HANG ON TIGHT GUYS, THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE WILD NIGHT!!!
Claws of Terror
~ Chapter One ~
Twas All Hallows' Eve, and the mist rolled across the fields
surrounding Mewton-Clawson. Now, rolling mist isn't something mew usually need
to be concerned about, and in all honesty, it's usually furry therapeutic to
watch. However, this was not a normal mist... this mist was something else
entirely.
Earlier that
day, The B Team had been preparing for our annual Halloween Pawty, and
everypawdy was busy in the bunker.
The bunker had
been decorated over a week ago for Amber's and Pandora's joint birthday pawty
(and in all honesty, that pawty has been going all week on and off) so the only
thing we had to do was get the food and drinks set up on the buffet table in
the Nip Nirvana Lounge on Level 11.
As we busied
ourselves, well, everypawdy but Amber, as she said, she was too old to be
carrying out such menial tasks. So the rest of us busied ourselves. Smooch and
Humphrey were busy setting up the spooky mist machine with the added bonus of
extra primo catnip being infused directly into the machine; catnip mist,
whatever next! MOL
Fudge and Melvyn
were getting the spooky playlist ready and at random intervals, Thriller kept
blasting through the bunker tannoy system.
Posie and Snowie
were putting the finishing touches to this year's Halloween costumes in the
Repairs Room on Level 2, and Parsley, Pandora and I were doing one last
security sweep of the village before nightfall.
"Basil,"
Parsley asked. "Did mew invite anypawdy extra to the pawty?"
I sighed.
"I asked Chuffer, G.D., Solitaire, MadCat and Winston to join us, but
after their torturous time in The Clockwurk Labyrinth, Halloween is the one
holiday none of them will participate in, like ever. And they are staying on
Level 8 with Horice, locked and barricaded in the biosphere."
"I can
understand that," Pandora chipped in, in her odd, little foreign accent.
"I wouldn't want to be reminded of all that creepy stuff if I were them
either!"
Parsley nodded,
then added. "So mew definitely didn't invite anypawdy else?"
I stopped and
looked at him. "No, why?"
We were standing
on the outskirts of Mewton-Clawson in the middle of a dew-laden field. The air
was chill, and a damp breeze was ruffling my fur in all manner of ways I didn't
like.
The church was
just off in the distance, and Parsley was fixated on something in the field
next to the church. He lifted his all-seeing binoculars and peered at the same
spot again.
Pandora was
transfixed too, and I flitted my gaze between them for a few moments, watching
as they tensed up and teeth were bared.
'Oh fluff no!' I
thought. 'What the fluffing fluff is about to happen now!'
Focussing in on
what they were fixed on, I suddenly saw it. A thick, white mist was
roiling and bubbling up from the ancient well in the field next to the church,
and just as I was lifting up my own binoculars, a crow cawed ominously in the
tree above us. "Jumpin' juniper berries!" I said, nearly dropping my
binoculars. I looked up, and the crow was flapping its wings and hopping on the
branch with much agitation. Its wing suddenly pointed back towards the centre
of Mewton-Clawson, and I turned to see more mist emerging from the old dry stone
sheep pen, which was used for escapee livestock many, many years ago.
Pandora spun
around and saw the mist, "Basil, there's something apaw," she said
worriedly and held out her paw to me, and I saw the Aethereal Magi sigil; an infinity sign surrounded by the five elements of fire, earth, water, metal and air which was branded on her
paw and it was glowing bright red. (If mew aren't sure what an Aethereal Magi is, check out Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 in The Clockwurk Labyrinth).
I took a deep
breath, exhaled slowly, and nudged Parsley. He turned, looked at the glowing
mark and spat. "Fluffing fluffer!"
Remembering what
he'd just asked me a few minutes ago, "Why did mew ask if I'd invited
anypawdy extra to the pawty?"
He pointed off
towards Fuskerston on the right side of us and the woods that stood between the
two villages. "Over there," he said. "There's a clowder of cats
in raggy costumes."
I raised an
eyebrow and stared at the precise location he was pointing at.
"Where?"
"Right
fluffing there!" Parsley replied, jabbing his paw.
"I can't
see a thing," I replied. "Only trees. Pandora, can mew see
anything?"
She spun around
and looked, then gulped. "I see dead cats."
"What?"
I asked.
"They are
definitely dead," she replied with a shiver. "And it looks like
they've seen us!"
Lifting my
binoculars, I looked again, and fluff me. I saw them. About thirty of them, stumbling
around in the shadows of the trees. And even more emerging from the woods.
Note to self,
get some glasses stat!
There was also heavy
white mist was creeping from the wood, at ground level and heading our way in a
rather disconcerting manner. 'This is not good,' I thought. 'Like
seriously, NOT GOOD!'
The crow cawed
again. Its screeching sent shivers down my spine. This time, it flapped its
wing towards the field to the left of us; a small brook meandered along the far
side of the field, and it too, was oozing thick white mist that was puthering
over the ground, tumbling towards us.
I spun around
looking at all the sources and realised that this mist wasn't natural. (Yes, I
know I'm a bit late to the game, but if I'm honest, I've had a lot of catnip
this week, blame Amber and Pandora's pawty!) Anyhoo, it suddenly dawned on me
that the mist was springing up at compass points, and this was some hinky
hoodoo kind of vibe.
"Something
must be drawing the mist," I said. "Where is the centre point for all
four sources?"
Parsley and
Pandora stared at me like I'd grown another head.
"What?"
I asked with mild frustration.
"Mew
seriously have had far too much nip this week, Basil!" Pandora chided.
"And did mew try Humphrey's new blend, the Total Wipeout yesterday?"
I cast my mind
back and tried to remember last night. I just nodded because I actually
couldn't remember a thing.
Pandora looked
at Parsley and said. "Mew owe me £10 dude!"
"That
explains it!" Parsley said. "Dude, mew seriously have to stop trying
all the nip mixes. They're messing with your mind!"
"Pay
up!" Pandora demanded.
Parsley
harrumphed and pulled a crisp £10 note out of his rucksack and passed it to
Pandora. "Thank mew furry much!" she grinned, stuffing it in a side
pocket on her utility belt.
"Mew bet on
me?" I said, with utter incredulity.
"Yep,"
they both said in unison and laughed.
'Fluffing fluff,
I'd better not have any more of Humphrey's catnip!' I thought. 'It's severely
impairing my Basildom!"
Dragging my mind
back to our predicament, I asked again. "So where exactly is the centre
point?"
Pandora gave me
quite a withering glance and pointed at the ground, "Right here commander,
this is the centre point."
"But
there's nothing here," I declared, as if that made it all ok.
But sadly, I'd
spoken too soon.
The ground began
to shake and quiver beneath our paws, and Parsley grabbed me, dragging me back
towards the village, with Pandora leading the way.
Once we'd jumped
the fence and reached the road, we turned to see what was happening. The ground
was still shaking, and we looked at the spot we'd just evacuated to see the
ground rupture and a stone circle emerge from the earth. Nothing as fancy as
Stone Henge, more like the Avebury Circle, but with a lot fewer
stones.
Nevertheless,
there was now a henge in Mewton-Clawson, and it was quite impressive; some of
the outer stones were at least ten feet tall, and a secondary smaller inner
circle pushed through the earth and stood at about five feet tall.
A deafening
crack boomed through the sky as a blinding flash burst like a fireworks display
at the centre of the circle.
I turned to
Parsley, "Dude, this is bad, real bad."
He nodded, and
Pandora said. "Basil look, there's a figure walking out of the
circle!"
Darkness had
descended, and the only light was from the rising full moon as I watched the
tall figure stride towards us, with a large cat bringing up the rear.
"Basil,
dude, we need to do something," Parsley murmured. "I only have a
taser on me, and I think we need something a little more robust!"
"Parsley,
don't panic," I whispered back. "We've got a Pandora, one of the most
powerful magical cats in the world."
"True,"
he replied, relaxing just a smidge.
"Pandora,"
I hissed. "What's the plan?"
Pandora watched
the figure approaching, and she said through gritted fangs, "Hold the
line!"
**AND CUT**
Guys, we are sorry to cut it there, but we know mew don't have much time to read a saga today.
If mew would like to read Chapter 2, let us know in the comments, as we've got a feeling this is going to evolve into quite the story. (And one that isn't written yet! MOL) However, if mew want to see where it goes, we'll gladly continue a chapter a week, but that is up to mew.
In the meantime...
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