The Becoming Of the Virginia Girl's, (South's Gang)
By: South MacCain

(The Meeting of Kitty Kat) Chapter one

"Hey South!" Mouse yelled with a ear to ear grin on her face. The two of us had become boxcar children, we never stayed in one place for more than two days. We were currently in Philadelphia, on of our many stops. If you counted up the days we had been traveling around the North Eastern part of the United States for more than four months.

"Yes ma'am," I asked and put down a silver chain bracelet I had been looking at. There was a small street fair going on when we popped into town and we decided to see whatwas going on.

She wrapped a feather boa around her neck and plopped one of those big tawdry hatsevery woman in the world was wearing on her head.

"How do I look?" She kidded. I clapped.

"Oh, beautiful, madam." I laughed. Suddenly an unknown force knocked me off my feet. I fell to the ground taking however with me. I was stunned before I was angry. By the timeI was angry , the hit-and-runner was fleeing.

"Come on!" I said and took off after, Mouse fought quickly to get the boa and hat off.

We sprinted quickly after the person who I quickly realized was a female.

"Jesus, this chicks got bad sense of direction." I mumbled to myself when the girl turneddown an dead end.

She had blood stains on her shirt and she was crying. My anger slipped from me when Isaw how terrified she was. Mouse clambered in to my back.

"Hey!" Mouse shouted but stopped when the girl collapsed. We rushed over to her.

"Holy......" Mouse started and stopped when she saw the blood on the girl's hands.

"Keep her in the same position, don't move her." I said in mild panic. I paced back and forth for about an hour, the girl was still unconscious. So we sat, and then I paced, and then sat again, and then paced some more. We were worried, then angry, worried again,and then angry."God!!" I shouted up at the sky.

"Damnit! Wake her up!" I ordered and stomped my foot on the ground.

"Um... South," Mouse said from over by the girl. I looked over at her with a 'what now?'expression.

"Please don't tell me she has no pulse." I said, Mouse shook her head.

"No the opposite, she's waking up." My mouth fell and I looked back up at the sky.

"You could have done that two hours ago!" I yelled. I shoved my hands into my back pockets and walked over to where the girl and Mouse were. She was still lying there, hereyes were open, and she looked confused and scared.

"You okay?" Mouse asked.

The girl shook her head and started to cry. I knelt down and hugged the girl.

"Got any family?" I asked. The girl shook her head and pressed her face so hard into my shoulder I thought maybe she would press herself right through me. I looked at Mouseand sighed.


"Okay, your going to have to breath sooner or later." I said dryly. She looked up, her face bright red, and her eyes were all puffy from crying. My shirt was now wet.

"I'm sorry," She sniffled."It's okay." Mouse said sympathetically.

"Have a rough day?" I asked. Mouse gave me a dirty look.

"Come on," I said standing the girl to her feet. She was taller than me, but I was only fivefour, so alot of people were taller than me.

"Come on, let's go check out that fair. You up for it?" I asked and put my arm around thegirl's shoulders. She nodded and wiped her eyes.

"What's your name?" I asked leading her out of the alley."Kathryn," She sobbed.

"Kathryn, eh? I'm South and this is Mouse." She looked over at Mouse and smiled.

"Hi," She said her voice becoming more clear.

"So you live around here?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Not any more," She said, her voice filled with an eerie hatred.

"Runaway?" Mouse asked. She hesitated and then nodded.

"Yeah, well I'm both. Orphan and runaway." I said dryly. Kathryn nodded understandingly. The three of us walked back to the fair.

**********

We managed to get approximately six smiles, thirty nods, and two grins, butwho's counting? She seemed sweet and once she became comfortable around us, she talked, andit was more than the usual 'I'm sorry'.

"Kitty Kat, come here, I want you to see somethin'." I said. In oh, thirty minutes, Kathryn had adopted the nickname Kitty Kat. She didn't object to it, and it suited her.

She looked at me, taking her attention away from a rack of scarves. I pointed to a silver chain necklace that had a small silver cat charm dangling from it. The lady who wasselling the jewelry had her back turned to me.

"You like this?" I asked her in a whisper. She nodded. I looked at the lady and carefully wisked the necklace up my blue sleeve. I smiled to her reassuringly and lead her to adifferent table."That was wrong," She said softly.

"You got money for it? I know I don't." I asked, she shook her head.

"Once upon a time Kitty, I had money, I had lots of money, then one day a tragic thing happened. Then I learned that being on your own you have to steal from the one's whosteal from you." She looked confused.

"I don't understand," She said. Mouse appeared out of no where on the other side of Kitty.

"You see, that lady was stealing from you by taking my money. This necklace was three dollars, a big rip off, if you ask me. So in return I stole the necklace from her, with out herstealing my money from me." She still shook her head.

"What South is trying to say is no matter how you look at it, every one is stealing fromevery one." Mouse translated."You'll learn," I said.

"You may think it's wrong, but living like we live, luxuries only exist if you steal them. We make ourselves feel luxurious by making it feel right." Now Mouse looked atme strangely."That made no sense." She laughed.

"Well it did to me." I said and shrugged. I pulled out the necklace and put it aroundKitty's neck. They smiled at me.

"Hell atleast it looks good on her!" Mouse teased.

**********

"Where we going?" Kitty asked when we walked to the train yards.

"To the trains." Mouse said."Why?" She asked

"Because we're leaving. Going to a different city, different state, any objections?" I asked.She shook her head.

"Allright then." I said and jumped into an open boxcar. I held onto a small handle on the large sliding door and pilled Mouse in, then Kitty Kat who took five minutes just gettingher skirts up and out of the way.

"I'm so tired." Mouse yawned and got as comfortable as she possibly could on the boxcarfloor. In three minutes she was asleep.

Kitty and I dangled our feet off the edge of the car. The sun was setting and the sky wasan orangish pink.

"So what were you running from back there?" I asked. I had to know. You don't run fastif nothing is chasing."The police," She stopped and sighed.

"Why would the bulls be after you?" I said teasing. With all do respect the girl was agoodie-goodie.

"I killed my father." She said flatly, a small ping of fear and hatred in her voice.

That statement just crushed my good girl theory. I was unaware of it but my mouth waswide open.

"Say that one more time," I said uneasy. I wasn't sure if I had heard her right.

"It was an accident!' She insisted. I was going to comment but she continued.

"See my mother died, my father killed her three years ago, and he would hit me and abuse me daily. Today I thought he was going to kill me, so I ran into the kitchen and grabbed a kitchen knife," She fidgeted with the cotton on the bottom of her skirt, and continued tospeak her story.

"He cornered me, and said, 'You'd never kill your old man, your gutless' he went to hit me and I stuck the knife in him. I shocked myself and tried to save him. I bandaged him and every thing, but he died. I don't know South, I was scared." She finished.

"It was self defense Kitty, he deserved to die." I said calming her down, she was shaking.I wasn't going to lie to her.

"You hate me now??" She asked. My eyes narrowed."No!!" I said smiling.

"No! Not at all, Kitty you were protecting yourself. If you ask me the bastard had itcoming." I said and reached out to give her a hug.

"I don't hate you honey, but you made a deal with the devil becoming friends with Mouseand me." I laughed, Kitty smiled.

"The two of us can get Jesus, Mary, and Joseph into trouble." Kitty Kat laughed andclosed her eyes. She fell asleep on my shoulder.

I didn't sleep that night for some unknown reason. I'm usually one of the first ones to nod off. Instead I played solitaire with myself until the sun came up, and the train stopped.

**********

Chapter two (Meeting Pegeen "Peeks" Magiee)

The train station read Indianapolis Train yards. I put my cards away and gently kickedMouse's foot.

"Wake up sunshine." I said when she grumbled for me to go away.

I shook my head, reached down, and pinched the upper fleshy side of her thigh. Her eyes shotopen. "Owww! Bitch!" She growled.

"Well aren't we Miss. Pleasant this morning." I said sarcastically, Kitty had woke herselfup, so I need not take the liberty of doing it for her.

The three of us jumped off the train onto the grass. We walked into town and passed by a young girl of about eight crying on the sidewalk.

"We should see what's wrong, maybe she's lost." Kitty suggested. So we did.

"Hey, kid, you okay? What's the matter?" I asked nealing down.

She looked up at me, a real nice shiner on her right eye, and split lip. The three of usstood straight."What's your name, sweetie?" I asked.

"Pegeen Magiee." She sobbed."Who did this to you?" Was my next question.

"Me father." She cried. Mouse got to her knees and wrapped her arms around the girl. Ilooked at Kitty, who had a fierce look of hate on her face.

"Where's he now?" I asked. The girl pointed to a small tenement building across thestreet."In there, at home." She said holding onto Mouse for protection.

"Wanna take us to him?" I said, glaring at the building.

"I wanna have alittle chat with him." I added.

We walked across the street and up three flights of stairs.

"Which one is it honey?" Mouse asked when we stood staring blankly down a hall.

"That one 25G." She pointed. Mouse shifted the young girls wait on her hip. I tried to open the door but it was stuck. I backed up and kicked it as hard as I could. It opened witha snap and a creak. I walked in.

"Hello!!!" I yelled. A tall man appeared from somewhere behind us.

"Can I help you?" He asked. Pegeen clutched to Mouse like she was a life saving device.

The man gave all of us dangerous glances. He was obviously drink. Kitty looked like shewas ready to pounce at any minute. I was just waiting for her to meow.

"You abuse your daughter?' Kitty asked with immense hate in her voice.

"I discipline her." He said staring at Pegeen.

"I tell you what discipline is a bunch of bull shit. Where the hell do you get off hitting achild." I asked.He hit me hard across the face.

"Where the hell do you get off telling me how to raise my child!" He said as he hit me.Kitty attacked.

"Don't you touch her!" She screamed. She pulled, kicked, bit, and gouged theman. Pegeen looked on with no remorse.

I pulled Kitty off of the man, and held her back. He moaned on the floor and stood up, holding onto his side. I looked at him with a fiery hate. Kitty looked at him with murderin her eyes."Pegeen get any of your things." I said. "Your coming with us."

"You can't take her away from me!" He shouted angrily. I laughed drly.

"Oh, how much do you wanna bet?' Mouse walked with Pegeen to a small back room. It was no larger than a walk in closet. She pulled out a small blue dress which was practically moth eaten, and a pair of boys trousers. She shoved them into my bag andMouse picked her up again."Pegeen!" The man said hotly.

"I'll find you!" He stated. He reminded me of Corea, making the tiny hairs on the back ofmy neck stand up straight."No," Kitty said.

"You won't." Mouse and Pegeen left first with Kitty and me following them protectively.

When we were down on the street, we looked up. Pegeen's father looked out the window.He stared at us, then disappeared.

"Ass-hole." Kitty mumbled.Pegeen rested her head on Mouse's shoulder.

**********

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