Her yellow eyes shone from the moonlight, and the blanket of darkness that surrounded her hid her blue-black-sliver Chartreux coat. She raised her head to the starts, and deeply inhaled. A wind, as if from the Heavyside Layer above, tickled her whiskers and made her smile. A shout was heard from within the junkyard.
"Terra! Where are you?" she let out a soft groan.
"Caught again…" She sat up, stretched, and climbed back into the junkyard. Her mother, Iris, also a Chartreux, was sitting there, waiting for her. "Terra, how many times have I told you to stay in the junkyard? You know its dangerous out there!" Terra hung her head. "I know…"
"Now, I want you to stay in the junkyard from now on. Understood?"
"But mom! You are always telling me what to do! I'm a cat mom, I can take care of myself!" her rising tone surprised her.
"No Buts!!! Your father already agreed. Now got to your oven!"
That's when her father appeared. He looked a bit like her. He was a Russian Blue, with the extra silver coat over his fur, which she didn't have that. He had a stern look on his face. She knew she wouldn't win the argue. She hissed at them for the first time. She slowly slunk to the oven. Just as she got there, a small drizzle began to fall. She sighed deeply.
Through a hole in the oven she could see the bright stars, now mostly covered by the gray-white clouds. She knew she was a dreamer. She couldn't help it. After a long time of gazing into the icy blackness of the Heavyside Layer, she drifted asleep.
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Terra awoke that morning to a loud commotion from the center of the Junkyard. She drowsily woke up. Still half-asleep, he slowly crawled out of the oven. There was a circle of cats, some crying, some maddened, and some looking with a blank expression. When she spoke up, asking what had happened, the crowd grew silent.
They parted, and the site that laid before her eyes made her heart drop into her feet and her blood ran cold. There lay a sight se never in her wildest dreams could imagine seeing.
There lay her mother and father, with a dried pool of blood around them. She drew in a sharp breath and immediately felt tears swell up in her eyes. A knot grew hard in her throat and her nose tingled. She ran to their side, tears now streaming down her face. A shout was heard from the crowd. "MURDER!" it rang out.
She turned her head, only to see all the cats with looks of astonishment on their faces. They were looking at her, and the trail of blood leading to her oven. Then, and only then, did she realize what they meant. The thought ran a shiver down her spine and sent her blood boiling. They thought she had killed them.
"No, I didn't! I would never!" said Terra. She was shaking her head slowly still struck with the death of her parents. Her check was now damp from the tears. But the cat held their ground.
"You will stand trail tomorrow." The accuser said. "Meanwhile, throw her in the cage." Terra was still so shocked that she was staring mindlessly at her parents.
They took her by the arms, and slowly dragged her off, sand mixing with the tears on hr fur. She gave one last look at her parents, and whispered a faint "goodbye." The tears came again.
***************************
It was cold and wet in the cage. A dark stench filled it with no mercy. She was still in deep misery about the deaths. There was one good ting about her prison. The stars were in view on the bright clear night it was. She looked at them longingly.
After a deep sigh, she tried to piece together what had happened. The fight…then, she went to bed. She remembered nothing about killing her parents. But yet, there was blood on her paws and a trail of red leading to her oven. There was no denying it-she had killed them. Or had she? Someone could have placed the blood on her paws. Macavity, maybe? Nope…she kept on thinking.
She searched and researched through he brain, trying to find any explanation to the horrible crimes. She could find none. In the middle of a thought, a big cat opened the door. "Its time." He said.
"Did you do it?" said Munku, looking at her with a glare in his eyes. Terra had seen that glare many times. All of them were times when he was talking about Macavity. She hoped Munku did not see her that way.
"No. I did not." Came the firm voice of Terra.
"Do you really think we will believe you? There was blood on your paws, and blood in your oven. You had a reason to kill them. And, the apple NEVER falls far from the trees." Munku was referring to the time when her father had worked for Macavity.
She hissed slightly at this remark. She would have attacked, but the stake she was tied to prohibited her. Munku jumped back. He was angered.
"I believe we have enough evidence. All for innocent, say nay."
Not a single sound was uttered. Terra knew that moment she would not ever see this place again. Her heart sank, slowly, to her feet.
"All for guilty, say aye." A deafening burst of Aye was heard from every corner of the junkyard. Terra's ears sank low, and she felt a tear grace her check. "Terra you have been found GUILTY with the murder of your father and mother. You sentence-" Terra held her breath. She knew she was going to be killed. There was no escaping that now. It was her fate. She sighed to herself, and waited the final word.
"Your sentence-BANISHMENT!"
Just then, cries oh "huzzah!" and "alright!' rang from Scotland Yard to the vicarage wall. Terra drew in a sharp breath as a shiver ran up and down her body. Her head shot up faster then a bullet. Banishment?!? That was worse then death! Being kicked out to the street, with no home, no food, and no love. She was about to protest but the circle of cats grew around her. She was cut loose and was forced to the front of the junkyard. There was only one way out--the front.
She looked behind her. There was the world. Cold, heartless and empty. The world. Then, she looked ahead. There was the tribe, shouting at her to leave. Their eyes were red with fury. She knew that she had to leave. But, she didn't want to. She was being backed out of the junkyard slowly, and when she reached the gate, felt a tear run down he check.
Without looking back, she ran off. She could hear the volume increase as she did. She ran off for miles, her heart throbbing, and her beautiful blue-grey coat now torn and splattered with mud. When it began to rain, she found an old cardboard box and collapsed into it, crying, wet, broken, and tired. She gasped for air and began to cry.
After a few minutes of sorrow, she looked up. The rain had stopped. The grey clouds were moving away, slowly. The bright stars could now be seen, sparkling with a magical shine that they claimed all their own. She smiled weakly, remembering her carefree nights outside of the junkyard. Her bottom lip trembled as she let out a soft whimper. She had lost it all now.
When she awoke the next morning, the ground was still wet, but the sun was out, spreading its warm rays of comfort onto the earth. She basked in its golden beams for a few minutes and then began to groom herself. She dried her tears, scrubbed off the dried mud, and began to look for a lunch.
She thought of going back to the junkyard. She thought of meeting her friends again. The thought sent a smile across her face and a deep breath entered her lungs. But the smiles soon ran off her face. "No." she stated firmly." They turned their backs on me. I will do the same."
The predator at work. Slinking slowly though the area, sniffing the air for a helpless rodent. Aha! She hunched back…Pounce!! Terra splashed on a small white mouse in a puddle. The mouse let out a small squek and then grew silent. Lunch! All right! Terra took it by it's tail, and then went back to her box to eat her prize.
It was getting dark. Too dark. She must have taken a wrong turn somewhere…. A loud crash made her turn. "Oh, it was nothing." She said. No one was there. She heaved a sigh of relief. A voice came from the corner. It nearly made her jump out of her fur.
"Frightened. My dear?" She turned around, to see a tall thin cat. He came up close her and spoke to her in a different manner then she had ever been spoken too before."Wh0-o-o-o are you?" she said.
"Me? Well, I'm known by many names. Some are better then others." He was moving closer and closer tom her. He began to circle her, slowly. "You know dear, people say I'm evil. But they look at me with too much of a…A…" he leaned towards her and whispered in her ear. "A deprived view."
She backed away instantly and drew in a sharp breath. "No, you cant be…" she was interrupted.
"You know, I know more then you think. I watch the junkyard constantly. And I know a great deal more then you know. But I have a secret." Terra's heart skipped a beat.
"I know you didn't kill your parents. But I did you a favor.'
Terra stood very still. She thought she knew the next words that would come from his mouth. He leaned to her ear and whispered. The stench on his breath was enough to make her run.
"I killed them."
Terra looked at him and shook his head. "No. no..."
"And I put the blood on your paws. But, now, you're better off. You have ME." He lunged at her, his arms open. There was redness in his eyes not cause by fear or hatred. It was cause by insanity.
She dodged him, and slashed him with her claw. It was a feeble effort, but I had to work. I just had to. He stopped dead in his tracks. He put his paw gently to the wound, and drew it back, with a red liquid mixing with his fur.
"So…. a fisty kitty. I can live with THAT!" he grabbed her throat.
Terra could feel the life being squeezed out of her. "This is it. I'm going to die." Rang in her head. Just then, she felt the pressure release. She fell back, gasping for air. She heard hisses and yelps of pain. She looked up to see a midnight blue tom, beating the fur off of Macavity. Within seconds, the red coat of Macavity could be seen limping away, crying out in pain.
Terra turned to her savior. He was panting, and he was limping away from the fight scene. "Wait!" she cried out. He turned about.
Terra was soon sorry she had stopped him. She had nothing to say to him. Instead, she looked into his deep amber eyes. They were like hers. "I-welll………eer…..ummmmm…..Thank you." She said, rubbing the back of her neck. "My name is Terra. What's yours?"
"Midnight." Came the voice of the handsome tom. "Don't worry about that Macavity. He bothers everyone around here. Now, If you'll excuse me, I need to get go-" he was cut off by a sharp pain in is arm. He fell down, revealing a huge cut on his arm.
"Oh, my. Your hurt!" said Terra, looking at the gash.
"Well, its only a minor cut. Ill be fine.."
"Nonsense! Come! I have something that might help you. My mother was a great healer."
And so they went back to Her cardboard box. There, they talked about their lives. They got to know each other, and became very good friends.
The Humans around the area have noticed a group of cats growing, lately. They meet by the dock, and some claim they sing and dance. Also, they have a magical color to their coat. It I a deep mixture of dark blue, grey and black. It is the most beautiful color they have ever seen.
