It had taken most of the night to break the news to Mittens and comfort her. Their first litter couldn’t be found. Either they had fled, were out hunting, or they had been captured and taken away. How could any of this be possible? Why was Taylor doing this? How could Hunter be so wrong about Taylor? And most important, where was Taylor taking the caged cats? Where were his kittens? He couldn’t afford to spend any more time thinking about it. He had to care for Mittens and their newborn kittens.
“I have to go up,” Hunter said.
“Do you have to?” she asked.
“Our kittens might be up there,” he said. “They might be back by now. How are the little ones?”
“They’re good, as good as they can be.”
“Take care of them. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Once the humans had left, Hunter had gone hunting. He had gotten lucky and captured a rat that he had brought back to the den. It was enough for him and Mittens.
He left her behind and went up the tunnel. The ground was coated by a thin dusting of snow. It had washed away the scent of the humans, but it would take more than snow to remove what had happened.
He ambled into the clearing. There were no cats visible, but he knew they were hiding nearby.
“Help me!”
He turned. A young she-cat was trapped in a cage.
“Please, help me!” she called.
“Yes, and help me too!” another cat said. It was the blue cat, a tomcat Hunter liked. Hunter walked toward him.
“Can you open this?” the tom asked.
“I don’t know how to open them.”
“But you were in a cage and got out. How did you do that?” the blue cat asked.
“The human let me out. He pushed something and an opening appeared.”
“Show me what he pushed.”
Hunter shook his head. He wished he knew how to open the cage, but he didn’t. “I just—” Human voices and footsteps approached.
“I’m sorry,” Hunter said and ran off with the blue cat calling after him.
Hunter and a couple of cats who had crept into the open scrambled for cover. The only cats visible were the two in the traps.
There were fewer humans here now than before. The sound of their feet was weaker. Taylor, his mother, the other boy who was with him the most often, the vet and one other female human entered the clearing. Taylor was the leader even though he was not the biggest. They walked over to the two traps. Taylor picked up the one with the blue cat, and his friend picked up the one with the she-cat. They started back in the direction they came from.
Hunter slipped through the wrecks and emerged on the far side. He ran back to the fence, jumped on a wreck and leaped to the top of the fence, sliding on the dusting of snow before regaining his grip. From the fence he jumped into the alley. He wanted to know if these two cats were being loaded into the same van too. And more importantly, if it still contained the other cats and maybe his kittens. Was it possible his kittens were still out hunting?
The van was parked in the same place. But the two boys were nowhere to be seen. Hunter crept forward. He had wanted to get closer, find a spot to watch them from without being seen.
“Good morning, Hunter.”
Hunter spun around, hissed and puffed out his fur.
“Usually you’re the one who sneaks up on me,” the raccoon said.
“I’m so glad to see you!” Hunter said. “There’s so much happening that I don’t understand.”
“Like the fence being knocked over,” the raccoon said.
“There’s more…much more.”
Hunter explained about the cages, the cats being taken away and how Taylor and the other humans were back taking more cats. Before he could finish, Taylor and the other boy emerged through the fence, carrying the two cats.
“That’s the boy you trust,” the raccoon said.
“That’s Taylor, the boy I did trust.”
They watched the back of the van open, and the sound of distressed cats rolled out into the alley.
“How many cats are in there?” the raccoon asked.
“Most of the colony, including my kittens, I think. I didn’t expect Taylor to do something like this.”
“You know what he is doing, but do you know why he is doing it?” the raccoon asked.
Hunter shook his head. “I wish I knew.”
“Well, in that case, there’s only one way to find out.” The raccoon paused. “Let’s go ask Taylor.”
“What?”
“We’ll just go over and ask him what he’s doing.”
“That’s insane. I can’t go over there. He’ll trap me,” Hunter said.
“You’re right. You can’t go. I’ll go alone.”
The raccoon started to walk away.
“No, you can’t go either,” Hunter said. “It’s too dangerous.”
“I want to listen to the boys. You would be amazed what you can learn if you listen. You go back to your den. I’ll come find you later and tell you what I’ve learned.”
The raccoon waddled down the alley. It didn’t take long for the humans to notice him. The other boy yelled, pointed and took a step backward. Hunter crouched down, so they couldn’t see him.
The raccoon stopped at the broken fence. He picked up a piece of it as if he was examining it. Hunter thought maybe the raccoon wasn’t going to move any closer. He was brave—incredibly brave—and a true friend, but what good was it going to do? The raccoon started off toward the humans again, and Taylor slowly walked toward him. The raccoon sat down and Taylor continued to move forward. He sat down right in front of the raccoon. He was so close he could have grabbed the raccoon.
Hunter was stunned. What was going to happen next? But he didn’t have time to stay and watch. He needed to get back to the den and be with Mittens. If the raccoon did find out something, he would meet Hunter back there. Hunter ran down the alley and didn’t look back.