Hello and thank you for selecting this story to read. I love the musical Cats, and have always thought about what it would be like if the characters were human instead of cats? Well, I've been wanting to do this for about three years now. I'm finally able to start writing this story, and I hope you enjoy it. Please vote and leave a comment with your opinion of my story. Thank you!
And I will warn you, there is a major trigger warning for rape in this chapter. I do not go into detail and no one gets raped in the chapter, nor do I say The actual word, but it is implied that a character had gotten raped in her past. Just a warning for you who may be triggered by the subject.
London, England- October 27th, 1974
"We must run, Jemima," a young woman whispered to a young girl, brushing her mahogany hair back from her face. The woman was very young, most likely no older than eighteen. The girl had to be only four years of age.
"Yes, mama," the little girl named Jemima nodded.
"And we must be quiet as well. He could be anywhere," the woman whispered again, standing up and looking around in a slight panic.
"Where are we going?" Jemima asked, tugging on the woman's leg.
"Home," was all the woman said in reply to her daughter, "Take my hand, and we must keep running, no matter how tired we might be."
With that, the woman pulled the hood of her jacket over her red hair, which was streaked with black and blonde all throughout her short bob. Jemima did the same, pulling up her own jacket hood and looking around the city with big brown eyes. Taking each others hands, the two females ran out onto the sidewalk, careful not to make too much noise, even though the stomping of their feet was enough to make anyone question what exactly was going on. The woman prayed he wouldn't find them. He would be furious and go looking for the two as soon as he found out they were gone. Fear rose up inside the woman just thinking about it. Maybe they could report the man who had kidnapped her and caused her daughter to live through hell before she was old enough to even know what suffering was. That was all Jemima had been subjected to- pain, torture, sadness. Of course, she was never physically harmed, the mental stress put too much on the young girl.
As they were running, every little noise made the woman jump, making her hold onto her daughter tightly whenever a disturbance occurred.
After a few minutes of quiet running, sirens sounded and two police cars rushed by, causing Jemima to jump and cling onto her mother. The woman followed the direction of the cars and soon noticed a display of red and blue flashing lights down the road. Quite a large group people stood out there on the streets in their night clothes, or maybe in work clothes, watching the scene unfold in front of them. Five police cars, two fire trucks, and an ambulance all gathered around a rather fancy mansion just up the road from the Russel Hotel. However, the mansion was a mess, the windows broken, the door kicked in, and if you looked inside, the furniture would have been ruined, vases and picture frames shattered, objects all over the floor, and blood staining the carpet. And if you looked around even more, you would see the limp bodies of a man and a woman. A horrible crime had just taken place. Two children stood outside of the mansion, a boy and a girl, shaking, with tears rolling down their cheeks. The girl was no more than eight years old, with big, bright blue eyes and long, white hair. The boy had to be thirteen years of age. He had short, black hair and soft lavender eyes. He held the girl close as she sobbed into his chest, barely unable to keep himself calm. The woman gasped, as she suddenly recognized the two children. Police kept the citizens back, keeping them from approaching the house or the two children standing out front as three paramedics entered the house, with equipment to hopefully attempt to save the lives of the attacked victims.
Soon after the paramedics disappeared into the house, a sports car drove up the scene. A couple police officers tried to stop the car or turn it around when it stopped right in front if the crime scene, but to no avail. A small group, made up of four people, stepped out. The one man was a well dressed man, large and elegant. There was another man, with short ginger hair and glass green eyes. He supported a black waist coat with a white button up shirt with pads on the elbows. His trousers were a light tan, and he supported a pair of black and white dress shoes, polished almost to the point where you could maybe see your reflection in them. The other two were females, and the one who had light, strawberry blonde hair held onto the second man's arm. She held a tan coat with leopard spots scattered all over it close to her body in order to keep her warm. Her eyes were a soft brown color, and just by looking at her face You could tell she was a woman who cared for everyone, whether she knew them or not. The fourth was a tall woman, who held her chin up and had dirty blonde, almost brown, hair. She had on a tan blazer and a white blouse underneath, complete with a tan pencil skirt that came just above her knee. The police officers were shocker to see the group walking towards the two children, ignoring the cops yelling at them. Finally, one of the police officers took matters into his own hands and called out the people.
"Excuse me, but you have no business being here, sir!" he stepped out in front of the man leading the group. He was a large man with greying black hair, slicked back slightly. He wore a black suit and bowtie, with a red flower poking out of his chest pocket. A thin moustache covered his upper lip, a monocle was over his left eye, and he carried a silver walking cane with a rounded top. He frowned at the police officer.
"I have plenty of business being here, my good sir!" he spoke formally to the cop, "I am Bustopher Jones, and those two children right there are my sister's children. I wish to speak with them."
"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow that to happen," the police officer shook his head.
"Please, sir. I can assure you that those two children will only want to speak to their uncle at a time like this," the strawberry blonde women spoke softly, placing a hand over her chest.
"Like I said, ma'am, I cannot allow that to happen," the cop stood his ground.
"And why is that?" Bustopher Jones raised an eyebrow, as if to almost challenge the officer.
"They are witnesses to the crime. And we have no proof you are related to them," the officer crossed his arms, "I speak for the chief officer when I say-"
"When you say what, John?" an older man's voice sounded from behind Bustopher Jones and his group.
"Cheif Deuteronomy, I didn't expect you to be here!" the officer, who was named John, bowed his head slightly.
"Deut, pleasure to see you!" the red haired man greeted the man who approached them. He spoke with a thick, Scottish accent. The man was a dark skinned man, with brown eyes, and a greying beard that went down to just above his collar bone. He smiled at the group.
"Hello, Skimbleshanks," the man nodded, "It's great to see you as well, Jenny and Jellylorum."
"I wish it was on better terms," Jenny, The woman with the strawberry blonde hair looked down sadly.
"Hopefully nothing too tragic has happened," Jellylorum, the dirty blonde, placed a hand on Jenny's shoulder.
"I heard about the crime and the victims. I am very close friends with the people who were attacked," Cheif Deuteronomy explained. Behind him was a man of about twenty years of age, with long black hair that fell just above his shoulders. He had piercing green eyes, and despite his young age, grey and silver hairs had snuck their way into the man's locks.
"Yes, Baldassare and Bellona Jones," Officer John nodded looking at his note pad, "The boy was the one who called. Said he and his sister barely got out thanks to their mother."
"What exactly happened?" the young man beside Cheif Deuteronomy asked his arms crossed.
"I would like to know as well," Bustopher Jones nodded, turning to the police.
"We don't know. Only the kids do, And they won't speak to us," John shook his head.
"Let me go talk to them," Bustopher pleaded.
"But-" John began again.
"John, let him talk to the kids," Deuteronomy cut the officer off, giving him a hard stare, which was a quite uncommon thing to see from the man.
"Very well," John sighed and stepped aside, letting Bustopher Jones walk over to the two children. Skimble, Jenny, and Jelly went to follow him, but Cheif Deuteronomy put an arm out in front of them.
"This is between family," he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.
Bustopher Jones made his way over past the police and towards the house, calling out the the boy and the girl.
"Uncle Bustopher!" the young girl shouted, running towards the man and into his arms.
"Hello, Victoria," Bustopher embraced his niece. He looked up to his nephew, who had shuffled over, "Mistoffelees, what happened?"
"I-I don't know... Victoria and I were asleep. She was sleeping with me because she had a nightmare. Then there was a loud crash and papa was shouting at someone, and the next thing I knew, mum was dragging me and Victoria out of our rooms and the house, telling us to run. She ran back inside to help papa. I ran to the nearest telephone booth and called for help," Mistoffelees sniffed. Bustopher Jones held out his arm to the boy and let him cry on his shoulder. As Bustopher Jones comforted his family, one of the paramedics walked out of the house.
"Sir?" the paramedic walked up to Cheif Deuteronomy, her eyes down cast.
"Yes? Is everything alright?" Deuteronomy noticed something was wrong, and furrowed his eyebrows together.
"The man and woman inside are dead," she looked up at the cheif police officer and shook her head, "They've been dead for at least a couple hours. Whoever attacked them probably intended on murdering them, and as soon as possible."
Deuteronomy nodded his head, looking down. The man standing beside Deuteronomy swallowed hard, Jenny gasped and put her hands over her mouth, as if to say it wasn't true. Skimble put an arm around the woman, holding her close. Jellylorum had a look of sorrow on her face, and seemed to be biting her cheek to hold back any tears.
"How are we going to tell Mistoffelees and Victoria?" Jenny asked, her voice coming out as a croak.
"Have Bustopher tell them. Maybe it won't affect them as much," Skimble replied, nodding towards the aristocratic man.
"But how do we tell him without letting the children know? They won't leave Bustopher for a moment!" Jelly exclaimed.
"I will tell them," Deuteronomy held up a hand. Skimble, Jenny, and Jelly went silent and nodded.
"Munkustrap, call in a hearse," Deuteronomy turned to the black haired man.
"Yes, father," the young man named Munkustrap nodded. He grabbed a large phone that was attached to his belt and proceeded to dial the number requested as Cheif Deuteronomy walked over to Bustopher Jones, Mistoffelees, and Victoria in order to inform them of the tragedy.
"Mistoffelees, Victoria," Deuteronomy approached the children, "Are you two alright?"
"Are mum and papa alright?" Victoria looked up the man, her eyes and nose red from all the crying she had been doing.
Deuteronomy's heart broke for the young girl. He always hated seeing young children so upset, and having to deliver the horrible news to them made him even more distraught. He took a moment to take a deep breath and brace himself for their reaction.
"Deut... ?" Bustopher noticed this, and instantly knew something was horribly wrong. Mistoffelees also took note, and suddenly dreaded the worse.
"Mum and papa... are they alright?" Mistoffelees whimpered, knowing very well he wouldn't like the answer.
"I'm sorry," Deuteronomy shook his head, "Bellona and Baldassare Jones are dead."
Bustopher Jones allowed himself to gasp in surprise and let his jaw drop. He had to compose himself quickly, as Victoria leapt forward to go rush inside the house. He put and arm around her as other police officers and a couple firemen stepped forward to stop her. Mistoffelees stood there, frozen with shock.
"MUMMY! PAPA!" Victoria screamed out, tears running down her cheeks.
"Victoria! Victoria! Calm down," Bustopher held her close to him, rubbing her back and shoulders as she sobbed. He then turned to Mistoffelees, "Misto? Are you alright?"
The boy shook his head and fell onto his knees, hands in his face. The police finally allowed Skimble, Jenny, Jellylorum to come forward.
"Come here, honey," Jenny cooed to Misto, kneeling down beside him. Her arms wrapped around the young boy as he sat up and rested his head on his shoulder. Deuteronomy had to look away, his heart absolutely shattering for the two children who had just lost their parents.
"The hearse is on it's way," Munkustrap walked up to Deuteronomy, "They should be here in no less than eight minutes."
"Thank you, Munkus," Old Deuteronomy nodded, still keeping an eye on the two children.
"Who would do this to Bellona and Baldassare? They had no relations to anyone, not even... you know..." Munkus questioned suddenly, frowning at the house and feeling angry about the whole situation.
"You'd be surprised who Macavity has on his hit list, Munkustrap," a woman's voice called out behind the young man. Munkustrap and Deuteronomy turned around to see a young woman in a black jacket, with the hood over her head, and a small child clinging onto her leg.
"Who are you?" Munkustrap raised an eyebrow at the woman.
"It's been a while," the woman pulled down her hood, and shook her head. The dark red hair with black and blonde and her brown eyes made the man do a double take. Munkus' eyes suddenly went wide as he recognized the woman. He moved forward to hug her, but when she flinched in response, he put his arms down and took a step back. The woman smiled sadly and stepped forward.
"Demeter!" Munkus gasped at her, "Where have you been the last four years?"
"Macavity kidnapped me," Demeter stated, looking down at Jemima.
"And who is this?" Munkus bent down to be at eye level with the child.
"My name is Jemima. She's my mama," Jemima stepped closer to Demeter, hiding her face slightly behind the woman's leg.
Munkus stood right back up and his gaze turned hard. Demeter could only manage a weak smile.
"Who did it?" Munkustrap knew exactly what had happened to Demeter, his beloved friend. She didn't have to say a word.
"Macavity," Demeter whispered. She took a deep breath, "He's going after quite a few members of the Jellicles. Bellona and Baldassare were only two on his list. Adults that is. He'd never kill a child."
"How do you know all of this?" Deuteronomy stepped forward, stroking his beard.
"He talked about it nonstop. He said he wanted to make us suffer, after what you apparently did to him. Stealing me wasn't "enough" in his eyes," Demeter shook her head, "I don't see how such a horrible person could be from a family of such good people."
"Macavity is no brother of mine," Munkus practically spat, "He almost killed Tugger before he-"
"Munkustrap, enough. Macavity is your brother, and he is my son. We do not approve of his actions, nor will we ever. But we cannot forget who are kin are, whether we like them or not. I do not know why he went off the deep end, but I assure you, he will not bring harm to one more person. Do you think it would be possible to tell us the location of his hideout, Demeter?" Deuteronomy cut Munkus off, glaring at him intensely.
"Yes," Demeter nodded, "Just at the end of Canterbury, right before you get on the road to Ashford. In an old building with a sign that says, "Webber's Music Store". The base is underground."
"Thank you. Munkustrap, take Demeter down to the police station after the hearse arrives. I'm going to stay here and make sure everything is stable," Cheif Deuteronomy nodded before back heading over to Bustopher and company. Demeter and Munkustrap waited off to the side, watching the two children break down, feeling sorry for them, and angry at Macavity.
"What happened, mama?" Jemima looked up, a very concerned look on her face.
"See those two children? Their mum and dad went to heaven," Demeter sighed sadly.
"Will they come back?" Jemima asked again.
"When people go to heaven, they don't come back," Demeter shook her head.
"That's very sad," Jemima looked back down.
"It is very sad, honey," Demeter nodded.
Munkustrap simply watched as the mother sat down on the sidewalk, holding her arms out to the girl. Jemima crawled up into Demeter's arm, and rested her head on her mother's chest. Demeter wrapped Jemima inside her jacket, and put her arms around her. Munkus could hardly believe that his friend was now a mother, and all because of his brother.
"How old is she?" Munkus sat down beside them, waiting for the hearse to arrive. Maybe even two.
"She just turned four. I was fourteen if you were wondering," Demeter stated.
"Macavity went to far this time. With kidnapping you, and killing Bellona and Baldassare. I'll make sure he'll pay," Munkus growled, and glared at the house.
"We just have to keep everyone else safe, and hope he doesn't go after anyone else." Demeter rested her head on Munkus's shoulder.
"I'll make sure of it," Munkus promised, adjusting his position slightly so Demeter would be comfortable.
After about another five minutes, two long, white cars pulled up in front of the crime scene. The hearses came to a halt, and two very well dressed people in suits came out, grabbing body bags and having the firemen pull out stretchers from the back of the car. Victoria and Mistoffelees watched with wide eyed horror as they all entered the house with the equipment.
"I feel so bad for them," Demeter spoke up after a while when the firemen rolled out the stretchers with the body bags on it. Inside the bags were Baldassare and Bellona Jones- dead and never to see the light of day again. Mistoffelees was holding Victoria from running towards the hearses as they loaded the deceased into the cars. Her calls for her mother and father to wake up were enough to make anyone feel her pain.
"It's tragic. Children, especially with them being as young as they are, shouldn't have to see their parents being wheeled into a hearse in the middle of the night," Munkus agreed with her. The hearses both left the scene after another moment, and with them, Victoria's screams died down.
"Hopefully this won't happen to anyone else," Demeter looked down to see Jemima was sound asleep. Munkustrap helped Demeter by taking the sleeping girl into his own arms. Jemima snuggled up against his chest as he did so, making Munkus smile somewhat.
"Lets get you two down to the station and call Bombalurina. She'll be thrilled to see you again," Munkus smiled down at her.
"I know," Demeter smiled back as she took Jemima back into her arms, "I've missed her so much, as well as everyone else."
With that, Munkus was driving Demeter down to the police station down the road, Jemima sound asleep against Demeter's shoulder. The woman only hoped no nightmares would plague her daughter's dream this time. They were free, finally free from Macavity. He couldn't get to them now, Munkustrap would make sure of that.
Upon arriving at the station, Munkus allowed Demeter to lay Jemima down on the couch in his office while she sat on the floor beside the young girl. Demeter brushed Jemima's hair back, whispering sweet nothings to the young girl.
"We're safe now. Macavity can't get us," Demeter mumbled, running her hands through the girl's hair.
Munkustrap watched with complete awe and admiration as he dialed up Demeter's twin sister. Demeter was young, much to young to be a mother of a four year old child. He silently cursed Macavity for doing this to her. Fourteen. Only fourteen. It was unbelievable, and absoluetly cruel. She was just a kid...
"Munkustrap? Do you realize how late it is?! I am trying to sleep and you call me up at-" Munkus jumped slightly when the female picked up the phone and started yelling at him.
He rolled his eyes and cut her off, "Demeter's here. Down at the police station."
The line on the other side was completely silent for a moment, and then the sound of the phone being hung up sounded.
"Is Bomba coming?" Demeter got up and sat on Munkus' desk.
"I would guess so. She said nothing when I told her you were here and hung up," Munkus shrugged.
"Bomba hasn't changed much, has she? Is she still chasing Tugger around?" Demeter laughed, remembering the times before she was kidnapped by Macavity.
"Actually, she's been rather depressed after you disappeared. I know she got mad at the police quite often when they said they couldn't find you. She cried a lot and stopped talking to a lot of people," Munkus shook his head.
The two sat in silence for what seemed to be a long while, when in reality it was only about less than fifteen minutes. Munkus couldn't even imagine what was going through Demeter's head as she looked over at Jemima every few minutes. The two jumped when a the door to the station slammed open and a young woman's voice shouted out.
"DEMETER?! DEMETER WHERE ARE YOU?" Demeter sprung up from the desk when she heard her sister's voice.
"Bomba!" Demeter opened the door and gasped at the sight of her sister running down the hall to greet her.
"Oh my Everlasting Cat, Demeter!" Bombalurina, a young woman a bit taller than Demeter with short red and black hair that went down to just above her shoulders and big grayish blue eyes, embraced Demeter in a bone crushing hug. The two sisters stood there, holding each other tightly. Munkus was sure the girls were crying as they held onto the other, as Bomba's shoulders began to shake violently. He was surprised Jemima was still sound asleep, and not bothered by the shouting of Bomba.
"Oh... oh my gosh," Bomba wiped at her eyes as she pulled away slightly, "It's really you! You're here!"
"I am, Bomba," Demeter laughed through her tears. Another hug was shared between the two.
"I missed you so much... I thought you were dead!" Bomba couldn't stop smiling, "Where have you been?"
That's when Demeter's smile came off her face, "Macavity."
"Everlasting Cat... he didn't hurt you, did he?" Bomba's eyes went wide and she pulled Demeter closer.
"He did a lot more than hurt me," Demeter looked over at Jemima. Bomba followed her gaze and a gasp came out.
"Is she your daughter?" Bomba turned to face Demeter, hoping if the answer was yes, she was an adopted daughter.
"Yes."
"Like, you gave birth to her and everything?" Bomba felt slightly sick. The child wasn't young enough for her to have been born recently.
"Yes," Demeter nodded again. She wiped her eyes once more before walking over to Jemima and kneeling down beside the couch again, "She four years old. A very lovrly girl. She only cried for moment after she was born."
"Four?! How old were you when you had her?!" Bomba exclaimed silently, sitting down by her twin, "You had to be fourteen since you're eighteen now."
"That's right. I wasn't even there for three days when Macavity called me into his room, which doubled as his office. The guards knew what he planned to do. I didn't know he was like that. I mean, we've always looked mature for our age," Demeter explained, more tears rolling down her cheeks, "I went in without any hesitation, hoping he was going to let me go. I was wrong. So, so, so wrong. He closed all the blinds and locked the doors, so I couldn't escape. He tied me down, chained me, did everything that would bring him pleasure. I screamed and cried for him to stop, for someone to save me. No one did. I felt so dirty after. So impure and broken. My freedom, my happiness, my innocence, all stolen at once."
At this time, Demeter had broken down sobbing. Bomba put her arms around her sister, letting her cry on her shoulder.
"My poor sister," Bomba stroked Demeter's hair, whispering, "Macavity is nothing but scum. I won't let him get you again. No, not ever."
"Demeter, go home with Bomba and get some sleep. You and your daughter need it," Munkustrap walked over and placed a hand on Demeter's shoulder. The girl nodded, standing up with the help of Bomba. She scooped Jemima up into her arms and held her close, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
"We're going home, sweetie," Demeter spoke softly.
"What's her name?" Bombalurina put an arm around her sister's shoulders.
"Jemima," Demeter responded.
"What a beautiful name," Bomba smiled as best as she could.
"You know, and ugly thing happened to me, but a beautiful thing came out of it," Demeter explained. She hated that Macavity did what he did to her. Yet she loved Jemima with all her heart and didn't regret any of the time she spent with her.
Munkustrap led the two girls out and made sure they got to Bomba's car safely. He told them to call when they got home, so he knew they were safe. Thousands of thoughts ran through his head as the girls drove away, leaving him alone. He didn't understand why Macavity would kidnap Demeter, or kill Mistoffelees and Victoria's parents? No one in what had been called as the "Jellicle Gang" (which wasn't really a gang, just a group of close friends and family) had ever done anything to him. He was looked highly upon by the adults of the group, and the children, including Munkustrap and his younger brother (both happened to be the brothers of Macavity), looked up to him and admired him. Macavity used to be a good man. No one knew what happened to him, but one day he snapped. Macavity had attacked their younger brother, with the intent to kill him. Munkustrap clenched his teeth at the thought. Their father, Cheif Deuteronomy, or better known in the group as Old Deuteronomy, had seen the evil in Macavity's heart and sought out help for his eldest son. Macavity refused any help provided to him and Deuteronomy had to kick him out, as he was too dangerous. Now he wanted revenge for something he brought onto himself. Munkustrap shook his head at the thought and was going to go lay down on his couch when the phone rang.
"Hello, London Police Department," Munkustrap answered, his voice flat and his head aching. However, the reply he got was totally unexpected.
"Macavity has been found and is being taken to a high security prison in Scotland as we speak."
"Good," Munkustrap nodded, in slight shock. The police would never be able to capture Macavity so easily. The man was a master criminal, and whenever they had reached the scene of crime, he was never there. Something was up, but he didn't knows exactly what. He got up and paced around, thinking. Macavity was planning something. Something big. But whatever it was, Munkustrap was much too tired to even comprehend his own thoughts.
'I'll think about it in the morning' Munkus thought to himself before laying down on the couch and drifting slowly to sleep.