Chapter 11
Shadow:
I'm having a great time playing with my glove when Alley comes running up to me.
"Hey, Sis," I say. "Where have you been?"
"Come on, Shadow," she says excitedly. "I've found another way out!"
I stop playing and stare at her.
"You're joking, right?" I ask. "Please tell me you're joking."
"No, I'm not joking," she says as she comes around me and starts nudging me toward a very dark corner of the room. "Will you just come on?"
"Sis," I say, "why would you want to go back out there again?"
"Because the rat's still out there," she growls, pushing harder.
"That sounds like a very good reason to stay in here," I reply. "In case you missed it, Alley, that thing can change its shape. How are we supposed to be able to catch it if it can slip through any little crack it wants to?"
"I don't know," she answers. "We'll think of something."
"Well, when you do think of something, let me know," I tell her as I quickly moving out of her way. She stumbles a couple of steps before regaining her balance. She turns to me, her ears are back and her hackles are raised.
Uh oh, I think.
She pounces before I can blink. I barely manage to get out of her way before she comes at me again. I start running with her right on my tail. We tear through the room making the other cats jump out of our way.
"Hey!"
"Watch it!"
"I'm sleepin' here!"
Finally, she corners me near a vent with a loose grate. I look at it doubtfully.
"Alley, are you sure this leads somewhere?" I ask, panting. My sides are hurting.
"No, but it's the best thing I could find," she pants backs.
"But what if..."
"Will you please stop being a kill joy and just get in there?" she hisses.
I really don't want to go out there, but I don't want to be chased any more either. I sigh and push the grate out of the way. I step into a tube that's barely big enough for me to stand or turn around in.
"Just for the record, Alley," I say, my voice echoing off of the walls, "I think this is a really bad idea."
"Yeah, yeah," she says. "Will you hurry it up? I want to get out of here today."
I sigh, and then I sneeze. It's really dusty in here. We spend who knows how long wandering around in these tubes. Every time we come to another grate, it's shut tight. So we turn around and try another way. Finally we come to a grate that's loose enough for us to squeeze through. After shaking the dust off of my coat, I look around. We're in the library again. I look over at Abe's tank, and there is Abe still swimming in his tank.