Sample Sunday

Sample from Kiwi and the missing Magic 


(published July 2011)



Chapter 11: Earthquake?


The noise was deafening, like thunder smashing through the skies. It grew louder and louder. All of the cats ran out of their houses and were standing in the streets, all looking confused and asking the same question: what is that noise? Mr Eastwood from the Catema was holding some reams of film which streamed like tails on to the ground. “The Catema is shaking,” he wailed. The owner of Meow Market nodded. She had felt the same tremours and half of her fruit had plummeted to the ground. Kiwi, Amy and James ran out of the Cat Motel looking up at the sky, expecting a massive storm. 
Inspector Furrball looked out of his office window. The catizens were panicking. He could see
them scurrying around bewildered. The walls and foundations of Cat Crime were built to withstand anything, and they did not shake, but he could see the tremours buzzing around the city. One road had split near the entrance to Cat City. Georgy had already buzzed him on his catpad that something was wrong. Walls were shaking and the ground was heaving. Inspector Furrball pulled his whiskers. He sensed that something was coming. Something was trying to get into the city. But would it succeed? He tried to remember the last time something like this had happened and he couldn’t. It was a very long time ago. 
Just then there was a knock at his office door. 
“Hi,” said James and Amy, wandering in. Kiwi trailed behind, looking as concerned as Furrball.
The inspector turned from the window. “Hello Jimster and Ames! Kiwi, have you been down to
speak to Georgy?”
“Yes,” said Kiwi, gazing out of the window. “He’s confused. The tremours are loudest at the
entrance to the city. The doorway to the tunnel was shaking. We looked through the peephole into the tunnel and the walls inside are trembling. The sound is like thunder.”
“The door was vibrating like someone was beating it from the other side, but there was no-one
there,” said James.
“It was pretty scary,” said Amy. “Georgy was really scared. He said nothing like this has happened before. Is it an earthquake?”
Inspector Furrball shook his head. “No. We don’t have those. It’s nothing natural. I buzzed Moggie and she came to the same conclusion as me – the missing Magic. Something or someone is trying to get through the door to the city. I can’t tell how far away they are.”
“The noise down there is deafening,” added Kiwi. 
“Is this an emergency?” asked Amy.
Furrball frowned. “Yes, I’m afraid it is. I’ve wasted too much time waiting already. I’m going to
sound the alarm.”
“Then what?” asked Amy.
“All of the catizens will come here to Cat Crime. They’ll be safe here and then we just have to
wait.”
“Wait for what?” asked James.
“Wait to see what comes through the Cat City tunnel,” sighed the Inspector. “I’m afraid it’s
something very big.”
The kittens looked at each other and at Kiwi, who looked really worried. They gazed out of the
high window, down to the streets below. The catizens were panicking in a quiet, stunned sort of way.”
“Has anything like this happened before?” asked Amy.
Kiwi waved her head. “No, the gates to Cat City are impenetrable. They are only for the catizens. I don’t know what is coming, but I don’t think it belongs here.”
James gulped. Amy nudged Kiwi, who put a paw around her shoulder.
At his desk, the Inspector opened a drawer with a golden key from his pocket and he took out a small, round blue object. He put it on the desk and sat down heavily. “Let’s hope this works,” he said. The instant he pressed it, a loud meow sounded in the air all around the building. Down below, all of the catizens looked up in the air and then started walking in a long, multicoloured line towards the Cat Crime building. Amy gazed down, watching them. They were moving very orderly. No-one seemed to be panicking. Apart from the loud meowing sound, everything seemed very calm.
“How long until everyone gets here?” asked James.
“About half an hour for the whole city,” said Inspector Furrball, locking the desk. “The alarm will go for about ten minutes. Everyone should be inside the building by then, apart from the catizens who live furthest away. All of the other creatures will follow too. We have an alarm drill once or twice a year, but I can’t remember the last time we had a real one.”
“Then what?” asked Amy.“Well, we have different sections of the building for different creatures, who are separated from the catizens. We don’t want any squabbles. And then we’ll see. We will have to move to Step B and then we just wait.”
“What’s Step B?” asked the kittens.
Kiwi grinned.
Furrball sat everyone down, and handed out some milk and biscuits. “Here, refresh yourselves. You’re going to need it. Step B is where this building really comes into its own. I remember that you, James, thought it weird that the building was grey. That everything is grey, except for this room.”
“Yes,” muttered James, looking up. Amy looked at him, confused.
“Well, you’re going to find out why and it may save all of our lives.”
Kiwi tried to smile while she lapped up her milk, but inside she was very nervous, and she had to make sure that no trouble came to Amy and James.