As the day dragged on, the cat and his plaything continued to sleep until the late afternoon rolled 
around. An alarm clock broke Lila from her sleep and she found herself still lying on the cat's belly. A 
moment of panic seized her and she hastily leaped clear of his body to land back on the mattress 
and huddled up near the opposing edge of the bed. As the alarm continued to sound, the cat slowly 
began to stir, rolling onto his side and curling up before his eyes slowly blinked open. 
     'Ugh, feels like I didn't sleep at all...' He grumbled, giving an absent minded scratch to his belly 
where Lila had been sleeping before rolling back over and standing up out of bed. He hit a button on 
the clock positioned on his bedside table, ending the alarm before he stretched and yawned. 
Suddenly remembering that he had allowed the mouse to stay for his nap, he looked down at her 
and grinned. 'So how did you sleep?' 
     'Uhmm, fine?' She replied nervously. 
     'Oh good, at least one of us did.' He shrugged. 'You know, it's the evening now and even though 
I'll just be going back to bed in another hour or two, I still think it's about time for dinner.' He leaned 
back over the bed and brought his face close to her, nudging her with his nose before opening his 
mouth and licking her body slowly. 
     'Hey, stop!' She squirmed and tried powerlessly to push the warm sticky tongue away before his 
lips closed around her. 'What about the game! We have to play the game first!' She started to 
struggle frantically, her tiny limbs trying hard to push her way free of his maw but she simply was 
not strong enough. 
     'What's wrong?' He asked. 'Are you scared?' His tongue bucked and curled beneath her as he 
spoke, causing her to become disoriented and smack several times against his hard palate. He 
shifted his tongue underneath her again and pulled her deeper into his stinking hot mouth with a 
disgusting wet smack. 
     Lila could feel movement, the cat was walking now. A series of sudden jolts indicated his passage 
downstairs as his tongue continued to lap over her and squeeze her into various parts of his mouth, 
into his cheeks and for a brief terrifying moment even pushed her to the back of his throat. He could 
have ended her at his whim and by the sounds of it he almost planned to. 
     Slowly and deliberately, the cat pulled her out of his maw. He held onto her by one foot and 
slurped the last of her flavour as he did so, leaving her dangling in front of his lips before an audible 
gulp rippled the fur on his throat. He licked his lips and sighed, bathing her in his humid breath 
before his lips curled into a smile. 
     'W-what are you doing...?' Lila asked sobbingly. 'I thought we had a deal!' 
     'Let me put one thing straight.' The cat answered, not moving her from in front of his lips. 'I do 
not owe you anything. Our arrangement was for my amusement. When I get tired of it, it stops. 
Understand? You're food. And you're mine.' 
     'But... I thought if I won enough... If I made it to the end of the tank you have now...?' She 
stammered, a horrible realization beginning to dawn on her. 
     'Then maybe I'll keep you to play with the next batch.' He replied. 'Or maybe that'll be enough. I'll 
eat you, and go right back to enjoying regular meals when you're gone. That's how it is.' 
     'But you said you might let me go!' Lila protested, tears starting to well up as her dangling body 
trembled. 
     'And I might.' He grinned. 'But that was never a promise was it? You'll just have to try your luck 
and hope for the best.' 
     'So we're going to...?' 
     'Tonight? I think not. I don't like going hungry.' He answered. 'Besides, I'm too tired and hungry to 
focus. But don't worry, I'll choose one of the others, not you.' 
     'That's not fair!' Lila protested, trying vainly to look strong in her ragged upside down posture. 
     'Didn't you listen to me?' The cat growled. 'Shut up. I don't owe you a damn thing.' He dropped 
his arm to his side and left to walk downstairs. She was rocked back and forth as his arms swayed 
and jolted harshly as he rapidly descended the stairs. Blinking herself to focus again, she opened her 
eyed just in time to see the lid of the tank opening just before she was dropped inside. 
     'Sorry morsels, no games tonight.' The cat grinned, surveying his options through the clear plastic. 
'I'm just too hungry.' His hand hovered where it had dropped Lila into the tank, fingers waving as he 
looked from one to the next. A few of the remaining mice tried to hide, some huddled together 
tearfully and others just sat in place with their eyes closed. All trembled in fear at the thought that 
any of them could be chosen and this time there would be no chance to be saved. 
     A malicious grin crossed his features for a moment and he wrapped his grip around two of the 
sheltering mice who had huddled together. A male and a female, maybe bonded since before their 
capture or perhaps after, but they clung to each other tearfully as he lifted them from their prison 
and held them before his drool soaked lips. 
     He flipped the lid of the tank closed and then used both hand to prise the pair apart. Their hands 
clung tight until they were ripped from each other's grasp and held in one hand each. The cat looked 
from one to the other with a smile on his lips before slowly raising the female to his maw. He ran his 
tongue over her small exposed body, moaning happily at her taste before sliding her onto his tongue 
and pulling her inside. He made a show of not keeping his mouth closed as he played with her, 
making her frantic struggles visible to the other mice as she flailed in a vain attempt to keep herself 
alive. 
     'Why...?' Lila protested, banging on the plastic to try and draw his attention, but he ignored her 
and continued to torment his prey for a few more minutes until at last her energy was spent. He 
lolled his tongue lazily for a moment, showing her teary eyed, panting and limp form splayed across 
his tongue before he pulled her back inside. One last muffled cry could be heard as he swallowed, 
the bulge in his neck passing briefly between his collar bones to disappear into his chest. 
     'Oh, that was good.' He purred slightly. 'For some reason the females tend to be slightly sweeter. 
Though all mice do have a delicious flavour.' He gave the second mouse a slow deliberate lick, 
followed by another. 'Yea, it's like comparing dark chocolate to milk chocolate. Males taste stronger 
but females are sweeter. Yum!' 
     'Stop it!' Lila shouted, banging the side of the tank once more. 'That's... That's just...' 
     'What, cruel?' The cat retorted. 'Shut up. I already told you when I don't want to play, I don't play. 
Now sit down and be quiet or I'll make this a three course dinner.' He reached down with his free 
hand and flicked the side of the tank hard, causing the sound vibrations to vibrate directly into Lila's 
ears. 
     'Oww!' She squeaked and dropped backwards before being caught by Jay. 
     'Lila just be quiet, there's nothing you can do!' He urged her. When she continued to resist, he 
forcibly pulled her away, holding her tight to himself and trying to give whatever comfort he could. 
     The cat, seeing that she was subdued for the moment decided to turn his attention back to the 
squirming mouse in his hand. 'Hmm, it's been a few minutes now.' He pondered out loud. 'I can't 
imagine your little friend is in much of a good way in there. Have a listen, what do you think?' He 
pressed the mouse to his fur on his belly and took a few long slow breaths. Low gurgles could be 
heard from inside as the cat's stomach slowly geared up for its task. 
     'Noo... Don't do this...' The mouse begged, trying to push himself away. 
     'Oh? You don't want to join her? I thought you liked her?' The cat asked teasingly. 'So much for 
chivalry huh little guy? You'd rather leave your girl to go through that horrible fate alone?' 
     'I-I don't wanna die!' The mouse squeaked frantically, his breaths coming in ragged bursts of 
panic and desperation. 
     'Neither do I.' The cat retorted. 'Which sadly for you means I have to eat.' With no more delays, 
he raised the second mouse to his lips and opened wide. With a casual flick he tossed the mouse 
onto his tongue and immediately closed his maw around him. His tongue movements were slow and 
deliberate this time, wet smacks coming loudly from between his sealed lips. 
     'O-ohh...' Jay shivered as the cat's gaze met his own. The predator's pursed lips curled into a small 
smile for a moment before he stood back up and walked away. Jay breathed a huge sigh of relief, 
resting his head on Lila's shoulder and hugging her close. 
     The door opening moments later made them both squeak in alarm, before settling back down 
when they realized it was simply the night's food being dropped in for them. Tonight it was a handful 
of grapes again, enough for the ten of them left over to share half a grape each. As the cat left, Lila 
sat herself back up and sighed sadly. Noticing that Jay was trembling, she leaned over and rested her 
hand on his shoulder.
     'Are you okay?' She asked. 'I know it's not easy to watch...' 
     'No it's just...' Jay stammered nervously. 'T-the look he just gave me, I think I'm next...' 
     'What?' Lila panicked. 'No, he has to play a game tomorrow, I'm sure he'll be more willing after... 
tonight. He just... He refused to go a full day without eating. And for a few minutes up there I 
thought he was going to eat me instead...' 
     'Alright... I know you're gonna do your best and all, but...' Jay sighed and looked her in the eyes. 'I 
hope you don't put too much pressure on yourself. I'm... I'm just...' He shivered again, curling up and 
rolling onto his side. 
     Lila stood up and walked over to where the last grape had fallen, the rest already claimed by the 
other mice. She dragged it over to where Jay had laid down and settled beside him. It was difficult to 
work up an appetite but as usual the dragging hours eventually made it easier for them to realize 
their hunger. They slept with full bellies in each other's warm embrace by the time midnight had 
approached. 
     
** ** **

     Hours later, the house was silent and all within had fallen asleep. A single figure looked into the 
house from the window, his tiny body constantly shifting gaze from the house inside to the night air 
around him. Though he had been let loose from here earlier that day, Jack could not bring himself to 
abandon this place just yet. Not until he at least knew what had become of Lila. 
     The dark made it too hard to see if she was still inside the tank, confirming what he had been 
afraid of. He would have to go back inside. See if she was still alive at the very least, find a way to get 
her and the others out of that plastic tank if he could. He took a deep breath of the cold night air 
before climbing down the brickwork and scurrying back around to the back door. Squeezing out had 
been easy, but getting back in was going to be more awkward. The step down just outside the 
doorway was slightly above his height, making it difficult to position his body inside the tiny gap 
under the door. 
     After several failed attempts and a wrenched shoulder, he painstakingly dragged a sufficiently 
large rock from the garden nearby and hefted it to the step. This gave him the step up he needed, 
allowing him to get his body back under the door and crawl back into the house. Immediately he felt 
the change in temperature. The house was noticeably warmer and allowed him to take slightly 
deeper breaths and stop shivering. 
     Standing up, he did another lap of the kitchen area. With the cat no longer rushing him, he was 
able to make a better observation of the kitchen, noting with disappointment that there was no easy 
way to climb up onto the benchtop. Unlike the rough timber of his table, the smooth painted surface 
of the kitchen cabinets could not be climbed easily, and there were no dangling towels or rails he 
could use to get up to where he needed to be. 
     There were no answers to be found here, but maybe he could figure something else out with 
things he'd find in other parts of the house. It was early morning, which didn't give him much time. 
But as long as Lila could make it through the morning, he might be able to get her out before the 
next night. 
     With another quick glance upwards, Jack sighed and started to run towards the archway. Passing 
the staircase, he headed into the cat's dark living room to spend the night. The furniture was sparse, 
but fortunately a low lying sofa gave the mouse somewhere to spend the night. Crawling 
underneath, he curled up on the carpet and allowed himself to fall asleep.