Hyde whimpered, not at all looking like the full grown tom that he was. He shook his head helplessly. “I don’t know why, Mom. I was in here with... with...” He burst into tears.

“With who?” I asked gently. He shook his head in despair. I could see the pain in his eyes at discussing this. I hated making him have to do it.

“The kittens. Pippen, Skeet, and... and Giselle. I was playing with them and then... he just burst into here and punched me.” He tried to cover his eyes, but his paws fell back. “I tried to stop him, but then some of his friends came in and grabbed in. I really tried to stop him, but there were too many of them...”

Griddlebone burst into sobs and cradled her son in her arms. I released him and sat back silently, my paws clenched. Hyde glanced at me as Griddlebone licked his face. His eyes widened.

“Dad? What are you going to do?” he asked fearfully.

That was the difference between him and his brother. Although they both knew I was their stepfather and half-brother, Hyde still insisted on calling me father. Maybe that was because we hadn’t told them until them until they older. By that point, they should’ve accepted the fact that I was their father, no questions asked. But, Otto was disgusted and it seemed an effort to even call me by my name.

Griddlebone cradled her son closer. “Macavity? Please answer him.”

I shook my head. “The bastard!” I hissed. “I don’t know what I’m going to do to him, but I’m going to find my kittens, damn it!”

“Don’t hurt him!” Griddlebone gasped.

“He almost killed Hyde!” I shouted, feeling my patience with her suddenly snap. She cringed back suddenly. “His brother and your son! How can you defend him?”

“Because he’s my son,” she sobbed. “I couldn’t bear to have him hurt, no matter what he did! He’s my kitten, too!”

I put a paw on her cheek. “Right now, all I want to do is find the kittens. I’ll deal with Otto later.”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Just don’t hurt him if you can help it.”

“I’ll try.”

She buried her face against her child’s and began to sob again. Poor Hyde struggled to comfort her, although it was plain to see that he was the one that needed the most comfort.

I ran out of the room, rage surging through every vein in my body.

~*~

“I can’t believe this,” Orion growled through his teeth. He stalking next to me down a dark alley. Even though it was midday, the buildings and trees on either side kept the alley fairly dark.

“You think this is any easier for me,” I snapped. “That little bastard has my children and I have no idea where he is!”

Orion glanced at me. “He’s not exactly little, Macavity. You have to remember that if we find him.”

“Yeah, but there’s two of us and one of him!”

“And how many on side, besides him,” he demanded. He grabbed me by my shoulders and spun me to face him. “We have to be careful.”

I jerked free of his grasp, breathless with rage. “Damn it, Ry! I just want my children back!”

Orion didn’t say anything, but allowed me to back away from him. I strode forward, clenching my paws tightly. If I did find him I’d kill him for this.

I couldn’t help but wonder what if. What if he had killed the kittens? What if he had done worse to them? What if we never found them again? And why? Why had he kidnapped innocent children and beaten his own brother nearly to his death? Just to spite me? I prayed not. If he was capable of doing this out of spite...

“We should rest,” Orion said. I stared at him.

“What? We can’t.”

“We have to. We’ve been walking for hours and I know that you were up the whole night last night. You’ll collapse,” he predicted. I sighed.

“Fine,” I mumbled, not wanting to fight.

I curled against a box, watching Orion try to find a place to sleep. I shut my eyes. Sleep came quickly.

~*~

“Stop! Please!”

Giselle screamed helplessly as Otto grabbed her tiny wrists and flung her across the room. She slammed against the ground and bit her tongue. Blood trickled down her chin as she stared up at in horror at her older half-brother.

“Otto! Why are you doing this?”

Another strike. She screamed again as he jerked her to her feet by her head fur. Her tail tucked between her legs as she struggled to make herself seem smaller than she was. Her fur was puffed out in fear.

“What’s the matter, Gissy? Daddy not here to save you?”

He pressed her roughly against a wall and forced his mouth against hers. The kitten gagged and struggled to shove him away from her. Her eyes were wide with horror and disgust. Finally, Otto pulled away, glaring at her with disdain.

“You little tramp! Don’t you know any better? I’m your brother.”

She started to sob weakly. “Otto, you kissed me! Please stop it!”

“Sorry, Gissy. I’ll have to teach you a lesson. And Macavity. He’ll have to learn, too, won’t he?”

Once again, he pressed his mouth to hers. This time, he let one of his paws wander down her the side of her body. She tried to lurch away, but he pressed one of his paws against her throat. Suddenly, he slammed her head back against the wall again. She screamed aloud.

“Shut up, Gissy!” he panted. His eyes scanned hers quickly. “Just shut up!”

Kicking her legs out from under her, Otto watched as his younger half-sister sprawled to her side on the ground. She was trembling in fear and struggling not to scream, it was plain to see.

Using one of his feet, he turned her over onto her back. Her once glistening white fur was stained with blood, dirt, and grime. All the better.

He knelt beside the trembling kitten, his paws resting on her chest and stomach. She covered her eyes with her paws, not moving otherwise.

“What are you going to do to me?” she asked.

“Nothing you probably haven’t already done before,” he answered, climbing onto of the young kitten.

Giselle screamed with all the strength she could muster before passing out.

~*~

I screamed.

“Giselle!”

Abruptly, I was sitting upright. Orion was watching me from his resting place, his breath quick from panic. He stared at me with obvious confusion and worry. I covered my eyes with my paws.

“He raped her! He raped my baby! I know he did!”

Orion stood, cautiously approaching me. “You don’t know that for sure-”

“I do!” I growled. Orion hesitated. “I saw everything! I saw what she saw, I know that I did!” Then a chill ran down my spine. “There’s something very wrong with him, Ry. He’s always hated me, I know that much, but this was so much different. The way he was staring at me...”

“At you?” Orion asked, tilting his head to one side.

“At her,” I snapped. “I saw everything she saw and it was like it was me. God, Ry, I’m scared.”

Orion sighed, shaking his head. He lowered his eyes to the ground, then raised them again. “Of a dream? You’ve never been superstitious before.”

“It wasn’t just a dream!” I insisted angrily. “He raped my daughter and I saw everything!”

“Maybe you really saw that, but how can we do anything about it just now? We should get moving. The sooner we’ll find them if we do.”

I startled myself with a crisp laugh. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

~*~

Night was nearing. With each passing moment, my chest tightened with fear. I could feel Giselle’s terror and shame as Otto forced himself onto her. I could only imagine what he was doing now.

I also felt terror inside of me for my sons. What in the name of Heavyside had he done to them? Were they OK, were they alive? Had he hurt them in any way? If he had, I’d kill him twice over!

Try as I might, I couldn’t get his eyes out of my mind. They terrified me. Even if it had been a dream. I could see insanity lurking deep in his eyes. Even what he’d done had confirmed it. Orion had to believe me. I watched him walk ahead of me and cleared my throat. Orion turned.

“Yeah?”

“Do you know where we are?”

He glanced around and sniffed the air. “I think we’ve circled back around to the junkyard. A block or two and we could rest there.”

“No. We can’t.”

He shrugged. “Fine. Do you want to rest here for a moment? I’m tired. Macavity? What are you looking at?”

I stared at the building in front of me with dread. Drops of blood were splattered on the front steps. I turned to Orion, my face paling.

“I think we found them.”

~*~

“It’s creepy in here,” Orion whispered. “All I can smell is fear. I hate this.”

“Not scared, are you?” I asked.

He whipped around, confused. Seeing the look on my face, his broke into a large grin. He shook his head.

“You’re an idiot, Macavity. Of course I’m not scared. Did you think I was you or something?”

I made a stabbing motion at my chest. “Ouch! That hurt! How long did you stay up last night thinking that one up?”

“You only wish you could look and be as brilliant and wonderful as me.”

I held up my paws. “Whoa. Since when did your looks come into the picture.”

“You’re just jealous ‘cuz I’m so sexy.”

“You’re onto my plan!” I howled. I grabbed his shoulders and slumped my face against his chest. Orion laughed. “I love you, Orion, ‘cuz you’re so purty.”

“I know,” he replied, buffing his claws on his chest fur.

“That’s disgusting.”

Orion hissed, spinning around. I craned my head back, trying to see who had spoken. There was no other creature in the room. I drew my lips back in a growl.

“Otto? Where are you?”

“Right here, brother.”

I spun around in time to see a board swing out from the darkness. I tried to cry out, but it was too late. The board smashed into the side of Orion’s head. His arms flailing, he fell to his knees. The board crashed down again and Orion fell flat onto his face, out cold.

I hissed. “Show yourself, you coward!”

The instant I said it, I regretted it. Otto stepped from the shadows, his huge body even more imposing in the darkness. I swallowed as my heart thundered in my chest. I could see why Otto was different.

He was rabid.

I took a step backwards. There was nowhere to go. Otto knew it as well as I did and smiled. My blood turned to ice and I felt a shiver run up my spine.

“Can’t always be the hero, can you?” he whispered. His bloodshot eyes were locked on me. “Or the villain, apparently. Too bad that this is a battle that you’re not going to win, either way you want to look at it.”

I pressed myself against the wall. “What are you intending on doing? Soon the other strays will be here and you’ll be outnumbered.”

He smiled coldly and leaned forward. “But not before I finish with you Macavity.” He grabbed my throat and lifted me a bit above the ground. “The only problem I can see is this: what should I do with you before I kill you?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I gasped.

He sneered at me. “You’re an idiot, you know that don’t you? Perhaps I need to explain. All I have to do...” He dug his claws deeper into my neck and I cried out in pain. “... is to infect you with this disease that I have. Then you’ll know what it’s like to have to fight to have a coherent thought.”

I struggled against his paws. “You wouldn’t!”

“You underestimate me,” he growled.

Then, to my shock and horror, he pressed me closer against the wall, allowing me to slid back down. He pressed his body up against mine. For a moment, all I could see was my Giselle screaming. I felt myself start to tremble and squeezed my eyes shut tightly. He stayed there for a minute, placing his paw my waist. I fought the urge to vomit. Finally, he pulled back.

“Poor Macavity! Scared to death, aren’t you?” I remained still, fighting the new urge to scream. “You can open your eyes now, little boy. I’m not going to hurt you like that. It’s too disgusting.”

I opened my eyes slowly. I gasped as his paw reached out and seized my wrist. I turned my face up to his in shock.

With a sharp yank upwards, I heard a nasty cracking noise. Pain shot up my arm like a fire. I started to sink down to the ground in dizzy pain, but Otto caught my shoulders and pressed me up against the wall again. I could feel my eyes filling with tears from pain.

He glared at me. “I won’t hurt you too much right now. At least not for a little while. I can’t say anything about later. Who’s to say what’s going to happen once this-” he tapped his head “-progresses. Until then, I’ll have to content myself with Gissy.”

“Don’t you touch her again!” I growled, sinking to the ground. He smiled then kicked me the ribs. I cried out and rolled over.

“Don’t think you’re in any position to be telling me what I should do, huh?”

He knelt and grabbed my chin, jerking my face up to his. “Just remember that the next time you want to try and play the role of the brave and dashing hero.”

I started to weep as stood and walked away. I knew that there was no way out. My wrist was fiery with pain and I wasn’t even sure if Orion was alive. I couldn’t think straight with all the pain in my body. And the horrible images that kept racing thru my mind.

Crawling over, I knelt beside Orion. Suddenly, my head was light and I felt myself collapse down next to him. I wiped my face free of tears and nuzzled my head against his.

“I’m so sorry, Ry. I’ve made such a mess of everything.”