My eyes blink open. Phew, it was all a dream.
Wait...
I look around. Above my head is a dingy, almost muddy ceiling of planks. Under me, instead of a soft blanket, is dry dirt. A knife of sorrow slices through me. It wasn't a dream. This is all real. Ben and Karren are both gone.
"What am I gonna do now?" I wonder aloud. Pushing myself up, my muscles groan in disagreement. I guess the wet air and sleeping arrangements didn't do good for me. I need a bed that's soft and warm.
Slowly, I pad towards the hole I jumped through to get in here. When I look out, the weather is nice. The sky is blue with a few small, white fluffy clouds scattered across it. The air smells crisp and fresh from the rain. The floor is still damp, but not soaked the grass has dewdrops on them, making the blades glitter in the sunlight. This will be perfect to find my home.
I step through the hole and onto the wet grass. The mud squishes between my toes in an uncomfortable way. My eyes move from one side to the other, trying to figure out what direction to go. When I sniff the air, all I can smell is fresh clean air. Which way is my home? I can remember where I ran from. Might as well just start off in one direction.
My paws carry me across the thin grey path. It's right next to the big black path, so I have to be careful. My ears swivel, trying to catch any sound of a metal beast. Maybe the big one that took Karren and Ben away will come back.
After a while of walking and not finding my home, I sit down in the grass. This is bad. What if I never find it? What if my housefolk don't come back? What will happen to me? Am I gonna die from starvation?
I sigh heavily. Maybe I can go to the forest. Whenever I got out I would go there and climb trees. Or maybe the city would be of better prospects. I could find easy food there, maybe even get some twolegs to give me some. I decide on the protest of the city and lift my nose to smell the air. The stronger smell of metal beasts comes from the right. Let's go that way.
I set off at a jog, eager to get to my destination.
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The smell is super strong near the edge of the city. I've heard my housefolk talk a lot about it. The word city came up several times, so I guess that's what they call it. Also the word skyscraper and big buildings. I'm guessing those are the huge things that reach beyond the sky.
The place has the stench of the black path all over it. There's also something close to decaying animals. How can the twolegs stand this? My nose wrinkles in disgust. The only good thing is the faint smell of rats and mice. Those will be good for food.
Twolegs walk by, some almost stepping on me. I meow angrily at one male who almost kicks me. He doesn't seem to notice and continues to walk. Stupid twolegs. Some of them are jerks. That's also I name I learned from my housefolk.
I walk into a dark alley, sniffing for a mouse. When I reach the end, my eyes travel up the brick wall. It goes so high that I wouldn't be able to jump to the top.
"Hey, Scar, look at what we got here." A scratchy voice says from behind me. I spin around, fur fluffing up. There's two cats. One is dark brown with a scar over his right eye, so I'm guessing that's Scar. He has dark eyes. The other is dark grey with black tabby stripes and yellow eyes.
"Ooo, a kittypet." Scar sneers. "Wonder what a nice little kitty's doing way out here. What ya think Shadow." So that's the grey cats name. My face shows a bit of confusion. What's a kittypet? "Collar gives her away." I look down at my light purple collar that has a bell on it. Sharron gave it to me, so I never thought it was bad.
"Why you on our land, kittypet?" Shadow growls.
"I-I didn't mean to! I was just looking for food." I stutter, slightly fearful. I hadn't smelled any cats when I was walking down the grey path. The city stench must have blocked it out. "I'll leave if you want."
"Dead right you will." Scar hisses angrily. I inch back against the brick wall behind me. "Now get going!" He swats at me with unsheathed class. I squeak and run as fast as my paws can carry me. This day just keeps getting better!
I run for a good ten minutes before slowing down. My breath comes in short pants. I need to get in better shape. My head tilts to one side then the other, looking for another way to go. Not many twolegs are out because it's getting darker. Long shadows fill each corner.
"I need food." I mumble as my stomach growls. There's a set of tables near one big building. There's a slight smell of food coming from them. I pad over to the group of tables, nose up to smell the air. It's definitely twolegs food, but that's ok. I find a half eaten thing on the floor. It smells like meat between two slabs of bread with a...pickle? Oh well, food's food.
I bite off a piece, finding it actually not half bad. After finishing it, I sit down to clean my paws and get the pebbles out of pads. They're quite irritating.
"What's a house cat doing all the way out here?" A higher voice, that of a girl, says from behind me. I jump around again, feeling a sense of déjà vu. There stands a she-cat who looks like she lives on the streets, we'll sort of. Her fur is pitch black with bright pink specks and dashes scattered across it. That doesn't seem...natural. Her eyes are amber.
"Oh Uhhh..." I look at her with wide eyes. She seems to smirk.
"What, cat got your tongue?" She jokes.
"I was looking for food." I mutter.
"Understandable. But why aren't you home with your housefolk or something?" She asks curiously.
"They left and I was trying to find them. A huge truck took them and all their stuff away." Her eyes turn slightly sympathetic.
"Oh, sorry about that."
"Why? They might come back." I say with slight hope, but not much.
"They won't. They left for good." My heart feels like it's cracking in two.
"H-how do you know that?" My voice breaks.
"Happened to me." Is all she says. "Now come on. I'll take you to my den." She turns swiftly on her paws and trots away. I follow, an air of depression around me. Is she right? Are they never coming back? It feels like a icy knife has pierced my heart.
She leads me to a different alley. There's a hole under one of the walls that has light filtering from behind it. We slide under the wall and into a smaller, square space. There's a big brown box like the ones they put my housefolks' stuff in. There's a big comfy looking blanket.
"This is where I stay." The she-cat meows while sitting on the blanket. "You can stay with me until you get back up on your feet or figure out what you wanna do." I shift on my paws a bit awkwardly.
"Uh, I never got your name." I mumble to her. Her ears flick.
"Oh yah! I'm Pink." I look at her pink dashed pelt. She follows my gaze. "My old housefolk did it to me. She was...strange." She looks off into space thoughtfully.
"How long have you lived in the city?" I ask curiously while sitting down in the corner of the box on the soft blanket.
"Long enough. I know these paths like the back of my paw. I also know the best places for food." She smiles slightly.
"I met a couple of other cats at sun high. Do you know them?" I ask. She tilts her head slightly.
"Did you catch their names?"
"Yah, Scar and Shadow." Her eyes widen slightly in surprise.
"Those two are leaders of a group here in the city. They calls themselves the Blood Cats. Bad group." Ok, that makes me feel safe! Note the sarcasm. "Get some sleep, you must have had a long day." With a nod, I curl up.
My mind is stuck on Karren and Ben. I think of all the warm nights we spent cuddling, all the delicious meals, all the scratches behind the ear. My heart longs for those days.
Sleep soon over takes me. Maybe tonight won't be so bad.