Twiggy

Chapter 1

A bright light shone in the distance through the hot, sticky air, and lit my Mother's pelt. She gasped widely, her eyes growing bigger and bigger to the point I thought her pretty green eyes would pop out of her head. I was frightened too, but I wanted to be the brave one. I needed to be the one who protected everyone else.
My Mother's recent litter of kits lay at her side, mewling in fierce complaint. I could tell they sensed something was wrong- but they didn't know what. After all, they had only been born yesterday. Their eyes and ears were still sealed tightly shut. They were so blatantly innocent, and precious.
"What is it?" Mother asked, frowning deeply and squinting her eyes.
I shook my head, feeling very confused. "I don't know." I said, trying not to sound like I was quivering in fear, my voice shaking with anticipation.
Mother meowed in exasperation. "I don't know what to do with the kittens! This . . . This light seems to be coming straight toward us, and I think it's out for us. If it gets to close . . . no, I can't think of that. It can't happen."
I didn't answer. My eyes were trained on the light, following it as it swallowed up the bright expanses of the sky, and I gasped. It looked very much like my mothers hopes would not come true.
       "It is coming!" I grabbed the nearest kitten. She had long calico  fur and eyes as wide as the moon. I only hesitated for a split second before running under an overhang that protruded from a huge boulder. There was a cave that led from there, and I shimmied in quickly. The kitten hung, a deadweight, from my jaws.
Then I heard my Mother's desperate call. "Twiggy! Stay there! It's too close!"
Her shout was almost drowned out by the splintering crash of the thing dropping heavily to the ground. And everything changed.
~~~~~~**********~~~~~~
I blinked my eyes open to find grit clinging to my pelt and eyelids. I looked around the dark expanses, wondering where I was. As it came to me, I let out a yelp of fear and tried to get to my feet. There was a stabbing sensation in my leg. Yowling in fear, My body shook aggressively. There was a piece of rock on my leg. As I squirmed to get it off, I felt a lump beneath me and realized I was still covering the tiny kitten. My sisters' brown fur stuck up everywhere, and she was breathing, but I didn't feel relieved. Mother had been out there!
        When I finally achieved escaping the rock, I looked st the kitten. She looked like she was a bit scared, maybe a little bruised. But for the most part, it looked like I had taken the most hurt. Good job, Twiggy. Saving a kitten so she can grow up in the apocalypse.
I limped out from under the rock, carrying the small kitten with me. We were on the search for our mother. I felt a surge of protection as my sister mewled. This was my sister. Nobody could ever hurt her now.
A colossal rock lay outside the outcropping. It hadn't been there before. I figured this was what had fallen from the sky. It was surprising it hadn't done any more damage than it already had. Even so, the damage looked remarkable. There was a deep crater that sunk about three tree lengths deep. The cave they had hidden in was only a tree length away from the main destruction. If only we could have moved faster. They would have all been fine.
         Although I continued looking, my chances of finding my mother were looking slimmer by the heartbeat. Every second that went by felt like an eternity.
My little sister squealed from my jaws and I realised I was still holding her. I would need to find her some food after this was all over. "Mew!" She said. Hunger was probably tearing at her belly. "Mew! Meooooow!"
"I'm sorry, little kitten. I'll find you something to eat after we find . . ." My voice quivered. "After we find our mom."
       I continued to search, checking every inch there seemed to be. There were large pieces of rock scattered everywhere. My home had became a maze.
   "Twiggy?" I heard a croaky voice. It was coming from behind another boulder.
I put my sister down and smelled the air. That was mother, it had to be.
"Mother!" I gasped. I leapt to my paws like lightning, grabbing the kit and taking off to where I had heard the weak voice.
         I found her trapped by the boulder. Her whole back end was crushed underneath the rock, and even though this rock was smaller than the biggest one, it was still huge. I let out a muffled yelp from behind the scruff of fur.
"Twiggy." She said, her voice a whisper. "I'm not going to make it-"
       Although I knew she was right, I would not- could not- believe it was true. I dropped the kitten once again. "Save your breath!" I instructed. "You can't die! I'll . . . I'll find some way to get you out of there and then we can heal you. This doesn't have to be the end!"
My Mother didn't save her breath. She continued talking. Exactly what I told her not to do. "This thing that fell from the sky is a meteor." she broke off as she gasped for air. "It came here for a reason. This wasn't a coincidence, Twiggy." Another ragged breath. "You need to find out why this happened, and you need to stop it. The other kittens are dead . . . I expect you to take care of this one. There are other things in the sky called comets, made of ice and dust. . . . I want you to name this kitten that, so you can be reminded that even when one thing causes death, another causes life and beauty. "
"I could still die." I disagreed. "How will I take care of her? I don't know what to feed her!
"Don't argue," my Mother argued, a soft purr rumbling in her chest. "Your dying Mother doesn't want to hear it."
I came closer to her, pulling Comet along with me and started to lick my Mother on the head. She drew in shuddering breath after shuddering breath. I did not know how long it would be before she left and I wanted to be there as she passed away. Soon the breaths were gone. I felt a hole of blackness start whirling in my chest. No more rasping tongue against my face. No more comforting words of wisdom. No more of anything that I knew.
          "Good-bye mother." I gave her one last lick on the head before turning away. "I love you."
Everything was gone.
~~~~~~**********~~~~~~
I had apparently collapsed, because I awoke to Comet's mewling of painful hunger. I wanted to quiet her, bring my claws into her throat, but I couldn't. She was my little sister, and I guess I sort of needed her.
I grumbled as I pulled myself up, not wanting to do anything but die, but I couldn't. I had to care for Comet first. When I looked at Comet she started to purr.
"I'm not anything but your brother." I sighed. "And to be honest, I don't want to have anything to do with you right now, but I will, because it was Mother's last wish." I wanted to stop. I wanted to stop forcing myself to help this kitten, and just get away. But I walked away and decided to hunt instead.
Under a low bush lay a mouse nest. It had quite a few babies, and I intended to get at least half, but when I scooped my paw in, I only came out with one. The next time I tried they were gone. Just my luck. I wasn't exactly surprised. At least it was enough for Comet . . .
~~~~~~**********~~~~~~
When I arrived back to Comet, she was mewling even louder than before. I dropped the mouse and bit into it. It took all my temptation and all of my skill not to swallow the whole thing in one bite. I had to save it for Comet. She was more important than I, and I wanted to keep her alive. It wasn't fair to leave her with no chance of life.
After I had chewed the succulent mouse up, I tilted my sister's head back and pawed some into her mouth, then massaged her tiny throat. She coughed, but then swallowed. I continued to feed her until she was plump with the meaty mouse. Too bad for me, there was none left.
~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~
That night, we stayed in the shelter of the large overhang. The stars twinkled overhead, as happy as any other day, and it made me feel sick. I knew stars didn't have brains, or feelings, but it was still bothersome that they still gleaned with the same light as yesterday.
"Good-night, Comet." I said. "And good luck."