The Gathering By Hillary "Xena" Mader and McCall ------------------------------------------------------------------- On sharing the writing lab with the school newspaper: "Those wacky Junto people. That's why we hate them. They just keep ya guessin. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Prologue Felina Feral walked down the hallway of Enforcer Headquarters, a manila envelope full of papers in her left paw, and a cup of coffee in the right. Checking in at the punch clock, she waved to her secretary, Samantha, and entered her office. She walked to her desk and placed the papers on top of it. Turning around, she opened the blinds to the large window behind the desk, looking out towards MegaKat Biochemical Labs. Felina brushed her black hair from her eyes and sat down in her leather chair, putting her feet up on the desk. The MegaKat Times newspaper was spread out on her desk. Slowly, Felina picked up the front page and looked at the headlines. "More Mysterious Murders Mark Mayhem in MegaKat City" She shook her head and put the paper down. She had been called to one of the scenes where a murder had taken place earlier that day. The body had been pale white, and there was no blood seen anywhere. "I wish I could make more sense of this," she said to herself. Taking her feet down from the desk, she pulled the lid off her coffee and took a sip. With a sigh of hesitation, she started to look over the previous day's reports. A tall brown kat in a blue jacket hurriedly walked past Enforcer Headquarters, glancing over his shoulder nervously every few seconds. His breath came in ragged gasps, and his eyes darted back and forth. As he passed a dark alleyway, a rough paw shot out and grabbed the kat by the collar. The kat gave a yelp of surprise as he was dragged into the shadows. Sounds of a struggle emitted from the alley, then silence. The kat suddenly fell out from the shadows, pale with two small bite marks punctured in his neck... **Chapter One** Jake Clawson put down the newspaper and glanced at Chance. "It says here that another kat was found dead outside of Enforcer Headquarters last night." Chance turned away from watching Scaredy Kat. "And the Enforcers didn't see anything?" "Not at all." "Figures," Chance chuckled and glanced over the paper. "I guess Feral hasn't been keeping everyone on their toes." "I guess not," said Jake as he walked into the kitchen. Chance turned back to his cartoon show, laughing every few minutes. Jake listened to the laughter and shook his head, and glanced out a window. He shivered slightly at the sight of the darkness, a sudden sense of dread filling his mind. The half-moon cast an eerie glow over the salvage yard, making it look scarier than it actually was. The darkness of the kitchen added to the eerie setting. Chance turned the television off and walked into the kitchen, seeing Jake staring out the window. "You okay?" "Yeah..." Chance reached for the light switch. "I wouldn't try it, Swat Kat." The two kats gasped and spun around. A tall kat with dark brown fur stood half in, and half out of the shadows. He wore a white shirt with a black jacket over top, and black pants with matching shoes. His brown eyes were covered in shadows, and short, spiky hair sat between his ears. Chance growled and rolled his sleeve up. "Who are you?" "My name is Angel. An ally," the kat replied in a smooth voice. "I came to inform you." Jake narrowed his eyes. "Inform us of what?" Angel gave a soft grin. "The Gathering is upon us. You two must prepare for the battle." Jake and Chance looked at each other, bewildered. Angel looked to Jake. "You are the Watcher. And your friend a slayerette. You must meet up with the Slayer to begin training. Go to the abandoned Tuna Factory tonight at midnight." ake and Chance once again looked at each other, when they went to look to Angel, he had disappeared. Felina unlocked the door and walked into her apartment. Magazines covered her coffee table, and a box of donuts sat open on the couch. She walked into her small kitchen. Candy bar wrappers and old newspapers were stacked by the fridge and old Enforcer reports were scattered about. She put her notepad on the counter and reached for the light switch. "It's about time you got here." Like a reflex, Felina grabbed her gun and raised it towards the source of the voice. Angel stepped from the shadows. "At least we meet, Felina." Samantha Whiskerton stepped into the bright lobby. Her straight red hair hung at the sides of her face, and her peach fur was brushed down neatly. She wore a striped t-short with green overalls, and carried some books in her paws. Sam walked over to her desk near Felina's office. It was organized neatly, with a computer and a phone on it. Sitting down, she turned the computer on and checked the phone for any messages. "Hello Sam, nice outfit." said a voice from behind her. "Good to know you've seen the softer side of Sears." "Oh, hi Cordy." A tall she-kat with long black hair, a tank top, short skirt and high heels was looking down at her. Sam looked up, then back at her computer. "You have to be here for some reason... How much do you want?" "About three dollars for a coffee at the Bronze." Sam shrugged. "Sorry Cordy, I'm broke." "The nerve!" Cordy stamped her foot and stormed off. When she was out of sight, Sam pulled out her wallet and looked at the ten dollars inside of it. Jake and Chance looked around the abandoned tuna factory. Clouds passed in front of the moon, casting a shimmering shadows down on them through a hole in the roof. Chance's tail twitched angrily. "How much longer till this slayer guy gets here?" Jake sighed and glanced at his watch. "Any minute." "I hope it's soon or I'm gonna fall aslee-" "Hello? Anybody here?" Jake and Chance looked at each other in astonishment hearing the feminine voice. "Yes.." they both answered softly. Slowly, Felina stepped into the moon light, which cast a silvery glow on her black and white hair. "What are you two doing here?" "In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, demons and the forces of darkness." Angel, as usual, stepped out from the shadows. He raised his hand and pointed at Felina. "She.. is the slayer..."