Young Writers Society

Bluejay stood still, shocked into silence, his paw remaining where Stormcloud's cage lock was. But now that was empty space.

The roar of the truck's engine coming on snapped him out of his frozen fear. He had to do something. After all, he was the other leader, wasn't he?

He saw the truck jolt forward, but then it stopped. One of the exterminators came out to examine a tire, probably because it had gone flat. Now was Bluejay's chance to redeem what he had lost!

The blue cat streaked forward faster than a poison dart. Covered in the golden grasses that were dimmed in the dusk light, he passed the human easily. By the time he got to the truck's backside, the other strays snapped out of their shock and saw he was missing. Then the were shocked again as they saw their only other leader hopping up into the truck's back, his own will powering him on.

Moonpelt, a twilight-colored female, hissed at him. "What are you doing!" she spat. But Bluejay didn't hear her, for he was too busy climbing over equipment in the truck's back.

By the time the omen-blessed tom reached the window of dim glass that separated the back from the inside, the man had climbed back into the truck. The roar began again, and a jolt sent him flying backward. He began the climbing process again after he got to his paws. Now used to the movement of the truck, Bluejay dug his claws into the equipment to keep his grip, and then he finally reached the inside separation window again.

With only one quick glance the tom found a way to get one of the small square windows open. Wind howled in the opening. One of the men glanced back. He found only an open window. "Eh," he said, "it blew open. Oh well."

Bluejay had been lucky. He ducked for cover behind a box just before the man locked eyes on the window. To his right he saw more boxes of white machines. To his left, he saw empty cages. But one of them was moving. And it had fur inside. Grey fur. Stormcloud!

Bluejay tiptoed as quietly as possible towards the steel bars of the cage his dream-sharing friend was a prisoner to. When he reached it he scratched the bars of the cage. A shrill hiss of his claws on the bars rang out in the white truck's inside, but over the shriek of the wind, only Stormcloud and Bluejay could hear the cry.

And Stormcloud heard it loudest.

She whipped around, ready to attack the hand of the man that was opening her cage. Instead of seeing a man's ugly hand, she saw her highest hope. Her eyes widened in surprise as Bluejay grinned at her. He motioned to be silent, and Stormcloud knew why. The men had closed the window now, so the slightest whisper would alert them.

This time Bluejay was delighted to know that his friend was not at death's doorway at the moment. But he focused on not messing up, and doing that he was able to unlock his cage without the humans noticing.

But his efforts were in vain. As soon as Stormcloud put one paw outside her cage, the car screeched to a halt. They were there, New York AIS - New York Animal Investigation Study. There was no escaping now.