Alleycats book 1: thunderstorm

chapter 8

     Thunder padded down the black surface. Thunder remembered from Sneakers that it was called a street. He sighed. Whenever he thought of the feisty, lovable, energetic, clever kit, a lump formed in his throat. He would miss her. But at least she had found her family. And with a whimper, he was reminded briefly that he had no one. All he'd ever known was the gang, here it was strange and unfamiliar and frightening to him. Sneakers must have felt the same. Thunder finally blankly decided he would go wherever his heart took him. Without knowing, he turned and continued on. A black dog snarled, from a cage, white fangs the size of his tail snapping in disgust. Uneasy, Thunder quickened his pace. When the dog was far behind him, Thunder slowed again, without stopping. Green and gold fields stretched on both sides of the road, seeming to stretch forever. Then, he passed a red brick house, with shady trees. Thunder was tempted, but didn't stop. He came to a spot where the street broke off in another direction, he knew from memory that this was sunset lane, where his siblings lived. But he knew he could never live in the spot where Fluffy had been slain. So, he continued straight. He stopped short to investigate a large black and white spotted creature, with a large muzzle, large, black eyes, a tail that broke off to a tuft at the end and large feet that looked like stones. Thunder stretched his neck, out of curiosity, and It let out a bellow that made him jump. He remembered that same noise in the storm. Sweet glory! The tornado had flung a... What had Sneakers called it? A cow!

Thunder hissed in surprise, leaping backwards, into the street. Panting, Thunder squatted. A light fell on him, and instinct made his fur prickle with fear. Thunder's head snapped up, and he stared in horror, as a large bulky shape zoomed towards him. Blinded by the light, he couldn't see exactly what it was, but, it made a loud growling noise. "Vrrrooommm Murr murr honk honk!" Ears flattened, he was frozen in shock, it was too late!

Squeezing his eyes shut, he braced himself. But, right as it was gonna hit him, a weight crashed into his side and he was flung off the path, into a fence, where he hung, supported by a thin, black wire with sharp things in a cluster. For a heartbeat, Thunder thought it was thorns. Wow, it's my lucky day. He thought bitterly.Then, he noticed a sort of gleam on them, that wasn't natural. "Good heavens!" Thunder exclaimed out loud. " why in the world would humans want to invent their own thorns!" The wired thorns snagged his pelt. "Great." He mumbled sarcastically. "Oh what fun! Now I get to spend the rest of the afternoon hanging up here, and then grooming!" He rose his voice." What kind of sick trick is this!" He yowled, down at the cat who had saved him. " pinning me up here, like I'm a ball of yarn?!" A white shape appeared in his vision. " oh, sss sorry about that." A cat meowed." I was just trying to knock you of the path. Oh that's barbed wire by the way!" Thunder wasn't in the mood for a mr. 'Stating the obvious' right now. " yah! No kidding!" Thunder grumbled. "It's a wire, that is barbed!" He emphasized 'Barbed' so the cat knew he didn't want a joke. " no." The cat meowed, was there a trace of scorn or amusement? Thunder hissed with annoyance, that the cat spoke with a 'duh- like tone.

"no, that's what it's called, Barbed-wire. It's just one word!" Thunder's tail twitched impatiently."hello, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm 'still' stuck up here!"

He heard the scratching of a cat scaling the wood post." Okay. Just hang on!" The cat meowed.

"Not funny!" Thunder growled.This was wasting his time! "That's not what I meant!" The cat hissed.

"Toms." It mumbled. The cat came face to face with Thunder. Thunder gaped, when he saw her....

She had bright white fur that glowed in the sun, her beauty was unlike any other he'd ever seen before. Thunder's breathe caught in his throat, as his green eyes met her electric- blue eyes, he couldn't look away as he drown in its icy pools of beauty. Her pink nose stood out like a rose on a foggy day, and her fur was neatly combed over, by her tongue.