It was a cold night. I don't know what it was, maybe the chilly night breeze, the dead, black sky, the empty hollowness that seemed to swallow the streets at this hour, that sent chills up my spine with each step I took through the midnight. The fur on my neck beginning to prickle, I decide to pick up the pace, only to stop dead when I trip on a rock sitting on the sidewalk, causing me to drop my school books.

"Blast!" I curse under my breath, quickly gathering my stuff together again. The streets were never safe for aliens like myself anymore. Catries, Mirkens, Tailers, the locals on this planet hated us all! I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. I am Klere Jackline. A Catry. We Catries are what you might call a rough cross between a cat and human. We take the physical shape of a human, but we're covered in fur from head to toe, with the faces of those earthly creatures known as cat.

The only thing we have differing from both, is three tails. Goodness knows why! It's not like they do anything for you, besides keep you very well balanced. I suppose that's something, as Catries have always been known to be able to balance on anything - from the broadest path to the narrowest wire.

There are only two things you need to know about me. One, I am alone. Always alone. I don't work with others, never. Never. Never. And two, I hate humans. Hate them. They're disgusting. Despicable. The spit on the next ugly thing they say. The racism is on the rage nowadays, ever since aliens started migrating to Earth. The humans never saw us coming.

I could make a list. An enormous list at that, of how many things I hated about the humans. But perhaps the biggest thing that got on my nerves was their special ability to cower. They never put up a fight. Ever. Well, some of them did, they had a special occupation that was paid to fight off evil. We never had any of that nonsense. We were all taught the necessary skills to defend ourselves from evil, we never paid anyone to do it for us!

I shake my head at the thought of it all. Paying someone to do your dirty work, what a cheap gig! I ponder it over and over as I trudge down the path.

"Not lost, are you?" I glance left to see a dark figure hidden under the shadows of a tree. Obviously an alien of some sort, but didn't look like any sort of creature I was familiar with.

"No. I know exactly where I am, thanks. What are you?" I inquire, my voice short and sharp, like a piece of broken glass.

"I? What am I? Difficult question. Are you always this straightforward?" the creature asks, her tone suggesting a slight disgust towards me.

"I asked you a question." I snarl, growing slightly impatient.

"Very well, I'll just give it to you straight, I know not what to call myself. I am not a creature of today, so I cannot tell you what I am. You may call me Myrror."

"Myrror? Not a very common name. Do you... have legs?" I ask partly curious, while staring down at her "dress" which seems to be ebbing off of her at the rim like smoke. It almost fades into the environment! Myrror laughs at my rather peculiar question.

"Take a guess." she answers, almost tauntingly.

"What do you want?" I demand, changing the subject.

"To welcome you." Myrror answers.

"Welcome me?" I scoff skeptically.

"You have been selected as a Survivor."

"Survivor?"

"It's what we call the selected inhabitants from each planet to play the game."

"Inhabitants? Planet? Game? Did you escape an asylum somewhere?"

"No, I am not from here." she answers. I laugh.

"Yeah, I can see that."

"To put it simply, you are to be a contestant in the Survival Games. You and the other 23 contestants will determine your planet's very survival." Myrror explains.

"Woah, hold up there. First of all, this isn't my planet. And I don't care about it's survival."

"Well, you better care if you care about yours." Myrror warns me.

"What are you talking about?" I ask, impatience building up, like water ready to boil.

"You have 30 days to complete the task. And, listen closely, for each day passed, you will see a ring in the sky."

"What? 30 days? A ring? Who are you to--"

"But I must warn you, know your friends and your enemies. The 24 Survivors and you are not the only ones playing this game."

"Well who else is?!"

"Your world has seven continents. Six of them are inhabited. I have selected four Survivors from each continent. Also, there is a ritual. The Survivors I select from each planet, always have something in common. The twenty-four of you I have selected have all had a tragic past, particularly with family. Find your friends. Seek them first. Be cautious, and good luck." Myrror wishes me well, a small smile forming on her dark face, then disappears.

"Where did you--!" I stop as the midnight blackness engulfs me yet again, and I am aware of my loneliness. She's gone. She's gone! She just... left! Right then and there!

"Great. Now I gotta do what. What did she say? Find your friends. Twenty-four of them, she said, there are twenty-four of us. But she said we weren't the only ones... well she didn't even tell me who the others were! Are they friendlies? No, they can't be..." I continue muttering to myself as I make my way home.

"This is ridiculous. Just a practical joke that some lame human is playing on me. Stupid kids. Never know when to give up these days... honestly!" I mutter angrily. Finally making it to camp, I pass by, row by row, house by house, until I find mine. This alien camp neighborhood was way to big, at least I thought it was, but no matter. I mustn't be too picky, that's what they always told me.

"What a bunch of humbug..." I mutter to myself, opening the door to my cabin.

"What humbug?" I turn to the side. Ellie, my neighbor, was watching me with unblinking eyes.

"Oh nothing, I was just rambling on about some creep I met on the streets earlier." I answer. Ellie laughs.

"There sure are a lot of those here, huh?" she jokes. I chuckle lightly.

"Yeah, a few, I suppose. Especially the Tailers, they all seem to talk in a very slow whisper. I wonder why." Ellie shrugs.

"They're Tailers! What do you expect? Those guys are sca-ry!" she laughs. I shake my head, amused. My smile fades as I hear a large boom ring through the air above me. I look up to see a large smoke ring stretch out across the sky! It stood there, slowly stretching, getting bigger and bigger, until it dissolved into the air after a few seconds. It was then that my conversation with Myrror started repeating itself in my head.

For each day passed, you will see a ring in the sky.

"A ring..." I mumble aloud.

"A ring?" Ellie questions. My mind snaps and my thoughts immediately fade away, I had forgotten Ellie was there!

"Did you see that?" I pointed up to the sky. Ellie looks up, examining the dark emptiness above.

"Um... no?" she answers, her head tilted back.

"Surely you must've heard it, then! That loud explosion?" I prompt.

"No... sorry, Klere, I think you must have imagined it. Well, I best be off, have a good one!" Ellie calls, as she walks off into the night. Where does that woman go at night? I think, shaking my head. I look up to the sky again, looking for any remnants of the large smoke ring that had been there before. Weird... I think. And as I walk inside my apartment I can just make out Myrror's soft whisper.

"You have 30 days. This is the first."