A Tortured Soul
Disclaimer: Cats the musical isn't mine.
Chapter 1: The Ongoing Nightmare
The horrible shouts had faded into the distance but still the charcoal kitten forced himself to continue running. His body felt like it was on fire and his legs were nearly on the verge of giving out from under him but he somehow kept himself upright. He ran down the rain filled street, splashing through small puddles desperately looking for somewhere, anywhere, to hide. He didn't want that monster to find him; if he did, he would surely kill him. The kitten's heart pounded in his chest as he turned down an alleyway that had a few garbage cans and a dumpster inside. The smell was really bad; he could hide in one of those and there'd be no way the monster could catch his scent. At least he hoped not. He slowed to a stumbling walk as a gentle rain began to fall from the black sky; it almost felt soothing to him, washing off some of the dried blood in his fur. However, his untrustworthy legs buckled and before he could catch himself, he bumped into one of the cans and it toppled over with a loud crash.
In a panic, the kitten hid behind the large dumpster praying the monster hadn't heard the crash but in his heart, he knew it had. And sure enough, a moment later he heard the sound of footsteps coming into the alleyway; heard the heavy breathing of the monster and choked back a whimper of fear.
"I know you're here boy," it said, a growl mixing in with its words, "I can smell you." It began to slowly walk deeper into the alley searching for him. The kitten huddled into a tight ball making himself as small as possible.
"You've been a bad kitten Rane," it said gruffly as it continued to search, "And when I find you, you'll be sorry."
The words cut through the kitten like a knife. He had to keep still; he couldn't let the monster…his father…find him again. He had run away like this once before; he didn't get too far before his father found him. He had dragged the frightened kitten home and beaten him nearly senseless. This had been going on for nearly all of his young life; his mother had gotten sick a few weeks after she had taught him how to hunt mice and about two months later she was dead. His father however, had blamed him for his mother's death saying that he had worn her out and that was why she had gotten sick. Rane protested that it wasn't his fault and father had hit him; that had been the beginning of this ongoing nightmare. From then on, every time he did the slightest thing wrong he would be beaten. Finally, Rane had had enough and tried to stand up to his father. His father had simply laughed at him and dared him to try something. Of course, Rane was still too afraid to actually hit his father and, attempted to leave.
It was a mistake; his father had attacked him from behind, knocking him to the ground and punching him in the face viciously. Rane had put up his paws to protect himself but his father had laughed again.
"Think you're brave now do you?" he had asked mockingly, "Look at you. Lying there like a coward!" He'd stood up then and hauled Rane to his feet. "Come on you little bastard," he taunted, "Hit me!" Rane hesitated and his father shoved him back, slamming him into the wall. He'd shouted again for Rane to hit him and this time the kitten lashed out with everything he had. The blow had knocked his father back a step and opened a small cut on his cheek. His father glared murderously at him and swung as hard as he could; a blow that would surely have broken the kitten's neck. Rane ducked beneath the blow and pushed his father down then ran for his life, the horrible shouts of the enraged monster trailing behind him.
And now here he was; he was only a few steps away from the dumpster behind which Rane hid. He banged on the side of the dumpster causing the kitten to jump slightly but he did not move. Slowly he began to move on and Rane waited until the alley was quiet then lifted his head to peer out. As soon as he did, a paw reached down, grabbed him by the scruff and pulled him out of his hiding place.
"Scratch me will you," his father shouted throwing the kitten to the ground, "You little bastard!"
He sent a powerful kick thudding into Rane's side doubling the kitten over with a grunt of pain. He kicked him again growling at the whimper from his victim. He grabbed Rane by the scruff and tossed him into the side of the building on the left side of the alley, swiping his claws across the kitten's chest then kicked him a third time as he slumped to the ground.
Turning away from his victim, he looked around a little; coming upon a small block of wood which was just the right size for a club. He came back over to the prone kitten and brought the club down; Rane instinctively covered his head and the club smashed into his back driving him to the pavement again. Rane held still waiting for the final blow when suddenly he heard the sound of claws ticking along the pavement. Pollicles; it sounded like there were at least four of them and moments later, they were barking excitedly and his father cursed and took off running, the dogs close behind ignoring the injured kitten.
Rane's body screamed with agony as he pulled himself down the alley and out the far end. He had no idea where he was and his vision was a bit blurry. There was a tall fence just down the street from him and some piles of something behind it; he couldn't tell what it was. Painfully, the kitten crawled toward it, hoping at least to find somewhere to rest. As he reached the fence, his vision cleared just enough for him to see an old cardboard box lying near the gate. It was a bit soggy from the rain but right then he didn't care so long as he could get inside and rest. Rest would stop the pain. He crawled forward again and got into the box; the water hadn't soaked all the way through yet and he was thankful for that. He tucked himself into a ball and fell into a fitful sleep.