Phantom looked out from her den.  Her beautiful eyes flicked over the
sleeping toms and she smiled as she saw Alonzo.  He was obviously
meditating
on his third name.  He was staring into space and ignoring the other
cats
around him.  Phantom giggled quietly and crept up on him.
“Rahh!”  She jumped on him.
“Phantom.”  Alonzo looked at her.  She looked teasingly at him.  “I’ve
lost
my place.”
“What place?”  She rubbed against him and flicked her tail in his face.
“I can’t remember now.”  He frowned and lay down.
“Come and play.”
“No.”
“Please.”  Phantom accidentally trod on his tail.
He yowled loudly and every cat around looked at him.  “Oh go and annoy
someone else.”  He told her and nursed his tale.

Phantom stalked away and out the junkyard.  Fine.  He wanted her to
find
someone else?  She would.  I was only playing.  She sulked.  She looked
in a
puddle at her reflection.  Her fur gleamed and she saw a shadow behind
her.
She spun round and gasped.  “Hello Phantom.”
“Do I know you?”  Phantom asked.  The stranger was an older cat.  He
was a
strange colour, ginger with tan stripes.  He limped a little and had a
really strange bald patch on his side.
“No.”  The stranger smiled.  “I know you though.  You’re a Jellicle.”
“Yes.”  Phantom agreed.  She was strangely drawn to this stranger.
“But who
are you?”
“Maxamillion.”
Phantom giggled.  “What?”
“It’s a name that’s been passed down our family.”  Maxamillion smiled.
“Oh.”  Phantom looked at him.  “Where do you come from?”
“From Veyahdies Lair.”  Maxamillion smiled, he always smiled.
Phantom smiled and tossed her head.  “Can I see it?”

“Wow.”  Phantom looked around the inside of the hut.  It was made from
a
clotheshorse with a waterproof sheet wrapped around it.  “This is nice.
It’s so cosy.”
“Have a biscuit.”  He offered her a box.
“Thanks.”  She laughed.
“So why have you argued with Alonzo?”
Phantom got such a shock she nearly choked on her biscuit.  “How did
you
know?”
“I keep my eye on the Jellicle tribe.”  Maxamillion patted her on the
back.
“I’m a sort of protector.”
“How do you know about me?”
“I’m a magical cat.”  Maxamillion laughed.  “I’m not magical like
Misto.  I
see into the future and stuff.”
“Cool.”  Phantom smiled.  “Read mine.”
Maxamillion looked at her.  “You’re going to have a long and happy life
with
Alonzo.”

“I need you to do me a favour.”  Maxamillion said later.  “In your
junkyard,
behind the tyre, there’s a rabbit hole.  Dig there and you’ll find
something.  Give it to Alonzo.”
“What is it?”  Phantom asked.
“You’ll see when you find it.”  Maxamillion smiled again.  “Promise me.
Promise me now.”
“Jellicles promise.”  Phantom agreed.

It was late and Phantom fell asleep on an old chair.  She’d met several
cats
and liked them.  The next morning she woke up to find that a towel had
been
put over her and her collar had been taken off and put next to her.
She
picked up her collar and went into the den.  “Hi queen.”  Maxamillion
smiled.  “You should be getting back soon.”
“I like it here.”  Phantom said quietly.
“You’re going back.”  Maxamillion ordered.  “Remember that prophesy I
gave
last night?  About you and Alonzo?  My prophecies always come true.”
“Oh.”  Phantom looked down.
“Have some breakfast and I’ll walk you back.”

After breakfast they set off.  They got to the entrance to the junkyard
and
Phantom looked around.  Maxamillion had gone.  She cleaned her face and
wandered into the junkyard.  “Where have you been?”  Munkustrap asked
her.
“Seeing a friend.”  Phantom smiled.
“Where’s your collar?”
“Oh no.”  Phantom put her paws up to her neck.  “I left it on his
table.”
“Whose table?”
“Maxamillion’s.”
“What?”  Munk snarled.
Phantom drew back.  “Maxamillion’s.”  She whispered.

“What did he look like?”  Munk asked.
“Ginger with tan strips.”
“How old?”
“Very old.”  Phantom’s lip quivered.  “I’ve not done anything wrong.”
“Wait.”  Munk told her.  “Listen.  One more question then I’ll tell you
something.  Did Maxamillion have any funny markings?  Limps?  Scars?”
“Yeah.”  Phantom nodded.  “He limped and had this bald patch on his
side.”
Munk started.  “Right.  You’re not to breath a word to Alonzo.
Understand?”
“No.”  Phantom sulked.  “Why?  He was a friend of Alonzo’s.”
“You could say that.”  Munk nodded.  “Alonzo’s father was called
Maxamillion.  He went up to the Heavyside lair the year before you were
born.”
Phantom giggled.  “This cat was Maxamillion too.”
Munk snarled.  “Listen.  Maxamillion, Alonzo’s father, was badly hurt
in a
car crash.  He could hardly get up to the Heavyside layer.”
Phantom sighed.  Munk was so serious sometimes.  “This one came from
Veyahdies Layer.”
“Ok.”  Munk sighed.  “Go and find your friends and if you tell Alonzo
he’ll
be really upset.”
“Won’t!  He knew Alonzo well.”

Phantom went to her den.  She sat up suddenly.  “Oh no.”  She gasped.
“I
promised to find that thing for Alonzo.  I can’t break that promise.”
She
ran out of her layer and over the tyre.  She found the rabbit hole and
dug.
She dragged out a bag.  She sniffed it.  What is it?  She frowned.

“Alonzo.”  She called.
“Hi queen.”  He kissed her ear.  “Where did you get to last night?”
“I went to see a friend.  I found this.”  She dropped the bag.  “Here.”
Alonzo opened it.  A silver circle disk fell out.  “Huh?”  Alonzo
frowned
and licked it clean.  “Dad’s.”  He gasped.  He looked in the bag again
and
pulled out a pearl collar.  He stared.  “Where do you find this?”
“In the rabbit hole behind the tyre.”  Phantom told him.  “What’s going
on?”
“These are my Dads.”  Alonzo told her.  “He told me that he’d give them
to
me one day and he never did.”
“Oh.”  Phantom shivered and told him the whole story.

Alonzo stared at her.  “Take me there.”
“Ok.”  Phantom nodded and they set off.
Munk saw them go.  He jumped in front of them.  “I suppose you’re going
to
see Phantom’s friend?”
“Yes.”  Alonzo stood up to Munk.  “And you’re not going to stop us.”
“No.”  Agreed Munk.  “Can I come?”
“Suppose so.”  Alonzo nodded.  “Let’s go.”

Phantom led the way through the streets.  “Here.”  She went to the gap
in
the wall.
“Wait.”  Munk said.  “What did you say this place was called?”
Phantom sighed.  She wanted to go and see Maxamillion.  “Veyahdies
Lair.”
“Look.”  Munk stuck his claws out and wrote Veyahdies in the dust.
“Now
look.”  He crossed out the H and wrote it down.  Then he crossed out
the E
and wrote it down.  Then the A, the V, the Y, the S, the I, the D and
then
the E.  “If you shuffle it.  It spells Heavyside.”
“No.”  Phantom shuddered.  “He’s real.  I’ll prove it.”  She raced
through
the gap in the wall and into the junkyard.  She went over the barrel
and
Munk and Alonzo raced after her.

Phantom stopped.  The clotheshorse was still there, but the sheet was
ripped
up.  It looked like it hadn’t been moved for years.  “This is the right
place.  It is.”
“Shall we go in?”  Alonzo said.
“Up to you.”  Munk nodded.
“I’m going first.”  Phantom went in.  She looked around.
“No one’s been here for years.”  Alonzo said.
Phantom looked at him and picked up her collar from the table.  “How
did my
collar get here then?”
 
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