What with Tugger and Alonzo gripping her arms and practically dragging her along to the Junkyard, the girl hadn't any more energy to try and scream. She'd hopped over the earth a few times after being held by them, but now the fight seemed to have gone out of her.

Both Jellicles holding her were unnerved. This was the first time they were actively questioning somebody and she didn't even seem to be harmful. But there was always the possibility that she could be scouting for the humans, and thus they couldn't afford to take any chances.

When they eventually reached the Junkyard, Munkustrap gestured to the brig. The Jellicles who were ready to fight lined the way, in case she suddenly decided to make a run for it. The girl glared at them all through bright blue eyes, and, seeing the size of the Tribe, did not try to fight back.

'Coricopat, Tantomile, Alonzo and Tugger,' Munkustrap ordered in a low voice, 'Join me in the…where we'll take her. Get the rest of them to stop staring, but keep an eye on here—get the kits out, and so forth—nothing should get out about her, is that clear?'

The Twins nodded in eerie unison: Tugger snorted, but seemed to obey, and Alonzo just moved the girl to the brig. With a sigh, Munkustrap beckoned the other three Jellicles in, and then entered the place himself, noting bitterly that he would have been happy never to use this place.

O

The girl was seated on a pile of old cleaning cloths, with Alonzo and Tugger flanking either side of her. Munkustrap had to give her some credit: Though filthy, not commanding an air of respect at all, she managed to look completely calm, as though if she just went by some script in her head, then everything would be fine.

Munkustrap rubbed his face. Yes, it was cruel to bring in a defenceless human, but the Jellicles desperately needed to know if they were in immediate danger.

He moved forward. 'I'm the leader of this Tribe. My name is Munkustrap.'

The girl said nothing, just hid her face.

The grey tabby sighed. He didn't have a clue how to handle this, and was afraid that it showed. He tried again.

'We brought you here because we think you may have been scouting for humans,' he said bluntly.

This earned him a reaction. The dull head snapped up, and the girl was yelling at Munkustrap, yellow teeth showing, eyes wild, screaming about obviously being a loner, couldn't he see that, why, she knew their real reason for bringing her in, and she'd sooner die before they did that to her--!

Munkustrap was glad for the Twins. Coricopat looked at her, and said clearly, 'Be silent,' pressing a paw forward onto her shoulder. If anyone but one of the Twins had tried that, he knew, somehow, that the girl would have slashed out with her jagged nails. As it was, the human fell quieter, though still glaring defiantly.

Casting a grateful glance to Coricopat, at his side, Munkustrap continued with his line of questioning, going for something simpler.

'What should we call you?'

'My name,' the girl spat, 'Is Beth.'

She still continued to glare, casting her gaze around the room for an escape route or something to fight her way out with. Noticing this, Munkustrap hastened to reassure her.

'Not one of us will harm you.'

'How do I know that?' Beth said shrilly, still not moving from the pile of cloth. Tantomile cast a glance to her brother, who shook his head to indicate he would not order her silence again just yet.

Tugger scratched his chin. 'Well, we haven't slaughtered you yet, so I'd say that would give you a good idea—' He caught Alonzo's look. 'Right, yes, sorry, just trying to give advice…'

Munkustrap sat up on an old desk they'd put in the brig specifically for questioning scenarios. 'So. Beth. What were you doing by the Ford?'

Beth sniffed. 'Is it illegal to sit down nowadays?'

That was an interesting question. Every kit knew that beyond a certain point in London, the humans and Jellicles maintained an uneasy no-mans-land. This human looked to be in her middle to late teens, and should have known that through pure experience, if nothing else. Munkustrap was suddenly glad that he had trusted his instincts enough to pull in the first loner.

'Well…' he said slowly, 'It's certainly not recognised as a safe place to be. Almost universally so. It's Jellicle territory.'

The girl wound a piece of hair rapidly through her knobbly fingers, looking down quickly. Coricopat looked straight at his sister and raised his eyebrows. They both knew the girl was lying—it didn't take a mystical cat to see it. Whether about her name or her actual motive to being there, she definitely merited more questioning.

'What were you doing there?' Munkustrap proceeded carefully, seeing Beth's mind work quickly to formulate a story for herself.

'I didn't know about the Jellicle ownership,' she said slowly, and finally let go of her hair. 'I was drawing in the dust.'

'Why?'

'Cause I was bored.'

'Why?'

'Cause I've been on my own for three years now and having nobody to talk to makes it dull,' she shot straight back, presumably attempting flattery to alleviate suspicion.

'Do you normally live round here?' asked Alonzo suddenly, signalling for Munkustrap to leave this question to him.

Beth twisted round to face the black-and-white face of her guard. 'No,' she replied. (Coricopat and Tantomile looked at each other in surprise: the girl displayed none of the liar's signs as she had in her previous answers) 'I normally sleep in the old hospital offices.'

'Ever see a Jellicle round there?' asked Tugger quickly.

She shook her head. 'The only reason I moved in was 'cause there weren't any cats.'

The three questioners looked at each other, confused. 'But—there was a cat there.'

She shrugged. 'Maybe he moved on.'

Or was killed by humans, thought Coricopat grimly, and reflected that this would not bode well for her.

'You ever killed a Jellicle?' demanded Tugger, holding onto her arm tightly.

She winced in pain as he increased pressure, until Alonzo glared at him to remind him that they had promised not to hurt her.

'No,' she answered sulkily, trying to move her arm to make the soreness go away. 'But I've seen them that have. It's why I'm alone now—I'm not going to eat sentient things.'

Tantomile shook her head. It was clear the girl was either mad or desperately trying to get the Jellicles on her side. Eating sentient things was about the only way to live now; all the plant life having been wiped out by the bomb and nobody being capable of planting other vegetables. The Jellicles themselves subsided on old canned food, blasted open by Mistoffelees, or care packages supplied by countries who mistakenly believed the Jellicles were trying to take over the world, and feeding them would make them pass over their country. It was a rumour the Jellicles did their best to encourage.

When it became blatantly obvious to everyone there, even to the girl herself, that most of her claims were lies, Munkustrap took the Twins aside.

'Look,' he whispered. 'We all know she needs to be asked some more questions, but I really can't see how much she has lied about. Since you can tell-'

'It's just a matter of body language, you know,' interrupted Tantomile gently.

'Be that as it may,' the Jellicle leader pressed on sternly, 'We still can't tell. Would you be able to sit with her, dissect the flaws in her story, be able to tell if she is a renegade human or a hungry, lying one?'

'And if she is lying?' said Coricopat, in a low voice.

Munkustrap sighed again and rubbed his forehead. 'I need to talk to Old Deuteronomy then. But we can't allow her back to the group she came from.'

The Twins nodded. 'So, will we have guards around the room?' they wanted to know.

'Of course. Mungojerrie, Alonzo, Tugger, Admetus…will that be sufficient?'

'Quite satisfactory,' they answered as one, and made their way towards Beth.

O

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