~Prologue: A Frightening Awaking~
The blurry morning light obstructed Jemima's view of the outside world. The diamonds that made up the outside of the cage now created a distinct pattern on her matted fur. "What have I done?" she moaned to herself, feeling the cage bob up and down beneath her as the large pick-up truck raced on with her in the back. There were no trees. No ways of escaping. No hopes of ever seeing her jellicle family ever again. What if they went so far away from the junkyard that she couldn't find her way back? Her friends… Her family…
A rough jerking motion of the vehicle got her to come back to her senses. A short cling-clang! from beneath her cage was the first warning she had. The truck spun wildly, now heading in a downward spiral. She hung to the cloth that covered the bottom of her prison tight with her claws, the hair raised all over her body. The cage flew out of the back of the truck just as the front of it burst, and Jemima found herself heading quickly towards the ground… But she was still in the cage! She pulled desperately at the lock with her claws, but the confounded metal circle wouldn't budge. The ground raced towards her face at the speed of a thousand cats and there was no doing anything about it. She braced herself, her eyes squeezed shut, and felt the cage hit the ground, her whole body being flung around the cage. It surprised her to find that her whole life really did flash before her eyes at the moment of her demise; it was almost relaxing. When the cage came to a stop, she found that she couldn't open her eyes…
