't call them shadows. I’m not completely sure what they call them, to be honest—something I haven't been able to hear properly. They call the dark ones Umbra, though… Anyway (sorry if this is an odd question), but what color are your eyes? Also, I was wondering how you met Echo and Leopard? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to…  

-Comet (I like the way you sign your name, so I'm trying it!)

He watched the door after pushing it under, hoping to get another letter from Blizzard quicker than the last one had come. Surprisingly, this one was thereafter only about an hour. Blizzard must be a quick writer.

Hi. My eyes are amber; I love the color! It's a bit like gold because they’re quite light. Thank you for saying you’ll protect me, but I don't know how you can without getting me and the others to come to your house. How I met the other two—that's a longer story, so I guess let’s begin!

I lived mostly alone when I was a kitten—a house cat with only one human. So I used to be a house cat, but my owner was old, and sadly, they died. The new people in the house didn’t want an almost fully grown cat cluttering up the place, so I became a not-house. I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but me, Echo, and Leopard call ourselves not-houses—not wild, but not a house pet either. Anyway, continuing the story—I became a not-house. I wandered around for a while before finding The Den, and once I had found it, that was where I stayed (other than leaving to hunt, of course). One day I came back, and there was a blue she-cat sitting there in the middle of The Den. She was looking around, probably able to smell the scent I had left there after staying for so long. She looked a similar age to me. I saw her standing up, and thinking she was going to leave, I called after her. She turned around, and I gave her the offer of staying in The Den with me. She accepted (it is an awesome home!), and that’s how I met Echo! Leopard, we met later on while we were hunting together. We saw a thin cat below us, holding a tiny mouse, and when we said hello, he told us his story—it was similar to mine, actually. We invited him to stay with us too, and so there are three of us now! It turned out that Leopard wasn’t actually that small; after he had eaten a little more, we found out that he was actually a bit bigger than us and the same age. They seem to get on better with each other than with me, but me and Echo still chat a lot. Leopard, I talk to too, but not as much. Anyway, I have a question for you! I was wondering if you could try to get out of your house-place to meet me? It would only be for a little bit, but if you can come meet me, maybe we could shelter with you one night? The Den is a few walls away from your house-place, in a forward direction. I’ll keep an eye out for you!  

• Blizzard

Comet looked at the letter. He hadn’t thought of going out to meet them before. He knew there was a cat flap, but wanting to get the next letter as fast as possible, he hadn’t used it since the first one. He quickly rushed over to the back door to get out. He could circle around the house so that he’d be going in the direction he thought Blizzard meant. He pushed the cat flap out of the way with his head, jumping out onto the soft grass of the garden. There was a tree by the wooden fence that he could climb to get out. He scrambled up it, his claws digging into the bark as he got ready to jump to the fence. What if he fell? He got up onto a branch and stood looking at the fence. It’s not that far—just jump! He pushed off the branch, just getting onto the thin top of the fence. I did it! He walked quickly along the wood, jumping across to another wall when he got to the end. He jumped across some rubbish bins and walked along a couple of roofs before he saw a flash of white fur on a wall nearby. He quickly ran over to the wall as the cat turned around. Her light amber eyes looked at him as he stopped. “Comet…?” she said quietly. He nodded, and she gestured for him to follow her. She jumped down from the wall and showed him through a hidden tunnel to a vaguely round-shaped den with little caves carved in the walls. “Wow…” he said. “Did you build this?” She smiled. “Oh no—I found it,” she purred. “Come meet Echo and Leopard!”