A/N: Just a warning, Macavity comes back with a vengeance in this chapter. I think a lot of you have been waiting for this one, myself included. There will be drama! Thanks to all my readers and reviewers! This will be the second-last chapter of The Tabby at the Train Station, so get ready for an epilogue as the next update. Enjoy, and don't forget to review! :)
Jennyanydots awoke feeling fully rested and rejuvenated from her late-night trip to the train station. She glanced beside her to see that Skimble wasn't sleeping there, like she expected. A voice from the desk to her left quelled her sudden worry.
"Good morning, Miss Jenny. Did you sleep well? I caught us breakfast." Skimble's cheerful tone entered Jenny's ears. He held up two pigeons and brought one over to his queenfriend.
"Thank you. I slept wonderfully." The yellow and orange tabby queen replied, and then furrowed her brow. If Skimble was awake, then… "Skimble, what time is it?" Jenny queried, trying hard to hide the growing panic in her mind.
Skimbleshanks glanced at the watch on his wrist. "About 9:30 in the morning, according to my watch. Why, do you need to be somewhere?" He inquired in return.
Jenny shook her head and nibbled at her pigeon. When they were both finished, Skimble threw the bones outside. The orange and yellow queen bit her lip nervously, thinking about how furious and worried her parents must be right now. When she couldn't take it anymore she requested politely, "Can you walk me home, please? I'd like to join my parents for breakfast. They must be up and about by now."
The orange tabby tom nodded with a smile and pushed the door open. The pair started on their walk back to the junkyard. During the trip Skimble asked, "So, what would you like to do today? It's Sunday and we have the whole day to ourselves."
"We'll see when we get to my home. I could show you some great sightseeing spots, or teach you some dance moves. We Jellicles are crazy about dancing." Jenny offered. The junkyard fence came into view, and her stomach clenched. There would be a surprise waiting for Skimble; that she knew for certain.
The pair entered through the gate and walked to the center clearing. Jenny was surprised that no one had started calling her name yet. When she got to the clearing, her shoulders hunched under the harsh gazes of her parents who were standing in the middle, waiting for her. Skimble nudged his queenfriend to get her attention and commented, "Your parents don't look very happy…What do you think is going on?"
The yellow and orange queen knew exactly what was going on, but she couldn't answer because they had come to a stop a few feet away from Remgail and Annasta.
Instead of the yelling she expected from her father, Remgail remained strangely calm as he stated, "Jenny, would you care to tell me why your mother and I didn't find you in your nest this morning?"
Skimble cocked his head. "I thought you were alright with Miss Jenny coming to the train station last night to-" He queried innocently, but got cut off.
"You went to the train station alone, in the middle of the night?" Annasta gasped in horror at her daughter.
The calico tom shifted his piercing gaze to Skimble as he spat with a singular, sarcastic laugh, "We allowed Jenny to do no such thing!"
"Really?" Skimble raised an intrigued eyebrow, "I could have sworn she said that you gave her permission…" He was getting very confused now.
Remgail returned the focus to his daughter. "Why on earth did you think it was alright to go to the train station in the dead of night? Did you know what could have happened to you? Why would you do something that absurd?" He demanded in a sharp tone.
Jenny knew she couldn't lie her way out of this one. After a minute of heavy silence she admitted reluctantly, "I went to tell Skimble that you allowed me to be with him again." She stared down at her hind paws like a guilty kitten. She felt like one right about now.
"I never said anything like that. I was still undecided last night. But as of now…I think I have my answer." The adult tom said in a condescending tone.
Skimbleshanks looked at Jenny with evident hurt in his eyes. "Jenny…You lied to me? How…How could you…?" His voice was so full of betrayal and sorrow; it almost brought said queen to tears.
"I didn't want to lie, honest. It just ended up that way! I really missed you and I wanted to prove to my father that his decision was wrong. I didn't want to hurt anyone…" Jenny pleaded, but to no avail. She couldn't ease the betrayal in her tomfriend's eyes.
Remgail placed a paw on his daughter's shoulder, but she refused to look at him. "Jenny, haven't we taught you better? Lies will only get bigger and bigger until they're impossible to control. Why did you lie to Skimble and disobey us? That's not like you at all, honey." He said in a gentler tone as he rubbed the young queen's shoulder.
It took a moment for the yellow and orange tabby queen to confess, seeing as she had been too self-conscious to tell the truth in the first place, but the words eventually formed in her mind and came out of her mouth. "You're right; it's not. I wanted to seem like a more interesting queen to Skimble, so I lied to get him to like me more. I don't work at the West London Veterinary Hospital, and neither does anyone in this junkyard. I'm not even a professional nurse, I'm just studying to be one. I was going to tell the truth once this whole thing with Macavity settled down, but that still hasn't happened yet. I thought you were wrong, Dad, to split Skimble and I up. I was also tired of being the goody two shoes of the junkyard; the perfect, boring, studious nurse-to-be. The one who never does anything wrong and is always responsible. I'm sick of it! I wanted some excitement, so I decided to bend the rules a bit. I'm sorry I had to drag my own tomfriend down with me." Jenny admitted bitterly. Her little rant had taken her parents and Skimble completely off guard. They had no idea that she had been suffering this way all along.
"Sweetie…why didn't you come and tell us you were feeling like this? We would have done something about it. We would have given you more freedom and less studying. How does that sound, now that we've gotten everything out in the open?" Annasta offered sympathetically. Jenny nodded, and turned to Skimble.
"I guess I owe you a huge apology. I'm truly sorry about all of this. I promise I'll tell the truth from now on, and no more lying. You have my word, Skimbleshanks." The yellow and orange tabby queen vowed with an apologetic smile.
Skimble seemed reluctant to accept. He shifted from one hind paw to the other, weighing his decision. Finally, he met Jenny's hopeful gaze. "Miss Jenny, you broke my trust. You lied and I was gullible enough to believe you. I don't know if I can trust you enough to tell the truth, or if you'll just lie to my face again later. I gave you my affection and you took it for granted, like it was meaningless enough not to return with the simple truth. I'm terribly sorry, I-"He choked on his own words and then forced out quietly, "I can't do this anymore. Goodbye." The orange tabby tom sprinted off in the direction of the junkyard gate before anyone could stop him.
"Wait! Skimble, don't-"Jenny cried after him, but he was already gone. She herself was near tears, and let them spill over freely. "Doesn't he understand? I didn't mean for things to get this bad…How can he be so shallow?" She sobbed, and her mother pulled her into a tight hug, stroking her headfur comfortingly.
"It's alright, don't cry…" The yellow tabby queen crooned, "Skimble just needs some time to think this through. He'll come around when he's ready, don't worry."
Remgail also embraced his daughter and offered some words of comfort, "I'm sure he'll realize the mistake he's made and come back, honey. I owe you both an apology, too. I just didn't want to see my little kitten hurt, and I overreacted. I'm sorry things turned out this way."
Jenny managed a tiny, wavering smile at her father. "I f-forgive you, Dad. I know you w-were just trying to p-p-protect me." She sniffled and let her parents lead her to their den. There they made tea and consoled their daughter further. After Jenny calmed down, she decided to go on a stroll to clear her mind. When she got back to the center clearing, she chose a random path and ambled down it, lost in thought. After a few minutes, Jenny inexplicably stiffened. Someone was watching her.
Macavity chuckled in his usual low tone as he emerged from the shadow of a junk pile. His voice held a sinister essence to it that could make anyone shiver with fear. This was a much different Macavity than the one Jenny had known a couple of weeks ago.
"I must say, that was a good-what do those humans call it-soap opera. Very dramatic. Too bad it ended badly, I thought Skimble was going to forgive you like the naïve tom he is." The ginger tom smirked sarcastically.
Jennyanydots cocked her head in confusion. "What's gotten into you, Macavity? I thought you were still under den arrest?"
Mac' shrugged and replied, "Being in solitary confinement does this to you. I don't trust anyone anymore, not even my own family. They stole from me, Jenny. My parents stole my trust and freedom, my brother Munkustrap stole the love of my life. But, be a goody two shoes for a few days and they let you off the hook. I'm a free tom, and I'm out for revenge. I think I'll start with you, Jennyanydots."
"Why me? I held up my end of the deal; I didn't tell anyone about your drug problem!" The yellow and orange tabby queen hissed fiercely, hoping Macavity hadn't read his mother's mind yet.
Macavity snarled, causing Jenny to recoil in fear. "Liar! I thought you promised you wouldn't do that anymore, hmm? Are we going back on our word so soon? I'm not an idiot, Jenny. My mother does a poor job of keeping her thoughts hidden from me, so I know everything about your little confession to her and your family. So guess what? Now it's time for your rightful punishment. It's really a shame that you had to end your relationship with Skimbleshanks on a sour note. I almost feel sorry for you two. Skimble might as well be burnt to a crisp and you can't do anything about it!" He laughed menacingly again, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Jenny whimpered once and made a beeline for her den. Her mother and father exchanged worried glances at the sight of their panting, terrified daughter. "Jenny, what in Heaviside happened? Why are you suddenly acting like the world is going to end?" Annasta exclaimed as she guided Jenny over to a chair. She collapsed in it, suddenly exhausted.
It took the tired queen a couple minutes to calm down enough to speak. Once she had gotten over a few false starts she recounted her tale, "Macavity found out about my telling his mother about his drug problem. Now he's going to hurt Skimble! We have to do something!"
"Would Macavity really do such a thing? Would he injure a cat who has done nothing to him?" Annasta said in a disbelieving tone. Of course she knew Grizabella's eldest son would hurt another if provoked, but what about an unprovoked attack?
Remgail thought about the matter seriously. "We certainly know what Macavity is capable of, so we can't take that chance. What can we do to stop him, though? We've already seen that his parents have done nothing but anger the tom when they contained him." He stated with a furrowed brow.
Jenny and her mother nodded. The family of three spent another few minutes trying to think up a suitable plan to deter Macavity's imminent attack on Skimble. Jenny broke the meditative silence that had settled upon the three. "I know something that might work." She piped up with a sly smirk.
"What?" Her parents chorused.
"We distract Macavity so that he forgets about Skimble." The young queen proposed.
Remgail cocked his head. "It sounds like a good idea, but how do we distract him for a long period of time?" He said skeptically.
Jenny leaned forward in her chair, still smirking. Her voice dropped in volume as if she were afraid someone was listening in on them. "Think about it. What's the one thing Macavity can't possibly resist? What will he do absolutely anything for?" She hinted deviously.
"Umm…Drugs?" Annasta stated the obvious. It was true; Macavity would do anything, even completely disobey the tribe's policies to get his paws on the stuff.
The yellow and orange tabby queen shook her head. "That's a close second. Macavity's greatest distraction is Demeter. You've seen how he acts around her, haven't you? He can't think of anyone but her when they're together." She explained, her smirk growing to a smile.
Jenny's parents nodded in agreement, but Annasta didn't seem entirely convinced. She scratched her foreleg anxiously and pointed out, "Demeter is with Munkustrap, though. She won't go back to a tom as…unstable as Macavity. How will we get her to comply?"
"It's worth a try, without a doubt. If we can get Demeter to act like she's still in love with Macavity, the plan could work and Skimble will be fine." Remgail reassured his mate. Jenny got up and went to go find the queen in question.
Demeter was sitting idly on an ancient mattress which was held securely in place by pieces of other junk. She lifted her head when she saw Jenny. "Hi, Jenny. What's up?" The younger queen greeted with a smile.
"Hey, Dem. Umm…I kind of need to talk with you in private. Do you know of a place where nobody can eavesdrop on us?" The yellow and orange tabby queen requested, nervously rubbing her left calf with her opposite foot.
"Of course," Demeter answered, her smile becoming a frown, "let's go to my den." She climbed off the mattress and Jenny followed her friend. They soon came upon their destination and went inside.
Demeter's den wasn't very extravagant, but she did live with her younger sister Bombalurina. Bomba was a red queen with black spots and her on-and-off tomfriend was Rum Tum Tugger. The pair of queens sat down at the plastic kitchen table.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" The black and gold queen resumed the conversation.
Jenny thought for a minute about how to phrase her problem. She finally explained, "Macavity's planning on hurting Skimble since I told his mother about his drug problem after he threatened me not to. We need you to distract Macavity long enough so that he forgets about his attack and moves on. Do you think you'd be willing to do that?"
Dem let out a long breath and replied slowly, "You know I'm with Munk now, but he'll understand. How long would I have to do this for?"
"About a week or two. Just long enough for Macavity to get his mind on other things not involving violence." The older queen shrugged.
"Alright then, that sounds easy enough. What if he doesn't take the bait, though? We're both aware he can read minds, especially those of the ones he's close to. I know how to hide my thoughts from him, but what do we do if something goes wrong?" The black and gold queen voiced the obvious problem with Macavity's magical abilities.
Jenny twirled a piece of her headfur as she mulled over the obstacle. "I guess just make him believe you really want him back. Do everything in your power to make him focus on you and not revenge." She concluded after a minute of silence.
"Hey, if it's for you and Skimble, I'm all for it. I won't let you guys down." Demeter promised in a confident voice. Her older friend smiled sadly, thanked her, and left. All she had to do now was wait and see how Macavity would behave. She hoped to The Everlasting Cat that her plan worked.
Over the course of the next few days, everything seemed to be going well with Macavity and Demeter. They acted like the fight with Munkustrap never happened. The black and gold queen acted like she was completely head-over-heels with her old tomfriend again, and Macavity appeared to be happier than Jenny remembered him being at any other point in time.
A week went by, and there was still no news of Skimbleshanks. Jenny didn't bother going to the train station. She knew Skimble needed time to work things out with himself, so she just focused her attention on Macavity and Demeter. It didn't stop the ache in her heart every time she saw the couple kiss or embrace, even if it was faked on Demeter's part.
On Sunday morning, exactly a week after Jenny's tragic break up with Skimble, Demeter came running to the yellow and orange tabby queen who was sitting on the giant tire with Jelly. Demeter looked very distressed and frightened.
"Macavity's gone. He found out everything. I-I-I couldn't stop him, Jenny! I'm so sorry!" The black and gold queen forced out before bursting into tears. Jenny and Jelly stepped off the tire to comfort their distraught friend.
As Jennyanydots massaged Dem's shoulder she inquired, "How did Mac' find out? Did he use magic?"
Demeter took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. "He saw me hanging out with Munkustrap and eavesdropped on our conversation. I saw him just as he was leaving, and I knew the game was over. I failed you and Skimble…I'm a terrible queen!" She wailed and broke down into sobs again.
Jenny and Jelly soothed the younger queen with words of reassurance and comfort, but that soon got cut off as the distant blare of fire engine sirens was heard. Jelly and Dem ignored the common noise, but Jenny was on edge. Macavity could do anything at this point. Then she saw a black column of smoke rising into the blue sky. Judging by the size, it was quite close.
"That fire looks pretty big. Hold on a minute…" The yellow and orange tabby queen took a closer look at the smoke column. Between the billowing, black clouds she could just make out the familiar clock tower on top of the train station. "Oh no…Please no." She murmured with growing dread.
Skimble might as well be burnt to a crisp and you can't do anything about it! Jenny recalled Macavity's words with a quiver of fear. She sprinted for the fence.
"Jenny! Where are you going? Stay here, it's too dangerous out there!" Jellylorum warned her best friend.
"The train station's on fire! I have to go save Skimble!" Jenny yelled back as she vaulted over the fence and continued running as fast as her legs would carry her. She soon heard rapid footsteps behind her and saw that Jelly and Demeter had decided to follow. Jenny slowed down for them and they ran towards the train station.
When the trio arrived at the station, they found with relief that the platform itself wasn't in flames. The terrified passengers were all huddled on one side of the landing while fire crews were busy lugging hoses across the tracks. The train station personnel, both humans and cats, were trying to keep the passengers from panicking, but they looked pretty worried themselves. Jenny spotted Coilin and ran up to him. He smiled grimly as he noticed the young female tabby.
"Have you seen Skimble?" Jenny asked in heavy concern in her tone.
Coilin shook his head and explained, "He hasn't been out of his den all morning. It's actually the one on fire. I'd suggest you and your friends stay out of the way of the fire fighters. They've got everything covered. Who would do such a thing, setting a poor, young tom's home ablaze?" He sighed and went back to his job of keeping the people calm.
"Macavity." Demeter growled. Jenny and Jelly nodded in agreement with her.
The yellow and orange tabby queen began to jog in the direction of Skimble's former den, but felt a strong paw pull her back. "What do you think you're doing, lassie? I said stay put, or you'll hurt yourself. Let the emergency crews do their job. I'm sure Skimble will be fine." Coilin said more firmly. Jenny wrenched her shoulder out of his hold and made a mad dash for the tracks. The older tom was too slow to stop her, and her friends' cries of protest fell on deaf ears.
Jenny snuck around the fire crews, who were too busy with the blaze to notice her. She finally had a clear view of the fire. The shed where Skimble's den was located had flames consuming every part of the old, wooden building. The ancient structure didn't look like it would hold much longer. Parts of it were already starting to collapse. Despite the efforts of the brave fire crews, the water gushing out of their hoses didn't seem to douse the flames at all. They simply kept on burning, no matter how much water was used. They almost seemed to be enchanted, forever blazing. The strange thing was that the fire was only contained to that shed, even though there was a breeze in the air. Not an ember sparked and started another blaze on the ground, nearby train cars, or other wooden buildings. Jenny spotted a sole way into the shed that wasn't about to collapse or was spewing out flames. She made a beeline for the safe entrance.
The tabby queen coughed violently as the thick smoke entered her lungs, and she put a paw over her mouth to help filter out some of it. It also stung her eyes, making it hard to navigate through the flames. After what felt like an eternity, her paw landed on the handle of the shut train car. She found it odd that it was closed. If Skimble had escaped, or if the fire fighters had rescued him, it would be open. After a few tries, Jenny heaved the heavy door open and slipped inside. The inside of the cargo car was also in flames, and it was just as bad as the outside. Every inch of Skimble's furniture was burning, including his curtain.
Jenny's eyes went wide and she let out a silent gasp as she found the orange tabby tom bound to the furnace, clearly unconscious. His eyes were closed and his chin was resting in his chest. His wrists and ankles were tied with rope, while a thicker rope around his torso held him upright against the furnace. Jenny carefully made her way over to him and quickly untied his limbs, but had more trouble with the rope around his torso. This one was more expertly knotted than the other two. She was also surprised that there were no signs of injury on his body, but then again Macavity didn't need to use violence to knock someone out. The metal of the furnace was hot to the touch because of the fire, and Jenny had to painstakingly saw the rope with her claws to free Skimble.
When she had liberated the orange tabby tom at last, Jenny heard a loud thud and glanced around frantically for the source of the noise. Her eyes landed on the heavy, smoldering curtain, which had been hung up before. She sighed in relief and tried to wake Skimble up, but he wouldn't respond. The yellow and orange tabby queen put her ear to his chest to check his breathing. His chest rose and fell in an irregular pattern, which only added to her worry. She wasn't surprised, though. The smoke was causing her to have breathing problems, too.
Jenny went over to the door and pushed it open more so that she could fit both Skimble and herself through it. Then she returned for the orange tabby tom and hoisted him over her shoulder. It was difficult since he was heavier and larger than her, but she made it through the door without too many stumbles. She began to retrace her path through the burning shed, only much slower than she wanted to because of her burden. A charred beam of wood suddenly crashed down in front of her, but it didn't completely block her way. The shower of sparks singed her fur a little bit, but she was more focused on getting out alive than the pain. As the yellow and orange tabby queen started forward again, she heard a malicious laugh from behind her. Jenny glanced over her shoulder just in time to witness something truly terrifying.
The flames took the shape of a cat for a moment, and she could even make out piercing topaz eyes in the fire. The flaming cat laughed again and dispersed in a burst of sparks that burned the tips of her fur. Jenny could have sworn the voice sounded like Macavity's, but she just thought her mind was playing tricks on her. She made her way through the blazes and out into fresh air again. When she was far enough away, her legs gave out and her conscious mind gave way to inviting darkness.
When she woke up again, she was in the same room where she had first met Skimbleshanks. Jenny lifted her head, but put it back down as a massive headache came on. She heard a voice from beside her.
"How are you doing, Jenny? We were all worried about you." Remgail asked softly as reached a paw out and stroked his daughter's headfur. Jenny glanced around as best as she could and discovered that her mother, Jelly, Demeter, and Coilin were also in the tiny room. They all had relieved countenances.
The young tabby queen furrowed her brow. "What happened? Where's Skimble?" She croaked, and then broke into a coughing fit.
"Easy there lass," Coilin advised, "You inhaled a lot of smoke during that hare-brained rescue of yours. Your parents said you shouldn't try to talk too much. Skimble has also got the same problem, only a little worse. He's got a decent burn down his back too, but it's not too bad. Give him a few days in bed and he'll be as good as new. The lad's over there." He pointed to the bench on the other side of the room.
Jenny turned her head and observed that Skimble was lying on his front, still unconscious. A thin, damp towel was draped vertically along his spine. She sat up with evident difficulty, and her parents and friends watched her with concern, ready to help if she lost her balance or fainted again. The yellow and orange tabby queen completed the few steps to the other side of the cramped room without any trouble, and gladly fell to her knees to become eye-level with Skimble. She hesitantly stroked his face with her thumb, silently overjoyed that he was safe.
The young tom's face twitched at the sensation, and his green eyes slowly blinked open. They were dulled with pain and he coughed a few times, but he managed a tiny smile. He brought a paw forward with effort to prop his head up off the bench and said feebly, "I knew…it was you who saved me. I caught your scent, even…when I was out cold. Does that mean-"
Skimble's phrase was interrupted as Jenny leaned in to press her lips to his. When she pulled away she finished with a smile, "I'm staying with you for good."