It was a quiet afternoon in the peaceful backyard of a cozy house nestled in a sleepy neighborhood. The sun warmed the patches of grass, butterflies danced over the flowerbeds, and the air carried the lazy hum of bees. As usual, the backyard cats—Pumpkin, Soot, and Whiskers—lounged like royalty on their respective spots: the garden bench, the patio tiles, and the sunlit fence.
Life was simple and orderly for the cats. They each had their territory, their routines, and their human, Mrs. Elwood, who served gourmet canned meals right on time. Nothing ever changed.
Until today.
Pumpkin’s ears twitched. From the corner of the yard, near the old compost bin, a strange sound rustled. Not the flutter of a bird or the skitter of a squirrel. No. This was… different.
Soot, always the first to investigate trouble, leapt down from the fence. His amber eyes narrowed as he stalked toward the noise, tail flicking sharply behind him. Whiskers and Pumpkin exchanged glances, then followed cautiously behind.
And then they saw it.
The intruder.
It was… hairless.
No fur. No tail fluff. No whiskers. No scent of squirrel or cat or even dog.
Just… skin.
Pale, wrinkled, and oddly pinkish.
The creature sat awkwardly next to the compost bin, looking completely out of place in the vibrant, fur-filled world of the backyard. Its big ears stuck out like sails, its eyes were huge and blinking, and it had a potbelly like it had eaten too much human food.
Pumpkin arched his back. “What in the name of tuna is that?”
Soot hissed. “It’s some kind of… alien.”
Whiskers, the youngest and most curious of the trio, took a hesitant step forward. “Maybe it’s a new kind of squirrel? A shaved one?”
Suddenly, the creature sneezed. A loud, high-pitched “HAAA-CHOO!” echoed across the yard. The cats jumped back in unison.
“Definitely not a squirrel!” Pumpkin said, fur puffed out like a feather duster.
The hairless thing seemed just as startled by its sneeze as the cats were. It looked around, blinking slowly, then locked eyes with Whiskers.
And then it waddled forward.
