Cielito recognized his surroundings. He had been here before! He grinned happily to himself as he followed Chloe. They were nearly at the Junkyard. He even remembered what he was supposed to be doing – hiding in the Junkyard and watching the Jellicles. If any came near to the leader's den, where Macavity was hiding, he had to warn Macavity so that he could deal with them.
There it was! Cielito followed Chloe across the street. At the edge of the fence, Chloe turned to him.
"Listen," She hissed. "Macavity is already in the Junkyard, I can smell his scent. I'll go to the right and watch that side of the Junkyard. You go to the left."
"Ok!" Cielito agreed, and watched as Chloe's graceful, slender body blended with the shadows as she moved around the edge of the Junkyard. With a sigh, he turned to the left and padded along the fenceline. He found a gap in the fence and was about to step through when he heard a noise coming towards him – the sound of running paws. Turning, he saw a cat running towards him, a young female carrying a kitten. He flinched, fully expecting the small queen to raise the alarm, but to his surprise she barely glanced at him before leaping through the hole in a flurry of black and gold fur. Cielito peered after them in confusement. Why hadn't they called the alarm, or at least told him to get lost? Strange. But a lot better than getting caught! Cielito shuddered to think of what Chloe would have done to him if he'd ruined the whole mission like that. Cautiously checking both directions, he stepped through the broken fence and into the Junkyard.
"It's not fair!" Pouncival complained, squirming as Jellylorum cleaned him vigourously. "Tumble always wins when we play hide-and-seek. And you're not cleaning him!"
"I will when I find him," Jellylorum said distractedly. "Keep still!"
"But he didn't come out when I called!" Pouncival whined. "I bet he'll hide until you forget to clean him. It's not fair!"
"I won't forget to clean him!" Jellylorum laughed. "Whenever I see a dirty kitten I clean them, and Tumblebrutus is always dirty, just like you. You wouldn't need so much washing if you stayed out of the mud and dust."
Pouncival sighed glumly. "It's still not fair." He muttered quietly to himself. Jellylorum smiled to herself and turned him around.
"Well, you're done. Go and see if you can find Tumble, then." She suggested, but Pouncival didn't move.
"Look! There he is…" He pointed. Across the Junkyard, Demeter was racing towards them at top speed, carrying Tumblebrutus. Pouncival looked towards Jellylorum, sensing immediately that something was wrong. Jellylorum leapt to her feet, feeling the same wave of terror. Behind her, Jennyanydots stopped talking to Admetus mid-sentence and stood up, the fur on the back of her neck standing up.
"What's wrong?" Admetus asked in confusion, looking around to try and locate the source of the fear. They both heard a cry and turned to see Demeter gasping for breath and Tumblebrutus clinging to Jellylorum with all his strength.
"What's happened?" Jenny asked worriedly, moving swiftly to Demeter, who had dropped to her knees.
"It's…Alonzo!" Demeter panted, her breath coming in ragged gasps, hysteria mixing with exhaustion and adrenaline. "He's…he's…" She looked up and Jenny shivered with dread at what she saw in those clear green eyes. "We found Alonzo outside the Junkyard, at the edge of the alley!" Demeter's voice was shrill and slightly hysterical. "He's…" She began to cry, her face in her paws. Jenny looked to Jellylorum, who was trying to comfort Tumblebrutus. Keeping her head, she snapped out orders.
"Jellylorum, stay with Tumble and Demi. Admetus, come with me!" Admetus nodded, his eyes wide, and followed Jenny across the Junkyard to the alley.