Chapter 21: Keeping (train) track

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The northern part of the northern hemisphere (or somewhere around there, I don't exactly know)

Midday

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Skimbleshanks shook his head and opened his eyes. Clouds were floating over his head in a bright blue sky. In the corners of his eyes, he saw the tops of pine trees racing by. He lifted his head. His body was partially buried in coal. He quickly scrambled out of the black chunks when he remembered his location. He climbed toward the iron plate that marked the border of the wagon and looked out over the landscape.

He had no idea where he was. The train was following a railway that cut through green fields, divided into squares with fences. Some of them had cows in them, some had sheep, there were even a few horses here and there. A long row of trees followed the rails, separating meadow and machine.

Skimbleshanks had as little of an idea of the time he had been on the train as of his location, but he knew for a fact that he was far away from home. And he was completely on his own.

No. Not completely.

He looked towards the rear end of the train. About twelve carriages loyally followed the locomotive. The one he was looking for was the third last. Great.

Skimbleshanks climbed onto the edge of the coal carriage and looked down. There was a gap of about four feet between him and the next train car. Underneath him he could see the rails flying by. The wind was blowing through his fur and he had to hold on tightly to avoid tumbling over the edge.

Skimbleshanks took a deep breath and jumped. His concerns about not reaching the other end turned out to be completely unnecessary, because as soon as he stopped feeling the metal under his paws, he felt the wind grab ahold of him, and he flew over the gap swiftly. However, he was now presented with another problem: he roughly landed on the carriage's roof about halfway, and his rough landing made him roll further towards the next gap. At the last moment, he managed to slow down by using his claws against the wooden roof, and his slide across the surface came to an end a few inches before the end of the train car.

Skimbleshanks let out his breath he had been holding. This was going to take a long time.

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Jellylorum softly knocked on the plank that served as a door. "Jenny? Are you in here?" The only answer she received was a soft sob. Slowly she pushed, and entered the den. Stretched out on the floor, with her head on her paws, was her sister. With eyes wet of tears she looked at a miniature train in front of her. Jellylorum sat down next to her.

"We were going to be mated during the next Ball," Jennyanydots said. "And now he's gone."

"Buster and his squad are looking for him everywhere," Jellylorum said as she rubbed her sister's back. "I'm sure they'll find him."

"But how will they find him? He's gone! We have no idea where he could possibly be by now!"

"Jenny, he's a strong tom. He'll be able to find his way back."

"And what… What if he doesn't want to?"

"What? Why would he not want to come back?"

"What if he loves trains… more than he loves me?"

"That's ridiculous!"

"What is wrong with me, Jelly?" she burst out, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "First our sister leaves, now Skimbleshanks…"

"Grizabella's departure had nothing to do with you, and you know it."

"Do you think it's because I'm fat?"

"You are not fat!" Jennyanydots didn't answer. "Skimbleshanks will be back, Jenny," Jellylorum reassured her. "I'm sure he's coming our way right now."

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Skimbleshanks panted as he looked at the wagon in front of him. This was the one he needed, but how was he supposed to get in? There were no hatches in the roof, and there was no way he would be able to open the large door on the side. But then, suddenly, he noticed something down where the two carriages were connected to one another. There was a narrow ledge, and one of the red painted wooden planks that made up the walls seemed to be broken, leaving a small hole. Skimbleshanks took another deep breath as he jumped down onto the ledge. It was hard to keep his balance on the bumpy ride, and he quickly made his way towards the hole. It was barely large enough for him to fit through, and he had to be careful not to cut himself on the sharp splinters.

Inside, it was dark and cool. Wooden crates were stacked everywhere. Skimbleshanks sneaked through the maze of wooden towers, trying to see clearly through the dust-filled air.

"Oomph!" Skimbleshanks felt something falling on top of him, and he fell flat on his belly.

He felt a hot breath next to his ear. "What are you doing here, Jellicle?" a familiar voice hissed into his ear.

"Let me go," the orange tom said, barely able to breathe with the heavy tom on top of him. "Please. I mean you no harm."

"Wise choice," the tom said, before placing a claw at the other cat's throat. "But I want an answer."

"I need your help," Skimbleshanks admitted. He could feel that this confused the pirate.

"What could you possibly need my help for?"

"Can't you figure it out? What reason do I have to be on this train?"

The pirate hesitated, then stepped off Skimbleshanks' back and pushed him away from him. "I don't owe you anything. Why would I help you?"

"Because we're in the same boat. Or, in this case, train."

The pirate slowly walked around with his paw stretched out in front of him to avoid running into the walls. "What do you propose we do? Starve on this train together?"

"He will stop eventually. Then, we can try and find a train that goes back to London."

"Back to London?"

"If you help me, I could try to convince Old Deuteronomy to cancel your banishment."

"I still don't see where I help you."

"You know more about the open world than I do. If I can see the name of the station we stop in, you can tell me where we have to go."

"I only know the coastal cities, Jellicle."

"Skimbleshanks. And besides, you always have a better chance of surviving when you're with someone."

"You really don't get it, do you?"

"What?"

"I don't want to go back to London. Even if I can go back to Growltiger's barge, I'll be a joke. Nobody will take me seriously anymore. They already abandoned me when your tribe first captured me, I doubt they'd want me back."

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"Come on, Tugger…" Deuteronomy tried to feed his youngest son a spoon of cream, but he just sniffed and turned his head away with a sneer. His father sighed and put away the cream. "Alright then, would you prefer some fish?" He turned around and grabbed a dish with some leftover fish. When he turned back, Rum Tum Tugger was gone. "What the Everlasting…" He looked around the room, and then noticed the kitten sitting in front of a bowl, eagerly lapping up the cream inside. "What a curious cat," Deuteronomy remarked.

Meanwhile, Macavity observed the scene from the side of the den. He didn't like his new little brother's attitude. But at the same time… he kind of admired it. Whatever you did, Rum Tum Tugger would do what he wanted. But the problem was he always wanted the opposite of what he was given, he always did the opposite of what he as told to do.

Maybe Macavity just didn't like the fact that, completely out of nowhere, he suddenly had another brother. It made him feel weird. He didn't like how strange things kept happening in his family. He wished things could just go the way he wanted them to go.

He heard Munkustrap walk past him. He followed him outside. "Hey Munk, where are you going?"

"I'm going to go see Demeter," his brother answered.

Macavity felt a strange tingly feeling run up his spine. "Why?"

"She asked me to," Munkustrap explained. "A part of her den's roof came down. I'll help her repair it."

"Oh," Macavity simply said, but his head was full of thoughts. Why didn't she ask him? Did she think he couldn't do it? Or was it something else? Was she avoiding him?

As Munkustrap walked away, Macavity felt a strange feeling he had never felt before, as if someone had plunged a dagger into his heart.