~Two months previous to the end of chapter 9~

I ran, running as fast as I could with my swollen belly. I had no idea where I was in Europe, but I could guess I was somewhere in the Irish countryside. Macavity was following me, I knew it. It had just been henchcats at first, but as soon as my pregnancy became obvious, the Mystery Cat himself started after me. I glanced up at the sky; dark clouds were beginning to roll in, and I knew it was going to start raining soon.

To my left was a field, and across it I could see a barn standing alone. It was slim that it would be warm in there, but I darted off, cutting across the field; at least the barn had a roof.

Rain was coming down in huge drops by the time I reached the door. It was tightly closed, but there was a space in the boards just big enough for me to squeeze through. It was dark inside, but I could tell something was already living there. I smelled horses, hay, a cow, and several cats. Suddenly I was scared. My fur stood on end, and I could hear one of the cats coming towards me.

My first impression was that she was big, and black. Her yellow eyes glowed in the dark, watching me. I wished my fur was any other color than white.

"What's yer name?" The large queen demanded, rather than asking.

I swallowed against the lump in my throat. "Kroova," I said warily. She'd begun to circle me, stopping when she saw my stomach.

"What were ye doin' out in the weather, then?" she suddenly had a kinder tone, and ushered me into a stall that revealed two more queens and five sleeping kittens, three toms and two queens. The moved over to make room for me, and the large black queen helped me down onto the hay.

"So," she asked. "Where are ye from?"

"I lived in a junkyard in London for a while, but before that, I have no idea."

One of the queens, a scruffy calico, cocked her head. "Ye sound like yer from America. Tell me, how does a stray cat get from America to London, then to Ireland?"

I shook my head. "That's what I don't know. According to the tribe leader from the junkyard, I had some kind of trauma-induced memory loss."

"Well," the third queen, a light brown Main Coon, said. "That'll be ignored for the time bein'. Ye can stay here as long as ye please." She fluffed the fur around her neck, and I could tell it was her top grooming priority.

I smiled. "Thank you," I said. Suddenly I stiffened. I could smell Macavity in the barn. I knew the other queens could smell him too, but they simply settled into the hay. The black queen continued talking.

"My name is Taru," she said. "This is Griffyn," she pointed to the calico, "and Raena. Our kits don't have names yet."

I fought to keep calm. "Why not?"

Raena blinked at me. "Here, we name ourselves when we come of age," she said it as if it were obvious.

"For now," Griffyn said, smiling, "we just say, 'Oi! You!'"

I tried to laugh along with them, but my stomach was too tight. Suddenly there was loud snarling and hissing, and I could hear several cats fighting. I glanced out of the stall, but Taru pulled me back in. "Our mates can take care of any intruders. They would have attacked you," she said seriously, "If Griffyn hadn't pulled them back."

I shivered, hoping their toms were strong enough fighters to face Macavity. Griffyn looked curiously at me.

"Somethin tells me you know who's out there."

I nodded. "I've been running from him for almost a month. He's dangerous," I said softly. Just then, a blinding flash of light flooded the barn, startling all the animals. I wriggled deeper into the hay, trying not to be seen and hoping Macavity had disappeared in the flash of light. I was wrong.

The ginger tom strutted up to the stall we were in, looking as though he'd just been talking a walk, not fighting several barn-toms. He smiled at me maliciously. "Kroova, you know that you don't need to run from me."

I swallowed. I knew the other queens were looking at me, and the kittens were now awake, startled by the light. "Then you have no reason to look for me." I unsheathed my claws, desperately hoping I wouldn't need them.

Macavity laughed. "You know my rules, Kroova. Once you enjoy my hospitality once, you have the privilege of staying there longer."

"You call that hospitality?" I spat. He was disgusting, and I wanted nothing more than to slit his throat. My face burned, and I felt a small kick from my kit—his kit. I stood up, showing off my round stomach. "You call this hospitality?" The three queens around me gasped.

Taru pulled me back down, a dangerous look in her eyes. "I don't know the customs in London," she said, growling. "But I do know that here it's the highest crime to force this on a queen."

"The absolute highest," Griffyn agreed. "Rae, what do we do with such criminals?"

Raena grinned wickedly. "We don't let 'em see the mornin' sun."

By now, the toms had recovered and were hissing behind Macavity; they'd heard it all. Taru, Griffyn, and Raena, and even two of the tomkits, were all prepared to fight. Macavity merely smiled, amused that the barn cats would try to take him on.

It was an amazing fight to watch. Taru threw all her weight on top of Macavity, pinning him to the ground and knocking the breath out of him momentarily. Raena went at him with her claws, but Macavity threw both her and Taru back. A dark red tom charged, his teeth bared. I didn't think this would work, but then I saw the two small tomkits attack Macavity's back legs, clawing with impossible speed.

I felt a small paw on me, and I looked down to see a brown tabby queenkit sitting next to me. "My brothers sharpen their claws a lot," she said quietly. I returned my eyes to the fight, somewhat satisfied to see Macavity's back legs torn up and bloody; he was trying to hide the fact that he had trouble walking.

Once again, Taru slammed into him, this time from the side. She collided with the wall, making it shake a bit. The other two grown toms circled, their teeth and claws bared for the kill. Raena and Griffyn came in closer, both of them snarling like no queen should. Griffyn lunged, and I realized something; to these cats, this was just a game… or maybe a training exercise. The only time I'd seen one of them hit him twice was Taru. I thought I saw a grin split Griffyn's face as she dug her claws into Macavity's ear.

The small queen beside me cocked her head at the fight. "You know, I think I will join this one." She bounded out without another word, hissing viciously. She sprang on Macavity's back, trying to get her short limbs all the way around his throat. Her claws were out and making noticeable damage; it appeared her brothers weren't the only ones who sharpened their claws.

Macavity spun and kicked, trying to get the queen off. But she already had her claws digging into his neck, and he was getting visibly weaker. Snarling, he did a sort of somersault, crushing the queen under his full weight. When she was off, he dashed towards the door, with the barn cats close on his tail. They stopped at the entrance, though, looking out into the pouring rain.

"He's… not there." The dark red tom said, astonished.

Taru nodded slowly. "Not a sign of him."

I shivered, knowing that if Macavity hadn't fled, he would be lying in the field, dead. I knew I would be safe with these cats.

=^..^=

She can't hide forever behind those barn cats. She'll have to come out in the open. And when that day comes, Macavity thought, I'll be waiting for her.

[A/N] I've decided I like cliff hangers. And I ran into a stray cat today, and its nails were extremely sharp… thus I gained inspiration for this chapter. :P