It all starts with a nightmare

Neo's head was hurting so much. He felt a hand stroking his hair. His hearing gradually returned and he recognized a familiar song. The sweet voice took away all the pain and suffering he was feeling. He was weak and kept his eyes closed. He ended up falling asleep once again.

When he woke up for real, he was lost.

“Where was I?”

He looked around and a white curtain surrounded him as he lay on a bed with white sheets. You could hear the sound of someone writing something, but it was so quiet that it didn't bother him.

Neo took one leg at a time off the bed and stepped onto the cold floor. He supported himself and got up slowly.

He looked around the bed for his shoes, but couldn't find them anywhere, until he felt dizzy and had to sit down again. As soon as his head started to come back, he realized something. This time he hadn't had nightmares.

He got out of bed again, a little more excited, and even barefoot, he opened the curtains towards the sound.

A woman wearing a lab coat and straight dark hair was sitting in a chair and, as he had heard, she was fiddling with various papers, writing on some and checking others.

“Karine?” Neo asked because she looked a lot like Karine, only he regretted it because looking closely you could see that she had a slightly more robust body and wasn't wearing glasses.

The woman looked at the boy and smiled a little in surprise.

“You're finally awake!”

He replied with a nod.

“I need to ask you a few questions, could you sit over there, I left your shoes next to you.” She ordered as she pointed to a small stool in the corner of the room, she was holding a clipboard full of papers. ”Your name is Neo, isn't it? Mine's Katherine.”

Neo continued to nod as he picked up her shoes.

“How are you feeling now?”

“I'm better.” He answered as he put on a pair.

“Do you remember how you got here?”

A question that made the boy freeze and think about everything that had happened until he got there. He knew one thing for sure.

It all starts with a nightmare.

Neo opened his eyes and could see nothing but darkness. A light came on, coming from what seemed to be the middle of a room. Several people were gathered around him, but their faces were not clearly defined. I couldn't tell if it was because of the lack of light.

Even so, it seemed that all the faces were turned towards the light in the middle of the room.

Voices rang out in the darkness, and he could only make out a few bits of information. Apparently, they were talking about an experiment. Some said that if they succeeded, they would be rich and others talked about recognition.

In an instant, the previously small light increased its brightness and illuminated the entire room, dispelling the darkness. The boy's mind went blank.

When he woke up again, he was lying on his back on the floor, his body throbbing with pain. A flickering red light, accompanied by a high-pitched, deafening alarm took over the room. The air became thick with smoke and desperate screams echoed from every corner.

In the midst of the chaos, a woman, bloodied and bruised, struggled to get close to Neo. She crawled across the floor on her stomach, while he couldn't move his body, but just kept his eyes fixed on her. His heart beat faster and his terror increased.

When the woman reached him, she held his head in her weak arms with great affection. Her words were louder than any noise he was hearing.

“It's going to be okay.... You're strong.”

She put a necklace with a blue stone around Neo's neck.

“And you have me...”

Her voice disappeared amid the desperate cries for help. The persistent sound of the alarm became louder and louder as his consciousness slowly dissipated; his mind being whisked away.

Neo opened his eyes with a pounding heart and gasping breath. Once again, the same nightmare haunted him, enveloping him in a suffocating atmosphere of agony and discomfort.

All that tension made his fur stand on end, so he hurriedly licked himself to put those unruly hairs back in place. Now that he looked attractive, he gave a long stretch to start his day, like every cat, his schedule was clearly packed for that day.

He took a good look around. Neo liked that small garden he was in, the only entrance was a hole in the wall, with an abandoned water fountain in the middle, a bench to lie on when it was sunny, and in the corner a large tree that cast a great shadow and provide shelter from the rain when needed. It was the secret retreat of the city's cats.

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw birds gathering on top of the abandoned fountain. They were perfect targets. He assumed a hunting position and stealthily crept under the shadow of the large tree. The birds were enjoying the pleasant morning weather and couldn’t notice the danger approaching. Once he was within jumping range, he stopped. He prepared himself, swayed his body to gain momentum, and made the leap.

As Neo jumped, the clever little birds heard him and flapped their wings away, while the small black cat watched his lunch fly away. He laid back down where he was and looked up, observing the passing clouds. His stomach began to growl with hunger, and all he wanted was some food.

Hours passed, and some cats on a nearby wall were talking about a snack shop where a woman was making savory pastries that smelled delicious. Neo, who was sad and hungry, smiled. It was heist time.

When he arrived at the shop, he first climbed a tree that provided a perfect view of the window. From there, he could see that the woman was just finishing frying the pastries and placing them in a little basket near the window. The distance was considerable, but it was worth it.

He jumped and barely reached the windowsill. He hung there and had to make an effort to climb up. Now came the easy part, grabbing and getting away. But as he got closer, he was so hungry that he started eating right there. The woman turned her attention back to the basket and was surprised to see a little thief committing a crime right in front of her.

Neo realized he had been spotted and grabbed one of the remaining pastries off the plate and ran away. He ran like never before, with the woman fervently chasing him. He saw an entrance to an alley and quickly darted into it.

As the woman entered the alley as well, the cat had disappeared. She only saw a boy with wavy black hair, wearing a blue necklace that looked very similar to the collar the cat she was looking for had. The boy was also eating a pastry. The woman looked closely at his face, wanting to ask about the fugitive who had passed by, but she didn't want to seem foolish. So, she decided to search on her own. The alley had several boxes and places where a little one could hide.

As soon as the boy left the alley, he smiled, seeing that he had successfully completed his escape.

"This power is quite convenient." he thought.

Back in the secret place where no one could see, the boy transformed back into a cat. His collar and clothes shimmered along with the transformation, turning into a collar with a blue ball and golden details instead of a name tag.

After eating, he grew sleepy and took a nap, enjoying the serene atmosphere of the last rays of sunlight.

This was just another ordinary day for the cat Neo.