Chapter 16: Get To The Gate

Tucker would have leaped into the water after her, but strong paws grabbed him from behind and held him. He was forced to watch his Susan float away into the blackness as he struggled to be free.

"Let me go!"

"She's gone, Tuck," Vinnie's deep voice said. "I'm sorry. I can't let you go, too." Tucker continued to struggle for a moment before spinning around to face Vinnie.

And found he wasn't alone. A handful of guards stood behind him, most of whom Tucker recognized as Vinnie's favorites. None of them would meet his eyes and most had dragging tails in sympathy.

Tucker, however, was furious.

"We could have saved her!" He yelled at his friend. "If all of us had grabbed herÉ" "She would have dragged us under with her," Vinnie said. "You know that."

"We could have used magic!" Tucker's heart broke as he returned to stare out over where Susan vanished. "I could have," he whispered. Why didn't I? He berated himself. I could have saved her!"Tucker!" Vinnie smacked him across the cheek with one huge paw. "Pull yourself together!"

Tucker wanted to hit Vinnie back, yell at him some more. He needed to throw himself back into the water and go after Susan. But, he did neither of those things. Instead, he hung his head and cried.

He felt Vinnie close to him, the sweep of his friend's tongue as the huge cat tried to comfort him and dry him off.

"I'm so sorry," Vinnie said. "But we have work to do, Tucker. The rats are coming, remember? What happened with Khai?"

Tucker shook his head, unable to speak. Susan was gone. That was all that mattered. "Tuck," Vinnie tried again, "we have to get to the Gate. Julian could be there by

now."

The sound of Julian's name brought a sudden fury to Tucker. His head shot up and his ears flattened, his whole body flooding with rage.

"Julian," he said. "And Khai both. Traitors."

The cats hissed among themselves but Tucker wasn't listening. He didn't care if they believed him or not. So Susan was gone. At least he could have revenge.

"There is a tunnel," Tucker said, "in the labyrinth, near Khai's house. It's a magic tunnel that goes to the surface. Khai is using it to let the rats in, so we'll be surrounded."

"Tucker," Vinnie was horrified. "We won't stand a chance!"

"Get to the tunnel," he stood and shook himself, flinging water on Vinnie and the watching guards. "Seal it off. Get more fighters, do whatever you have to but stop those rats."

"What are you going to do?" Vinnie called after him as Tucker spun and ran off. "Get Julian," he yelled back.

The butterscotch tabby ran for all he was worth. Tucker stretched out his muscles, bounding in great leaps as fast as he could. It wasn't often he ran with such abandon and, in the past, enjoyed it very much. There was a freedom to running flat out, feeling his paws barely brush the rock below, the rush of wind through his fur. But, that day, he had no interest in joy or pleasure.

All he wanted to do was to get to Julian and make him pay.And so, Tucker ran.

*****

Light was constant in Cat City. Unlike the world Above, the soft glow mimicking sunlight never wavered, never changed at all. And yet, the cats had fallen into a natural waking and sleeping rhythm, based on their species need for more sleep than humans.

Julian was well prepared to take advantage of that fact. The timing couldn't have been more perfect, he thought as he trotted his way, outwardly calm, inwardly excited, toward the Gate and the guards who watched it. Julian shifted his neck, adjusting the strap around his neck. He could hear the soft sloshing of milk in the steel container he carried. Just having it with him made him very, very happy.

Julian slowed near the Gatehouse, nodding to the two guards on watch. Normally, during the three waking cycles, there were four guards on duty. However, during the four sleeping cycles, the guard count went down to two. After all, no one really expected anyone to try to get out. The Gate wasn't designed to keep cats in, but to protect the City from outside intruders.

Which makes this all the easier, Julian thought. "Lads," he said to the two burly guards. "Captain," they nodded to him.

Stupid fools, Julian thought while he continued to smile at them. "How are things? Any movement?"

One of the cats snorted and ran a paw over his nose.

"Not a peep, sir," the guard said. "So much for the rats, eh?" He nudged his partner who laughed too.

Julian joined them, warm and happy inside.

"I brought you a bit of a treat," he told them, slipping his head out from under the strap. "Thought the hard-working cats protecting our City could use a pick me up. I guess I made a mistake, though," he pretended to be disappointed, looking around. "Wrong cycle. Thought there were four of you?"

Julian could see the guards starting to drool as they recognized the canister."Just us, sir," the first one said.

"Then I guess you boys get twice as much," he winked at them as he pawed the top of the canister open. One of the guards trotted into the guardhouse and came back out carrying a saucer.

The pair hovered as Julian poured the entire contents of the canister onto the saucer and sat back on his haunches.

"Help yourselves," he said as the two dove in.

It didn't take long for the pair to polish off the milk. Or for the poison Julian put in it to start working.

The two guards collapsed, claws raking the ground in agony as bursts of light rose from each of them in a succession of color. Green, red, orange, yellow, all through the spectrum the poison, specially formulated by the rats to take multiple lives, made quick work until, finally, Julian witnessed the rise of two beautiful rainbows as the pair of guards expired.

"Took long enough," he muttered, rising and stretching his long, lean body. He stepped over both of them, heart lifting as he neared the Gate. All his dreams, all his hopes and desires were about to come true. He already had plans to not only double cross the rats and their disgusting king, but Khai as well. The old Councilor was only two lives away from the end, after all. It wouldn't take much to ease him along to his own rainbow, leaving Julian as the leader of Cat City.

The thought greatly appealed to him.

And so, his grand plan all made, Julian went to the Gate of Cat City and let the rats in.