Part 2

Part 2

Sammy And The Kitten

"Sammy, just forget it! We're not getting another pet! Not now, and not ever, especially if I have to take care of it!"

"But Aleeeeex!"

"No, Sammy, I told you, you already have a cat! Two cats is too much to care for, think of all the money we gotta spend on cat food, litter, toys, stuff that cats need! Your mom and dad wouldn't like it…"

"But they don't have to know, it could be a surprise or something!" Alex stopped in her tracks, folding her arms.

"Oh, so we're getting another pet behind our parents' backs now, are we?"

"No, it's not that, what I mean is…Alex, trust me! I can take care of another cat if you don't want to! The truth is, I want a cat so you can be happy…" Alex laughed.

"I'm happy with what I have right now, thank you!"

"No, you're not, Alex! I can tell! There's something wrong with you, you haven't been yourself lately."

"Whatdya mean, I haven't been myself?"

"Well, I think that you're lacking a sense of responsibility…" She lowered her head. "…so, I thought that if you got a pet, like a cat, to take care of, to gain a responsibility…"

"No, Sammy, I told you once, and I told you a thousand times before, we are not getting another pet, even if I don't have much of a sense of responsibility." What does she mean, I don't have a sense of responsibility? Must be some kind of dumb excuse to get me into getting another pet. She knows very well that I have a good sense of responsibility! Alex thought.

"But, Alex, if you'd just listen to me, I'm your older sister…"

"You're only two months older than me, and you don't even act like you're older," Alex interrupted.

"But still, I'm older, and I think it'd do you some good if ya did get a pet…" Alex turned on her friend, furious.

"SAMMY, STOP BEING SO IMMATURE AND WHINY ALL THE TIME!"

"I'M NOT BEING IMMATURE, YOU ARE! STOP YELLING AT ME!" Sammy yelled back.

"OH, AND YOU'RE NOT YELLING?!"

"Alex, please stop yelling. Please, if you'll just listen to me…"

"NO! WE ARE NOT GETTING ANOTHER CAT, end of story!" Sammy threw her arms into the air, finally giving up.

"FINE!!!" She ran off, Alex watching her go, with a look of regret on her face. She kicked the lamppost she was next to as hard as she could.

"Darn it! I shouldn't have yelled at her!" She grabbed her hair, but soon let go of it. She shook her head, keeping a straight face. "It's ok, Alex, she'll be fine. She knows that a cat is a living thing, a big responsibility. She'll understand sooner or later…" She put her hands in her pockets and slowly made her way towards her home, lonely without the cheerful chatter of her sister to keep her company.

~~~

Sammy ran through the pale sunlight, tears streaming down her face. She saw a tree in front of her, and she ran toward it. When she reached it, she threw her arms around the trunk, and had a good cry.

"Why? Why doesn't she trust me? Why? Why?" she cried, rubbing her face on the tree, as if it were the only friend she had right now. After she had cried so much that her tears ran dry, she let go of the tree and threw herself down, so she was sitting. She put her hand down on the cold ground, but the ground that her hand was touching wasn't cold, but warm…and wet…and breathing…She quickly lifted her hand, and stared down at what she was resting her hand on. It was a gray cat, a kitten, about a year old or so…

Sammy gasped. "Oh my god!" she said, staring down at the creature, its side slowly lifting up and down as it breathed. "Well, well, well…what do we have here? A cat?" She noticed something glistening in the faint sunlight on the cat's side. Looking at her hand, she saw it. It was more visible on her hand than it was on the cat's side, since her hand was lighter than the cat's fur. Blood. Blood all over her hand. She looked back down at the cat, as it began to stir with pain.

"Oh, no! You poor thing!" she said, gently lifting it from its spot on the ground and setting it down on her lap. She took her white blouse sleeve and put it in her mouth, pulling a long strip off by jerking her head to the side. She took it out of her mouth and wrapped it around the kitten's side. Then she noticed the paws, also bleeding. "Gee, kitty, you're pretty banged up, aren't ya?" she said, and she swore that she heard the kitten let out a small meow, as if it were answering her question.

"Well, I better take you home with me…" then she thought about Alex. What would she say once she sees the kitten? Looking down at the small body, she sighed deeply. "Well, I guess she'll understand…" then she got a mischievous look on her face. "Oooooor…she never has to know…" She got up off of her knees, holding the kitten in her arms, and began running home…

~~~

Alex stuck the key into her apartment door, turning it to unlock the door and get inside. She sighed.
"Man, she's really mad at me, but I should just forget it. She may be older than me, but she knows better than to get a cat behind her parents' backs…" She stepped into the dark apartment, feeling the wall when she entered for the light switch. After finding it and turning it on, she stepped into the now lighted apartment and flopped down on the couch. She put a hand to her head and sighed.
"What am I gonna do?" She pulled her hand away from her head, and saw an orange figure in front of her, a cat, staring at her with big eyes.
"Uh! What do you want?" she said, frustration in her voice. The cat just looked at her, his head tilted a little to the left. Alex stared at him. He stared back.
"God, just tell me what you want!" she screamed. He did nothing. Only stared. Then he turned his head towards the kitchen. Her eyes followed. She saw what he wanted. His food bowl was empty. She sighed.
"You hungry, is that it? Huh?" she said, looking at him. He stared. She sighed again.
"All right, don't answer me!" she said, getting up. She went into the cabinet and grabbed a can of cat food, and then she opened a drawer and pulled out a can opener. After opening the can, she threw the food into his food dish, and then tossed the can into the trash. She threw herself onto the couch again. He followed, jumping up on the table in front of her again. Alex ignored him and just sat there, her eyes closed as she thought about what she should say to Sammy once she got home.
"You know, you should try and be a little nicer to me…" said a voice. Alex opened her eyes and stared at the cat again.
"And YOU should answer me when I ask you a question!" she said to the cat.
"Well then, maybe you should ask me nicely," said the cat, jumping onto the couch next to her. Alex scooted away from him. The cat looked around.
"Where's Sammy? I didn't see her come in with you."
"She…went for…a little walk! Yeah! She went for a walk!" she said to the cat. He gave her a mean look, and she cowered back.
"All right! What did you do to her now?" he asked.
"None of your business!" Alex said, getting up. The cat stared after her as she walked to her room.
"I'll be in my room if anyone needs me!" she said, slamming the door behind her. The cat sighed, lay down on the couch, and closed his eyes.
"Well, I guess I can sneak in a little catnap until Sammy gets home…" he said as he dozed off.

~~~

Sammy stepped into the apartment building, the kitten in her arms with a now dark red bandage around her waist. She stepped up the stairs and down the hall, till she reached her apartment door. She gasped and held her breath, and turned the doorknob.
Please don't be in the living room…she said, and pushed the door open. The room was empty. Good! she said, sneaking into the apartment. She tiptoed over to the door to her room, and turned the knob. She stepped inside her room, and closed the door behind her.
"Now lets see…" she said. She looked toward her bathroom. Now she was glad that she had a bathroom connected to her room.
"Well, what I think we should do first is clean up your wounds." She ran into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth, a towel, and a bottle of peroxide. She placed the towel onto the bed and then put the kitten down on the towel. Opening the bottle of peroxide, she poured a little onto the washcloth. Sammy stroked the kitten's soft little gray head, and then went for the bandage, ready to untie it. The kitten let out a soft meow. Sammy smiled.
"I know it hurts kitty. I'll try and make it better," she said, unwrapping the bandage from the kitten's waist. Sammy gasped when she saw the wound. Now that she had light, she could see how bad it really was, and it was pretty bad.
"Oh, kitty! What did you get yourself into?" she said, as she picked up the damp washcloth.
"Now, this may sting a little, but I gotta clean out your wound. You don't wanna get an infection, do you?" Just then outside the door, she heard footsteps. Sammy gasped, quickly tossing a corner of her bedsheets over the kitten to hide its presence. The door slowly inched open. Great! she thought. She had forgotten to close the door. Something stepped in, and she let out her breath with a sigh of relief.
"What's going on, Sammy?" said the cat.
"Oh, Apollo, it's only," she said. The cat made his way toward her.
"What do you mean it's only me? What are you up to?"
"I'll show you, but first…" she said, getting up and walking towards the door. She grabbed the doorknob and gently closed the door, and then locked it. She sat down on the bed again with Apollo, who was now lying down on the pillow.
"All right, Sammy, what are you doing now?"
"Apollo, take a look at this," she said, uncovering the cat.
"Whoa!" Apollo said, surprised at the bloody mess in front of him. "Where did you find her?"
"Never mind that, you think we can help her?"
"Well, I don't know, looks pretty bad…" he turned his eyes toward the sad girl. "Did ya clean it yet?"
"No, I was just gonna do that…" she said, reaching for the washcloth. She picked up the kitten and put it in her lap. The kitten let out another soft meow.
"Shhh, its ok kitty," she said. She dabbed at the wound gently, the kitten stirring in her lap.
"I know it hurts, but it'll help ya." She turned to Apollo, who was staring at the wound.
"How old do you think she is?"
"I can't say exactly, but I'll have to say about a little over a year."
"So she's about as old as you."
"Hm, maybe a little younger. She looks like she's about 12 or 13 in cat years…" he said, still staring at the wound. "It's strange though, a wound that big and deep could kill a kitten…"
"Well, she's a lucky one," she said, pulling the washcloth away from the wound. She looked at the wound. It had stopped bleeding. But there was something strange about it, not the wound, but her fur. She looked at the washcloth, which was not only red with blood, but also very gray with dust…the same gray that was the kitten's fur color. She glanced back at the wound.
"Apollo, look at this," she said. Apollo looked at the wound.
"What is it?" he said, and then saw it. Her fur wasn't gray like it used to be, but sort of a magenta color. The gray was just dust and dirt from being out in the city for a long time. Apollo leapt forward and started to lick the kitten's bloody paws, cleaning them like all cats clean themselves.
"Sammy, go get some water." Without hesitation, she quickly made her way toward the bathroom and grabbed a small pink tub from under the sink. She turned on the water and thrust the tub under the faucet, catching the water in it. After it was half full, she turned off the running water and made her way back to the bed, careful as not to spill the water onto the carpet. She placed it on the bed, and Apollo threw the washcloth into the water with a light splash. After the water soaked into the cloth, Sammy grabbed it and wrung it out. She began to wipe the cat's fur with the cloth. The ugly gray came off onto the cloth, and the pretty magenta color began to appear.
"What the…" began Sammy. "How can this be? No cat is purple!"
"Wait a sec, Sammy. Clean its head, will ya?" Sammy nodded, and began to wipe the kitten's face. It was also magenta. When it was completely clean, they both stared at it in wonder. The kitten had magenta fur with a pink underside and ears, and a golden moon on her head…
"Is she…a…"
"Yes, Sammy. This is no coincidence," Apollo said. "She's definitely a Moon Cat." Apollo sighed.
"Well, we better fix her up," Sammy said, going back to her bathroom. She opened the mirror cabinet to the side and grabbed some white bandages.
After they had wrapped the bandages around the kitten's wounds, Sammy dumped the water out of the tub and into the sink and dried it. She grabbed another towel, folded it up and placed it into the tub. She put it next to her bed.
"There!" she said, proud of her work of art. Apollo stared at it.
"Oh, that's great, Sammy!" he said. Then he turned to face her. "What is it?" he said quickly.
"It's a bed for the kitten, silly!" she said, picking up the kitten and placing it in the homemade bed.
"Think it's comfortable enough?" she said, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, looks fine for now." Just then there was a knock at the door.
"Sammy, you in there?" Sammy and Apollo looked at eachother with big scared eyes. There was another knock.
"Look, Sammy, I need to talk to you, please answer the door!" Alex said, jiggling the doorknob.
It's a good thing I locked the door! thought Sammy. "Apollo, what are we gonna do!" she whispered harshly.
"I don't know, but we gotta do something fast before she…" but it was too late, Alex was going to use the key. After unlocking it, she turned the knob and opened the door. Sammy had just enough time to kick the tub with the sleeping kitten under her bed. Alex walked over to Sammy.
"Why didn't you open the door when I told you to?" she said.
"I…I…uh…" Sammy stuttered.
"Never mind. Listen, I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for yelling at you…"
"It's okay, Alex, you don't have to apologize. I shouldn't have argued about getting another pet. I'm sorry…" Alex smiled.
"Well, I'm glad that you understand," she said. There came a faint meow from somewhere near the bed. Alex turned her head toward the bed. Sammy's eyes went wide with horror. What was she gonna do now? What if Alex sees the cat? Apollo saw that Alex had heard the meow, and he let out a meow, making it seem like it was him who made the sound. Alex raised one eyebrow, and then turned to Sammy.
"Well, if ya need me, I'll be in my room," she said, and turned around and left, closing the door behind her. Sammy and Apollo let out a sigh at the same time.
"Boy, that was a close one," said Sammy.
"Too close," replied Apollo. Sammy got down on her knees and reached under the bed, feeling for the bed. When she felt it, she grabbed the side and pulled it out from under the bed, but there was no kitten in it. Sammy looked around the room for the cat. Where could she have gone?
"Uh, Sammy…" Sammy looked up to see Apollo with the kitten sniffing at him. Apollo had a strange look on his face. Sammy giggled, then put her arms on the bed.
"Hey, kitty, come here…" Sammy said, signaling for the kitten to come to her. The cat turned her head and made her way toward Sammy. Sammy picked it up in her arms and sat down on the bed with it. Apollo sat down next to her.
"Has she talked to you yet?" Apollo shook his head.
"No, but she should have. If she's a Moon Cat, then she should know that I'm a Moon Cat too."
"Maybe she doesn't remember who she is?" Sammy suggested.
"Probably. We'll take her to Luna and Artemis. Maybe they can help…" Apollo yawned. "But first, let's get some sleep. We'll see them in the morning. You don't have school tomorrow, so we'll go as soon as you wake up." Sammy yawned too.
"Yeah, you're right." She got changed into her pajamas and got into bed, turning off the lights before she did. Apollo curled up next to her feet, his pale yellow moon faintly glowing in the darkness.
Where am I? thought the kitten, looking around in the darkness. She looked up at the bed, at Sammy.
Who is this person? And who was that other creature…the cat? What's a cat? Is that…what I am? the cat looked at the white bandage around her waist.
She…helped me? she thought, a tear of happiness forming in her eye. It trickled down her cheek as she smiled. She lay down her head.
Thank you…the kitten closed her eyes and curled up in her bed, her golden moon glowing just like Apollo's. For the first time in days, she finally went to sleep without the memories and horrible sounds repeating in her head.

~~~End of Part Two

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok, I thought I'd put in some more stuff, but I thought that this would be a good place to stop Part 2. Sorry if I left you hanging a little.