The Jellicle Chronicles - Year Two

If I Should Die before I Wake

NOTE: This story should be considered Rated R due to graphic violence and some sexual content. Please be advised that the very nature of life sometimes requires violence to remind us that in order to live at peace, one must be good at war….

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. 

If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” 

-- A Children’s Prayer --

      Demeter stretched, and then shivered slightly. Spring may be in the air, but the early mornings are still rather chilly. Odd, she thought, as she looked about the sleeping area and at the now empty blankets. Usually, she was one of the first to awaken. This morning, it seemed, Munkustrap and Bombalurina must have gotten up and had let her sleep. Well, she snorted. She thought it might be complementary to do so, but not without their combined warmth. Who really likes being awakened by the cold? 

      “Munk? Bomba?” 

      The inside of the closet remained silent, and no one seemed to be at the opening to answer. Very odd. Usually they do not leave the closet without her, or at least letting her know. Even if Bomba wanted to make love to Munkustrap, they did not usually have to go off somewhere else. After all, the three of them… 

      “Augustus? Aphrodite? Artemis?” 

      Demeter climbed up inside the closet and peeked into the various nooks and crannies that the interior contained, and even the kittens were absent. No one but her occupied the closet. Strange, she now thought with an edge toward concern. Why would they all leave her alone and take the kittens with them? 

      Climbing back down, she eased her head through the opening of the closet. The first scent she got was definitely NOT the fresh smell of the Spring. Usually, the air after the last snow and before the first rain was fresh and invigorating - as if the very elements were cleansed and calling forth new life. This scent was very unpleasant. Demeter’s lip curled back and her jaw dropped. The odor was sickly-sweet, and it left a copper taste at the roof of her mouth and inside her nostrils. She snorted hard, trying to clear the smell. Whatever it was, and not really understanding why, this scent bothered her immensely. 

      Climbing out, she went around the corner to where the old oven sat, and she could look down into the square. The ice pond was beginning to melt and drain. No more of Vickie and Misto’s ice dancing for the Festivals for a while, Demeter mused. No one was in the Square or around the tire. No one playing in the last hillocks of snow, or talking with friends. No Cassie and Tugger providing everyone with some speculative gossip. No jealous Alonzo stalking about on the side. And that smell! Demeter could not escape it, and it seems to have gotten stronger. 

      Carefully and minding the mud, Demeter crossed down and around the pond, and headed toward the Nursery. Something was definitely wrong and she needed to talk to someone. Perhaps, Jellylorum could help. After all, the overturned bathtub was her Yard Home. Not having a Human home, Jellylorum always seemed on call to be the nurse to the Yard Jellicles, and they came here, to the tub that served both as the Infirmary and Nursery. Demeter came around the front end of the tub, and immediately checked. The curtain that usually weatherproofed the cracked opening was laying out in the mud, as if something had dragged it outward. With an acute sense of dread, Demeter slowly approached the opening. 

      “Jelly?” 

      Demeter eased up to the opening and carefully looked in. Once her eyes got used to the dark interior, she quickly turned back and retched wetly near the opening. Heaving until nothing but bile came out, Demeter sat back gasping against the cool ceramic tub. Her mind rebelled at the thought, much less the sight, of what she saw just inside. The smell was worse here, and now she knew why. She waited until her heart quit hammering in her chest, and her mind centered. Slowly, she turned back and entered the Nursery.