"Watch out, Jack!" Old Boy screams loud.

Old Boy tries first to get the attention of the big dog he was just about to fight and also to warn Jack about the dog. The dog turns away from Old Boy when Jack arrives in the street. He sees Jack as the weakest one. All he wants is blood; the small one will be easy prey.

The big, rabid dog turns his attention to Jack; his head snaps with unnatural speed when Jack's paws touch the pavement. He glares at Jack with mad red eyes and throws his body around in a fluid, fast move. The dog runs towards Jack. Jack curls himself up into a small ball and waits for the end. He has no chance to get away. Jack feels his fear paralyses him when the dog's eyes touch him. He is only a little thing. The evil in the eyes of the dog is nothing Jack has ever seen and will never forget. How stupid of him to follow the adults, but he wanted so much to see the fight between them and the rabid dog. Old Boy shouts, trying to get the dog's attention back to himself, but nothing helps. The dog's blood is rushing through him now; he is not thinking anymore.

It took them days to trap him here in a side street. This is the final standoff between the dog and the leaders of the streets. The dog runs. Blood is splashing everywhere from the dog's open mouth. His eyes are full of madness. For Jack, everything moves in slow motion. The dog comes closer and closer, opening his big mouth and showing his big yellow teeth, ready to bite Jack and rip him apart. Jack, still on the ground, closes his eyes. He hears the impact of something colliding with the dog. The dog howls in pain. Jack opens his eyes. Churchill crashed into the dog. He blindsided him, a last attempt to stop the dog from killing the small one with the bad idea of following the adults. The dog falls to his side; Churchill rolls over him. The dog jumps up. He is the first one on his legs. He lashes out and hits the unprotected Churchill. His claws slash over Churchill's face. Jack sees Churchill's face deform. The dog's claw pierced one of his eyes. It is leaking an ill-looking liquid, and the iris is nothing but a pale spot. Churchill crashes to the ground, not moving. Churchill had no time to react. The dog wiped him off his leg with one powerful swipe. He lies on the pavement, looking dead. His eye leaks blood, and his face is a mess.

Jack screams and screams and screams. Then he wakes up. The dream follows him into the world of the awakening. He still hears himself screaming, remembering the moment he brought danger to all of them with his foolishness, not listening to Old Boy. He could have got them all killed that day. Jack shakes his head, trying to dissolve the dream into thin air.

It is a foggy morning. The world outside Jack's box is silent. It will be another wet morning for all of them in The Five Streets. Jack expects nothing special from today. Jack lives on the street. He was born on the streets, and he loves it. It is a hard life, every day a fight for survival, but he has also grown an eye for the wonderful and beautiful things. Still sleepy, he takes his time, waiting for his body to catch up with his mind. He enjoys the waking-up process. The few minutes of silence and calm. His moment to be alone in his little box. He goes back to close his eyes again, taking it slow. No rush. His stomach is the first body part to wake up; it tells him it is time for food! He had eaten a little last night. His food spots are often empty nowadays, and he does not like waiting outside in the wet for hours to get some food they distribute on 2nd Street. It is often rubbish, leftovers from humans, that have ended up in the bins. His food places have better offerings for him. Jack is not picky about food but prefers his food spots on 1st Street and will continue to do so until they subside. The trouble is that his support spots are getting less and fewer. The one he had hoped for last night was empty again when he arrived. Unusual, as this spot belongs to the house on the corner and The Gracious Lady always leaves some food for him. It is uncommon for him to arrive and find nothing. Jack suspects someone has discovered his spot and is eating all the food. It wouldn't be the first time. Jack had enough of this after last night. He woke up early this morning, trying to discover what was happening with his favourite food spot. Who is invading his food spot? Who is stealing his food? It was a mystery that needed solving. And Jack was up for it! It would be a pleasant distraction from his normal routine in the streets. Jack stretches and gets ready to leave his box, starting his little adventure for the day.

Jack lives in The Five Streets at the edge of The Big City. The Five Streets are old, built before the city grew into the vast monster it is now. Initially, the streets had been new and full of excitement and opportunities for everyone living there, but over the years, the city grew, and The Five Streets became the outskirts of the shiny city. The streets are empty, left alone and occupied by the few who cannot afford to live in the city's centre. Houses are plenty, but space for the ones living on the streets is few. You had wonderful food sources in the early days, even if you lived on the streets. Everyone was more or less looking out for each other. The streets have changed; even the ones who live on the streets are only a few now. Lots have left the streets to try their luck in the city's centre. For Jack, this was never an option. He loves The Five Streets. This place gave him hope and a living.

The early morning fog makes seeing into the distance hard, but it is not a problem for Jack. He knows how to use all his senses to move around in the streets. Jack moves slowly and silently through the fog. He sneaks from corner to corner, keeping himself hidden. Jack stops every few steps, standing still, holding his breath and listening to the surrounding sounds. He must find out what is going on here. It is his duty. Who knows what will happen next if it starts with one food spot? They might even chase him away and take over the whole place. The street is his place! He was not born here, but for him, it feels like he has been here all of his life. Besides, stealing food is against The Codex of the streets. They all share what they can on the streets. No one will or should starve in The Five Streets. Rules are rules, and at the moment, someone thinks they are above them.

Jack walks along the road, his thoughts wandering in the early dawn. Jack enjoys the quiet hours. It is a time of the day he has just for himself. Most early mornings, we can see him wandering the streets in the dawn with his head hanging low from the heavy thoughts that occupy him.

"It must be a new arrival from the city or the farms. I am sure they think they can do what they want," he said.

The new arrivals had caused many troubles since they entered the town a few weeks ago. There were four of them, arriving from the countryside in The Big City, pretending to be better than everyone. They were born in the meadows and fed by the farmers and their families. Jack gets more and more furious. He does not want them in his street! He first heard from Gina about the new ones. They walked up and down the streets, begging for food and rubbing themselves with vigour on the legs of everyone who might feed them. Horrible, soft kittens. No idea of the laws. Street cats live alongside each other, guided by the laws of the street. Every leader has one street they take care of. Everyone living in the street belongs to you; you handle them. You care for them, and they look after you. One paw feeds the other in return.

Jack stops to clean his fur, refusing to neglect his appearance, no matter how rough the night is. Staying clean and fluffy is important on the streets. In Jack's case, the fluffy was tricky. His fur was black and short, not a favourite colour for many, but he could make it shine. Shine was perfect. It makes humans like him. While Jack sits in the dark corner, his thoughts return to the new arrivals. What if all four of them are in his spot, stealing his food? Jack is not a coward, but fighting all four simultaneously would be madness. They are soft kittens, but they would outnumber him. Worse, if they are starving and their primal instincts have taken over, they will ignore anything they learned; they only want to hunt and eat.

"Dammit, I hate these primal animal things. We are town folks and know better! I hope it is the small one with the twitchy eye. He can't see properly, and I could scare him. He would run for it if I put on a good show." Jack looks up as he realises he has spoken his thoughts out loud. He hoped no one could hear what he just said.

Jack keeps walking, still a bit of ground to cover, and time is ticking. Yesterday morning, Jack tried to be at his spot earlier, but as he arrived, the thief had already taken the food. He sat down and made his frustration known to the place's owners. He was giving his best meow, with all the complaints in it, to tell everyone there that he had no food! The Lady came out into the garden to check on Jack. He got up close, rubbing his body on her leg and complaining. She was still home, lucky for Jack, as she brought more food. They would have left the house by now, but not today. The Lady drops the food early in the morning before she leaves the house for work. Sometimes they are in and watching him eating from a distance, never disturbing him, staying respectful in the distance. "Someone took it all, and I am hungry. Give me more food now, or I will never come back!" His threat was empty, but he had to try. In the end, The Gracious Lady is here to provide. She has been his major food supply for years. He even stayed some nights in her garden, enjoying the peace. But the Lady always tries to pick him up after a while or to lure him into the house to look after him, but he does not trust them that far. He heard the tales of the ones getting into a home.

Every cat that enters a human house will change into something different. They do things to you, not good things, everyone knows. Jack remembers Old Boy. He ruled 1st Street before Jack. One day, it was raining, and old Boy felt the cold in his bones. It got so bad that he gave in. This human came every day to check on him. He was bringing a good deal of lovely food and talking to him. Jack watched from under a bin, hidden and knowing his place. Old Boy shared his food, always, but he also ate first. Suppose you were lucky you got the leftovers; if not, then none. On that day, Old Boy gave in, and as the human came and offered him to get into a box, he walked in. The box was always with the human—a grey box full of darkness inside, the only opening covered with steel bars. It was a cage; they all knew it! Old Boy walked right in, and the human closed the door.

"I can still see his face. Old Boy sitting in the box, his eyes lost all the sparkle. He gave up. They took him away." Jack thinks.

Old Boy went that day and never came back. Jack, only a small kitten on this day, had to take the chance and declare this street his. The risk was too high for someone else to take 1st Street. It was not a simple task as soon as the word spread of Old Boy was gone. They came from all around the town. They challenged Jack to gain an extra street. The Codex allows the challenge. No one heard anything from Old Boy or if he named a successor. Here, everyone had the right to claim the street if one leader died or, like in Old Boys' case, vanished. It was Jack's chance! Jack fought many of them. It was a hard time, and he got hurt often, but he survived and established himself as the new owner of the street. Jack's kitten years were over. He became Jack, the leader of 1st Street.

The Five Streets are Jack's home. 1st Street became his after Old Boy left. 1st and 2nd Street are the major roads with 3rd, 4th and 5th Street connecting 1st and 2nd in the shape of a train track. There are houses and flats all around. Jack still remembers the first time he arrived, a small kitten dropped by someone in the parking lot of 2nd Street. He moved down 4th Street and ended up on 1st Street. Big luxury houses were lining the road. It was the main road towards The Big City centre. Jack followed the road and watched the houses and gardens with enormous eyes. He tried to peek into them and find a spot to hide—a kitten with no idea what had just happened to him. Jack found a big wooden box in a house corner. Someone had it put up there. It was a large wooden box, all four sites covered, and a small entrance at the front. Jack sneaked into it and found some blankets laid out for comfort. Food and water were also in one corner. Jack moved in and curled up straight away. He felt safe the moment he entered. He fell asleep the moment his head hit the blanket. Jack got woken up a short while later by an old, raspy voice. From that day, Old Boy took him under his paws and taught him the way of The Five Streets. From that day, Jack's life changed.