The next day I woke up feeling better. My head didn't feel heavy any longer and I could stand on my own. The new clearness of mind and body finally allowed me to get a good look at where I was. Block Thirty. I made my way to the opening of the wall carefully, not wanting to push myself should something else happen. The hole was big enough for two cats two squeeze through, and some old iron bars were poking out from inside the cement where they had somehow been torn away. It was only after leaving my little "den" that I was able to recognize the place for what it was, an abandoned transporter den. Some cats have another word for it, but I don't remember anymore. All I know is, tons of human transporters would gather in big, open places like this and rest. At least I think that's what they were doing, it's the only time they ever seemed to go quiet.
My area had simply been a small separated enclave in one of the walls, and now that I was out of it, I could see how big this group really was. Cats were walking about and lying on the cement resting. I hadn't expected it to be this large. Big groups of cats were pretty abnormal, unless they were a gang, but I don't remember any gangs taking up Block Thirty. Besides, I don't think a gang would have taken me in so gladly.
It was still rather gray outside from what I could see from the large, rectangular holes lining the walls, but it was lighter out and there wasn't a drop of rain to be seen. I needed to go home now, I couldn't stay there any longer. I had a long walk ahead of me.
Still.
It would be better if I at least told somebody that I was going, so I padded up to the nearest she-cat lying on the ground nearby. She was licking her paw with closed eyes and seemed to be off in her own little word, fur the color of a smoky gray sky. She stopped abruptly as I approached and lay down a paw, opening a single green eye to gaze at me in irritation.
"Can I help you?" she snapped saucily.
"Yes, do you know where Clara is? I'd like to talk to her," I replied calmly, despite this she-cat's attitude. I could be patient when I wanted. When cats cross the line, that's when I get annoyed.
The smoky she-cat sniffed in disdain and returned to grooming her foreleg, muttering out, "Who?"
"Clara. She stopped by to see me the other day. Tabby, brown fur, likes to talk a lot."
The she-cat gave an exasperated sigh and laid down her paw, turning to finally look at me with both eyes. "Look," she snapped, "It's not my job to pay attention to each and every little cat here, okay?"
It didn't look like I'd be able to see Clara again anytime soon, and it wasn't worth going on some giant search.
"Well, I'm just going to go now. Sorry for causing you all trouble," I returned with reproach.
What a foul she-cat.
I was about to turn and pad away, but she finally seemed to liven up. "Hey!" she meowed, catching my attention. "No one gets to leave without talking to X first. Has he seen you?"
I blinked. X. Right. I didn't have time to sit around and chat with some random cat, my life wasn't any of his business, and I don't like to be pushed around.
"X? Yeah, I talked to him." I answered casually. "Now I'll just be going."
"Oh, really?" She returned venomously, obviously seeing straight through the lie.
"Yeah, really- And what we talked about is none of your business, you cats have no right to keep me here any longer. I'm going home!" Cats were beginning to stop and look our way, and it was beginning to unnerve me.
Miss smoky she-cat finally got up to face me. "I'm sorry, but you can't leave until X talks to you, that's the rule. Now go wait in your den. "Noticing my narrowed gaze she added another lengthy sigh of irritation.
"Don't make me get someone to force you."
A few larger toms nearby stepped closer, as they had sensed a rising tension in the conversation, but the she-cat made them stop with a flick of her tail. I met her green eyes coldly, not needing to openly voice my displeasure.
"Well," I began, turning to look back at the toms closing in. "If you didn't want me to leave, then maybe you should've had someone waiting outside the den. I didn't realize that I was being kept prisoner here."
"Roxanne..." she muttered.
At first I wondered how she could have possibly known my name, but then I remembered my first day at the den. That Bo must've told the rest of the group my name, I bet everyone had heard of me by now. The crazy she-cat who decided she was hungry enough to eat rat poison and lived.
"Don't bother. I'm going."
I turned my back on the other cats and padded back toward the hole in the wall, not bothering to turn and look back behind me. Settling back inside, I stared out of the entrance and watched as a few cats went about their daily business, staring out impassively. I would have to sneak away when they weren't looking.
I wasn't going to just sit around, I was going home.
Unfortunately I wouldn't get the chance until much later.
It was dark by the time many of the cats had cleared out of the area or had gone off to sleep, and luckily Smoky was gone too. It was my chance. Using what poor hunting skills I had, I crept as quietly as possible out of the den and into the large, open area. The entrance wasn't far, I could see it only a few meters away. It wasn't hard to miss either, being the size that it was- Otherwise the transporters would never fit. How do you think they got in?
Getting through the area was easy, my pads made scarcely a sound on the smooth stone ground, and everyone was asleep a good distance away. I felt rather smug as I exited the large building and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Because it was late, there weren't many twolegs or their transporters around. Staying on the main street was never a good idea though, it was better to take the back alleys. Which is exactly why I turned the corner of the building and made my way down a smaller, though still very large, passage that would take me deeper into the backstreets.
There were a few streetlights lining my path so I didn't have to go in complete darkness. That was good. I still had a long walk ahead of me, but the feeling of being able to lie in my own den pushed me forward. I turned another corner, leading into a smaller dark alley.
I nearly leapt out of my fur when a cat suddenly stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the final streetlamp. He was a tall, sleek black tom, and his yellow eyes stood out against his shiny black pelt.
"Hello," he greeted. "You must be Roxanne."
From behind me, I heard the sound of more cats closing in, and turning, I looked to see the two large toms from earlier along with the smoky gray she-cat. She looked annoyed, and quite unhappy.
"Relax."
It was said with bitterness. "I'm not going anywhere."
"I want to apologize on behalf of my cats," the black cat started. "We never had any intention of making you feel like a prisoner, but it isn't safe for you to walk the streets at night all by yourself. Please, allow your body more time to rest."
I looked between him and the cats behind me. It didn't feel like I really had a choice in the matter. I sighed in defeat; there was no way I was getting past all four of these cats.
The three cats from before led me back to my little den, then they left me to rest. I don't know how long I had been laying there, but a light prodding on my back woke me up. I hadn't remembered falling asleep. I turned to face my visitor, fully surprised to see Clara standing over me with her familiar brown eyes.
"Roxanne, I'm glad you're awake. We need to talk, now, it's important-" She turned to look back out the hole, as if she had heard something that I had not. "We have to go," she meowed, "It's not safe here, you're not safe here."
I was still groggy from sleep, but I managed to stand up and face the she-cat. The look in her eyes was dead serious, but it didn't make sense. What was she talking about?
"Clara, what-"
"Follow me quickly!"
She disappeared out of the den without another word. I went after her. The garage was completely silent. I didn't see any other cat in the area. Clara was waiting for me and as I followed, she lead us further, going up the hill in the transporter den. "Hurry!"
I tried to keep up with her, but she was quick.
I called after her.
"Wait!"
She stopped abruptly and signaled toward the entrance behind us where it appeared that cats were now on patrol. "We have to go this way," she meowed. "Up. Hurry, you go first. I'll explain everything once we're out. You have to escape or they'll hurt you. Just follow me." She nudged me along as we continued.
Higher and higher we went, Clara assuring me that she knew a way out, until we were standing on the top of the building, with the moon shining down from above and the cool night breeze blowing against our pelts.
Clara had gone ahead of me and leapt up onto the edge of the building in the second I had taken to look up at the sky. When I saw her, my thoughts changed entirely.
"What are you doing, Clara- Stars...you're covered in blood!"
When had that happened?! Sure enough, the she-cat's light brown fur was stained with blood, dry and sticking to her pelt. For a moment she said nothing, she wouldn't even look at me.
"Clara?..."
"It's quicker than going back down all those flights. Besides, the others are guarding the entrance anyway. This is the only way out, it's our only escape. Let's both jump together, it won't hurt."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. We were on the roof a building!
"You're crazy!" I replied. "No cat could survive a fall like that, you'd hit the ground way too hard! You've lost your mind, get down from there and we can talk."
Clara shook her head, meeting my gaze evenly with her own. "I've already made up my mind, this is the only escape. I have no one to live for anyway." her voice grew darker, more upset. "No one ever listened to me, no one ever cared-"
"I listened!" I cut in, fully focused on getting the she-cat to step in and away from the ledge. "You're a nice cat, you've got an entire life ahead of you. Come on, Clara, this isn't the end."
Clara snorted.
"Oh, right, you listened. Really?"
"Yeah, I did. You talk a lot, but I've always preferred listening to cats rather than actually talking myself, I liked talking to you."
"If you listened, then you would remember the story I told you. About the she-cat who went out of the block?" Clara sounded doubtful, annoyed even. Like she didn't believe me.
"Yes, I do. The one who got ripped apart by dogs, right?"
She went silent for a moment and averted her gaze. "Okay... so you have listened, but that could've just been a lucky guess." Her eyes flashed back up again, brown glistening with as much feeling as there had been before. "I have to jump anyway, there's no other option. Don't you see?"
"No, you don't!"
I was growing desperate, and my legs had begun to feel shaky beneath me. "Please, wait! Just think about everything for a second."
"Aren't you listening to me?! I don't have a choice," she hissed, fur bristling in the pale moonlight.
"Yes, you do!" What was her problem, why was she doing this? "You can come back with me and go back down to the den, then we can think about what we're going to do. We can forget all about this, like it never happened."
She looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Do you remember what else I told you? I'm pretty sure I told you about the she-cats I live with. I bet you don't remember that."
"Sure I do. One is always sick and coughing, and the other likes to sneak off to see her mate in a gang. Come on, Clara, step down. Please?"
A small smile came across Clara's face, and she returned my worried gaze warmly. "You did listen.. I wish other cats would."
I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, thankful to get through to the she-cat.
"I'm sure some do, it can't be that bad." I meowed positively, trying to comfort the tabby.
"What do you know?! You're not even from around here- Why do you care so much anyway?" she replied, narrowing her eyes.
"Because I- Look, I don't want you to make the same mistake I did..."
Clara was silent, mouth set in a thin unreadable line. Even the wind had stopped and made her body still.
"I thought you of all cats would know how it feels to be trapped and alone, where you can't trust anybody..."
"I'm sure there's someone who cares about you."
"My group doesn't care, my family never cared, my own mate didn't even care! He said he needed to be alone." She scoffed, but fell silent. "You really did listen to me... You and I could've been good friends." She looked up to shoot me a comforting gaze.
"I'll be back, don't worry. When you need help, I'll be there."
It all happened so fast, when she turned away and moved over the edge, disappearing in less than two seconds from my vision.
"No!" I burst forward in an attempt to grab her, to stop her, but I wasn't quick enough... From below I heard the sound of a loud thump, though it was too dark to see a thing. Now. standing alone, I looked up at the moon, a new heaviness setting within my heart like a stone or block of ice.
Why, Clara?