Trix

I was walking home alone, like usual. It seemed I was always alone. I had been alone my entire life. At least that's what it felt like. What was it about me that people shied away from? Every foster home I had ever been in had returned me, citing that I was just too strange. I didn't fit into their family dynamic. Not that I didn't try. I did. I couldn't help that I was the way I was. I WAS different. I knew that. But before my parents were gone, my differences were celebrated. I was told I was unique. But my parents were gone. I didn't know why, or how, or even what had happened. No one would tell me anything.

I quickly learned that I was considered an oddity. The strange kid. I could see and hear things others couldn't seem too.

This day a strange sound from an alleyway caught my attention. It was somewhere between a yowl, and a pitiful mewling sound, very hard to describe. I had never heard anything like it before. It made my hair stand on end. I wanted to run. Get away from there as fast as I could. But...what if something was hurt back there? I couldn't just leave some poor suffering creature there.

So I cautiously entered the alleyway. Inching forward until I was almost at the dumpsters. A putrid smell was in the air. I wrinkled my nose. Unease spread through my stomach. I had smelled this before. Where? And when? As I was trying to remember, a low sound split the air. I froze. That sound, I suddenly knew where I had heard it before. I couldn't move. I was frozen as a creature appeared.

It was an ugly looking thing. It looked somewhat like a dog, but yet not really. Dog was not the first thing that popped into your head at sight of this creature. It had a greenish fur, that was emitting that horrid smell. It's eyes glowed red. It had a spiky tail that was whipping back and forth. I definitely did not want to get hit by that. It looked like it could hurt.

The creature advanced growling low in its throat. I backed carefully away towards the mouth of the alley. I couldn't even swallow my mouth was so dry with fear. The stench was causing me to gag. It was also messing with my head or something. I felt rather disoriented. I was going to die in this alley, I just knew it. Just another teenage death in an alleyway. No one would miss me. It was likely no one would even know I had disappeared.

I staggered backwards another step. I stumbled, and dropped to the ground. Scrambling to my feet as quickly as I could, panic threatening to overtake me a quite different sound reached me. This one was behind me. A shrill, yet musical trilling. Forgetting about the monster in front of me, I turned to face this new threat. It was a cat. About the size of your average housecat, but like no cat I had ever seen before. Its silver fur gleamed. It could almost be called a glow. It trilled again. But it wasn't looking at me! It was looking at the monster/dog thing behind me.

Relief filled me so suddenly, my legs seemed to turn to jelly. They would no longer hold my weight. I crawled towards the mouth of the alley, collapsing in a heap just short of my goal. Sobs caught in my throat. Oh why had I ever entered the alley anyway? Creatures like that were not supposed to exist. There was a fearful yowling and snapping, and some strange cracking sounds going on behimd me, but I didn't turn to look. I didn't want to know who was winning. Or wether the monster/dog would come for me again.

Silence. Then a soft padding of feet behind me. I cringed, and squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want to see those huge ugly slobbering gooey jaws closing in on me. A soft trilling, and a warm something pushing against my hand, caused me to open my eyes. The glowing cat was right beside me. With a shaking hand I reached out and patted it on the head. A tingle ran up my arm. Yanking my hand back, I stared at the cat. What kind of creature was this? It trilled softly as if trying to reassure me.

"That means she likes you."

I whirled around. A boy about my own age stood there. I scrambled to my feet at the same time as the glowing cat creature jumped fluidly into his arms.

"What-what is going on here?" I demanded. I deserved to know, didn't I. After all I had come close to dying. "Who are you? And what- what kind of cat is that?"

The boy looked almost insulted. "This isn't a cat." He informed me. "It's a Trix. They are the only creatures that can deter a Whipper. You're lucky we were close by."

"A-a Whipper?" I repeated dumbly.

"What I said. " the boy sounded more cheerful now. "They carry you off to feed their young. Horrible way to die. " he shook his head as if he thought that I would know what he meant. "I'm Wilbur, by the way. " The Trix trilled at him. "Really?" He looked at her then at me. "He's the one?" The trix trilled again. He looked at me rather doubtfully. "Moonstar says you're the one we've been waiting for. "

"You can understand her?" I asked incredulously.

"Of course." Wilbur responded. "Come with us. "

"Wait...wh-what?" I stammered. "You're just going to take me with you? You're going to kidnap me?"

"No." Wilbur sounded exasperated. He sighed ." Ok, maybe I better verify this. You are Jett Tanner , right?"

"Uhh...Yea. " I said, dumbfounded that some kid I'd never seen before knew my name.

"And your parents were mysteriously killed when you were five?"

Again, he was right. I was floored. "How do you know all this?" I asked.

"Come with us and we'll explain it. " was all Wilbur would say.

It didn't look as if I had a choice. I was burning up with curiosity. I followed Wilbur and Moonstar to what appeared to be an abandoned building close by. As soon as we stepped inside, my breath left me. I looked around in awe.

Wilbur grinned at me, when he saw me gawking. "Now I know you're the right person. " he said. I stared at him in bewilderment. "You wouldn't be able to see the splendor if you weren't ." He explained simply, just as a booming voice exclaimed, "Ah, Wilbur my boy!" An older gentleman came slowly towards us. "Did you take care of the Whipper?"

Moonstar trilled in response.

The old gentleman frowned. " He got away? That's not good. An extra strong one. You must take Starlight with you next time." Moonstar trilled again. This time it was a trill of submission. The old gentleman turned to me. "And who have we here, Wilbur?" He asked, raking cold grey eyes over me. I shivered. I couldn't help it.

"Uncle Sunnis!" He exclaimed. "I've found Jett Tanner!"

"Jett Tanner?" The old man studied me closely.

I nodded, my throat suddenly dry. "Y,yes." I squeaked. "I-I'm Jett Tanner."

"Hmmph." He grunted. "Tell me boy, how did your parents die?"

"I - I don't know. " I admitted. "I don't remember. "

He nodded. He seemed to think for awhile, then said, "Well, we better get on then, Wilbur. We'll bring your new friend with us. " He turned, and beckoning us to follow started walking.

I followed along behind Wilbur and Moonstar, with no idea of how my life was about to change.

We walked through a dark tunnel, the only light was coming from Moonstar's fur. I had always hated the dark, but strangely I wasn't afraid. We came out of the tunnel into a different world.

Wilbur turned to me. "Welcome to our world. " he grinned.

I looked around. It seemed everyone I saw had a Trix with them. "For protection. " Wilbur explained when he saw me looking. "Each family has one to look out for them."

The old man led us to a house at the edge of the little village. No one paid any attention to me. And right now I was glad. I was burning up with curiosity. What did these people know about me, that I didn't? Did they know something about my parents that I didn't, or simply didn't remember? They seemed to.

As we entered the house a woman hurried forward. "Oh thank goodness you're back safely!" She exclaimed, giving Wilbur a hug. He seemed embarrassed about it.

"Of course I'm alright, mother. " he said. "I had Moonstar with me, you know. "

Sunnis grunted, and sat down. He looked at me. "I suppose you want to know about your parents. " he said.

I nodded. I didn't want to appear too eager, but I was dying to know.

He grunted again. "Well, sit down then, boy. It's a bit of a tale."

Long story short, I found out that it was a Whipper that had taken my parents. I learned that their awful stench did cause you to feel disoriented, thus making you easier to snatch. Their tails with the spikes on them were poisonous, so that once you got stung by one, you weren't going anywhere. It wouldn't kill you, just incapacitate you. They wanted you alive, in order to feed you to their young. I shuddered. It was indeed a horrible way to die. Knowing you were going to, but unable to do anything except sit there and wait for it. I swallowed at the sudden lump in my throat. That's what had happened to my parents. And then I was angry.

"We can kill them, right?" I demanded. "Please tell me theres a way to kill those things."

"They were almost extinct once." Sunnis spoke slowly. "They came back twenty years ago. One of our wise old elders predicted that someone from the human plane would be our relief. " He looked directly at me. "That is you. All we were told is that you would go by Jett Tanner. The Whippers somehow found out and set out to find you. "He paused. "It was you they were after, not your parents. They don't like the taste of humans, generally. "

"So they didn't eat my parents?" I could scarcely force the words out.

"Its not likely. " Sunnis responded. "They either killed them, or are still holding them somewhere. "

They was a chance my parents were still alive? After thirteen years? All of a sudden I was filled with excitement. I was someone. I wasn't just a weird loner, who heard strange creatures. I wanted to set out right away and track these Whippers down. But Sunnis didn't think that would be wise. He thought I needed to learn more about them before I set out to face my enemy, who may or may not have killed my parents. I couldn't sleep that night. I had a purpose. I actually had a purpose. I was going to find out once and for all if my parents were truly dead or not.