DRAGON IN THE SHADOWS - 1st book in the cat analysis trilogy

Chapter 1: Peter...

     On a small mound of snow outside Frostvale, Peter, now five years old, sat admiring his new home, his mother and father sitting next to him. Lucinda, his sister, was now running around him energetically. A small smile formed on his freezing cold lips before disappearing in the cold winters air.
     Minutes quickly turned into hours as the four of them enjoyed the small town.
     After a time of talking and a time of silence, they slowly made their way into their house, a big black house with a second story for a gaming room and spare bedrooms.
     The navy blue door closed quietly behind them as they entered the kitchen for dinner. A big black rectangular table sat in the middle of the room, holding a set of salt and pepper shakers, vacant knife and fork holders and a small stack of blue ceramic plates. The walls were covered in a light blue wallpaper, the air carrying a slight aroma of crushed lavender.
     Peter's parents set to work almost immediately: filling the cutlery holders, putting the freshly made pizza in the oven, and preparing the side dish. All the while Peter and Lucinda sat at the table, staring at their hard working parents with widened eyes.
     At last the clockwork timer buzzed and we swung the oven door open, revealing three big pizzas sitting on big round trays, a golden tinge on the crust.
     Mother pulled the tray out of the oven, careful not to singe herself on her soft skin. She laid the trays on a large kitchen bench and promptly began to serve the hungry family.
     Once our stomachs were pleasantly full, we shot up in an eager flurry to help in any way with the dishes and cleaning at hand. Before them sat their big house, trash strewn about across the carpeted floors. They looked across the dusty cabinets; the ignored wardrobes and cupboards. Currently, it seemed the only decently clean room was Mother and Father's.
     Instantaneously, they groaned and wished they didn't have to touch a thing.
     "Can't we do it tomorrow Mother?" Peter asked.
     "No. If you keep leaving it to the next day and the next and so on, it will never get done."
     "Yeah, I guess so."
     He walked back into the kitchen and began to transfer the unnecessary objects from the counter to the table. Soon the table was cluttered with bits of trash and useless objects, of coarse with the contrary spanner from the opposite side of the house.
     Slowly, he picked up the various items and traversed to separate areas of the house in order to return them to their rightful spots. Lucinda helped to carry some of the smaller items while Peter picked the bigger and heavier ones.
     "Thank you." Peter said reluctantly when the first few sections were completed.
     "Eh." Lucinda grumbled through a mouthful of chocolate from the freezer.
     It took a while for Peter to see the chocolate, but as soon as he did, he did not hesitate to scowl at her deeply, her gaze slowly descending toward the floor.
     "Why, oh, why, did you have to take mother's chocolate?"
     "S-s-sorry... I... No matter."
     "Oh, but it does!" But she was already gone.
     He tiredly walked into his bedroom and said his prayers before going to bed.

    Peter woke up with a pain trailing up his spine and into his back. He slowly got up with a groan and got dressed, pulling a set of multi coloured clothes over his body.
     He slowly made his way into the kitchen and sat down for breakfast. Lucinda sat opposite to him, staring at her fingernails with an interested expression. She looked up and her mood changed instantaneously.
     "Morning Peter." She said simply and went on with her nail inspection, as Peter decided to call it.
     He got up and retrieved a small box of corn flakes with a bowl, a spoon and the milk. He then sat down for breakfast again.
     After finishing the small meal, Peter got up, did his dishes and left the house for a stroll through Frostvale, a small town in which they lived.
     Houses lined the frosted streets, setting a dull yellow tinge on the ever green trees strewn about the town. More and more he walked, past shops lined with ceramics and jewelry, and shops with food and resources. Down the streets he walked until he reached a larger building in the center labeled 'Frostvale Research Centre'. Ever since his 6th birthday he had wanted to work there. His friend's dad called it 'The Lab', though Peter could never work out why. He rapped on the door once to see if any-one was there, but no answer came. He lowered his head and left back to his house without a word.

     When he arrived home, eating a piece of bread, he found Mother and Father watching the massive television that took up the entire shelving space. Strong pulses of sound bellowed from the sub-woofer speakers and peter had to cover his ears to stop them from aching painfully. He snatched the remote from his father and turned the volume down.
     "Why have you got it so loud?" He asked, annoyed.
     "Because it accelerates the quality of the sound."
     "Alright..."He tried for words, but had no idea what his father was talking about. "I have no idea what that means, but I guess you are probably right... cause you know..."
     "I'm older and have more experience?" His father gave him a skeptical stare. "I can agree with older, but more experience? Your mother definitely deserves more credit for that."
     By now, Peter's mother had turned the TV off and was listening in.
     "Just because I'm a bio-engineer does NOT mean I'm more experienced." She shot at him
     "Yes it does! Do you think I could do what you do every day? NO."
     "Yeah, and you think I could work as well as you with wood? Well, I guess there was that time I made a perfect door for Lucinda but that does NOT COUNT."
     "Yes it does, you did it better than me..."
     Peter began to zone out and he stopped processing the argument. He got up and began to walk out of the room, trudging toward his. Before he entered, he heard the base line of the sub-woofers drilling into his ears again. He groaned and lay down, annoyed.

     "Hey, lazybones! GET UP! It's not even night yet!"
     He opened his eyes and let his eyes adjust to the light that engulfed the room. Lucinda stood in the doorway, yelling at him to get up for the movie. He yawned and sat up slowly.
     "I thought we had that just a while ago." His voice croaked and cracked from he dry bread he had eaten before.
     "No. That was just the sound test." She answered simply.
     "Oh, it tested my ears alright! It better not be that loud this time!"
     "It won't, now come on! Mother said she would start it without us if we don't hurry up."
     "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
     Lucinda left and he got up, walking towards the lounge. He found his mother and father beginning 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' and sat down staring at the ground impatiently.
     A few minutes later, Lucinda entered and sat down.
The movie went on for quite a while, and Peter's legs felt like they would collapse when he got up. He began to leave the room when his parents turned and called him back.
     "Come back Peter, we were going to watch the special features yet."
     Peter groaned. "Whatever" he said and slumped back down onto the couch. His mother held out the remote, but just before she hit the button, the TV went all fuzzy. After about 20 seconds, the screen went blank, replaced by a dark figure.
     "Hello, friends. I am one of your... unknown neighbors. Hahaha... but, of course, you won't remember any of this, so I'll make it snappy... Goodbye!!!"
     A white light filled the room, enveloping them in its glow. Slowly, ever so slowly, Peters consciousness began to seep further away. Further, and further, and further...