Scout lay curled up on the shaggy rug beside the fireplace. The sparkling sound of the wood lulled him, and the warm breath of the fire made his nap more enchanting. His belly drifted softly up and down, his heartbeat as slow as his breaths. 

A sound, no louder than that of the soft embers crackling within the flame-filled logs, intuitively made his ears prick. It’s only the crackling of the fire, he made himself think. Resting his head between his front paws, he let the fire draw him back to the realm he had left just moments before. But just as his breaths became measured, a loud blast frightened him awake.

“What was that?” he cried, his whimper shattering the silence.

“Nothing of your concern.” Sunshine, the house cat, was reclining leisurely on the arm of the sofa. She did not even open her eyes to look at him. “It’s probably just the Man getting out of his car.”

Scout rose wearily to his paws. “No, Sunshine,” he grunted, turning towards the window. He used his front paws to prop himself up onto its edge. “I swear, it sounded like the earth was splitting open!”

“The earth doesn’t just split open, furball,” Sunshine exasperated. “Now let me go back to sleep.”

Scout watched as she wrapped herself up into a tight ball. He curled his lip. How could she not be worried about this? Cats are useless, he thought with antipathy. But at least dogs have sense. 

Scanning the window with his bright-colored eyes, he made out some sort of car. But it wasn’t the Man’s car, and it certainly wasn’t any car he’d ever seen; it was big and box-shaped. The roar that bellowed within it made it seem hungry for flesh. Scout shivered. He could only hope that it didn’t have much of a taste for dogs.

Scout regarded the box-car with utter bewilderment as its sides were mercilessly flung open. Surely it must’ve hurt the creature, its insides being pushed open like that? Maybe that explains its growling, he thought. It must be in pain! 

With a look of complete horror plastered on his face, Scout watched as humans - maybe three or four - jumped out of the wounds they had scored within the creature. In that instant, one of the humans closed the wound, the explosion that had startled him awake resounding. He winced as the horrible bang reached his ears.

“Well, you look like you have just witnessed a car-creature pass by!” Whipping his head around, Scout noticed Pig, the family hamster, scrabbling across the living room in his little ball. The poor scrap of fur was exceptionally overweight. He had been stuffed with things that no hamster should’ve ever eaten. His legs were nothing more than little stubs and could barely do their job.

“Something worse,” Scout replied, what he had just witnessed still fresh in his mind.

The fat old hamster stubbled over. “Really?” Pig fell over slightly, as his legs gave out from working too hard. “Go on, I’m listening.”

Scout opened his mouth to tell his story, but something else caught his attention. It was a sound; at first, it seemed to be nothing but the soft sputtering of the fire, but slowly, the noise rose above it. It was rhythmed and sounded just like the Man’s boots. Maybe he has home?

Peeking out the window for the second time, Scout was shocked to see the very humans that had hopped out of the creature must be coming for them! They marched in a unified manner up to his door, one carrying a slab of wood. 

“Scout?” Pig’s tiny black eyes squinted with concern. “Scout? Are you alright?”

Ignoring his small friend, he continued to watch. One of the humans lifted his hand and hit the door, making a gentle knocking noise. For Scout, this was the last straw.

The hairs on Scout’s back rose with anger and fear. “Run! Hide! Danger!” he barked, pacing back and forth. “Intruders!”

Sunshine sat up groggily and looked up at Scout. From the look in her eyes, Scout could tell that she was not pleased. But he did not care. “Honestly, you bird-brain!” she fumed. “Do you always have to yap at even the tiniest things? Get a life!” And with a puff of annoyance, she plopped right back down onto the little arm she was resting on. But Scout continued barking.

The quick thud of the Woman’s footsteps gave Scout some relief. At least someone is listening to me, he sighed. She must be running for cover. But the thuds became louder. Soon, he could see her, running right towards the door. 

“Oh, they’re here!” The Woman chimed, panting slightly. “Kids! Get your boxes and bring them downstairs!” Little footsteps tumbled down the stairs. The children carried sizable boxes. The objects inside of them tussled and jumbled as the box swayed from side to side in their arms. They set the boxes on the cold floor in the living room. Their presence made the already desolate room seem a little less empty.

The Woman spoke in a firm tone to their children, and in response, they bobbed their little heads and dashed off. Scout guessed that she might have told them to go to a safer location. But to his surprise, after seeing that they were gone, she walked over to the door, right towards the danger.

At once, Scout ran in front of her, barking his frustration. “What are you doing?” he fumed. “Go now!”

But the Woman simply pushed him aside. “Quit your barking!” she scolded him. “Everet! Please take care of the dog!”

His boy obediently thumped over to Scout’s small retreating area with a bright red leash grasped in his hand. “Hey, boy! Hey Scout!” he said, repeatedly clasping his hands together to get his attention. “Want to go for a walk!”

Scout looked up at his boy with disgust. How could they go on a walk when there were dangerous intruders lurking outside their house?

“Aww, come on, boy!” Everett whined. “Let’s go!” He reached for Scout’s collar, but he pulled away and continued barking. But he stopped immediately when he picked up the sound of the Woman, fidgeting with the golden-metal sphere that hung solemnly on the door. The door cracked, and the Woman, hand still resting on the sphere, opened the door all the way, letting the Intruders inside. 

“What is going on?” Sunshine was now sitting up. Though her position remained calm, the fur on her back stood up. Perhaps cats really did have sense. 

Sunshine unsheathed her claws and retracted them into the couch. “Oh, now I’ll never be able to sleep!” 

Or maybe they didn’t.

Pig ran as fast as his pathetic little legs could take him, squealing with the fear of being kicked or stepped on, as many heavy boots pounded the floor. Scout, noticing his friend’s troubles, used his long tail to push the ball towards him. Pig took a moment to catch his breath, then looked up at him. His teeny eyes appeared to blink their gratitude. 

Wanting to bark his protests, Scout opened his mouth, but then admitted defeat, as he figured it would be useless. The Woman was bird-brained enough to let the danger inside. There was nothing more that Scout could do, so he vaguely retreated to the corner next to the fireplace and eyed her wistfully as she and one of the Intruders spoke to each other. Their tone was sweet and gentle. Mayhap he was wrong, and they were only here to visit?

“Thank goodness you’re here,” the Woman exclaimed, her tone sounding somewhat relieved. The Intruder handed her a long black stick and a slab of wood, which she gladly accepted. She ran the stick across it, leaving behind a scraggly trail of darkness as it went. After a quick second, she removed the stick from the slab and handed the two items back to the Intruder, who, in turn, smiled his thanks. Then, signaling them with his hand, the rest of the intruders scattered throughout the house, picking up boxes and large objects, going back outside, and repeating that process. 

Scout’s head felt heavy and his vision, blurry. He guarded Pig between his forelegs but struggled to keep himself together. Before him, the world he knew was being taken away, piece by piece, box by box. They even took away the couch, leaving Sunshine to sulk dejectedly on the cold hardwood floor. 

“Since when did these humans think they have the right to invade our territory?” she hissed. “They took my couch!”

{the rest of the chapter is still in progress}