There once was a cat named Hogar. He was lean, long haired, and as black as a witch's soul. But Hogar was no ordinary black cat, he was a Nevercat. Nevercats were special. They could jump from one human's dream to another taking whatever they wanted in the process. Some people say they're half spirit but that's nonsense.
When Alice met Hogar he was being temporarily held against his will in a small cage with one glass wall. Alice was shopping with her mother that day and saw him staring at her from the window. She begged her mother until she agreed to get the animal. Hogar accepted his new human because of the spark hiding behind her left eye. Everyone knows that a spark behind your left eye is the sign of the Walkers. Walkers could travel through with Nevercats through the never world, and the two creatures were always drawn to each other.
Alice had heard of Walkers from her Grandma May as a child, but never believed in them. They were a fairy tale like Santa or trustworthy politicians; lovely to think about but neither existed outside of childish ideation.
After loading up with cat toys, food, and other supplies to satisfy the feline's fancies Alice and her mother took the proud creature home. Hogar explored his new home and found it satisfactory, especially after the weeks he'd spent in the ridiculous cage. What was more, he had finally found his Walker. Nevercats were never complete without their Walkers.
That night Alice had the strangest dream. She dreamt that she and Hogar had jumped to her mothers dream. The dream was full of a man she'd never seen. Her mother and the man were dancing around in circles. Spinning so fast Alice could hardly see her mother's face. She was laughing at something the man said when everything starting crashing down. Alice's father burst through the door behind her mother and the man and dragged her mother away screaming. Hogar nudged her legs as the world shifted. Alice was filled with a profound sadness she was sure would rip her to shreds.
The next thing she knew Alice dreamt that she was in her brother's dream. She could only imagine that it was a nightmare. She was standing in a long hallway lined with lockers. Everywhere she looked the bodies of teenagers, all around her brothers age were, were torn to pieces. The sound of hundreds of firecrackers going off mixing with screams of pure terror came from the double doors to her right. She crept forward, horrified by what she was seeing. Through the doors her brother stood with his back to her, laughing. Hogar softly pushed her away and the world was gone.
Alice woke up with a scream. Hogar was sitting at the end of her bed staring at her with a knowing look in his bright eyes. Alice climbed out of bed and headed to the kitchen to get some water to help clear her head of the absurd dream. As she crept down the hallway she heard her mother softly weeping from the basement. She went softly down the stairs to find her mother sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by photos of the dancing man. Alice didn't know what to make of it. How could the dream man be real? She must have simply seen the pictures before, though when she couldn't recall. She left her mother to her weeping, knowing that interrupting would only make things worse.
After getting her water Alice headed back to her room. As she passed her brother's door, she heard him laughing the same laugh from the dream. She gently turned the knob and peered into her brothers room. He was sitting in front of his computer, on the screen was an article of a school shooting that had happened a few months earlier. He kept muttering "soon" to himself, over and over. Needless to say, Alice was more than a bit disturbed. The things from her dream seemed to be echoes of a reality she hadn't known about. Her mother must have known the dancing boy and it was obvious she'd have to report her brother in the morning.
When she got back to her room Hogar was waiting for her in the same place he'd been when she left. He had the same look in his eyes. He jumped off of the bed and went over to Alice's bookshelf. He pulled down a book of fairy tales and flipped the pages until he found what he was looking for. He stared Alice down until she finally came to look. It was the story of the Nevercats and Walkers. Hogar put his soft paw on the story and then on Alice's arm. He repeated the motion several times before Alice understood what he meant.
Though she couldn't understand how it could be possible, Alice found it surprisingly easy to accept. From then on she spent her nights with Hogar roaming through the Neverworld. She managed to stop her brother's plans and get him locked away in a hospital for the criminally insane. She also tracked down the dancing man for her mother. His real name was Richard and he was a kindhearted dentist from Dallas. He and her mother had been in love before Alice's father had ripped them apart with the help of Alice's grandfather. The two instantly reconnected and now live in a small house outside of Modesto with Alice and Hogar.
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