“How are you feeling?” Hunter asked Mittens. His voice was quiet and concerned.
“Okay. Tired, but okay. I thought it was supposed to be easier the second time,” she said. “It was harder.”
“I know, but you did well. I’m proud of you.”
“Four seems to be the number.”
“Four is a good number. Four kittens in our first litter and four kittens in our second,” he said.
Hunter understood why she had been spending so much time in the den. If Mittens had been a more experienced parent, she would have known the kittens would be arriving. As it was, they were a surprise to both her and Hunter until close to the birth.
“And are they all fine?” she asked.
“How could they not be fine?” They were tucked under their mother, nursing, and difficult to tell apart.
“Their older brothers and sisters were asking when they can come down and see them,” Hunter said.
“Not yet. Not for days. I’m too tired and they’re too little.”
“I’ll keep them away then.”
“Thank you.” She paused. “Unless they need to come down to be safe. Is it safe up there?”
“Today is quiet. The yard is empty of humans.”
“Even Taylor?” she asked.
“Taylor has not been here for three nights. None of them have,” Hunter said.
“I’m sure he’ll be back.”
“I’m not so sure, and I don’t know if it would be a good idea if he did,” Hunter said. “As long as Taylor comes and feeds the cats, they won’t want to leave the junkyard.”
“How long do we have?” she asked. “Are they getting close to the colony?”
“Closer each day. It could be as many as ten days or as few as four. The humans are working quickly.”
“Then you have to leave,” she said.
Hunter laughed. “You know there’s no way I would leave without you.”
“And you know there’s no way I can leave for at least ten days. The kittens are much too young to leave the den, let alone walk to a new colony.”
“It isn’t far. Well, not too far,” Hunter said. “The raccoon has located a place. It isn’t big, or as good as this one, but it will do. We could carry the kittens.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “You would have to carry me too. I can’t go, not yet.”
“You don’t have to go yet.”
“Is it a good place?” she asked.
“Better than here.”
“Better than the junkyard now, or how it was before?”
He wanted to lie but he couldn’t. “Better than what this will become. The new place is not perfect, but it’s the best we could find.”
“Have you convinced many other cats to join us?” Mittens asked.
“Not many. But I’ll keep trying, and the raccoon will keep looking for other locations.”
“Until then, maybe we should just stay—”
“We cannot stay here. We have to leave. We have no choice.”
“You have a choice. You can leave, but I can’t. You have to take the other kittens to safety.”
“I’m going to take all my kittens to safety. And you.”
He bent over and licked her head. She was the mother, but even a mother needed to be mothered sometimes.
There was a loud crash, and Mittens and Hunter jumped.
“I’ll go and look,” he said. “You’re safe here. Just nurse the kittens. I’ll be back.”
Hunter sped up the tunnel, not even stopping before he exited. There was no time for caution.
All around him other cats had gathered to try and figure out what had happened. Even those who had been harboring the biggest doubts about a move were starting to rethink things. Some of them looked at Hunter, hoping he had an answer. He didn’t, but he knew how to find one.
“Which way?” he asked.
Three or four cats gestured with their eyes. It was not the direction he had expected danger to come from, but he headed off that way.
He wanted to run ahead, but he was too wise. He took a route through narrow passages, which offered him some protection. It was the only path that gave him that opportunity. Almost the entire yard had been emptied. All that remained was a thin crust of cars surrounding the colony on one side and a few wrecks stacked between the colony and the fence in the direction he was heading.
He skidded to a stop. Where the fence should have been was a large, gaping hole. Part of the fence had been knocked down. How did that happen, and what did it mean? Were they going to start taking the wrecks away from that side of the yard instead? If they did, it wouldn’t be good. That was the escape route Hunter had planned to use for the colony.
An engine started up. Out of nowhere a gigantic vehicle raced through the hole and crashed into the fence, knocking it over. Dust and dirt flew into the air. Hunter froze, too shocked and scared to move. A cloud of dust billowed up, and then there was silence.
Through the cloud of dust Hunter could see the man with the cloth on his head. He was on top of the big vehicle. Hunter had seen the vehicle pick up wrecks in other parts of the yard and take them away. The man was now going to start taking cars from this part of the yard too. A group of humans ran toward Hunter. Hunter saw Taylor. Taylor was here! They had knocked down the fence so the cats could escape.
Hunter looked at the other humans. He recognized Taylor’s friends and Taylor’s mother. Hunter remembered her from when he was injured and had stayed in their den. But there were others too. As many as all his toes. Some of them were strangers. Why were there so many of them? Had they all brought food? Food would be good. Hunter and his brood had been able to catch some food, more than the other cats had, but even he was still hungry.
Another vehicle pulled into the opening. Hunter recognized it instantly. It was the van he had been in. His body tingled. The sight brought back frightening memories. The van stopped and the vet climbed out. He opened the back door and pulled out a cage. And then another one, and another one, and another one. There were so many cages. Were there as many as there were cats in the colony? He couldn’t even count that high. He had to go back and warn them.
Hunter needed to be quick. He started running and stopped. What was he going to say to the colony? What was Taylor doing? Why would he want to trap them all? Every time he thought he knew Taylor, the boy surprised him. Was Taylor good or bad? Did he really care for the cats? Maybe he was responsible for removing the wrecks, so the vet could trap the cats? Hunter had no answers. He had to tell the colony they were coming.
Hunter charged into the clearing with such speed he surprised several cats, who scurried away.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” another cat demanded.
“The fence has been broken down…there are humans…lots of humans,” said Hunter.
“Did they bring food?” the calico asked.
“I don’t know if they have food, but they do have cages…lots of cages!” said Hunter.
Some of the cats knew what a cage was, but most of them didn’t.
“Why would they have traps?” the old she-cat asked.
“I don’t know, but I have to go to my den,” Hunter said.
“Wait!” one of the cats called out.
“There’s no time to wait!” Hunter yelled. “You all need to hide.”
He ran to his den and slowed down at the entrance. He didn’t want to rush in and frighten Mittens. A mother with new kittens could be easily spooked. Slowly, deliberately, he slipped into the den.
“Is everything all right?” Mittens asked.
He needed to answer truthfully but also not worry her. “It’s all right in here. It’s safe in here.”
“And out there?”
“You’re not going out there.”
“But is it safe?” she asked.
“It hasn’t been safe for a while. That’s why we have to leave, when you’re able.”
They heard the humans enter the clearing.
“One of the humans is Taylor, and some of the others are his friends,” Hunter said.
“Some of the others? How many are there?”
“Many. I should go and look.”
“No,” Mittens said. “I need you to stay here, to stay with me.”
His curiosity was drawing him to the surface to look, but she needed him. He settled in beside her, the kittens between them, protected. But could he really protect them? Could he even protect himself?
The next few hours would tell. The sun had only just come up. He’d have to wait until dark, after the humans left, to leave the den and continue searching for a new place for his family. He sensed the movement of the kittens against his side. They were still so small. They needed more than a few hours .