It was 3:15 in the afternoon and school had been out for nearly twenty minutes. However, the four young Jellicles were still walking home. Even though they were still in the middle school and their homes were over a mile from the school, they were still forced to walk back and forth. Buses simply weren’t provided for their kind.

Two queens and a two toms, the young Jellicles were nearly loaded down with textbooks and notebooks, all either second hand or the most dog eared and dilapidated versions that the school could find. Only one of them actually owned a bookbag and, even though it was ratty and second-hand, it was one of the few extras that any of them owned. He slung it onto his back and squared his shoulders silently, his dark eyes somewhat unfocused. One of the queens, a light, multicolored kitten, glanced at him.

“What’s wrong, George?” she asked, shifting her books to her other arm and giving him a curious look.

The young tom glanced at her quickly. “What? Uh, nothing.”

The little queen smiled at him. “Oh, you’re lying, George. Don’t you think I can tell when you’re upset?”

“It’s nothing you’d care about, Cettie.”

Etcetera stared at him curiously for a moment before turning her attention to the other queen in the group. If he wouldn't give her a straight answer, she didn't really need to try and pry one out of him, after all. It just wasn't worth it.

“Did you do anything interesting today, Lec?”

Startled out of her thoughts, the rust colored kitten shrugged. She turned her dark green eyes towards Etcetera, raising an eyebrow.

“Not if you count getting a carton of milk deliberately dumped on you at lunch interesting.”

“Who did that?” George asked, his voice a bit sharp.

Electra bit her lip, then shrugged again. “One of those popular human girls. She claimed that it was accident, but I don’t know...” She trailed off, picking at the binding on one of her books.

The second tom shook his head. “I hate school. I’m dropping out the moment I turn 16.”

Etcetera shot him a dark look. “That’s so stupid, Pounce. Why would you want to do that?”

“Because, I don’t need school,” he replied softly. “It doesn’t matter how long I go, anyways; nobody’s going to hire me for anything, even if I had a doctrine or something like that.”

“Except for manual labor,” George put in glumly. Etcetera frowned.

“But, Pounce is really smart, George. He could go to college if he wanted to.”

Pouncival laughed. “I’d like to. Maybe. But, how could I get into one, let alone pay for it? I don’t even get good enough grades and they don’t give scholarships to Jellicles, even if I did.”

“But, you’re not even in high school yet, Pounce. You can get your grades up easily.”

“That doesn’t matter, Cet, and you know it.” Pouncival scowled. “You should know that by now.”

Electra clutched her books close against her chest, effectively shutting out the other kittens’ bickering. She had heard it all before, of course. She wasn’t even sure why Etcetera seemed so concerned with her brother. Pouncival was always saying that he would drop out of high school and work full time once he turned 16. It was a constant source of argument at their tiny apartment.

She, however, was still contemplating the lunch incident. She hadn’t told her brother and friends the whole truth. Pouncival would’ve gotten upset if he knew the names that the human girl had called her. She was even more worried about what George would do. Sometimes, he would only grunt a reply to news like that or he would get upset and going looking for a fight. Heavyside knew, that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

She had seen him overreact before. It had frightened her terribly. She had seen him attack one of the human boys after he had directed a rather crude comment in Etcetera's direction. Neither queen kitten could think of what to do to pull him off and when he was restrained, it was by several teachers, closely followed by the principle. Electra hadn't slept easily that night, knowing that many of the human parents would be enraged to find out that George hadn't been expelled, but suspended for a week.

Pouncival stopped suddenly, his eyes fixed on the end of the alley. The other three kittens hesitated, then stopped as well as they noticed the group of humans at the end of the alley. Etcetera pulled her fingers through her mane of off-white fur, a small frown forming on her delicate features. George set his jaw angrily and grabbed Etcetera’s wrist suddenly. She let out a squeak of surprise as he yanked her forward.

“C’mon, guys,” he growled. Pouncival’s ears fell against his head at his friend’s tone. “There’s no reason to be scared.”

“No, no reason at all,” Pouncival murmured, taking another step forward. “Save that group of big, mean-looking humans. I’m sure they’ll sprinkle rose petals over the ground so that Cettie and Lec won’t have to walk in the mud.”

“Shut up, Pounce,” Electra whispered hoarsely.

He blinked in surprise as she slipped her paw into his. Despite the fact that everyone thought that they were twins, they really weren’t. Pouncival was almost exactly a year younger than Electra, but they still had been put into the same grade. He had to admit that having his older sister grab onto his paw for comfort was more than a bit strange. He squeezed her paw back and gave her a reassuring smile.

One of the humans leaned forward with interest, watching intently as the young Jellicles approached them. Electra quickly adverted her eyes, tightening her grip on her brother’s paw. On the other hand, Etcetera tossed her head back haughtily, narrowing her eyes. Then, as another act of defiance, she rolled her shoulders back proudly, as though daring any of them to say anything to her- to try and put her in her place. One of the humans tossed the cigarette that he’d been smoking into a puddle and smiled slyly at the kittens.

“Where ya goin’?” he asked, his blue eyes, which Electra noted uneasily were rimmed with red, taking in the females before sizing up both toms.

Etcetera wrinkled her nose in disgust, casting him a look which suggested that he was below the dirt she was walking on. Which, Electra reflected, could very well be true. “What’s it to you?”

The human laughed. “Hey, guys! It’s a sassy, little cat.” He glanced down at the young queen’s body with interest, taking in her petite, though well formed chest and legs. “I’ll bet she’s a real tiger in bed, too.”

As the other humans laughed, George’s fur bristled angrily. Electra flushed red under her rusty colored fur. “Shut up,” he growled softly.

The boy stopped laughing, his eyes turning from taunting to dangerous. At her side, Electra heard a rough swallow from her brother. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“Yeah, I did, but I’m going to pretend that I didn’t. For your sake,” he replied evenly. He turned his attention back to Etcetera, obviously enticed by her blantant defiance. The little queen’s eyes narrowed into hostile slits. “What’s wrong, honey? You know that everything I’m saying is true.”

George tensed, but Etcetera placed a paw on his arm, her blue eyes widening a bit. “No, George. Leave it alone, please.”

She started to leave, the other kittens following, but jerked to a halt as the human caught the hem of her skirt. She spun around angrily to face the human, fully intending on slapping him across the face and demanding he release her. Maybe she had spirit, but common sense seemed to be a gift that she wasn't blessed with. He suddenly jerked her forward with a snap and twist of his wrist and she took a staggering step forward, falling ungracefully into the human’s lap. He chuckled throatily as she tried to climb out of his lap, her chest brushing against his arms.

“Look at that!” he laughed, tightening his grip on her for a moment. “She threw herself right into my lap.” He grinned at her, then pulled her forward against his chest, reaching one hand down to cup her breast. Etcetera yelped in surprise. “Couldn’t resist, could ya, honey?”

Etcetera hissed violently and heaved herself backwards and away from his groping hands. “Keep your hands off me, you worthless bastard,” she hissed lowly.

“Stupid little whore! You liked it!” he growled, suddenly angry.

George jumped between the human and Etcetera, who was panting with anger just barely held inside, claws extended defensively. The human took one look at him, then let out a snort of laughter.

“Oh, really?” With a flash, the human pulled a switchblade from his jacket pocket. The way he moved suggested perhaps he had been waiting for the oppurtunity to take it out.

Electra gasped as Pouncival shoved her behind him, extending his own claws. Both queen kittens glanced at each other in fear, backing away. There was a very real and horrifying chance that anyone of the young Jellicles would be injured. George growled deep in his throat, seemingly unaware of the fact that the human was a quite a deal larger than he was.

“Get out of here!” he snapped, not turning to look at either queen.

Etcetera’s jaw dropped in surprise, her eyes filling with hurt and worry, then she grabbed Electra’s arm, tugging her to one side. Pressed now against her best friend's side, Electra felt her heart thudding wildly in the thin maroon colored shirt she was wearing. Etcetera gave her another pull, this time starting into a run. Electra nearly stumbled, then followed the light colored kitten's lead.

The other humans started as the little kittens darted back out of the alley. The boy with the knife, keeping his eyes on the toms, cursed.

“Well, go after them!”

Etcetera cast a glance behind her at the command, her eyes filling completely with terror. She had heard horror stories of the things that humands were capable of doing when they were angry with her kind. Damn it! I shouldn't have said anything!

She screamed suddenly, feeling the rough hands of one of the boys grope at the back of her shirt. Her new shirt! Her birthday shirt- the one her parents had no doubt been saving up for. Her books spilled from her arms, forgotten in the mud. The human grabbed her wrist and twisted her around to face him, startled by the fiercely angered look on her face.

With her own scream, Electra fled without seeing light colored queen knee her assailant savagely in the groin. She didn’t see Etcetera hiss at the human as he sank breathlessly to his knees. She didn't see Etcetera then spin away from her attacker, racing down the dark alleyway, her strong legs bearing her swiftly from the other humans. She only concentrated on fleeing from the horrible humans.

Then, all of a sudden, she was alone. Panting breathlessly, she leaned against the cold brick wall of the building walling in the alley. Her heart thudded in her chest and she could feel sweat beading on her brow. She wiped it away with the back of her paw.

She wanted Etcetera. She wanted George. She wanted her brother. She did not want to be alone. She knew she shouldn’t be alone.

She crept forward nervously, glancing around the alley. Her skirt had been torn at some point and she fingered it worriedly. Mom will be upset, she thought.

“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”

Electra’s head snapped up. She gasped and backed against the wall as two human males approached her. Her back scraped up against the rough brick and she was sure that she had ripped her shirt now. Though, why the thought worried her, given the circumstances, she did not understand.

“What’s wrong, little kitty? Not scared, are you?” one human snickered. Electra shook her head, petrified, and the other human laughed.

“Yeah, you are.” He jumped forward, placing a hand on either side of the young queen, blocking her in. She pressed her paws against the wall, trembling in fear. She didn't even have the courage to try and push past him.

Electra’s eyes went wide in terror as the human pressed his mouth against hers. She felt weak and sick at his touch. Her throat was suddenly dry and she felt her eyes slip shut in dizzying horror. Please, she pleaded, though she did not know with whom, please just let them think of something- someone, even!- else to do or harrass! Not me, please Bast, not me!

Startling her from her pleading, Electra's eyes snapped open as one of his hands ventured lower, groping down at her skirt and pulling it higher up her legs. Blinding white light flashed through her mind, as she realized his intent, and her knees gave out beneath her. The human allowed her to sink weakly to the ground.

The human eyed her skirt, which had slid up on her thighs, exposing a stretch of fur otherwise unseen. She yanked it downwards, frightened by his gaze. It was the gaze of a predator, she realized morbidly, her heart sinking. The human cleared his throat.

“Roger?”

The other human nodded. “Yeah?”

“Watch the alley.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to teach this little kitten a few manners.” He smiled down at Electra. No. He leered, she decided. “If you know what I mean.”

“No!”

Electra tried to push him away from her as he placed his hands on her shoulders to tug her back onto her feet, but the human was much stronger. Obviously, since Electra had yet to reach her fourteenth birthday and this human seemed to be in his early twenties.

He jerked her back against the wall, his hands groping the kitten’s body. She tried to scream as he forced her shirt open, the buttons snapping off their threads and scattered onto the dingy alley ground. But, the scream caught in her throat and, for a moment, she was afraid she would choke on her own screams. How ironic.

He caught one of her paws, which she had been feebly been using to try and force him off her, suddenly and jerked it out to the side. Pain snapped down her arm like a fire. Electra let out a frightened scream and cowered against the wall.

“Bad kitty,” he said breathlessly. He wrenched her paw down.

Electra continued to struggled against the much stronger human until she felt the skirt she was wearing suddenly loosen from her waist and slid down onto the ground. Suddenly, she felt exposed and defeated.

"Please, no," she whispered hopelessly, her eyes searching his for some sign of mercy, but found none.

She let out a scream of pain and shock suddenly. She was driven back against the wall, it's rough surface grating against her now bare back. Though, that pain was very much dulled by the unimaginable pain cause by his sudden and sharp penetration. Electra felt as though a knife were stabbing into her body, violating her and humiliating her all in one sweep.

Her head was brought forward, her mouth captured by another violent and degrading kiss that made her wish that she were dead. Anywhere but here.

I can’t think about it! Despite her pain and terror, tears seemed to not be able to flow from her eyes, which were now staring blankly in front of her. If I think about it, I'll die.

She cried out again, her body slammed back against the wall, her head slammed against the rough brick. She then slumped limply, out cold from pain and fear.

Unfortunately, the blackness of unconsciousness didn’t last for long. She groaned in pain as the human climbed off her tiny, bruised body. She felt disgusting, sticky, and dirty.

Electra let out a frightened sob as the other human approached her. She covered her eyes, sobbing hysterically.

~*~

“You’re such a dufus, Admetus,” a young, white queen laughed. She shook her head again, tossing her fluffy, white mane back behind her shoulders. “Tugger does not say that!”

“He does so,” her tom companion insisted, casting her look that plainly suggested she had no idea what she was talking about. “Besides, those may not be his exact words, but everyone else knows that’s what he thinks.”

“He does not think he’s Mr. Stud Tom.”

Admetus raised an eyebrow. “But, he thinks it, Vic, and that’s all that matters.”

Victoria shook her head, a hint of a smile threatening to break onto her lips. “Admetus, you’re awful. I’m sure you wouldn’t say that to anyone else but me.”

He grinned cheekily, reaching forward to pinch her chin between his fingers. Victoria allowed herself a smile at this. “That’s only because I’ve known you since we were in diapers.”

“Sad, isn’t it?"

“Nah, not really,” he laughed, enjoying her coy act. “If we didn’t have each other, Victoria, dear, who would we complain to about our idiot siblings?”

Victoria rolled her eyes, her demure expression leaving for one of exasperation. “Oh, don’t even get me started on them. Did you know that Pouncival had another fight with Mom and Dad last night? He’s still on his ‘I’m-going-to-drop-out-of-high-school-the-minute-I-turn-16’ kick. I swear, I thought that Mom was going to slap him across the face last night.” She shrugged, as though this didn't bother as much as it obviously did. Had he not known her so well, Admetus might've guessed it didn't. “I know I wanted to. He can be so impossible sometimes.”

Ademtus laughed lightly, knowing by the way she spoke that she didn't really want to get into why her brother acted the way he did. “Thank Heavyside that Silla’s still too little to care about that kind of stuff yet.” He frowned. “Although, I think that some of the kids have gotten the anti-Jellicle syndrome. She mentioned some girl named Rebecca who wouldn’t let her play with her. I guess that she said that Silla’s a cat, so she can’t play with the ‘normal’ kids.”

“That’s horrible.” Victoria narrowed her eyes at the buildings they passing, geniune distaste on her face. “I hate this place. When I get out of high school, I’m moving. I’m going to move to a big city and become famous.”

“The prima ballerina.”

“Don’t laugh,” Victoria scolded lightly, twirling on her toes. Her skirt, which was thin and airy, though still managing to not look trashy. Admetus wasn't quite sure how she pulled it off. “When I’m rich and famous, you might just regret being mean to me.”

“Oh, yeah," he replied with a knowing nod. "That’s right.”

“It is right.”

Chuckling lightly, Admetus watched as the white queen danced ahead of him. She had a beautiful form, yes, and if she did manage to escape from this slum, he knew she had the talent and ability to become the prima ballerina she dreamed of. And he wanted her to escape. He knew that she didn’t belong here. Maybe he did, but he knew for sure that she didn’t.

Wondering if he shouldn’t be thinking such things about his best friend, he adverted his attention to the alley itself. Just as depressing, he thought. You would think the city spend just a little money to make sure this place didn't look like-

Something caught his eye. He frowned.

“Victoria?”

Victoria turned, her eyebrows upraised. She smoothed down her skirt with both paws. “Yeah?”

“Isn’t that Leccie’s notebook?”

Victoria turned to stare at the open notebook. She could see Electra’s neat handwriting on the blue lined paper. Glancing over to Admetus, she bit down on her lip.

“Where’s Leccie? She would never...”

Victoria trailed off anxiously, looking around the allet, her paws falling down onto her shapely hips. Admetus copied her stance, scanning the alleyway for some sign of Victoria's younger sister.

"That's really weird," he murmured softly, his eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Yeah," Victoria agreed reluctantly, still scanning the area. "Maybe she dropped it?"

"Maybe. Do you think we ought to-"

Admetus was cut off by a shrill scream that echoed through the alleyway. Victoria's eyes widened in terror and she bent her knees, unconsciously lowering herself closer to the ground. The tom was by her side instantly, his paws resting protectively on her shoulders, his eyes flashing with fear and uncertainty.

"What the hell?" he hissed after nothing happened for a moment. Then, the scream was followed by hoarse sobbing.

His fur bristling, Admetus released his protective stance and hold on Victoria, his pace picking up as he followed the sounds of the sobbing. Victoria stood stock still for a moment, then darted after him, frightened about staying here in the alley by herself.

He gasped in horror as he turned the corner to see two men, one standing watch over the alleyway, the other facing the wall. Upon a closer look, Admetus realized the scream had come from the person he was pinning against the wall. The man guarding the alley paled.

"Shit..."

"Electra?" Admetus found himself saying, his paws shaking in fury. The man backed away quickly, his eyes wide with fear. "What the hell are you doing to her, you sick bastards?"

The man facing the wall spun abruptly, spilling the rusty colored kitten to the ground. Lucky for him that his shirt was long enough to cover him, or else he would've ended up missing an important chunk of his body as Admetus charged forward, his fist swinging out.

The human staggered backwards, blood leaking out of his nose. He looked as though he was considering attacking the young tom, then decided against it. Perhaps it was because, at 17, Admetus was already 6 feet tall and easily outweighed the human. Casting a quick look at the other man, he suddenly spun around, racing wildly from the imposing and tall Jellicle tom.

Victoria barely fought down a scream, pressing her fist against her mouth to try and stifle it. She looked as though she was ready to vomit on the ground, her knees shaking. Admetus snarled, sending the other human fleeing past the white queen, nearly knocking her over.

"Leccie!" Victoria gasped breathlessly, breaking from her stupor to rush to her sister's side.

Electra's eyes came up to look at Victoria, then fell to the ground, looking panicked and ashamed. Admetus noticed that she was hunched over, so as to protect herself from his and her sister's eyes. Blushing, Admetus shrugged his jacket off as he approached the sisters, adverting his eyes.

"Don't touch me," Electra hissed weakly, shrugging her shoulders away from her sister's gentle touch. Victoria felt her eyes prick with tears, then she looked up at the tom.

"Give me that," she said weakly, reaching her hands out for the jacket. Admetus handed it to her, still keeping his gaze from falling on the defiled kitten.

Electra flinched at the feel of the jacket slipping down onto her shoulders, then let out a gasping sob. She pressed one heel of her paw against her right eye, the other reaching down to wrap the jacket closer to her body. Her thin body was suddenly wracked with sobs.

"Vic... I... Oh, God..." she sobbed weakly, pressing herself next to her sister. Victoria wrapped her arms fiercely around her little sister, an almost violent expression passing onto her face.

"Addy, help me," she hissed, her eyes narrowing, looking past him. He was tempted to look over his shoulder, but knew there was nothing there. "We have to get her home."

"No! Please, Vic, you don't understand! T-they... I-I'm dirty. P-please. M-mommy and D-daddy won't want to see me like this..."

"Shut up, Electra," Victoria snapped, gesturing at her sister with a free paw. "Admetus! Now! Pick her up and help me get her home!"

Admetus stared at the white queen for a moment, then nodded hurriedly, bending to scoop Electra into his arms. He tried not to notice the way the younger queen shuddered violently at his touch and tried to squirm from his arms. Still, she was weak and exhausted and no match for him. He stood, cradling her to his chest.

"Shh..."

Electra pressed her face against the fabric of his shirt, sobbing into it. Victoria stood quickly, tucking the jacket tighter around her sister's body, making sure that nothing could be seen but the kitten's head and the legs below her knees.

"Come on," she said shortly, starting to walk out of the alley.

Admetus swallowed roughly, then followed. The way Victoria was walking, as though she was ready to kill anything in her way, unnerved him and he was anxious to get home and get help for the trembling, whimpering ball of fur in his arms.


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