Phantomverse Stories

1. Tobey Phantom

(Not my art)

I should have known that my life would have taken an insane twist when I was adopted by the Fentons.

Maybe that day I should have hid behind my mother, or maybe acted like I was mentally disabled, like trying to swim in the food dish or something.

But no. I was proud. I was the biggest out of the litter, so when humans who weren't the old couple caring for Mom and us started coming and taking my siblings away, I wanted to join in with the fun. Holding my head and tail high, I strutted around the enclosure, making sure every human who came by saw the brightness to my blue eyes, and the emerging silkiness of my dark gray striped fur.

When we were a couple of weeks old, Mom gave all of us kittens the "talk."

About humans, and how it was important that we were "adopted" by them.

Nothing was more desirable than being taken in by a new human. She spoke of delicious canned food, crunchy dry food, and mouth-watering kitty treats if the humans thought we were cute. Not to mention, we would get petted, cuddled, and revered as the most important things in their otherwise unimportant lives.

It was our purpose, she told us, to be adopted.

So don't mess up. After that she cuffed us on the head with a large paw and told us to go eat our kibble.

The first one of us to go a couple of days later was one of my sisters. She was gray like me, but had some nice silver markings. Mom always said humans went for the markings. My sister was adopted by an older couple, and Mom approved; old humans gave you your space and lots of treats.

After our sister left Mom cuffed the rest of us harshly and told us to try harder tomorrow. I vowed that night to work harder than any of my other littermates.

I would get adopted tomorrow, I commanded myself. I will make Mom proud of me like Sister.

The next day was extremely hot. All of us lay panting in the shadiest corners of the enclosure, only getting up to drink water or use the litter box. Mom constantly glanced at the road, her mouth parted, panting, and her ears pricked for any sign of humans in their cars. As the day got hotter, Mom got more and agitated, her tail lashing and stirring up the dust on the ground.

My brother was a little odd, he still thought that Mom had milk left for us, so he often approached her still, looking to suckle. Today, he approached her again, but instead of simply growling it him, she turned on him and swatted him away with an irritated his. All of us looked at her worriedly. I hoped some humans would come soon and take all of us away today so she would be happy. But none came. The sun started to set, and Mom mournfully yowled at the darkening sky.

I was lazily chewing my brother's tail when I heard the crunching of gravel beneath tires, and bright headlights swung across the enclosure. All of us pricked our ears and sat up. Humans? This late? Excitedly, I bounded over to the edge of the fence and peered at the vehicle.

It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was bulky and huge, instead of sleek and small like normal cars. It had all kind of dishes and appliances on the top, all making interesting whirring and buzzing noises, rotating, spinning, and flashing.

Mom came up next to me and growled her disapproval. It's unorthodox, she meowed. Something's not right. She turned to me. Don't make any moves until I find out more.

I followed her back to the bed where the rest of my siblings waited, their eager eyes glowing in the dark. Mom grabbed me by the scruff and placed me in the center of the bed, despite my and my siblings' squeaks of protest. Mom hopped inside the house---through the scary flap that none of us had figured out how to go through yet---and we could hear her questioning meows inside.