Chapter 9: Back From the Dead
All through the night, Misto tried over and over again to break through Magnus's hypnosis and though he felt the spell give a little each time, he knew he was still a long way from breaking it.
Have to keep trying, he told himself, I can't kill my friends. I won't kill them!
He pushed against the sides of the box he felt himself trapped in; once again the box seemed to grow a bit larger but it acted as if it was made of rubber. Misto could force a side out and start to feel a little part of his body move but it would always snap back into place a second later. The one rule about rubber though; the more you stretch it, the weaker it becomes and eventually it will break. The tux wished it would break soon; he wouldn't be able to stand watching his friends die by his paws.
Demeter had not slept at all that night; she simply sat and stared out at Magnus's den, still terrified about what was happening to Munkustrap. The Mastiffs had beaten him pretty badly yesterday and though Magnus had said that he was a lot stronger than he thought, even Munk had his limits. Her only other fear was what she had said to the Wolfhound; that Munk would never surrender to him and neither would they. She had begun to wonder if that had been smart; Magnus or any one of those dogs could just kill Munk now and be done with it. A gnawing wave of fear washed over her at that thought and she trembled slightly, eager to just rush over to Magnus's den and take her beloved out of there. Only she knew she wouldn't get far and Munk would never forgive himself if something happened to her. Absently, she brushed a tear from her eye; all she or the tribe could do was wait.
The dogs were up early in the morning anxious for the executions to begin. Some of them still couldn't believe that Magnus's plan had actually worked and that this was really happening. Finally, after all the failed attempts, the Jellicle tribe was about to be wiped out for good. Some of the dogs had even started considering what to call their new home; it would soon no longer be the Jellicle junkyard and most of them wanted to call it simply The Yard. Others thought that was completely ridiculous but there would be plenty of time to name their new home once the cats were gone so they didn't give it much thought.
Oso and Rohl padded across the clearing toward the den in order to get the cats ready for tonight. They had to be sure that none of them had died overnight as Magnus wanted them all alive. Ducking slightly beneath the doorway, Oso walked inside with Rohl close behind him. The cats either gave them nasty glares, hisses or spat at them all of which the Mastiffs took as a grain of salt. Let them do what they want; they were all going to be dead that night anyway. Then there was going to be a feast; the kittens would make fine appetizers and though the cats were lean, they would still taste good. Rohl glanced down at the black and gold queen that sat near the door; she was that silver tabby's mate if he remembered right. She looked up at him, her eyes still a bit red from crying.
"I want to see him," she said quietly.
"What?" Rohl demanded, "Speak up cat!"
"I want to see him!"
Rohl glanced at Oso who just nodded. "Go ahead and let her see him," the other Mastiff said with a nasty smile, "Let them have their last goodbye."
"Bastards," Pouncival hissed under his breath. Oso heard him and got right down into the kitten's face.
"What did you say kitten?"
Pouncival paled and said nothing. Jenny grabbed the kitten and held him close. "Leave him alone," she snapped. The Mastiff glared at the Gumbie Cat then looked back at Pouncival. He'd just chosen his first appetizer for tonight.
Rohl meanwhile had picked up Demeter in his mouth and carried her over to Magnus's den. She expected that he would drop her outside and wait for Magnus to allow her mate to be brought out. Instead he carried her inside without stopping and dropped her in front of the Pollicle leader. The den hadn't been modified that much; it was a bit larger than it had been but the Pollice had kept the inside of it as neat as she and Munkustrap had. The Wolfhound glanced at her.
"Demeter. What brings you here this morning?"
"I want to see Munkustrap," Demeter said, trying to keep the quiver out of her voice, "I need to see he's alright."
Magnus smiled. "Ah the power of love," he said, "Very well. He's over there."
The Wolfhound nodded toward a darkened corner of the den. Demeter followed his gaze and stifled a gasp as she saw the silver tabby lying on the floor in a crumpled heap. Ignoring the chuckles from the two dogs, she hurried over to him. As soon as she touched him Munk flinched, grunting in pain and tried to move away.
"Munk no," Demeter said softly, "It's me."
Slowly Munkustrap turned his head toward the sound of her voice then rolled over onto his back. Her heart ached at the sight of him; his face was bloody, his left eye was swollen nearly shut and now that she could see him a little better, she saw there were bruises, cuts and dried blood all over his body.
"Deme," Munk whispered, his voice half slurred from pain, "Is that you?" He focused his good eye as best he could on her face then slowly reached up to touch her cheek with his paw. She closed her eyes leaning her head slightly into his touch then opened them again blinking tears back and held his paw in hers.
"Deme, I'm sorry," Munk whispered shaking his head slowly, "I failed. I failed all of you."
"Its ok," Demeter said touching Munk's face though he grimaced slightly, "We'll get out of this; I know we will." Again the dogs snickered behind them.
"Is everyone alright?"
She paused. "Yes," she said finally not liking having to lie but she couldn't allow him to carry that burden as well, "Jemima is doing a lot better too."
That seemed to calm him down a little so she leaned in closer and whispered in his ear. "Misto is being hypnotized by Magnus. That's why he attacked us." A slight frown appeared on his beaten face then he seemed to relax a bit as if he knew the tux wouldn't openly betray them.
"Ok lovebirds," Rohl said stepping up behind Demeter, "Time's up."
Demeter gave Munk a light kiss on the forehead, told him she loved him and allowed the Mastiff to take her back.
At last the time arrived. The sun was starting to set and Magnus ordered all the Jellicles to be brought to the center of the clearing. Oso and Rohl dragged Munkustrap out behind their leader into the cool evening air. Magnus watched as the cats were herded out, his chest swelling with pride. It was time for him to make history. Glancing around he didn't see Mistoffelees anywhere which seemed a bit strange. Normally the tux came when he heard his master's voice. A minute later he noticed the tux getting around some of the dogs as they were climbing up onto the junk piles in case some the cats tried to escape. Not that they could however but you couldn't take any chances with them. He smiled as his puppet at last joined him.
Munkustrap gave a light groan and the Wolfhound turned to him. "I'm giving one final opportunity Munkustrap," he said, "One last chance to formally surrender to me. If you do, you, Demeter and your daughter will live out the rest of your lives in peace. We will find you a place to live and never bother you again."
Munk looked up at the Wolfhound for a moment then felt a surge of energy pass though him. He wrenched his arms free and lunged at Magnus belting him squarely in the jaw with all his strength. The Wolfhound stumbled back then toppled over. The Jellicles let out a cheer but it was quickly silenced by the surrounding dogs and the Mastiffs grabbed the silver tabby, beating him down again. Magnus got up, his face lined with anger. How dare that cat strike him? How dare he?
"Very well," he said his voice icy, "Then you shall have the privilege of watching your tribe die before you." He turned to the assembled tribe. "Bring Demeter and the kitten."
Munk's eyes widened and he struggled weakly against the Mastiffs as he watched two dogs grab Demeter and Jemima, bringing them up in front of the Wolfhound. He grinned nastily as Munk struggled then nodded to Mistoffelees who slowly turned toward the two. In his head, Misto was having some success; during the night he had managed to take control of his body for a split second actually feeling the coolness of the ground he was lying on and felt his left arm twitch in his sleep. He continued working during the day as well; now when he came to the executions, his movements were stiff and slow. The spell however was still quite strong and he once again felt his power building up.
Not again, he cried, I won't let you make me do this again!
He pushed against the spell as hard as he could; his right arm began to shake a bit and it rose much slower. Through his eyes, he could see a look of confusion forming on Magnus's face and felt a surge of hope. Then suddenly, the spell became much stronger, forcing Misto's conscience back into the box. The tux fought against it but it was too strong now; he couldn't possibly hold it as he saw his paw rise now with sparks dancing around it.
A loud bang distracted everyone; it sounded like something had hit the outer wall of the junkyard. The dogs on top of the piles looked down at the street below but saw nothing. Where had the bang come from? A second bang sounded and this time Coricopat and Tantomile's eyes widened slightly and both lightly smiled. They had seen the collapsed pile shake a little on the second bang and realized what was happening. The junkyard went quiet then; all the dogs were a bit on edge after that but Magnus called out for everyone to remain focused then told Mistoffelees to get on with it. Once more the tux's paw sparked and it started to rise toward Demeter and Jemima when an explosion shook the entire yard.
The collapsed junk pile on the right side of the tribe suddenly exploded outward throwing pieces of junk everywhere and tossing a couple of dogs clear across the yard. Everyone focused on the spot and Demeter felt a smile creeping across her face when she saw the look of surprise on the Wolfhound's face. That surprise soon turned into a look of fear and when she looked over at the pile she saw why. Rising out of the pile like demon from the depths of Hell was the Ghost Cat. He climbed out of his makeshift tomb and onto the ground as the dogs backed away in fear. Lightning crackled vigorously around his paws and forearms and he thrust both paws out to the sides sending bolts of lightning hurtling toward the junk piles.
Everyone expected the piles to be blasted apart but the when the lightning struck them, it crawled across the surface of the piles, spreading out like glowing spider webs. Magnus stood transfixed as he watched the lightning encircle the entire clearing then was jolted back into reality as the dogs on top of the piles screeched in pain and fell off, tumbling down the other side and onto the street. The crackling web like beams continued to circle the clearing finally coming together above Deuteronomy's tire then whole display exploded with a resounding thunderclap that shook the junkyard again. As the rumble of the thunder died away, the Ghost Cat flicked out his paw again sending a smaller lightning bolt at Mistoffelees. It struck him squarely in the head sending him flying backward where he crashed to the ground out cold. Wisp then turned his gaze on Magnus the Great and felt himself smile at the look of fear on the dog's face.