Clash of the cats
BLINK pawed at a stack of unwanted newspapers in an empty bookcase. The tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat purred and crawled in. Her mate, Mackerel, hopped onto a bin for his night shift, guarding their territory.
It had been 10 months since the forming of The Storm, and there were now many stray cats with the group. They were healers, scavengers, defenders and guards. Her three kittens – Raven, Cloudy and Stormy – were trainees, learning survivial skills as stray cats.
“Those Killers keep threatening us to give up our territory,” Mackerel growled as he mentioned the enemy strays.
“Especially that new Killer, Ninja.” Blink agreed, her tone dark.
“But The Storm will never be scared of them. We will always stick together and fight them off,” Blink declared.
Mackerel nodded and looked into the moonlight, his round eyes seemingly glowing. Blink yawned and curled herself into a ball.
After an hour, Mackerel nearly fell asleep. He hated doing the night shift. His eyes widened when he caught sight of shadows. Cautiously, he descended from the bin when a black tom with a white muzzle appeared. A huge crowd of cats, with hostility in their gaze, followed. “Killers attacking!” Mackerel yowled loudly, his shout ringing through the sleeping cats’ ears.
The first one to appear was Raven, followed by Sparrow and Cloudy. Soon, the narrow space was brimming with cats, their fur spiked with anger and their claws unsheathed.
“Ninja, the new Killer member,” Blink started. “How dare you set foot on our territory?”
Ninja unsheathed his claws. “This place will soon be filled with Killers!”
“Storm, attack!” cried Blink.
The Storm members screeched as they began battling the Killers. Raven lashed her tail, reared up her hind legs and pounced at one of the members of the Killers.
Ninja grabbed Sparrow’s paw and twisted it. The trainee gasped as pain pierced through her. She whimpered as she fell down.
Raven looked at her sister with shock, and turned to Ninja in rage. “How dare you!” She spat, her green orbs turning icy cold. As quick as lightning, she swiped at his eyes.
An injured Ninja growled. “Killers, retreat!” Ninja gasped, his smug look wiped off.
Raven raised her tail as the Killers went away.
“As normal, The Storm will always stick together.” Cloudy purred, sitting next to his sister.
“Always.” Raven agreed as yowls of triumph rose. – Joanna Ong Yu Han, 11
Joanna Ong wins the Creative Writing prize for the month of May. She walks away with Dotty Detective #6 The Holiday Mystery by Clara Vulliamy (RM34.60) and Dance Trilogy #3 Showtime by Jean Ure (RM39.60), courtesy of MPH Distributors.
We welcome original contributions (of not more than 600 words) from children aged 12 and below. The topic can be anything you fancy. Please include your full name, age, gender, address and phone number. E-mail your letters to star2@ thestar.com.my.
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