Midnight in Montgomery
By Hillary "Xena" Mader

**************************
Inspired by the song
"Midnight in Montgomery"
By Alan Jackson
**************************


	Jake Clawson looked out of the window of the Silver Eagle bus he was
riding in. He had left Megakat City with a heavy heart, as he had for the
past few years. The skinny brown kat was hoping to stay away from
Montgomery. Bad memories were heavy in that small town.
	The bus travelled down the long, lonely road to Mobile. Jake was on
his way to take some of his inventions to a scientific convention in that
city. He took all kind of robot models, but nothing from his past life as
a SWAT Kat. 
	Jake looked at his watch. 11:50 pm, December 30th. He sighed and
continued to stare solemly out the window, as the bus approached the small
town of Montgomery. 

	The bus stopped by a gas station for a refueling, and Jake decided
to see his old friend while he was in the area. Stepping off the bus, Jake
flipped the collar up on his brown leather jacket, to keep out the chill 
and the strong wind.
	He slowly walked towards where his friend currently resided. He 
stood there a moment, as a fog started to rise from the ground around him.
The wind slowly died down, and Jake looked up at the full moon.

	Jake suddenly turned around, hearing footsteps behind him. A large,
burly kat with golden fur was standing there. He wavered from side to side,
obviously drunk, his flight suit tattered by the arms.
	He stared at Jake with haunting eyes. 	
	"Buddy, it's good to see you. It's nice to know you cared." he said
in a gruff voice, as the wind began to slowly pick up again.
	Jake blinked and shook his head in disbelief. When he looked towards
the kat, he had disappeared. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck,
wondering of he actually saw what he saw.

	The clock in the center of the city started to chime midnight. Jake
turned and headed towards the bus. The clock chimed, and the lonely cry
of the whipporwill. Looking up, Jake stared up at the sky, the bright
stars twinkling in the purple sky.
	The smell of whiskey drifted through the chilled air. Jake 
shivered and zipped up his jacket. He glanced back towards where his
friend now rested.
	"Rest in peace, Chance," Jake whispered, climbing back aboard the 
bus.

	The shadow of the bus rolled across the ground, passing over stones
and dead plants. A midnight train slowly chugged parallel to the bus, it's
lonely whistle piercing through the night's silence.
	Jake tried to hold back his tears of lonliness, as the bus continued
on it's way to Mobile, leetting Montgomery and Chance retreat back into 
the night.