She'd gotten away, survived somehow, but as Mar sat cowering, half starved and bleeding she thought she could hear them coming. Her sides were heaving she'd been running for so long, all the queen wanted to do was sleep, and dream, dream it all away. For alley cats, that was really all they had, their dreams. It was their own little world that they could look forward to, without pain or hunger or fear. Except for the occasional nightmare that was. The sky was dark, overcast, blotting out the stars and swallowing up the light of the moon. Mar's eyes worked hard taking in what light could be found and putting it to work. She glanced around nervously, this was her life now, the running, the fear, then again this seemed to always have been her life. She sniffed scenting the air for her former captures who persued now hot on her heels, but the wind was against her.

The cat allowed herself the briefest respite more, hidden among the shadows, her molted tortoises shell coat helping to conceal her. It was then, as she rested however that she could in fact hear her pursuers. Mar trembled, wringing her hands, her heart racing wildly as she tried to decide whether to remain where she was and trust in her ability to stay hidden, or to give away her position and make a run for it. The choice was made for her however when one of the large toms leapt onto the battered old trashcan she had been huddled behind.

Fear jolting through her like a lightning strike she took to her feet immediately, running headlong into dangers of which she was blind to. In such unfamiliar territory she had no easy way of knowing what lie ahead, she only gambled that it was better that what clamored behind as the males perused. The cat had no other recourse but to keep running as she came upon a small but busy road, the sour tang of the asfault and nauseating fumes of the gas stinging her nose and watering her eyes. There was the loud blare of a horn, the screech of tires, Mar's heart hammering, head throbbing she spared a glance back to the road which now glistened, wet, a crumpled heap lying a few feet away from the bloody smear.

The queen had little time to revel in her good fortune however as the other males came steadily on. Mar was tiring, weak, and injured. If she fell now they would have her, they would ravage her, again. It was a sad fate but one that befell far too many queens who called the streets their homes. These toms were different though, special, they were driven by more than their own lusts and desires, they were driven by a loyalty and fear so strong that the sight of their comrade mangled beneath the wheels of the car, his form a bloody broken mass of the warrior he had once been, did nothing to deter them. These were Macavity's cats. Bound to him by more than their word but by some dark hold the vile cat had over them, a black magic Mar had felt first hand, a black magic Mar had suffered from. It was dangerous to ally yourself the Mystery Cat, worse still to cross him, but in her captivity Mar had learned the worst thing you could do was to catch his attention, to arouse his interest. When Macavity wanted something he got it, one way or the other, and right now he wanted her back!

The young queen had escaped by fate, chance, luck, whatever one wanted to call it for it was not by wit, nor was it by a lack of trying, but now here she was fleeing his men. She skidded in the gravel of an alleyway, the tiny stones biting deeply into her side, she could hear dark laughter behind her as she struggled to pick herself back up, the cold tang of fear swallowing her whole, as the sound of their mockery pierced her heart like icy claws. The pungent, acrid scent of male territory markings assaulted the queens senses and in a last ditch effort she banked for it as lightning split the sky. Some cats didn't believe in Macavity's vast power but as her trepidation grew Mar knew that the storm was his doing.

Coming to a tall chainlink fence she regretted the hasty decision doubting she had enough strength in reserve to make it up and over. She leapt for it anyway no other options left, fingers lacing tightly through the links. It was agonizing, fire flared through her bruised and battered chest and back as she hauled herself up, scrabbling. Her sides snagged, cutting deeply in the barbedwire than ran in spiraling loops about the top of it, cutting her deeply. She jumped landing hard and knocking the wind out of her lungs into the junkyard on the other side.

The queen got up and continued in her hopeless endeavor as she heard the rattle of cats taking to the fence behind her. Mar dove head long into a heap of trash, rotted food stinging her many cuts and abrasions as she hid among the rubbish. The toms growling low ran past scenting the air for her. She cowered as they searched. Then a shrill cry pierced the night sky, a battlecry from and unseen cat, likely the male who called the yard his home. The dark coated toms returned the savage sound rushing forward into battle. Mar listened fur on end to the distinct sounds of a fight for several minutes before taking advantage of the situation and bolted from her temporary refuge running the opposite direction of the cacophony.

The trembling cat who was sick with fear managed to then wriggle her way to the heart of a mass of broken kitchen appliances where she crouched attempting to catch her breath. The sound of a struggle though muffled, could be heard ranging outside the queen's hiding place. Soon the sounds died down, but Mar couldn't move, she was too afraid to. She had lost her captors, but now she was in a new world of dangers. She had no way of knowing what type of cat the claimed the territory she was now seeking sanctuary in, but her nose told her that there were many more than one solitary cat in this junkyard, an oddity to say the least as she caught the scents of many males and females having passed through the area recently.

As Mar waited quietly in the dark she felt some of the tension easing it's way out of her shoulders and aching back. Slowly the wear and tear of her harrowing escape and life of torment began to press down on the queen with a crushing weight. Utterly spent and with no where else to go the exhausted feline curled into a tight ball falling into an uneasy, dreamless sleep, just as the rains came down.