Chapter 3: A Sign

Today's prompt was that the chapter had to include a human.

Disclaimer: I do not own CATS or its characters.

Pouncival stretched his arms out in front of him as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Even in the shelter of his family's den, he instantly felt the oppressing sensations of the humidity pressing in on him. The air was so damp that it almost felt as if it was suffocating the kitten. The patched tom had only woken up a few moments ago, but he was already sweating. He immediately stood up and spread his limbs, trying to keep anything that radiated his body temperature separate from the rest. With a quick glance across the little compartment that made his den, he noticed that Tumblebrutus was already be awake and gone, but Etcetera was still slumbering away.

Making sure that his paws didn't make a sound, Pouncival slipped out of the room. Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks were nowhere to be found, they must already be in the clearing as well. As long as he wasn't the very last one up, the young tom didn't care.

As soon as he took a step out of the den, Pouncival raised a brown paw above his head, shading his eyes from the blinding light. He uttered an unintelligible curse as he realized there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. Every movement the feline made in the current humidity felt like he was dragging his limbs through water or syrup, so why couldn't there just be a cloud to facilitate a little precipitation? Pouncival was beginning to feel that same sensation the adults feel as the heat finally caught up to him. It almost felt like yesterday was an entirely different month.

The cats in the clearing seemed to keep to themselves and weren't particularly social. Even Bombalurina and Tugger weren't cuddling and flirting shamelessly. Though with the current conditions, Pouncival wasn't sure if this strange new behavior was connected to the heat or the gatherings of the day before.

Pouncival immediately shook his head to free it from such negative thoughts; the heat was clearly getting to him. Yesterday was just a fluke; a kind of paranoia caused from heat stress. The tom renewed his visual search across the clearing, this time looking for at least one of his friends to go socialize with.

Tumblebrutus was quickly spotted, and just as Pouncival took a step towards his brother, a loud noise disturbed the fragile peace pervading the clearing. Every cat in the entire junkyard could hear the menacing sound, but none could quite identify it. The clatter was something that no Jellicle had ever heard before. All the cats immediately froze and slowly rose to their paws. Twenty-five feline backs arched dangerously as each cat's fur stood on end. No one was exactly sure how to react, and they could only assume that this was some kind of human disturbance. Instinctively everyone began to back into their favorite hiding spots. In a matter of moments, no one would even be able to guess that a tribe of cats lived in the yard.

The mischievous tom glanced about the clearing and noted that Jenny was nowhere to be found and not a single adult was within a paw's reach. A sly smile spread across Pouncival's face as he slowly began to back towards an exit from the clearing. With a final glance to make sure no one would stop him, Pouncival suppressed a chuckle as he turned on his heel and sprinted towards the noise.

The young tom had never actually seen a human before, and now he was going to get the opportunity to meet one up close. Something in the back of his head told him that it was a really bad idea and he should be hiding like the rest of the tribe, but Pouncival couldn't quell the kittenish curiosity. Usually Jennyanydots or some other adult was there to pull him back into a hiding spot. Who knew if he would ever get this opportunity again? The young tom could suppress the giggle, but not the joyous grin as he continued on his path and the sound became louder and louder.

Pouncival's racing feet skidded to a halt as the fence that lined the yard came into view. The tom didn't even have the mental capabilities to duck for a safe hiding spot to gaze at the sight in front of him. Just beyond the fence was a slightly familiar sight. Sitting a few yards away was a tired looking vehicle that Pouncival knew to be called a pickup truck. A plethora of tools, wires, and other construction materials stuck out of the mud covered truck bed like odd-looking wildflowers. However, that was not what had arrested the curious kitten's attention. Instead, standing in front of one of the many wooden posts surrounding the yard was a real life human. He had seen a ton of pictures in those things called magazines, but none of them looked anything like this human.

The strange creature was dressed in a white shirt and rough-looking, blue cloth around his legs. From the muscles that seemed to bulge under his furless skin and his wide build, Pouncival could only assume that this human was a male; one that had either been working hard or playing hard because the man was covered in dust and sweat.

Pouncival took another step closer as he noticed the man leaning towards the post and pushing something into it. Suddenly the clatter ceased as the man pulled the object away from the post and took a step back to admire his handiwork. With a cock of his head, the young cat could see that something strange was now hanging from the post, something that had never been there before. It didn't take long for Pouncival to realize that almost every post had the same weird thing attached to it.

The human wiped a sheen of sweat from his dark brow and lit a match as he pulled a cigarette up to his lips. Pouncival had always seen the butts of such things, but he had never seen one actually lit and blazing…the wonders in this small encounter just wouldn't cease. As the man flicked the now dead match down on the ground, his eyes caught Pouncival's.

The kitten was too in awe to even take a single step back, he just cocked his head and stared right back. However, he was able to make a surprised jump as the man began to speak. The human's voice was low, gravelly, and he had to mumble through the lit stick that he refused to remove from his mouth. He lowered himself into a crouch and reached his fingers through the chain link fence as he continued to talk.

At first Pouncival was too shocked to listen to what the man was saying, but once he tried concentrating on the words, it took him a minute to recognize the words through such a deep voice. By the time he could fully comprehend what was being said, the man was almost done.

"-find a new home, won't ya, poor little kitty?" The man began to wiggle his fingers as they reached through the fence and began to make odd kissing noises.

The encounter suddenly became more than Pouncival wanted to put up with. The man's voice somehow became terrifying, and his words seemed even more venomous. This wasn't the way that meeting a human was supposed to go. Why was Pouncival so scared?

Suddenly, feeling flooded back into his paws and the young cat cautiously backed up into the shadows, not wanting to make any sudden movements around this now strange creature. As the man began to stand up and Pouncival felt the security of the shadows, he turned on his heel and fled towards the clearing.

Tears pricked at the tom's eyes as he continued his blind retreat, though he couldn't say why he was upset. He had missed the first half of the man's statement. For all Pouncival knew, the man just thought he was a stray… but something about those strange signs he was posting around the yard and his tone of voice terrified Pouncival.

Something grabbed Pouuncival's arm, arresting his progress and causing him to spin around, almost falling over. The young tom tried to will his hackles down as he turned towards the concerned countenance of Electra. He quickly tried to banish his tears and fears; Electra was the last cat he wanted to see him like this.

"Pouncie, what's wrong? Everything's okay… it was just a human. He-He can't hurt you here." Clearly Pouncival had failed at ridding his appearance of all those negative emotions as each one was reflected in her eyes and the worry in her voice.

He was unable to respond. In all honesty, he wasn't even sure he could answer her without releasing the tears that he barely had control of. All he could do was replay the encounter in his head as if his mind was stuck on repeat. So instead he tightly took hold of her orange paw and continued is path towards the clearing.

"Munkustrap!" Pouncival panted as he stopped in the middle of the clearing. The Jellicles began to emerge from their hiding spots as the sound of a truck driving away drifted through the air. "Please! Munkustrap, you have to come quick! Something's happened."

The atmosphere in the yard became even heavier as minds began to race. The strong silver tabby stepped forward and placed comforting paws on Pouncival's shaking shoulders. "Pouncival, please calm down, and tell us slowly. What happened?"

Still trying to fight his stinging tears, Pouncival looked up into the grey eyes that were full of worry, but also full of comfort. Those were they eyes that Pouncival had always learned to trust as a kitten. If anyone would fix everything, it would be Munkustrap.

It only took a matter of moments for Pouncival to tell the protector everything that he had seen and for the entire tribe to make the trip to the edge of the yard. A lot of the older cats became visibly shaken as they left the safety provided by the endless junk piles.

With a shaking paw, Pouncival pointed at the signs on the posts. From the inside of the fence, no one could see anything but the silver backside. The patched tom that had witnessed their erection was the first to find a slip in the fence and squeeze out beyond the yard. After a moment to realize what he had just done, Pouncival turned back to the other cats, beckoning them over to the outside.

Munkustrap made it clear that not everyone needed to make the trip, and he, Bombalurina, and Admetus slipped through the fence. The three Jellicles immediately turned to Admetus, expecting a translation of the strange red symbols on the white sign.

The young grey tom stood for a moment, using his full concentration to decipher the words. Almost immediately, the smile that always seemed to grace Admetus's lips disappeared and he slowly shook his head, blinking hard. "Maybe we should head back to the tribe. I-I don't think I can say this more than once."

No one second-guessed the clearly shaken tom as the little assembly quickly squeezed back into the yard. The rest of the tribe pressed in, anxious to hear the news. Admetus took a deep breath as he stared down at his paws, unable to look anyone in the eyes. "It-It's a special sign, not one you see everyday… though we are in a growing city…"

"Get on with it! What does it say?" Demanded Alonzo, eager to know what was happening to his precious yard and even more importantly, his tribe.

The nervous tom took another deep inhalation and fiddled with his paws. "I'll just quote it directly. The sign read. 'Hard Hat Site. Demolition begins 6/13'. Then, before anyone could ask, he added, "That's next week."

A/N: I've realized that my story has developed with little dialogue. It's something new to me, but I really do like it. I hope you do too. Please let me know what you think and review! Thanks so much for reading and following! :D