Chapter 6

Hollypaw led Lionpaw and Jaypaw to the front of the train. She had to grab Lionpaw to stop him from strangling Blossomkit when they passed through the gift shop compartment.

They found Briarkit sitting in a chair. Hollypaw could see every one of her ribs.

"Briarkit," she mewed, "you need to eat something right now."

"I can't," Briarkit mewed. "There's not even enough for anybody else on the train. If I used up all of our food everyone will die of starvation."

"You look like you're going to any second," mewed Hollypaw. "And if you go without eating anything for a few more days, you'll grow so thin we'll be able to look right through your stomach and see objects on the other side."

"She has a point," Lionpaw mewed.

"Shut up!" Jaypaw hissed. "Hollypaw doesn't need you treading on her tail."

"You want a piece of me?" Lionpaw snarled.

"Try me!" Jaypaw snarled back.

"I'll claw your face off!"

"Stop it!" Hollypaw yowled.

Lionpaw gave Jaypaw one last glare and then turned back to Briarkit.

Hollypaw handed her a bowl of pasta.

"Fine!" Briarkit huffed. She finished it in a few famished gulps.

"I'll be back with more," Hollypaw mewed, then turned to Lionpaw and Jaypaw. "If I hear you two have one fight with each other, I'll eat another piece of special effects candy and beat you both to a pulp."

***

Hollypaw walked back through the kitchen. She had just bought a chocolate gumball. She popped it into her mouth and began chewing.

When she got back to her room, she lay down in her bed to take a nap. Suddenly, there was an awful grinding noise, like nails on a chalkboard. Not a moment later, Briarkit's voice sounded from a speaker in the top corner of the room.

"We are experiencing some technical difficulties. Please standby- Whoa!"

That last part was because the train had tipped sideways. Hollypaw grabbed onto the door knob to stop herself from being smacked against the window.

After a few minutes the train straitened back up. But something was still wrong. Hollypaw could sense it. She bolted out of her room and down the hall. She heard Lionpaw and Jaypaw running behind her.

When they got to the door leading into the dining room, Hollypaw saw what the problem was.

The hook holding the dining room compartment onto their compartment had almost completely slipped out of the loop. In a few seconds it would unhook and they would be propelled backwards.

"What should we do?" Hollypaw yowled over the wind.

"You guide Jaypaw across!" Lionpaw yelled back. "Then I'll cross over."

Hollypaw winced as Jaypaw's jaw closed over her tail.

"One, two, three, jump!" she shouted.

Once they were safely inside the dining compartment, Lionpaw jumped over and entered the compartment after them, not a moment too soon. The hook had slipped out of the loop, and the lobby, bedroom, and highly dangerous magical objects compartment flew backwards. They must have hit something, because they came flying back.

"RUN!!!" Hollypaw screamed. She hurtled through the dining room, knocking over tables and chairs in her flurry to get out of the way. Lionpaw and Jaypaw followed suit. Together they flew at the door to the kitchen and broke it right off its hinges.

Then there went the dining room compartment. And can you guess what happened next? That too came flying back towards them.

Rosekit and Toadkit were frantically grabbing box after box of pasta. Hollypaw, Lionpaw, and Jaypaw went straight for the door.

When Rosekit and Toadkit couldn't wait any longer, they took a flying leap and landed in the gift shop compartment.

Then there went the kitchen. And can you guess what happened then? That too came hurtling back towards them.

Blossomkit and Bumblekit grabbed their candy baskets and ran into the front of the train, where Briarkit was sitting in a chair, desperately trying to control the train. Next went Rosekit and Toadkit. They threw their pasta over first. All of Rosekit's boxes made it to the other side, but one of Toadkit's missed and hit the water below with a SPLOOSH! Hollypaw, Lionpaw, and Jaypaw went over last.

Then there went the gift shops. And can you guess what happened after that? The compartment came flying back towards them again. But this time there was nowhere else to go.

Briarkit yanked the steering wheel to the left and the gift shop compartment just missed them, but then the kitchen came flying back towards them. Briarkit forced the wheel down and they plummeted towards the water below.

"UP!!! NOW!!!" Hollypaw yowled, and Briarkit moved the steering wheel back up.

Next came the dining compartment. Briarkit tried to level out the train, but the wheel was stuck. They were shooting upwards at the speed a jet plane. Soon they were in the clouds.

"I... can't... see!" Briarkit grunted as she tried to force the steering wheel back down. Finally the wheel slid into place, and they just missed the lobby, which was flying past.

Next came the bedroom compartment. Briarkit took a sharp left to avoid it, completely turning the train (or what was left of the train) around.

Suddenly, the highly dangerous magical object compartment came flying out of nowhere. It was headed straight for them. Briarkit tried to push the steering wheel down, but it wouldn't budge.

"Come on, you stupid wheel!" she hissed, now pounding on the steering wheel. Finally she jumped on it with such force that it snapped right off.

The good news: What was left of the steering wheel popped into place.

The bad news: They were now hurtling down towards the ocean without any equipment.

"Okay," Hollypaw mewed. "Blossomkit, you have five seconds to make a piece of special effects candy that allows cats to breathe underwater.

"Already got some," Blossomkit mewed. She handed everyone a piece of candy shaped like a fish.

"This better be anti-explosion too," mewed Lionpaw.

"I never really thought of that," she mewed.

"Jump?" Hollypaw suggested.

"Jump," Lionpaw and Jaypaw agreed.

Soon every cat was safely underwater. And not only had they grown gills but also webbed paws, which allowed them to swim much better.

Anyways, it took Briarkit another twelve moons to repair the train. She left out the highly dangerous magical object compartment, as the magic microwave had exploded when its compartment made contact with the lobby. Too bad, so sad.

Well, that's the end of that chapter.

Hollypaw: Read

Lionpaw: and

Jaypaw: review!