The Adventures of Mocha - Season 5

Chapter 1

          One scorching hot day, Mocha lay under a car, her usual shelter from the blazing sun. It was quiet, as it often was lately. Everyone seemed to be cooped up in their houses due to the unnatural rise in temperature.

          Mocha sighed. All her friends were on vacation at the moment, and here she was, stuck at home with nothing to do. The most exciting thing that happened was the arrival of lunch – but then again, she had the same lunch every single day, so it gets pretty boring after a while!

          The little cat’s eyes drooped. Just as she was about to drift off, a movement in the corner of her vision caught her attention. Whatever could it be?

Chapter 2

          Mocha’s eyes flew open, bright and alert. She stared at the figure perched on the roof of a nearby house. Its body resembled a human, but it was too small and furry to be one. A long tail swished back and forth like Mocha’s did when she was thinking.

          “What on earth?” muttered the cat, squinting in the piercing sunlight, too absorbed to notice the dark shape creeping up behind her.

          “BOO!”

          “Arghh!” Mocha nearly jumped out of her skin in fright. She spun sharply around and came face-to-face with a grinning Snowfield.

          “Hi, Mocha-” Snowfield began, but her friend shushed her, cutting off her sentence. She lowered her voice, saying, “What’s going on?”

          Mocha jerked her head toward the figure. “There’s something fishy about that thing,” she answered. A frown crossed her face as a thought registered. “When did you get back?”

          “Like, 5 minutes ago.” Snowfield sat down and began washing his face. “I spotted you under this car when my human was driving past. You looked awfully still.” She paused to glance at the figure. “What is that, anyway?”

          Mocha shrugged. “That’s what I was trying to figure out – before you jump scared me,” she retorted, getting to her paws. “Come on!”

          “Where are we going?” asked Snowfield in surprise.

          “To find out what that thing is up to, of course!” Mocha answered, like the answer was obvious. “Hurry!”

Chapter 3

          The figure, which the cats had decided to call “Abomination” (they didn’t know the meaning of it, but it had a nice ring) was now perched upon the balcony. To Mocha’s horror, it reached out one furry hand and actually attempted to open the window!

          “Snowfield, we’ve gotta stop it, fast!” she whispered urgently. “Ava’s family isn’t going to be happy about Abomination breaking into her house!”

          Her friend looked up at the creature doubtfully. “How on earth are we going to do that?”

          Mocha set her jaw determinedly. “I have a plan,” she replied. “Now, here’s what we’re going to do…”

Chapter 4

          As silently as she could, Mocha launched herself onto one of the pillars surrounding the house using her powerful hind legs. A metre above her head was the roof. She couldn’t see Abomination, but, as she told herself, it didn’t mean he wasn’t there.

          Directly opposite her, she saw Snowfield leap onto another pillar. Her friend had never been the best at balance, so Mocha was pleasantly surprised by her unusual grace. Unfortunately, her admiration was cut short when Snowfield wobbled so violently on her landing that Mocha was afraid that she would fall. But of course, being a cat, she didn’t.

          “Be careful!” hissed Mocha. Snowfield gave her friend a thumbs-up. Was it though? Paws made it hard to know, Mocha always thought.

          Despite this, she held up her own paw, showing three razor-sharp claws. A countdown.

          3…

          2…

          1…

Chapter 5

Just as the cats were about to pounce onto the roof, a black shadow swooped out of nowhere, nearly sending the two tumbling to the ground.

          “Hey, watch it!” Snowfield cried out angrily, shaking her paw at the creature. To Mocha’s disgust, the crow cawed mockingly at her friend and perched on a nearby pillar. “You nearly made us fall!”

          “So what?” the bird retorted, ruffling its feathers. “You were about to attack that poor monkey!”

          “A what?” Snowfield asked, visibly confused.

The crow scoffed in disbelief. “Like you don’t know!” But when it saw that both of them were sincerely puzzled, it sighed. “It’s the animal trying to open the window. Ring any bells?”

Mocha slapped her forehead as realisation dawned on her. “Oh, you mean Abomination!”

Now it was the bird’s turn to look surprised. “Why on earth did you name it that, cat?”

“How’s that your problem?” shot Snowfield. The crow glared at her.

“Abomination isn’t a very nice thing to call anyone,” it said. Mocha could hear the exasperation in its raspy voice. “Don’t you know?”

Snowfield shrugged. “Nope. Anyway, it kinda suits it, as it’s trying to open the window and all.”

Mocha paled. “Wait, the window!” Without a second thought, she leapt onto the roof and groaned at what she saw.

The window was open, and Abomination was nowhere to be found.

Chapter 6

          Mocha froze, unable to process what just happened.

          “Mocha?” called Snowfield, anxiously. “Everything okay?” When her friend didn’t respond, she jumped onto the roof herself, gasping when she saw the open window. Behind her flew the crow, calmly assessing the situation. The black-and-white cat turned to it, furious.

          “Look what you’ve done!” she shouted. “Now Abomination’s in the house, and what do you think Ava’s family is going to do when they find out?”

          If the crow had arms, Mocha was sure it would have crossed them then. “I don’t know. Why should I care, anyway?”

          Snowfield stepped toward the bird threateningly. “You stopped us from confronting Abomination and possibly preventing this mess that you put us in,” she answered, eyes blazing. Mocha had never seen her friend quite so angry before. Before the crow could reply, she added, “If you’re smart, you’ll help us get it out! Or else, I’m feeling pretty hungry, aren’t you, Mocha?”

          Mocha, who had shaken herself out of her daze, nodded. For the first time, the crow looked afraid. She saw its eyes scanning the area, desperately seeking an escape route. Faster than the crow could blink, she sprinted toward it and pinned its wing beneath her paw. “It’s 2 against 1, crow,” she spat. The crow gulped.

          “So, will you help us?” Snowfield asked. The bird nodded. It didn’t have a choice anyway. “Good. Mocha, what’s the plan?”

          Mocha didn’t even hesitate. “We hunt Abomination down.”

Chapter 7

          Silently, Mocha jumped through the window. All clear. She beckoned to Snowfield, who was following closely behind the crow to make sure it didn’t try to escape. She roughly shoved the bird, causing it to stumble, then leapt in herself.

          The room was gleaming white, but there was a faint unpleasant odour in the air. Mocha’s sharp eyes spotted what looked like a toilet bowl as well as a bucket sitting under a sink.

          “Mocha, look!” Snowfield bounded over to the middle of the bathroom and pointed at brownish footprints scattered around. Judging by their direction and the open door, Mocha figured that it had exited the room.

          “Looks like we’re following those footprints,” she announced. “Come on!”

          “Wait.” The crow hopped in front of the door. “This is a big house; the monkey could be anywhere. We’ll take ages to find it. So, I suggest we go to the kitchen – that’s the most likely place for it to be.”

          Snowfield eyes the bird skeptically. “Why on earth the kitchen?” she asked, incredulously. “Why not somewhere else?”

          The crow let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, the monkey would hardly break into a house for fun, right? It must’ve come here for a reason, and I know for a fact that there aren’t any fruit trees around here.”

          Mocha shrugged. “As long as we find it, I don’t care. I heard Ava's father say they were going to the mall, and it’s probably been an hour already. They’ll be back any second.”

          “Okay, crow, lead the way,” said Snowfield, impatiently. “If you even know where the kitchen is.”

          The crow smirked. “That’s easy,” it answered. “Follow me.”

Chapter 8

          With the crow flying swiftly above and the cat’s light steps, the trio made it to the bottom floor almost immediately. The bird landed quietly in front of a huge glass door and gestured for the cats to stop. Inside, it sounded as if chaos had been unleashed. The crashing and banging made them wince, and Mocha fought the urge to yell at Abomination.

          The crow’s beak moved, but the sound was drowned out by the racket. Mocha shook her head and pointed at the door. Somehow, she got the other two to understand that she wanted all of them to go inside and corner the monkey together. They nodded.

          Game on.

Chapter 9

          Slowly, carefully, they entered the dry kitchen. Up ahead was the door leading to the wet kitchen, where Mocha assumed Abomination was.

          Without a word, the three rushed into the wet kitchen, dodging flying plates and utensils on the way inside. There, they saw the monkey throwing things around like nobody’s business, not caring where they landed. The bowl holding some potatoes had crashed onto the floor, spilling its contents everywhere, while a mushy yellow mess nearby seemed to be the result of bananas meeting their end.

          “Hey!” Mocha yelled as loudly as she could. “Stop it!”

          By some miracle, the monkey actually obeyed and turned around. Surprise crossed its face, then fear. It was smaller than Mocha thought – just a child, really. It’s amazing that it managed to hurl heavy things like plates around.

          “W-What are you doing here?” the creature stammered, trying to back away, but was blocked by the wall.

          Snowfield looked like it indignantly. “What are we doing here?” she practically yelled. “What are you doing here? This isn’t your house, you know!”

          The monkey opened its mouth as if to retort, then thought better of it. “I was hungry!” it said defensively. “It’s hard to find food in a city.” Suddenly, it slumped to the ground and began to cry, sobs racking its body.

          The other three turned to each other, startled. Now what were they to do?

Chapter 10

          Unexpectedly, it was the crow that flew to the monkey’s side – the same crow that had been so hostile to the cats. Circling a wing around the monkey’s heaving shoulders awkwardly, it said gently, “Don’t cry, young one. You made a mistake, but it’s okay – everyone does at some point.” It looked at the cats for support, who nodded, now feeling sorry for the pitiful creature.

          Together, Mocha and Snowfield crossed the kitchen to the other two and crouched on the floor. “So that’s why you broke in?” Mocha asked the monkey. “Because you wanted food?”

          The monkey managed a whimper, but eventually began to calm down. “I lost my way,” it murmured hoarsely. “My family and I live in a forest. It’s nearby, I know, but I just don’t know where it is. I’ve been alone for three days now, and I’ve only had a banana.”

          Sudden tears started up in Mocha’s eyes. Here was a kid, barely twelve by the looks of it, having to fend for itself. She looked over at Snowfield, who was gaping at the monkey, dumbstruck.

          “I’m so sorry,” her friend said, pulling herself together. “It must’ve been terrible.”

          The monkey sniffled. “It is.”

          The crow, which had been deep in thought, let out a cry of triumph, making the rest of them jump. It turned to the monkey excitedly. “Does your forest have a huge tree in the middle? With vines and things hanging from below?”

          The creature’s eyes lit up. “Yes! You know it?” it answered excitedly.

          The crow nodded. “It’s super close. I’ve been there a couple of times to visit my kin. I can take you there, if you want.”

          The monkey practically hugged the bird, saying thank you over and over again while the cats looked on, too happy to speak. However, realization soon hit Mocha like a ton of bricks.

          “Wait!” she cried. “We have to clean this mess before Ava and her family gets home!”

Chapter 11

          “You’re right,” groaned Snowfield in dismay. “Crow, you’d better send our friend here back home,” she continued. “But give him some food first.”

          The crow’s sharp eyes spotted a banana that looked relatively whole and passed it to the monkey, who devoured it hungrily. When the bird was about to lead it home, though, it refused.

          “I want to help clean up,” it said, shamefacedly. “This is all my fault.”

          “Well, then let’s hurry up,” Snowfield put in, briskly. “Chop chop!”

          In no time, the kitchen was sparkling clean, thanks to the hard work of the four. The moment the task was done, the monkey opened a window, and together they left the house.