Author's notes: I'll be the first to admit that this isn't brilliant, but it's another chapter... and hey, someone out there may enjoy reading it! Please R&R!
"Munkustrap, I'm hungry."
"Electra, we know." Jemima said through gritted teeth.
"But I am…"
"So you keep telling us."
"But Jemi, I'm so…"
"Hungry? We already know how bloody hungry you are!" Jemima snapped.
"Girls calm down… look there's a butchers over there. There's bound to be some leftovers out the back." Munkustrap was getting tired of their constant bickering.
"FOOOOOD!" Electra screamed, running towards to butchers.
"Electra slow down!" Munkustrap called out as he and Jemima ran after her. They scaled the fence and Electra found the first piece of meat.
"Hmmm… that's good…" Electra mumbled through a mouthful of chicken, spraying the contents over Jemima.
"Yuck! That's disgusting Electra!" Jemima snapped pushing the kitten away.
"Please don't fight…" Munkustrap muttered; his efforts would be futile, knowing the kittens wouldn't listen to him.
"'AY! GE' 'WAY YA BLOODY CA'S!" The butcher yelled from the back door.
"RUN!" Electra screamed, sprinting out of the yard. Munkustrap and Jemima followed Electra swiftly when the butcher started to wave a carving knife at them.
"At least I'm not hungry anymore." Electra sniffed after Munkustrap had a go at her. Not that she'd done anything wrong it was just Munkustrap was getting so stressed out with the kittens' behaviour.
"Your behaviour is really not acceptable, I need to find a punishment suitable for…"
"Is that Misto? Why's he with Macavity?" Jemima gasped pointing at two figures at the end of the alley.
"It can't be Macavity… I've killed him…" Munkustrap told the startled kitten.
"Then who is it?" Electra piped up, spotting the topic of conversation.
"Lets go find out." Munkustrap snarled grimly, at the back of his mind he knew who it was and he knew what he was going to do to this cat. He led the two kittens down the alley towards these two cats.
"I'm getting hungry." Misto complained.
"I know a butchers near here who always has scraps of meat out the back." Evevity quickly said.
"Where?" Misto demanded.
"Follow me."
"Is it far?"
"Nope."
"Will there be lots of meat?"
"Depends."
"On what?"
"Time. Day. Season."
"Oh. Will there be chicken?"
"Probably."
"Pork?"
"I guess so."
"What about strays?"
"Why are you asking so many questions, Misto?"
"Don't know Eve. I'm just bored."
"Well, be bored in silence."
"Oh… OK."
"Good."
The two walked (silently) to an alley entrance and Misto could see the butchers like a shining beacon at the other end. At the end of the alley was a small group of strays. There were only three of them and only one seemed to be an adult, though they were still strays.
"Eve, there's some strays down there."
"Don't worry, I'll finish then off for you."
The strays had seen them and they where starting to make their way towards them.
"Eve, they're coming…" Misto was whispering.
"I know. Don't worry they're just strays."
"I know they're just strays but I've had bad experiences with strays. The less said about it the better."
Misto looked closely at the strays, particularly at the adult. The adults' tabby fur was grey, almost black, from dirt and it was fairly matted. He was quite bony and one of his arms was tied, in what seemed like, a badly made splint. His face was badly bruised and very slightly swollen. He seemed very familiar, but Misto couldn't remember from where, maybe it was one of the strays that attacked him when he was a kitten. The two other strays with this cat where in a similar condition, except for the splint.
"Don't worry Misto, I'll finish them off. You just wait here." Evevity said, walking out to 'greet' the strays.
"Munkustrap, she's the one that had those strays catnap us." Jemima's voice quivered violently with fear.
"Don't worry, I'll sort her out, you and Electra just stay back." Munkustrap whispered just loud enough for the two kittens to hear.
He left them by a sick green door and walked on to confront the queen. He quickly took a glance beyond the fiery feline to the small tom hovering at the alley entrance. It was Mistoffelees!
The fiery queen noticed his glance and took the moment. She leapt forward, sending Munkustrap sprawling across the floor, while she landed lightly on her feet. Munkustrap tried to push himself up but the queen put a stop to that. She sprung at him and knocking him over again. Then she sat on his chest to stop any further attempts to stand. Munkustrap cried out as the queen began to punch and claw at his very fragile face. For a moment she paused, she lent forward and started to whisper in his ear.
"This is the part where I kill you, any last words stray?" She hissed.
"Yeah. Just a question, what's your name?"
"What kind of last words are they? Anyway it's Evevity. And I don't care what yours is, you're just a dead stray."
"Why did you catnap and kill my friends?"
"What? Where they stray friends of yours or something? If they're strays you know it don't matter."
"I'm not a stray, neither where my friends. My friends where Jellicles, my good friends."
Evevity lent forward and whispered, "Jellicles? Oh yeah, I killed them for a good reason, all you have to do is ask Exotica who Nigella and Viola where. There's just one very small problem, you'll never find out, as you'll be dead. Pity really, the truthful answer would have been so interesting…"
CRASH
Evevity disappeared from view and Jemima's face replaced the gap where Evevity's had been.
"Are you Ok Munkustrap?" Jemima asked, pulling him to his feet.
"This is going far too quickly for me." Munkustrap muttered.
"What you talking about?"
"Oh, don't worry about it…"
"MISTO!" Electra screamed behind them. A blur of grey-brown shot past them and it lunged at Misto, knocking the poor tom over.
The reunion was a little strange, first Munkustrap had to make sure Evevity was out cold, and then he had to talk to Misto. This may seem like a walk in the park but Misto was never any good with tricky reunion situations. First he had to come to terms with the fact that his new 'friend' had killed and catnapped his original friends. Then there was his friends' new look, matted and dirty. Thankfully this look's reversible. Then Misto had to give them an update on deaths.
"Oh no, not Coricopat. Tantomile must be heart broken." Munkustrap gasped as he held the crying kittens.
"She's heartbroken beyond belief. She says she feels cold inside, like an evil blackness is eating her heart and soul." Misto sighed pityingly.
"At least Alonzo's alive." Munkustrap smiled sadly. "Is he in good health?"
"He's stable if that's what you mean. Halfway through our search for you, we returned to the junkyard to make sure he wasn't dead as well. He kept saying that it was his fault you where catnapped and Coricopat got killed. Everyone thinks you're dead. But Alonzo, he feels so responsible, but your alive and that'll help no end. I hope Tugger's ok..."
"He's not dead, I don't think, he just got left behind…." Munkustrap started a long and detailed account of exactly what happened. By the time he'd finished, the light was beginning to fade and the kittens where cold and hungry.
"What'll we do with Eve?" Misto asked, trying to forget about what might be happening to his best friend.
"Eve? How long has she been with you for?" Jemima chirped, asking the question on Munkustrap's lips for him.
"Long enough. She was with us for several days, even helped us fend off strays…"
"The 'good cat, bad cat' act. Anyone would have fallen for it." Munkustrap muttered, interrupting Misto.
"Anyway, we should get back to the junkyard. Everyone will be so happy to know you're alive."
"Lets drag Evevity with us, we can let the Jellicles find a suitable punishment for her." Munkustrap said.
Misto and the kittens looked at him with surprise. Usually he chose punishment that didn't involve the others input.
"He's got time to rethink it over." Misto whispered to the kittens as they made their way back to the junkyard, dragging the queen behind them.
All that wait for a short chapter. Don't worry, the next chapter is in the making already. Please R&R!