'Not like this!' Jack found himself running into the open before the thought had fully formed in his 
mind. 'Stop!' 
     Therese turned her head, Lila still gripped in her hand and poised at the brink of her open mouth. 
     'You?' Clive exclaimed. 'What the hell, mouse? You were let go. Do you wanna die that bad?' He 
stepped over towards where Jack was running, stopping the mouse dead in his tracks. 
     'I...I don't want to let it end this way!' Jack stammered. 'She gave her all, she played your sadistic 
game and she withstood your torment for days now, haven't you done enough to her?' 
     'So what?' Clive scoffed. 'She's a mouse. To us you're all just food. She was lucky to get as many 
days as she did. It was only an afterthought that stopped me from eating her that first morning. It 
doesn't entitle you or her to anything.' 
     'But-' 
     'Enough!' Clive growled, cutting off Jack's protest. 'Now listen, I'm still willing to let you go. But 
she played the game as I decided it would be, and she lost. Besides, my sister's spent all day having 
to deal with that horrible train-line food, all just to visit me. I think she's earned a treat.' 
     Jack couldn't come up with anything more to say. He'd already seen in the past how little cats 
would care for the plight of mice. He couldn't argue against the cat's own point of view, and at this 
point only his own survival instinct prevented him from taking another step. 
     'Aww.' Therese smiled, lowering Lila a bit but not letting go. 'That's so bold of the little guy. I 
don't think I've ever seen a mouse try to protect one of their own before. Have you, Clive?' 
     'Well... not really.' The cat shrugged. 'She was about as close to that as I've ever seen. I did hear 
off a guy at the garrison that a bunch of mice escaped from the cages earlier this week. Apparently 
one sneaked in and started opening the cages, but not many actually got away before they were all 
caught.' 
     'Oooh?' Therese cocked her head. 'Was that you little fella?' She smiled down at Jack. 
     'N-no...' He shook his head. 
     Lila wondered if revealing this could help her. Jack's sudden appearance had taken her by 
surprise. Part of her wished he had simply left like the other and made good on his release, but at 
the same time she was glad to see a friendly face right now. 
     'What a pity, it'd be interesting to see how such a brave mouse faces his doom.' She giggled. 
'Although, you're not too far off. How brave are you I wonder, since you've come this far?' Therese 
slipped out of the chair and kneeled on the floor facing Jack. Lila squirmed as she was lowered to the 
floor, the cat resting her hand on the floorboard of the kitchen but not releasing her captive. 
     'W-what do you mean?' Jack asked, feeling his legs start to wobble. 
     'Oh I see.' Clive grinned. He took a step back, leaving the space between Therese and Jack clear. 
     'Come take her place, little brave one.' Therese grinned. 'You obviously want her to survive, but 
like my brother says, I am kinda hungry and really in the mood for a sweet savoury snack.'  
     'No!' Lila managed to speak at last. 'Jack get out of here! He's right, I blew it, now it's over. Just 
go! Please...' 
     'Oh, that's so sweet.' Therese blushed. 'I almost wish I could eat you both.' 
     Jack did his best to ignore those words, then stared her directly in the eye. 'Is there any way I 
could convince you to let her go...? Please?' 
     Therese shook her head. 'Kitty has to eat. But like I said, if you want to take her place?'
     'It's a fair deal.' Clive interjected. 'It's the same deal I made for her. And you're slightly bigger, so 
I'm sure Therese would appreciate the more filling meal you'd make. Hehe.' 
     Jack took a deep breath and took a few more steps forward, keeping his gaze locked with 
Therese's. 
     'Jack no! Just get out of here!' Lila protested, trying to squirm free of the cat's grip. 'I don't want 
you to do this!' 
     'I'm sorry Lila...' He replied. 'I promised myself I'd never get attached to anyone again, but I 
couldn't stop myself. I lost my family, but you can still have one of your own.' He reached the cat's 
hand and took Lila's in his own. 
     'You're such an idiot...' Lila sobbed. Therese's other hand came down and closed around Jack's 
body, lifting the two of them up into the air. 
     'Let her go!' Jack squirmed. 'Don't you do a damn thing to her! That was the deal!' 
     'Shh...' Therese replied. She brought Lila close to her lips and gave her a gentle kiss before setting 
her down on the floor. 'Run along little mouse. You can go.' 
     Lila could only watch from the floor, helpless and distraught at seeing Jack about to be eaten in 
her place. She panted and scrambled to her feet, trying to reach up and touch Jack's hand. Therese 
was no longer paying attention to her, the cat's gaze fixated on her new meal instead. 
     Despair gave way to anger, and from her anger came desperation. She scrambled forward and 
leaped into Therese's lap, from there jumping to the cat's left breast before leaping once more onto 
the hand that held the other mouse in a tight inescapable grip. Both mice were now mere inches 
from the white cat's lips, her warm breath washing over them both as she giggled. 
     'Oh you are so precious.' Therese said. 'Do you really want to stay together?' 
     'Lila, what are you doing?' Jack demanded, his eyes going wide with worry as the cat's pink lips 
got closer. 'Get out of here! Pleease!' 
     'I can't!' Lila sobbed, clinging tight to his shoulders and pressing her head to his chest. 'I don't 
want to go anywhere without you. I promised myself I wouldn't get too attached to anyone either, 
especially with all this... But I couldn't!' 
     Therese opened her maw and ran her tongue over Lila's back. The mouse held firm, not flinching 
any further than the shivering that already wracked her tiny body. Therese licked again, this time 
running her tongue over Lila's head before it also ran over Jack's. Fur was torn from both of them as 
the barbs of the cat's tongue dug into their tender skin. 
     'Lila...' Jack held her back with the one arm he was able to wrench free from the cat's tight grip. 
They both hugged cheek to cheek as Therese's lips enveloped them. Her fingers released Jack from 
her grip as her tongue slipped beneath them both, pulling them deeper into her maw. 
     Neither of them spoke, only letting out a few small whimpers as the cat's powerful tongue 
pressed into them and shifted them from side to side. The two of them together was a much bigger 
mouthful than most cats could comfortably handle, so her forced her tongue between them and 
gently but firmly prised them apart. Lila whimpered as she was pressed into the soft slimy surface of 
the cat's cheek, separated from her fellow mouse by a wall of almost closed teeth. 
     Jack felt the hard ridges that lined the roof of Therese's mouth pressing into his chest as she 
pressed her tongue between the two mice. Lila's grip was lost on Jack's had as the two separated, 
and then he felt himself being forced backwards. He had always imagined himself putting up a fight 
in this scenario, making the predator in question regret trying to make him a meal. Only now with 
the reality finally upon him did he realize how futile such defiance was. He was simply not strong 
enough to defy the voracious hunger of this feline. The hard slick roof of her mouth gave way to the 
soft palate and an unbelievable wet heat. 
     He gave one more defiant kick, raking the claws on his foot over the roof of her mouth in a vain 
hope to stop her. Her voice resounded around him, half in shock and half in amusement, before she 
ended his resistance with a slick wet gulp. 
     'Gaaah!' The tight squeeze of the cat's gullet was more compressive than he imagined it would 
be, almost pressing his body from all sides with enough force to break bones. After a breathless few 
seconds it was over, the pressure released and the heat and smell intensified by almost twice as 
much. He felt himself fall for a moment, landing in a wet pool of something viscous and bubbling. 
     It was pitch black, the stench was enough to make him wish she had chewed him to death first, 
and it was all moving beneath and around him constantly. He could hear the steady thump of her 
heart beat and the rhythmic throbs of her stomach walls in time. Sickly wet slurping sounds came 
from above, and after a moment the horrifying truth dawned on him as the sounds stopped, 
replaced by another wet gulp. Lila had doomed herself, and now she would be following him here to 
this pit of death.   
     'Nyeeaah!' Her voice sounded from above him, accompanied by a disgusting wet squeezing sound 
as the gullet pushed her into the stomach. Unable to see, Jack held out his arms and waited, but the 
stomach had shifted more than he realized and she splashed down beside him. 
     'Lila!' He squeaked, lifting her up beside him and hugging her drenched body to his own. 'Why did 
you do that? You should have just run when I said! What kind of crazy things wen t through your 
head to make you do this?' His voice began to crack as his tears mixed with the bile and saliva 
already matting his fur. 
     'You tell me, stupid.' She replied, pressing her head to his chest. She sat on his lap, the two of 
them sitting in a crease in the stomach lining as the stomach juices ebbed and splashed around their 
waists. It was impossible to stand on the ever shifting slimy surface, so sitting as close to the acid 
pool as possible was their only chance to at least enjoy these last moments of each other's company. 
     'I'm sorry...' He said. 'I wanted to help you, I wanted to bust you out. But this cat turning up, that 
bastard's games... I didn't get a chance other than to offer myself in your place.' 
     'It was... all my fault.' Lila answered, coughing briefly between her words as the acrid air burned 
her lungs. 'I should have planned the raid better from the start. I shouldn't have forced those others 
to help me. I could have done everything myself, if I'd just been more patient...' 
     'Shh.' Jack held her close. 'Just... sleep now. All those worries are gone.' 

** ** **

     Lona panted as she finally reached the edge of the feline settlement. She had seen some of it 
when she had been a prisoner, but never realized how big it was. Only by luck had she even been 
able to get this far, happening upon a tunnel network made by the rodent colonies that were bold 
enough to live in this deathly place. She never understood city mice, especially those that chose to 
live under the streets of cats. 
     The sun was behind the clouds, making her less likely to cast a noticeable shadow. With a deep 
breath, she ran as fast as her legs could take her. The sewer system that the mice used to escape the 
cat's notice here was extensive, but there were gaps between sections of the city which forced the 
mice to move above ground in some sections. She was certain she would have been seen, but the 
few cats walking the streets at this hour would have been taken by surprise of they had spotted her. 
She skidded to a halt as she entered the drain on the other side of the road, trying to keep her 
breath under control as she heard footsteps nearby. 
     Mouse footsteps. 'Hello?' A voice called. 
     'Y-yes?' She replied nervously, walking deeper into the tunnel and still trying to regain control of 
her breaths. 
     'Hey!' A pair of mice rounded the corner and stepped into the light. 'Where did you come from? 
We thought there was nobody this far out in the tunnel network.' The speaker was a brown field 
mouse accompanied by a grey companion. 
     'I... escaped from the cages.' Lona said. 'A few days ago. I've been trying to get back to the field 
colonies out near the river, but it's just do far...' 
     'One of the ones you busted out maybe?' The grey mouse said to the brown. 
     'Maybe.' He nodded. 'I... I would like to try and save more. I screwed that up so badly. And now 
Lila's... probably gone.' 
     Lona's ears perked up. 'You were one of the ones that tried to open the cages...?' 
     'Yea.' He replied. 'My name is Jake. What's yours?' 
     'Lona...' She replied, finally catching her breath and standing up straight. 'And umm... If you're 
going to try again, I'd... uhh...' 
     'What...?' Jake asked. 'What's up?' 
     'I want to help.' Lona said. 'I lost a lot of friends recently... Don't have much to lose. If I can save 
even a dozen like you did I'll have done something worthwhile.' Jake smiled softly. Exchanging a 
glance with his companion, the brown mouse nodded with a smile. 
     'It's what Lila would have wanted. We should try again.' He said. 
     'Alright.' Jake cracked his knuckles. 'Let's head back...'