Cats Onwards

Chapter 5. Jemima.

The smallest adolescent kitten was having trouble resting, her ears twitched, her tail swished and her claws dug into the ground of the den. Cats around her were purring as they napped however she tossed and turned, unable to feel any fatigue. Eventually, she gave up trying to snooze and hauled herself up before creeping over to Victoria. Silently, the red, white and black cat pressed her paw to Victoria's back which instantly woke her.

"Jemima?"Victoria croaked in confusion as her eyes adjusted to her friend's figure. 

"Sorry to wake you, Viccy. I couldn't sleep." Jemima meowed quietly. Victoria sat up and faced her dear friend. 

"Everything alright?" Victoria asked in concern. Jemima shrugged her shoulders, truthfully, she didn't know why she was feeling so...empty in a way. Her nerves felt on end, her fur prickled and her tail swished lowly. "I think we should wake Electra and Etcetera." Victoria smiled. She leaned over slightly and prodded their other two closest friends. Electra who was a tan and beige tortoise shell breed, leaped up at the sudden awakening. 

"Wait? What?!" She shrieked in confusion. Jemima and Victoria giggled at their sleepy and dazed friend. "Oh my Jellicles, it's just you two." She grunted. Etcetera was now up, she yawned and pawed at her eyes. 

"Why'd ya have to wake us?" The white and tan kit yawned. 

"Girl talk." Victoria prompted. Suddenly, Jemima scanned the den, someone was missing from their group. 

"Wait, where's Rumpleteazer?" She meowed, lifting a paw to point to the place where the calico usually slept. 

"Excellent question..." Electra muttered as she advanced over to where Rumpleteazer should have been. The kittens all sniffed the air hoping to pick up on their mischievous and cheeky friend's scent but she was completely undetectable. Full of worry, the young female cats ventured outside of the den into the late afternoon sun. There were no cats about and there was no sign of the female cat burglar or even her equally cheeky brother. 

"'Teazer?!" Etcetera screeched. There was no reply from the missing kit, however just over a heap of junk, there came a loud crash! The females wasted no time hopping up onto the junk and pouncing over to the other side. They all gasped in fear as their eyes met what caused the crash. 

"A Pollicle!" Jemima squeaked. Electra hushed her friend, hoping the beastly dog would not notice their presence. 

"We have to warn the others!" Victoria whispered urgently. The kittens nodded in agreement, all except Jemima. 

"You go ahead, I'll look for Rumpleteazer."

"But the Pollicle!" Etcetera pleaded, her eyes darted towards towards the dog which was now snuffling around by a rubbish heap. 

"I'll be extra careful! Now go and find help!" She urged her friends on. Reluctantly, they nodded and disappeared back over the heap. 

Jemima heaved a great gulp, the nerves crept over her body. All she had to do was advance over to the other side of the small clearing that the Pollicle was shuffling around in. From then forwards she could look for Rumpleteazer. 

A grim thought suddenly gripped the young cat, what if the Pollicle had already found Rumpleteazer?! Jemima gasped  but quickly ducked ducked behind a dismantled bookshelf as the dog's ears pricked up upon hearing the cat. The Pollicle began to growl, causing Jemima to whimper in her hiding spot. 

"Anytime now girls!" She whispered, not feeling as brave as she thought she was. It was in the next few moments that coaxed Jemima from her hiding spot. The dog's growls changed to barks, but they weren't as close...the cat peeped over the broken wood to see the dog ready to pounce onto the junk pile across the clearing, low and behold, there was Rumpleteazer along with her brother Mungojerrie. 

"Get back! Ya filthy 'eaven!" Mungojerrie screeched as he swung a sack in the Pollicle's direction. The dog snapped causing the calico siblings to pounce back. 

"This is all your fault! 'Oi 'Teazer! Let's go lootin' once everyone's restin'!'" Rumpleteazer mimicked her brother. The tom scowled but rapidly dipped as his sister swung for the dog. Jemima desperately wanted to call out to her friends but feared the dog would then turn on her, the siblings were better armed than the small adolescent kit after all. So instead, she waved furiously, hoping to catch their attention. 

"Eh?! You were the one who wanted tah take the pearls for this evening!" Mungojerrie grunted. 

"Well soooorry if I wanted tah look nice!" Rumpleteazer yowled, swinging her sack at the dog once again. 

"Whadaya wanna look nice for?!" Mungojerrie pondered loudly. Jemima watched as Rumpleteazer rolled her eyes, she then stretched as tall as possible and began waving her arms about, even jumping now and then. 

"Eh? 'Teazer! Look over there!" Mungojerrie pulled his sister up the scrap pile away from the Pollicle and directed her vision towards Jemima. 

"Holy Jellicles! It's Jemima!" Rumpleteazer exclaimed. The siblings waved back, almost forgetting the dog until it snapped at their ankles. Jemima knew she had to do something, help was on the way but for now she couldn't fight the Pollicle alone. However there was one advantage, she had size on her side and luckily for Jemima, she was one of the smallest Jellicles. 

"Hey! Nasty Pollicle! Over here!" She hissed, jumping down the junk pile. Instantly, the dog whipped around to see the small cat. It gnashed its jaws ferociously and spit flew every which way. The Pollicle bounded forward and instinctively, Jemima hopped through a gap in the junk. It was like a small tunnel so she followed through, keeping aware of the dog's barking. 

"What's she doing?" Rumpleteazer squeaked as she craned her neck trying to catch a glimpse of her friend. 

"Distracting the brute for us! C'mon!" Mungojerrie cheered as he grabbed hold of his sister's paw. The pair hopped down from where they were previously trapped, and pelted across the yard and up the pile Jemima had appeared from. 

Meanwhile the red, white and black cat was crawling her way through the small tunnel, thankfully she could see daylight coming from the other end. Jemima hoped to the Heavyside layer that the Pollicle was not waiting for her...