Hi. My name is Coward. And I'm just a normal alley cat. This isn't really my real name, though. My real name is Slate. I like the name, but my family outvoted me 4 to 1 on changing my name to Coward. I have to admit, I was a coward from the start. Squirming around scared, as if there was a huge storm coming, when really, it was just the wind blowing, or the phone ringing from the nearby restauraunt to take orders. When I was a small kit, mother would tell me stories about these wild cats called clans, but she never answers my questions about them. I'd just have to infer on what they do and think, and I don't know, young kitty questions. My mother wasn't like how she was when me and my siblings were small newborn kits. My mother's very mean to us now, it's like she wishes we were never born. My father simply doesn't care, it's as if we don't exist. My mother and father talk a little bit, but not a lot. Sometimes, either one of my parents tell me and my siblings to go with them to hunt the other alleys and dumpsters for any food. We're mostly lucky, but there's a ton of other alley cats hungry for food, so it's not that easy.. It gets scary when other alley cats threaten us just for food. Sometimes.. they fight. My first food catch EVER was this box of spicy chicken nuggets. They're a great meal, and I have to admit, that my mom was probably a tiny bit proud of ME, the coward of the family, to get a catch. But now, here we are in the present day. Just like a normal day, my mom is sulking in a corner and my dad is sitting in one. My brother, Snake, really wants to escape, and he's a huge troublemaker. My sister, Silver, wants to stay here, because she's afraid we'll be found and mother and father would get extermely mad at us. I like the alley, but my mother and father are really not caring for us. They just.. .starve us to death. We have to fend for ourselves, but, our parents are the only ones keeping us safe from harm. However, they starve us, hurt us, abuse us...But tonight, I'm making a heavy decision, I'm leaving this alley by myself, without my siblings, by myself. How could a coward survive all alone in the dark depths of the city?
