Old Version of "These 9 Lives"

Chapter 3: Lost (Ginger)

Ginger dreamed of her as a cat that lived with humans. They were very kind and friendly. So peaceful owners they would make. Ginger knew this because they left out a bowl of food and water. The food was flavorless but Ginger didn't mind. At least she got the food she needed. When Ginger was done eating, a female human with long brown hair walked up to her and gently stroked her fur. Behind her was a young male human with short brown hair, looking down gladly at their kitty. Ginger purred. A great atmosphere for a cat like me. Ginger thought. Then suddenly she heard a laugh and the nice human turned looked like the human in the dreadful mansion. Ginger yowled as the human picked her up by the tail.

" Help please!" Ginger exclaimed.

Ginger woke up startled. She was panting and shivering. " What a dream," Ginger gasped. " Thank stars that was a dream. A nightmare rather."

She sighed.

" Toby, I had a crazy..." She turned and saw Toby wasn't there. "Toby?!" There was no reply. " Toby!" She looked at the outside of the den. Toby wasn't there and Livy wasn't either. She said she would go back when Toby was gone! She's got to know where Toby went!

She ran to the exit of the park. I knew I should've kept a closer eye on him, Ginger thought. She ran towards the tunnel he had went into before. This is my fault. I should've known his biggest dream was to go to a place like what I told him. She crashed into Caribou when she was thinking. " Watch where you're going," Caribou mewed.

" Sorry but I got to go." Ginger said quickly. She tried to get passed him but Caribou blocked her path.

" Calm down Ginger," Caribou mewed.

" Get out of the way!"

" You look like you're about to explode!"

" Shut up! Toby's missing!"

" What?"

" Toby's missing! He might be dead! He might be completely lost... "

" Okay Ginger. I know you are worried but you first need to calm down."

" I can't! Just-"

" Just a few deep breaths."

" Okay." Ginger took a few deep breaths. " I'm calm now."

" Good. Now we can look in the tunnel. If we're lucky, he might still be in the tunnel, depending on when he went. If he left around the time you woke up or he left at night but fell asleep on the way, we have a better chance of finding him in there, but if he left at night without stopping, then we might have lost him for good."

" Then let's hurry. I can't lose my whole family now!"

They ran down the street. They crossed the road so they were able to walk on the sidewalk to be safe. " Can we run in there?" Ginger asked.

" You can, I guess. You're an adult, aren't you? I'm not your father. I would suggest being careful and going easy on yourself."

" Oh shut up." Ginger ran as fast as she could. I better find you Toby, Ginger thought. I never want to lose my last kitten. I'm going to make sure you never leave my side again. She was starting to pant. Caribou was running right behind her. Ginger kept running. I'm not resting until I find my son. She ran until she could see the light from outdoors. She slowed down big time. Toby wasn't there. She sighed in disappointment but also exhaustion. But I have a chance still. I haven't looked outside yet. She speed walked to the end of the sidewalk. She looked around for Toby in the road. There was not a single cat in the road. " No,"Ginger gasped.

Caribou came up behind her. " He's not here, is he?"

" No."

Caribou's ears flated in disappointment." Okay, let's turn back. We can ask our friends to look out for him. For all we know, he could be looking for another way out."