Alive
Part 4: Flight
It was dead silent in the old
bar as the flickering TV screen shed it's bluish light on the crowd. The latest
broadcast from the Central News Network had brought them pictures that stunned them
; pictures that made their little world on Zion seem smudged and dirty. The bus
that drove from the Genesis Medical Complex in Babel had some strange
passengers.
"Holy Moses and sweet
Jesus!" mumbled the bartender and raised the crackling volume as a
reporter shouted over the agitated crowds. He spoke of genetic tampering and
half human creations. But not all seemed upset. A handful of people stood to
the side, staring at the old bus with sad faces. One of them, a young blonde
man in his early 20's seemed heart broke and a girl about his age with mousy
colored hair patted his shoulder. The camera turned back to the reporter.
"As of now, the military
has taken care of the case and we'll see what might happen to these abominations.
Ronald MacGregor, UCNN."
The silence was like a thick
blanket over the bar.
"I ..recognize
them.." mumbled a man to his drinking mate next to him.
"You do?" asked the
thin mouse-like man. His friend, a fairly clean man in his mid thirties nodded.
"I'm not sure where but..
Oh HELL!" he then shouted. The rest of the pub looked at him as he stared
straight out into the air. His friend shook his arm violently and the man came
back to his senses. His long nose wrinkled and the green eyes narrowed.
"I know where I've seen
critters like this..."
Luckily, no one saw Dirk
slinking out in the back of the room.
Of course the Jellicles had
seen it on TV. They were extremely upset and paced back and forth, staring at
the old TV as they heard more news about this scandal being read to them.
"Well, at least they are
alive. Some of them at least" said John and sighed, his round face
frowning as he tried to think of the consequences for his "children".
Seconds later something slammed and they looked up. Only one other person had a
key in to here...
"Dirk?" said the
group in unison as the man stumbled inside. His clothes were rumpled and his hair
stood on end and he had a hard time standing straight.
"Got to go! Now! They
know!" wheezed Dirk.
Brighteye and Silk helped him
to sit down. Fire crouched down in front of the exhausted old man.
"Who knows what?"
"They're coming here. To
root you all out!" wheezed Dirk. His eyes were round with fear and fright.
Nightshade and Dusk looked at each other and then at Jon.
"But how could
they..." started Dusk and then he moaned and covered his face with his
hands. "Oh no.. Oh no..."
He pulled down his hands so
that his eyes peered out at them. Fire stood as well and looked at Brigtheye.
She nodded slowly, her lower lip shivering ever so slightly.
"The man from the
alley..."
"I'll pack everything
up, we have to go." said Nightfall as he headed for the door.
"Go where? " asked
Dusk. "We have no other
home!"
Jon placed a hand on Dusk's shoulder.
"You know as well as I
do about the attitudes here on Zion. You've watched enough news to know how
intolerant this world can be. It's a miracle
you haven't been seen or told on. Do as Night says. We have to go. They'll come
for us..."
Even if they all cried, they
packed. The bags got stuffed with their best clothes, their fondest belongings.
Silk and Brighteye sulked and whimpered as they folded their good sweaters and
best jeans. Nightshade and Dusk along with Fire and Jon made sure they had
whatever money and valuable goods they could take with them. Suddenly Dusk
stopped , his ears turning around in all directions as he tried to home in on
the sound. It took seconds before the others heard it too. Voices. Shouts.
Strange smells. Fire rushed to a window and wrenched an old plank aside. Down
at the end of the street he saw a posse closing in on their theatre, maybe
fifty humans, all side by side shouting and screaming. And then he saw it.
Torches. Fire. Flames.... He stared at the flickering light as if bespelled.
When Jon touched his shoulder he flinched and whirled around, claws inches from
Jon's face. The frightened kitten had seen the burning ship again in his mind....
But he stopped his hand just
inches away, suddenly frozen in motion, "Fire...they've
got...torches!" stuttered the ginger tom and tried to come up with words
to say how scared he was. But Jon's steady gaze and strong grasp on his
shoulder made the young cat-man feel safe again.
***
"They're in there!"
shouted the leader, the same man that Fire and Dusk had scared off earlier that
year. "They live in there!" shouted the man, pointing at the old theatre. The crowds were
shouting and howling; words of aggression and hate flowed from them. The echoes
of their voices bounced back at them, making the calls stronger. Many shop
owners peeked out from their little houses and tried to hear. The news of the
outrageous cat-people had reached most of Zion now and the oh-so-righteous
inhabitants were inflamed by the news!
***
As the wood of the old front door
was smashed the inhabitants fled out the backdoor, clutching their most
treasured belongings in their arms. They knew all the hideouts and alleyways
well and sought out the shortest routes fast. Jon and Dirk choose to take some
other ways, but their goals were the same: Dirk's basement. Nightshade stopped,
a couple of streets away from the invaded house. The others stopped as well,
looking back at their home. They saw stones being hurled through the warm
spring air, glass being smashed and falling to the street below. Some threw
furniture out of the old back windows and they could hear them smash against
the backyard cobblestones. Brighteye almost screamed as she saw the old mattress
from the loft being hurled outside. It was her bed!! Her and Dusk's bed. Dusk
hugged her tight and stroked her hair. A gasp escaped them as the flickering
lights of fire broke through the smashed windows. The old dry wood and insulation
inside the walls caught fire and tongues of flame started to lick the walls and
roof. Fire stared at his namesake. It felt like his throat had been cut off and
he had a hard time breathing properly.
"Oh nooo..." moaned
Nightshade and grabbed Silk. They clung to each other in an embrace that felt
like they never wanted to let go. They stayed as long as they dared, staring at
the hypnotizing movement of the flames as they ate the Blue Dragon piece by piece,
the fire's roar encouraged by the shouts and screams of human voices.
"Why?" whispered
Dusk and looked at the others, "Why do humans hate us so much?"
"Some do.." mumbled
Nightshade and pulled his mate with him as he turned his back to his home. The
others followed, Fire staying as long as he could. The sight of the transport
burning was forever etched into his mind, and now, a second picture had been forever
stamped into his mind. His home on fire.
Jon paced back and forth,
looking around in the old kitchen. Anastasia had just cleared away the dishes
and Dirk sat by the old dark table, stuffing his old pipe.
"Leave them be. They're
scared and only want to be alone." said the bony man, glaring at Jon.
"But I want to help
them! I want them to be ..." he sighed and stopped, rubbing his face
before he sat down, "I want to reunite them with their parents. I need to
find this Jellylorum and Rumpus. I know, they're out there, perhaps in that bus
they keep showing on the TV? How can I do that Dirk? Tell me...."
The dark-skinned man in his
old battered Fez hummed and looked at the smoke that trailed it's way upwards.
"I have some money. I've
saved for quite some years."
Anastasia sat down next to
her father. "I have too. It was suppose to be for my old days, but
Nightshade and the others need our help. We owe them that much. They didn't ask
to be born like this."
Jon and Dirk nodded.
Down in the basement, in a
temporarily cleared room, a living breathing heap of fur clung together . The
two females in the middle and the three males around them, sheltering each other
from the world outside. At every little sound, their ears twitched or their
eyes darted around. Right now they were under a tremendous amount of stress and
their instincts and minds were strained to the maximum. If anyone had tried to
come close, they'd probably deny that these creatures really had read
Shakespeare, fought wooden sword duels and planted rows of pots on a roof. Because
right now they seemed more feral than ever...