Chapter 1 Dusty let a lowl growl rumble from his throat, as a figure came to the entrance of the alley. In the night shadows, it was hard to make out. Some of the cats stirred, including one of his closest friends, Smokey. "What is it, Dusty?" he asked drowsily, not opening his closed eyes. But Dusty, couldn't answer, for the figure leaped out of the shadows at that moment, and Dusty jumped to his paws, hissing as he puffed up his fur. Smokey jumped to his paws, looking around wildly as his eyes adjusted. Then he saw the dog, and stood beside Dusty, snarling. As the other cats began to get to their paws, still sleepy, Dusty let the fur on his back lie flat, and he tilted his head, in shock. "Rotty?" he said to the huge rottweiler,who was a bit confused at being mistaken by an intruder. "What are you doing here? Weren't you going down behind that fancy restaurant with Max?" Dusty noticed for the first time that Rotty was panting. "I was going to," Rotty began, catching his breath. "We went down to the dump behind the place, and we waited as one of the waiters took some bags of trash out. Then I ran to the trash, and I heard a yelp. I turned around and saw Max being grabbed, attacked, even, by a person. It was just right now, so it was hard to see, but I ran forward, and jumped up at the person, but he ran and threw Max in the back of their machines, and I chased him. He tried to grab me, too, but I bit him and ran here. His machine chased me, but I took a side alley here." "Max was taken?" Tiger said in shock. "He's gone? Another animal's gone?" "I don't know where they took him," Rotty replied, his voice choked with sadness. Cloud dipped her head. "Wherever they took him, whatever they'll do to him, we'll always remember him." The other cats and Rotty dipped their heads. "We know one thing," Rain said gravely, "More and more animals are going missing, being taken. We must beware."
