Chapter 17 – Slow Comprehension

Demeter woke up with a headache. Yes, a definite headache. There wasn't getting around that. But where did it come from?

Looking around, she realized she had never been to this place before. She was inside a room, a man-made enclosure of four walls and an opening only big enough for a cat to fit through (as the door was broken at the bottom.) Oh, dear…

Demeter felt her heart begin to beat faster as she tried to get up, but the headache caused her to tip over quite suddenly. No, she couldn't go walking around just yet. Lifting her paw to her head, she felt the lump that was there. She hissed air through her teeth at the pain she felt before closing her eyes. Perhaps this was all a dream…

Everything seemed hazy, after all, and she knew very well that dreams can be very painful until the moment you wake up. Demeter frowned, as she never liked dreaming. She always felt trapped in her dreams…and this seemed to be no exception. All she could do was deal with the feeling until she woke up, as she surely would. (Hopefully, that would be soon.)

Someone cleared his throat, and Demeter looked up, surprised. Macavity was standing there, in front of her. His coat was dusty and matted with dirt and what she hoped wasn't blood. His whiskers were mangled, hardly kept straight for proper use. And it seemed like his face looked much more…she wasn't sure…older? Worn out? His eyes were sunken in like that of a cat who hadn't slept in a very long time. Or from having seen too much in his time…

He looked very different from that well-kept cat from when they were in the Jellicle Tribe together. That seemed so long ago. But he seemed hazy as well, so she wasn't sure what to make of this. Was it a dream? Or more likely, was this a nightmare?

Macavity laughed and smiled a scary smile. "You look surprised," he said.

"Where am I?" she asked, shaking her head, before feeling herself tip slightly to the side as the pain in her head threw off her balance.

"Let me show you around, my dear," he said simply. He turned and began to lead the way. Not sure of what to do, Demeter slowly lifted herself, held her aching head, and began to follow the hazy figure of the cat that was a nightmare incarnate.

Once she stepped out of the room, she stopped in awe. She was in a warehouse, complete with a roof over her head and enclosed spaces. And there were dozens upon dozens of cats roaming all around the warehouse. As she was standing on a staircase, she could see all the cats teaming around at the first floor. There were so many, the floor might as well have been moving…

"Is this your tribe?" the queen asked absentmindedly. Some of the cats seemed to notice Demeter, and began giving her dirty looks and hissing lowly, some whispering to others and grinning menacingly. All of them looked dirty, covered in one or another filthy thing, and the air about them was ominous. Demeter knew at once that she stuck out like a sore paw. Macavity seemed to be smiling a smug smile to her. "What am I doing here?" she asked in a whisper to the banished cat she never expected to see again.

Macavity rolled his eyes. "I brought you here," he answered dryly. He probably thought it was a dumb question to ask.

"But why?" Demeter asked. Macavity stared at her, as though trying to decipher the question himself. He then sighed, as though annoyed with her questions, and beckoned her to follow him. Having no where else to go, she did so.

The 'tour' of his new tribe was….frightening, to say the least. Cats raced out of Macavity's way, but the moment the cat was past them, they hissed and made to scratch Demeter. The queen raced up to keep close to Macavity, but at times, even that wouldn't help. Her headache was still pounding away, and when she raced to catch up to the fast walking cat, she felt she would tip over, causing her to slow down, and cats to attempt to scratch at her.

The inhabitants alone were terrifying enough without the overwhelming stench of garbage and ammonia wafting in the air, making her feel sick. And every once and a while, she could spot red splatters on the floor she tried to ignore. The kittens seemed the calmest things in the tribe, but even their games of what should be playful wrestling seemed overly violent. And every area or room they entered in their "tour" was filled with human items that Demeter was hardly familiar with. Some of the items were hardly anything to fret over, some were even pretty. But some had sharp edges or spikes that were certainly broken or even made to be that way. Why these cats had them, she did not want to know.

"Let me show you something, Demeter," said the cat with an almost mischievous smile. (It was very unsettling.) Demeter stepped back when she heard a very distinct "NOOOOOO" come from the other side of the 'door' that was in front of them. Her fur was on end, and she began shaking. The pitiful moaning made her cringe, and she wasn't sure what to do with herself. "I would opt to call it a form of torture, but the others don't deem it so," explained the ginger cat.

Demeter's heart jumped into her throat. A form of torture so horrible that the other villainous cats didn't even consider it a form of torture! "Macavity, you wouldn't!" breathed the frightened queen.

"I would," he grinned evilly, and began to open the door. And what she saw on the other side…

"NOOOO!" screamed the orange and black tabby. "DAMN YOU, GRIDDLEBONE! That's the third time I lost this week!" He sank down in horror, cards in his paws. A white Persian smiled smugly, taking her winnings close to her and putting it in the pile behind her. "My sistah is gunna kill me!"

"It's your fault, Mungo," the queen said slyly, taking up a small jewel and inspecting it. "You're the one who keeps betting against me. You should know better by now." At that, she placed the jewel in her volumous fur, and there it disappeared.

Demeter breathed a sigh of relief. Macavity seemed to find her jittery sigh amusing. "What did you expect to see?" he asked the frightened queen. "Pekes hanging by their dewclaws? It's just a bit of harmless fun for my tribe." The tabby jumped up at the sound of the ginger cat's voice, but the Persian simply looked Demeter over, a knowing smile on her face.

"Don't be rude, Mungo," said the white queen, shuffling her cards. "Introduce yourself to the new tribe member." Demeter didn't realize right then that the other queen was talking about her.

"I'm Mungojerrie," said the cat, a mix of grumpiness and nervousness in his voice. His paws fished for Griddlebone's cards to make sure she didn't cheat, before the queen hit his paw away. "An' that's Griddlebone," he said, rubbing his paw. The white queen bowed her head at the introduction.

"Macavity," the queen said, turning her head to the ginger cat, a cunning smile on her face. "Would you like to play a game of cards?" Macavity seemed to be keen to the offer, but before he could accept, there was a loud noise outside, and some hissing and yowling. The white queen sighed. "You should probably go fix that. You can't have too many of your tribe members dying, now can you?"

Macavity growled lowly at the suggestion, before looking at Demeter as though he suddenly remember she was there. (Demeter remembered that indifference in his addressing her from when they were kittens, and quite frankly hated it now.) "Just don't get attacked," he said to the queen, before turning to Mungojerrie. The orange tabby stiffened. "Bring her to my den when you're done here." Without waiting for a response, he slipped out of the room with a very quiet footfall.

"NEXT!" Griddlebone called at the top of her lungs, making Demeter jump.

"I'll go," said Demeter before she realized it. Her head was still aching, and her headache seemed to be getting worse. But all in all, the cats in front of her were still covered in haze, which made her wish that this was all just some odd nightmare, and she would wake up next to Bombalurina, or Munkustrap would hear her cries and come to comfort her.

Mungojerrie looked at the new queen in surprise and some reverence. Apparently she didn't look like the gambling type. Demeter knew that look pretty well from the looks her sister got - not the 'she's so pretty' look, but the 'she's got guts' look. Griddlebone must have thought the same thing, as she smirked and shuffled the cards.

"You're new here, kitten. I don't want to take you for all your worth. And you really don't have anything to bargain…" Demeter looked around her, half expecting some form of collateral to appear before her. But nothing came. "Well, I guess I would have to do with that cute little collar of yours." Demeter grabbed at her collar in shock, which made the queen smile. "And in return, if you win, you can have anything in my horde of things that you desire."

"How about his stuff back?" Demeter suggested, pointing a paw at Mungojerrie. The cat looked baffled at the queen. He himself had a collar on as well, and absentmindedly pawed at it when she made the suggestion. He must have known the pride of carrying a collar of a family who loves him, if nothing else.

"You would risk your collar for the items of a stranger?" Griddlebone asked. "My dear kitten, you really ARE new to the tribe. The first thing they teach you is not to trust anyone, and no one ever learns the easy way."

Demeter stared at the cat, tempted to say something, but she bit her lip instead. She had no idea what this beautiful Persian might do to her if she said what she wanted to right then. "I guess I'll learn the hard way," she said as casually as she could, not sure what the queen was really getting at. Would someone be so untrustworthy?

Griddlebone smiled lithely and waved the cat over to sit while she shuffled the cards. As Mungojerrie watched carefully, the white queen dealt the cards. "A game of blackjack, if you will? What you do is try and get to twenty-one, without going over. Closest to twenty-one wins."

"I've played this game before," Demeter said, remembering how keen Macavity had been on playing card games when they were kittens. His brain never seemed to want to stop working, and card games gave him a little challenge. Griddlebone seemed surprised at first, but then smiled knowingly. (That smile was getting on Demeter's nerves…what was she so knowledgeable about?)

After passing the cards out appropriately, the white queen burst into conversation. "What is a sweet little thing like you doing here, anyways? You're demeanor is all wrong. You don't even look like you would make a good thief…no offense, Mungo."

"None taken," Mungojerrie said, looking over Demeter's shoulder as the queen looked at her overturned card. She didn't really like the tom so close to her…as on top of everything else, he smelled like garbage, really. But that seemed to be the common smell of the entire warehouse…

"I was brought here by Macavity," Demeter said, not wanting to divulge her theory of this all being a dream. She touched the knot on her head and winced slightly. (Well, at least now she knew it still hurt…)

But the gold and black queen's reaction to her pain said it all to the white queen. "He…brought…you here? Those are hardly the words you're looking for, kitten. He kit-napped you and you know it. I'm just amazed at how calm you are right now. This is probably all hard for you to take in, I'm guessing."

Looking up sharply at the queen across from her, she tried hard to focus on her. No, she was still hazy, telling her that she was probably still trapped in her dream. And why was she being addressed as a kitten in her own nightmare? If anything, she should get respect. "My name is Demeter," she said to the Persian.

"It doesn't matter," said Griddlebone with a sad look on her face. "You probably won't last too long anyways. They never do." Demeter looked over to the tabby on her right, but he was frowning at the Persian. The gold and black queen could feel her heartbeat quicken, but she tried hard not to get a flustered look on her face.

As the Persian dealt her final card, Demeter made a motion to stay. She then showed her card total. "Nineteen," she announced. Mungojerrie smiled smugly at Griddlebone.

"Twenty-one," smiled Griddlebone roguishly, turning her card over. "It's time to pay, dear little one." Demeter cursed herself for letting her guard down. As the Persian held her paw out for her payment, Demeter hesitated. Dream or not, her collar meant a lot to her…she probably should have thought this more through. (But with the bump on her head, who could think straight?) She should have at least kept a better eye on the queen, to catch her in the act…but a bet was a bet.

"So sorry, love," said the tabby as Demeter took her collar off. She let out a short sigh as she handed her collar over to the dream Persian. Was it just her, or did the queen start glowing?

"I love collars," the Persian explained as she took the collar and examined the license. "Don't you, Pumpkin?" Griddlebone then tried Demeter's collar on over her bare neck, making the gold and black queen cringe. She suddenly felt sick. What if this wasn't a dream and she had actually handed her collar, her memory, her name over to the cheating Persian? "What do you think, Mungo? Don't I look luscious?"

"Yeah, yeah," Mungojerrie said, taking Demeter's arm in his paw and helping her up to leave. Demeter fell back against the tabby before she could get her balance. "You 'ave the collah, stop gloatin'." Demeter knew she had to wake up soon. She had to, and she would have her collar and be safe with everyone she knew, safe in the junkyard. After all, she did feel weird when she first thought she saw Macavity. She might have fainted from sun stroke or something, making her hallucinate this entire ordeal.

But the tom that was helping her get her balance seemed so real…

"I'm so sorry," Mungojerrie said as he walked her around the unfamiliar, indistinct area. "If I'da known you were gunna do that, I'da stopped ya."

"It's not your fault," Demeter said. "I was trying to catch her cheating, but she drew my attention away. My sister is better at spotting it than I am."

"Ah, no one's evah seen 'er cheat," Mungojerrie said. "I don' even think she does…"

"She did," Demeter assured him. "I know it when I see it…it's just catching them in the act that's hard."

"I KNEW IT!" Mungojerrie said quite loudly, causing many heads to turn in their direction. Demeter held her head as it started to pound again. Some of the cats seemed to notice who the orange and black tabby was escorting, and made to claw at the cat, but Mungojerrie hissed at them and threatened to scratch them if they came close. It was crude, but she didn't get quite so many jabs or scrapes with someone as her extra eyes. "Why'd ya be wit 'er if ya knew she was gunna cheat?"

Demeter wasn't sure how to answer that. Mainly, she was intrigued by the scene taking place in front of her, and figured that if she was in a dream, she might as well do some good. But that hardly sounded so good, so she had to make something up fast to the dream tabby. After all, she was hardly a saintly cat, but she might as well be one in her own delusion. "I didn't think it was right that she was taking advantage of you," she said. That sounded good…

Mungojerrie seemed to appreciate that lie, and smiled.

When they finally got to Macavity, he told the tabby to leave them alone. Mungojerrie gladly left the presence of the ginger cat.

The former Jellicle got up on a chair that allowed him to tower over whoever he was talking to. He then looked down and smiled deviously to her. "What do you think? Not bad for a banished cat, hmm? An entire tribe at my disposal, and they all depend on me as their leader." Demeter stared at the ginger cat. Sure she wasn't feeling too well, but she wasn't sure she was hearing correctly… "Welcome to my tribe, Demeter." He laid his head against his paw, surveying the queen for a reaction.

"Uh…" was all she could manage at first, before trying to shake her head clear. "I already have a tribe. You know that. I love them like my family."

"Them?" Macavity asked in a cold voice that made Demeter shiver. Sure, the ginger cat had never been pleasant to be around, but he usually wasn't quite so intimidating. "That old cat kicked me out of the tribe for defending you and you sister. And that 'brother' of mine became tribe protector. I would have been much better. I'm much stronger than HIM any day." There was no contending Macavity's strength. He may have been tall and thin, but he was all muscle. Compared to him, Munkustrap looked like a fat house cat, true. But had the cat so easily forgotten why he was banished? Had he learned anything? She wouldn't say anything to him, for no matter what she thought of her reality at that moment, Macavity was still an alarming presence. He looked far more hostile than he ever did in the tribe. And she had no idea what he was capable of now.

"Don't you agree?" he asked her, staring at the queen as though waiting for something.

"I wouldn't know," Demeter managed. While he probably could easily beat the silver tabby she was very fond of, she didn't want to think of what could happen if he won a fight against Munkustrap.

"You'll know soon enough," he said lowly. Demeter shuddered. "Go find a place to sleep," he said before waving her off with his paw.

Glad to get away from the ginger cat, she went out the way she came in before brushing across another cat. "Excuse me," she said mechanically, before her heart stopped beating for a moment. The cat stared at her in the same bewildered fashion. They simply stared at each other, both dumb-founded, before the cat made a move to attack the queen. But he suddenly stopped and turned around to see Macavity was at the entry to his den, staring at cat with a gleam in his eyes Demeter remembered well. The cat quickly withdrew and ran away.

After a tense moment, Macavity looked over to Demeter with a serious look on his face. "You remember him, don't you?" he asked, before turning and going back into his den.

Oh, yes. She remembered that cat…though he was hardly quite so alive and well at the time. He remembered him lying in a pool of blood. He remembered the chaos that ensued that night. And though that should have assured her that this was all a nightmare, comprehension suddenly dawned in her poor, aching head.

This was not a dream…

This was not a nightmare…

She was trapped in a very scary reality…and as all the cats stared at her like she was their prey, she realized she might have just been sent to hell.

A/N : Hehe, um...Bio test...Otherwise I would have updated earlier. Anyways! So, I've been working on the ending to this story lately...and I still haven't gotten the kinks worked out..and in about eight chapters I'll have run out of material if I don't think about the ending NOW! Lol, great! Work, imagination, work!

Demo: Heh, You seem to be the only one worried about Demeter right now. Oh sure, when she gets shoved into Munku's house, everyone is all "she must be so scared", now they're all "Hey! Look! it's Macavity!" Lol! Thanks for your concern for her!
Satin: Ah, brain-washing, now there's a scenario I tried playing with...
Krissy4: Shame on you! You should always read even when you can't stand looking at the written word one more minute ((wink)) Lol, as long as you review when you can't, I love ya for it! No worries ((pats you on the head))
Enkeli-Kitsu: LOL if they could just be mates, that would be wonderful for them but...such a boring story. But I know what you mean! I wuv those kitty-cats.