Ch 18

Survival of the Fittest

Gracietta was curled up in a corner, trying to sleep in the thick darkness. As she rolled over again, trying to find a comfortable position, the cellar doors swung open. Graci blinked, her eyes adjusting the light. She could make out the outline of a Henchcat, and she could hear heavy breathing.

"Zazor would like to see you." A lazy voice said.

Graci shuddered, knowing fully what was coming. The Henchcat descended the stairs, and grabbed Graci by the wrist. She tried to shake him off, but he held her tightly. "Come on, girl, Zazor's waiting!"

As the Henchcat led her across the barren grey prairie, the other Henches peeked out from behind pieces of wood, and from the tall grass. They all stared for a moment, and then began to yell and whistle at her.

"Hey darling!"

"What's going on, baby doll?"

Graci closes her eyes, and tried to ignore the wolf whistle and cat calls. The Henchcat that had her wrist held tightly in his paw lead her to the little cabin, and shoved her through the half connected door. It slammed tightly behind her, though a bent corner was still open.

Zazor was lounging on a little bed in a middle of the room. He sat up when Graci was pushed into the room, and gave a little smile. "I was getting a little bored waiting around for the Jellicles to pay me a visit." He said, swinging himself off of the bed, and padding his way towards Graci, "So, I decided I would treat myself to a little fun…"

Graci stood her ground. Would he ever be satisfied?

Late that night, Graci sat in her little cellar. Her body ached slightly, but not as much as it had her first time. Either Zazor was softening up, or she was getting used to his torture. She desperately hoped it was the first one. She didn't want to get used to it. That might mean she would start…enjoying it.

As she contemplated this, her stomach rumbled. She was hungry, and she had already been given the two meals that she was allowed a day. "Maybe I can hunt for myself." She thought, "There's bound to be tons of mice."

She pushed herself to her feet and climbed carefully up the stairs to the cellar door. The Henchcat that had put her back in her cell had left in a bit of a hurry. There had been rumors of a Queen skulking around the farm, and the Henchcat had neglected to the lock the door in his hurry to get away. She pressed her paw against the doors and they swung open easily. She crept out of the cellar, and into the tall grass. When she wasn't standing upright, it completely covered her, which was probably a good thing. She didn't want the Henches or Zazor finding out that she had escaped.

Escaped…She was out of the prison. She could run back to the Junkyard! But…Something inside of her felt attached to this place…Or something in it. Anyway, she had no idea how to get back to the Junkyard.

With that idea gone from her head, she crept through the grass, looking for some sort of animal that was smaller than her, which was some feat, considering that she had always been the runt of the litter.

Finally, she managed to find a small mouse and kill it without too much trouble. Proud of herself, she sat against a wall of the cabin to eat. When she had finished, she got up, standing up fully so that she could see the cellar door. As she spotted the door, and began to head towards it, she heard a chilling voice behind her. "What's such a pretty little kitten doing out all alone?"

Graci whirled around. The two twins, Cattamier and Zufier, were standing there, along with another Tom that was named Malazor. They all had evil grins plastered on their faces. "Little kittens shouldn't be out so late." Cattamier grinned.

Malazor grabbed Graci's paw and twirled her around. "Come on, darling. Let's have some fun!"

Graci yanked her paw away and hissed, "Don't touch me, or you'll regret it!"

The Toms laughed. "What'cha gonna do to us, sister?" Malazor chuckled.

Graci raised her eyebrows with slight amusement. "Bite me, you son of a bitch." She said, in her sweet little girl voice.

She extended one claw, and slashed it across Malazor's face. Malazor's grin twisted into a snarl. "You know, I think we should teach this kit to respect her elders."

The three Toms advanced on her, but Graci was prepared now. Her paw was already glowing red with the power she had received from her father. Malazor lunged. A bolt of red lightening shot from Graci's paw with deadly accuracy. The next thing she knew, the motionless body of Malazor lay in front of her, a gaping hole cut clean through his chest.

"You…You killed him…" Cattamier gasped, "Just wait till Zazor hears this!"

The two twins took off. Graci sat in shock in front of the corpse that she had just made. She'd killed him!

As Graci sat there, her mind as numb as her body, Zazor appeared out of nowhere. To her surprise, he looked pleased. "You killed a Henchcat." He said simply.

Graci stared at the Tom, "I…I…I didn't mean to…"

Zazor smirked, "Don't apologize. It's unbecoming of any respectable Queen of mine to lower herself by saying 'sorry'."

Graci winced. For a moment there, she had almost smiled at him.

"You need to learn." Zazor continued, "It's survival of the fittest. Every cat for his or herself. Now that you've killed a Henchcat, the others are going to leave you alone. They're afraid of you. It was a smart move for you to kill him, even if you insist that it was an accident."

Zazor pulled her closer to him, beginning the all-too-familiar routine of stroking her neck.

"You've been waiting for this to happen, haven't you?" Graci asked, in a voice that was barely a whisper.

Zazor grinned, "I had my suspicions that something would happen. You're that kind of Queen, aren't you?"

Graci bent her head slightly, and stared down at her paws. "Why are you doing this?"

The question seemed to amuse Zazor, "Why? Because I'm an evil basterd who enjoys that sort of thing, that's why!"

Graci barely stifled a giggle, and stared in horror at her own tail. What the heck was wrong with her?! She was smiling and giggling at the new, self-appointed Napoleon of Crime! Granted, he was a bit of an idiot, but still…

Zazor grinned. "And now you should be getting back to your den."

He gave the kitten a little shove, and she scampered gladly off. Zazor watched Graci go. He had made her smile…