With the discovery of the mouse girl, things had become tense. Everyone knew who was the one responsible for the state the young creature was in. Rick could only look at Monica’s smiles with a sense of looming dread hanging overhead. Would this also be their fate if the feline happened to change her mind about them? Or was this part of her plan already?

Rick glanced into the cave. Mr. Gabriel sat within, near the mortified young woman. The older man was stoic, silent, his back was a straight column of stone. Before him lay some bread and ham. He sat a meter away from the mouse, as close as he could get, before she started sobbing again.

And he’d not moved an inch since.

“Really hope we can find help… out there, somewhere.” Kat was the first to move, sitting down at the mouth of the cave, legs crossed, and slumping down against the dirt. Her gaze flickered to Monica. “Would really be a shitter of a time if we can’t even get running water.”

The change in subject was a welcome one.

Rick felt a twinge of nervousness at the prospect. What kind of world would there be out there that had survived against creatures such as Monica or the Arachnae? Something was fundamentally different in this world. It was becoming clearer with each passing minute. He wasn’t sure he wanted to stick around to find out all the details. He needed to help put everyone to safety and fast.

“Don’t concern yourselves with the ‘what ifs’. Survival comes first,” Mr. Gabriel spoke, his voice soft, barely a whisper. It helped them focus, nodding, though only for long enough to watch as the old man moved himself an inch further.

“Gramps…?”

“Shush,” he replied, getting closer to the mouse and stopping as soon as she’d twitched. He moved the food to lie next to her and then turned his back to her. There was a harshness to his brow as he glanced at the others. “I’ll stay here.”

Kat hesitated. “Are you sure that’s… safe?”

“Does it matter?” The response was cut and dry.

The declaration made them take a long moment of silence, giving shared glances and nervous grimaces. Tomas nodded, moving towards the side of the cave, away from the mouse and Mr. Gabriel, but sitting down and leaning against the wall. Sighing, he removed his glasses while holding the backpack tightly against his chest.

The young student kept glancing at the mouse and tightening his grip on the backpack. There was something in his eyes that was troubled.

A part of Rick wanted to speak up, but there wasn’t much he could say. He moved to the opposite side of the cavern and took point near where Monica sat. If the feline was going to move, he’d be the first in line. Much to his surprise, that was exactly what she did, standing up and moving closer to the young teacher, laying down next to him. With a smirk, she placed her head on his lap.

He looked at her in a moment of confusion. It redoubled when she took his hand and moved it to the top of her head.

Kat broke out in laughter, giggling and covering her mouth as she watched the young teacher’s startled expression. The lilt of her voice became only more musical as Rick patted Monica’s head, easing himself into scratching her ears and focusing on calming himself down.

She began to purr, leaning into his touch and closing her eyes.

“You figure she’ll let us live so long as she gets good scritches?” Kat couldn’t help herself, smirking as the chemistry teacher glared at her.

“Let’s keep hoping she remains amused and we don’t wake up to find out her favorite pass-time is making people into scratching posts.”

That sobered Kat quite quickly. With a grimace, she turned away, standing up and moving towards Tomas. She sat down next to him, the young man jolting as she leaned into him. “My turn.”

“What?”

“My turn. That cat over there is getting a head scratch. This Kat here wants the same.”

“Erm…” Tomas hesitated, looking at Rick and Mr. Gabriel before glancing at Kat once more.

She smirked. “Like, just trust me, I’ve got an idea.”

“Are you…?”

“Do it, you nerd. I think I know how I can help with the Monica thing.”

That proclamation made for an even stranger look from the others. The pressure mounted until Tomas couldn’t help but nod.

Removing the backpack from his thighs and cramming his glasses back on. The young man looked at Kat and turned away as she mimicked Monica’s position, leaning down to place her head on his lap. She wriggled a bit to get comfortable.

When the young man reached down to touch her dark blond hair, she hummed, letting out a breathy sigh that made the Tomas hesitate. It was short lived. Kat tapped on his leg until he got back to it. His fingers drew circles across her scalp, and she let out a quiet cooing sound, meeting Monica’s gaze.

“See that kitty cat? I’m liking this,” she whispered. Slowly, the woman grasped Tomas’ free hand and tugged at it, drawing it to her shoulder. “Now, relax.” Still holding on to that free hand, she slowly tugged it from her shoulder, down towards her chest, leaving his palm atop her shirt.

“Kat?” The young man had pulled his palm away as if burned, blushing up a storm.

The young woman grumbled. “Shut it and follow my lead.”

“I agree with him, young lady,” Mr. Gabriel growled under his voice.

“Shush, she’s watching.” She waved the older man off, focusing on Monica.

That brought any commentary to a halt as they collectively shifted attention to the white-haired woman. Monica’s gaze was laser focused on the two humans. There was an intensity to it, as she was indeed paying very close attention. The feline’s white tail waved slowly behind her, her ears perked and aimed at the two. Her movements would slow as Kat would let out cooing sounds, more so when the young woman pulled Tomas’ hand against her chest, forcing a little squeeze.

“Oh, that feels so good,” she groaned, biting her lower lip and shooting Monica a wink as she turned to look at Tomas. Her hands reached up to clasp the sides of his furiously blushing face.

Tomas could not be any redder, his body stiff, and his eyes wide. It was not until she’d grasped the back of his head and tugged him to bend down that he appeared to grow even stiffer.

“Relax, this should help us with the big kitty over there.” Kat glanced over at Monica, a light red appearing on her own cheeks as she then turned back towards Tomas with lascivious eyes. Her intent was clear as she pulled the young man’s face closer to her own.

The young woman appeared entirely ignorant or uncaring of Mr. Gabriel’s glare, but Tomas was far less so. The young man was growing paler the closer she got.

AWWWOOOOOOOO

Everyone twitched and stopped at the sound that pierced through the silence. It was distant, barely audible, it left everyone very suddenly straining their ears to determine if there was anything more to it. Rick had tried to spring to his feet but failed. His lap was still currently occupied. His focus turned towards the distance, into the dark forest, frowning and feeling his shoulders rise with tension.

“Do you think…”

ROOOOOOOAR

They all twitched at once. Rick jumped, then yelped as he found himself being clutched tightly by Monica. The feline had let out the sound from her position laying on his lap. It wasn’t as ear shattering as the one from the previous night, but it had forced every nerve on the man’s body to fire off at once.

Her grip on him relented as he fell and smacked against the cave entrance. She grumbled, standing up now that her cushion of choice was gone. She turned to the forest and roared a second time, and moved to sit down at the edge of the cave. Monica huffed and crossed her arms, glaring at the trees, lower lip tight in irritation.

“Guess that’s that.” The young teacher sighed, breathing deeply to get his beating heart under control.

“The sound came from… isn’t that the direction the bus is from?” Tomas asked, glancing into the darkness as well.

The question was like a knife, cutting through the silence. “Should we, like…?” Kat had dropped the coy act, looking nervously at each of them.

“No,” Mr. Gabriel spoke gruffly, shaking his head. “We have no way of helping.”

“But… Monica?”

“We don’t know if she’d fight or not.” Rick nodded along, glancing at Tomas as he asked the question. “It’s also getting dark. We’d be blind. We would be a burden at best, a risk at the worst.”

The four of them lowered their gazes slightly. Kat clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. The gesture earned a quiet shake of the head from Mr. Gabriel. The older man glancing over his shoulder at the shivering mouse. Tomas’ gaze lingered on Kat as she quietly prayed. And Rick’s eyes lingered on the annoyed feline as she curled up next to the cave and fell asleep.

It felt like it was going to be a long night ahead of everyone else.