Chapter 2
The life goes on

Demeter tossed and turned restlessly in her sleep.

Around her, if she could not see darkness, then she saw flames, dancing around her like mad ghosts, attempting to engulf her whole. Time and space have all disappeared, and she was all alone in an bottomless abyss, sinking lower and deeper, not knowing when these would all stop. All around her, what could she see, and what could she hear? Oh, stop! She just wanted it to stop!

Where was she? What was happening? She felt she wanted to cry; yet her throat felt as if two giant claws were closing in on it with full force. She wanted to struggle; yet her body felt as if it was pinned down tight by a rock that weighs a thousand pounds. She tried to grab hold of something; yet when she reached out, she felt nothing but air. In the darkness, she seemed could feel someone, or something, moving toward her, walking slowly and cautiously, yet she was unable to escape. She was trapped; she was stuck! In the darkness, there was nothing she could do.

"Demeter!"

"Don't touch me! Leave me alone! Don't…" she frantically swung her arms about and kicked her legs.

"Demeter! Wake up! It's me!"

Sweat rolled down Demeter's face as she abruptly opened her eyes. She had kicked her blankets everywhere, and was panting as if she had just run a hundred miles. She blinked her blood shot eyes, and started coughing uncontrollably.

"Demeter, it's ok! I'm here," Munkustrap pulled the wheezing queen into his arms, and felt her heart pounding in her chest like a rabbit. Demeter leaned weakly against the tabby's broad shoulder, unable to say a word.

"Is everything ok?" the closet door was banged open and Bombalurina and Tugger ran in as if there was a fire.

"She had a nightmare," Munkustrap said as he gently caressed Demeter's back up and down.

"Demeter, you're all right?" Bombalurina gently rubbed her head against Demeter's side.

"She needs to calm down first," Munkustrap said.

"We could hear her scream all the way from the tire," said Tugger.

"She got pretty scared, I think," Munkustrap sighed, looking down at the shivering queen in his arms. "I woke her up in time."

"Demeter, it's ok," Bombalurina gently nudged Demeter's arm with her paw. "It was just a dream. We're here with you now."

Demeter slowly moved her head away from Munkustrap's shoulder and glimpsed around her. She swallowed hard as she noticed Munkustrap's hands around her.

"Demeter…" Munkustrap stared at her, not knowing what to do.

"M…Macavity!" Demeter finally cried out.

"What?" Bombalurina, Tugger, and Munkustrap cried in unison.

Tugger opened the closet door and peeked out into the junkyard. Nothing but dried leaves being swept up by the wind and occasionally the crickets chirping here and there. He closed the door, and noticed Demeter staring at it with terror in her eyes.

"Demeter, there is no Macavity…" Tugger said with bewilderment in his tone.

"He… he's here!" Demeter cried, and started quivering harder.

"Macavity?" Bombalurina stared at her sister in confusion.

"He's coming for me… he…" Demeter stammered. Her palms were already soaked with sweat.

"Demeter, what are you talking about?" Bombalurina cried, "Macavity is not gonna come for you! He's not even here!"

"But he'll be here… I know it… sooner or later, he will find me… " Demeter shook her head as her lips trembled, and hid her face into Munkustrap's shoulder fur.

"I think we should leave her alone for a while," Munkustrap said, "she still looks like she's in a total mess. She really needs some time to cool down."

"No!" Demeter cried out. "Don't… don't leave me! Don't leave…"

"All right, all right," Munkustrap caressed her head fur. "We won't leave then. We're staying here with you."

Bombalurina and Tugger eyed each other for a second, then turned back to Demeter. Bombalurina slowly moved closer to her sister, and nuzzled her side.

"We're all here with you, Demeter," the red queen said, "we won't let anyone hurt you! You can stop worrying now."

Demeter swallowed, and then gently broke free from Munkustrap's arms. She slowly crawled over to where she had slept a while ago, and fell weightlessly down onto the pile of rags.

"Demeter…" Bombalurina called.

"Where… where are the others now?" Demeter asked nervously.

"They're not here right now," Munkustrap replied, "they're all home with their humans. If you want, Tugger and I can walk you and Bombalurina to your house right now, though we thought you are still a bit too weak to go too far, so Jenny decided to let you sleep in her closet for a night."

Demeter looked over to her sister and Tugger, and heaved out a heavy sigh.

"I want to go home…" she whispered.

"I don't think you have the strength to do so right now, darling," Bombalurina put a paw over Demeter's. "How about we wait till morning, after you've had a good rest?"

Demeter looked at Munkustrap, whose eyes showed agreement with Bombalurina. She sighed again, and fell weightlessly onto the tabby's shoulder.

"No, I want to go now…" after a few minutes of silence, Demeter spoke weakly. "I need to go home, where I can really rest. Please, take me home…"

Bombalurina, Munkustrap, and Tugger looked at one another and sighed.

"All right, we'll take you to your human's house," Tugger said, "do you think you can walk?"

Demeter pushed away from Munkustrap and slowly moved herself up. Bombalurina went to help her as she shakily tried to get herself onto her feet.

"This really isn't the best idea," Bombalurina sighed as she watched nervously while Demeter struggled to steady herself. Munkustrap sighed and stretched out a paw for Demeter to hold on to.

"I'm ok," Demeter said as she tried her best to stand upright without wavering. "Let's go now."

The four of them slowly moved out into the night.

"Demeter, maybe you should get on my back," Munkustrap said as he looked at the queen taking her every step as if in a sleep walk.

"I'm fine, I said," Demeter said stubbornly as she continued moving forward, yet feeling her head reeling heavier and heavier. Before she realized, Munkustrap had scooped her up into his arms.

"What are you trying to prove?" Munkustrap sighed. When he saw that Demeter made no attempt to resist, he tossed Bombalurina and Tugger and glance of relief, and they continued walking down the street.

"Well, lovely night, isn't it?" Bombalurina said, trying to soften the tense air about the four of them.

Tugger nodded as he walked close to Bombalurina.

"You're feeling all right there?" Munkustrap looked down at Demeter, who was closing her eyes again.

"Sleepy…" Demeter said as she let out a yawn. "And… a little soar."

"Maybe you should stay at home and watch over her tomorrow, sweet," Tugger glimpsed at Demeter and said.

Bombalurina rubbed her head against Tugger's shoulder. "Maybe I should. How about you come over and watch over her with me?"

Tugger grinned at the red queen. "I'll try." He nuzzled Bombalurina as they finally reached the house of Demeter and Bombalurina's humans.

"Well, here we are," Munkustrap said as Demeter opened her sleepy eyes. They were standing before a small two-story yellow villa house, illuminated by lights here and there on the walls and the windows. Demeter gently slipped down and stood next to Bombalurina. She stared at the house, feeling her eyes wet.

"How I've missed this place, as much as the junkyard…" Demeter sighed. Bombalurina patted her on the back and turned back to the two toms.

"Well, thanks, you two. I guess we'll go inside now. I'll see you two possibly tomorrow morning?" Bombalurina asked.

"I'll stop by," Munkustrap said, glancing at Demeter, who looked away. "You take care of Demeter, ok? She probably needs you more than anyone else at this moment."

Bombalurina nodded, and then blew a kiss toward Tugger.

"Well, good night then, sweet pea," she grinned.

"You have a good night, baby," said Tugger, "and you, too, Demeter. Welcome home, by the way!"

Demeter squeezed out a small smile, and staggered toward the front door.

"Take it easy, Demeter," Munkustrap called, "have a good night rest, and we'll take care of everything else when you're well again, ok?"

Demeter nodded without turning her head.

"Careful on your way back, you two! Don't get run over!" Bombalurina called before hurrying to catch up with Demeter.

"For some reason, I feel that there are lot of things that we'll need to find out," Tugger said to Munkustrap as the two watched the two sisters enter the cat flap.

"We gotta get Demeter's mind back first," Munkustrap replied as he turned around to leave. "For some reason, I have a strong feeling that Macavity has something to do with this."

"That son of a Pollicle," Tugger gritted his teeth. "You're saying, that he could be the one responsible for Demeter disappearing for three months?"

"So far, he's a bigger suspect than anyone else. Whenever something happens, he's usually the first one we think about," Munkustrap threw Tugger a look as the two walked out of the small yard.

Demeter gently purred as she rested herself comfortably on her human's lap, with the human queen slowly running a soft brush up and down her damp fur, and scratching behind her ears at the same time. After a long warm bath, what a great feeling it was. Now again back onto her human's lap on her favorite couch in the living room, Demeter could not help but wanting to cuddle up to her human as much as she could. How she missed her all this time! The moment the human queen saw her walking in with Bombalurina, she looked like she was about to faint! How many kisses she had given her, and how tight she had held her in her arms with tears rolling down her face! Demeter gently licked the human queen's hand as another gently brush stroke passed by her ears.

"Hey, that tickles," the human queen pressed a kiss on Demeter's nose. "Oh, my darling. How good it is to have you here with me again. Gosh, how did I manage to live through these months? But you know, I never gave up hope. Scott had tried to persuade me to get another cat to make me feel better, but I refused. I knew you would come back, and you did! Because you're just my girl, my sweetie!"

Demeter purred and placed her small paw into the human's palm. She didn't even want to think about the past three months now. She did not want this moment of comfort and happiness to be ruined. All the way through past three months, this had been what she had been longing the most. And now finally she has it again.

"Hey, Aurora!" She heard a masculine voice coming from the stairs. The human queen turned her head toward a tall, dark-haired human tom who was coming down the stairs toward their way. "How is the girl doing?"

"Oh, I think she's doing just fine," Aurora smiled, looking down at Demeter. "Whatever happened to her the last few months… we got her back now. Oh, when is her appointment tomorrow, by the way?"

"One-thirty," Scott replied as he gave Demeter a gentle scratch on the head. "You poor little thing. If only you could talk. If only you can tell us what you've gone through. What son of a gun that dared to pick on you would sure meet his dead end!"

"Oh, Scott," Aurora called, "lower your voice! Don't scare her here. Hey, where is Charity, by the way?"

"Ah, there she is," Scott smiled as he pointed behind him. Bombalurina was walking into the living room, with a catnip mouse in her mouth.

"You two little brats," Scott picked Bombalurina up and rubbed her fur. "You two can never give the two of us any peace in life, can you?"

Bombalurina purred and smiled at Demeter.

"Hey, good to be home, sis?" she asked as she gently rubbed her head against Scott's chin.

Demeter nodded, though Bombalurina immediately noticed a look of sadness in her dark eyes.

"You're going to vet's tomorrow, right?" Bombalurina asked, trying not to bring up anything that would remind her.

Demeter nodded again. "Though I don't think there is anything wrong with me…"

She didn't sound too confident about that, Bombalurina thought. But she pressed herself to not say a word.

"Gosh, you two…" Aurora sighed as she reached over and scratched Bombalurina's neck. "When will you ever stop scaring me? I think life would be better off if I lock you both inside the house twenty-for seven!"

Bombalurina gave out a protesting meow.

"What do you mean no?" Scott tapped her nose and laughed.

Bombalurina rubbed against Scott's hand and purred.

"Hey, you know what? You two should go to bed now," Aurora smiled as she gently kissed Demeter on the forehead. "You wanna sleep with us, or do you want to go down to your room?"

Demeter purred and nuzzled Aurora's face. She wanted to be with her humans as much as being with her sister. She had missed them so.

"Well, I guess it's the first choice," Aurora smiled and stood up. "Now come on. Help me prepare the bed?"

Demeter purred as she jumped off of Aurora's lap as Scott put Bombalurina onto the floor, and the two walked toward the master's bedroom together.

"How I've missed everything," Demeter sighed as she watched Aurora going into the bathroom to brush her hair in front of the mirror. "So good to be back again. Back in this house, back with the loving humans, and back with everything that I love and am familiar with…"

"Demeter?" Bombalurina looked at her sister. Demeter's tone of voice worried her a bit, but she didn't know what to ask.

Demeter glanced at Bombalurina, then lowered her head and stared at the floor.

"You're all right there, Demeter?" Bombalurina asked, staring at her sister.

Demeter sighed. "Never mind. Let's just get some sleep first."

Maybe the best idea, Bombalurina thought to herself. Perhaps the next morning, she would be calmed down at least, and then she would ask more. But for now, let her get the rest that she needs.

"Yeah," she yawned, trying to loosen the tense atmosphere. "I'm tired, too. Which side of the bed do you want?"

"I think I'll go for the left," Demeter smiled.

"As usually expected," Bombalurina smiled back, and the two jumped onto the tall king sized bed.

"And of course, I missed this bed," Demeter uttered as she found a comfortable spot on the thick comforter, and slowly lied herself down.

"Let's just get a good night sleep first, and worry about other things later," Bombalurina muttered as she closed her eyes. "Anyway, welcome home, sis!"