'Woof'
'Arrr'
'Grrr'
Anita kept running, she had long since turned off her transformation. It wasn't required while she ran on the floor and she had to save up the rest for demanding situations like when she had to climb up some table/chair/walls again.
'Meowrrr'
The largest kitten cried out in pain as it was once again hurt by the sharp nails of the smallest kitten. The other kitten had also completely lost its sanity by this point as a savage aura surrounded it; it had already sprinted off towards the nearest source of that tantalizing aroma.
"Hmm…?" As she heard a series of soft footsteps that were steadily gaining in proximity, Anita turned her head to look at the savage face of a kitten whose irises shivered at an insane frequency while drool seeped out of its mouth. It let out intermittent purrs that resounded out like bloodthirsty roars in the eardrums of Anita.
There were approximately seven feet between the two that was slowly decreasing by half feet for every second. The speed of the charging kitten seemed to be greater than that of the full speed sprint of Anita. Fourteen seconds later and they would be upon the throats of each other.
10-15 seconds….. Anita calculated in her mind about the speed of pursuit of her enemy and the distance she had to traverse to either find a temporary shelter or to find a safer path before her enemy could reach her.
At her full speed sprint, she could barely cover 3 feet in every 2 seconds, a speed that would put her in a disadvantage against most common four-legged creatures, including rodents.
Three seconds later, Anita had successfully stepped into the room on the left that was well lit in advance to her arrival.
Her irises immediately swerved to all the biologically possible corners of her eyes as she tried to find traces of her son, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem. She had only this sole chance that was obtained by placing the life of her husband on the line for the faintest possibility of finding their son.
It was a long rectangular room; there was a bookshelf that reached a height of seven feet on both sides of the room. At the end of the room, a huge arched window was embedded in the walls and a study table was placed before it. There were pieces of broken glass of all sizes lying on the table alongside a couple of books and a pen stand.
Without the slightest hesitation on her part even though she couldn't find any clues of her son through her hurried scan, Anita still ran towards the nearby bookshelf on her right as she controlled her mindset to be able to activate her transformation at the earliest possible moment.
'Meorrr'
Just as she neared the bookshelf, Anita heard a cry behind her as a large shadow that could easily encapsulate her figure leapt towards her.
Anita had barely managed to activate her transformation and by making use of the increased grip between her toes and the floor, she abruptly jumped to her right, barely missing the claws of her feline predator by the margin of a hair's width.
The rushing momentum it had generated during its rapid chase had carried the kitten on its path until it eventually collided into one of the books that were stacked in the lowermost rack on the bookshelf. Anita made use of this window of opportunity that was obtained by her swift judgement and ran towards the side face of the bookshelf which looked like a long wooden wall to her.
This side face of the bookshelf was almost 2 feet in width as Anita began to climb up on it like a gecko.
Anita constantly had an eye below her as she climbed up all her power. She saw the kitten rush towards her side, track her position through its sense of smell, usher strength in its spring-like legs and jump up towards her.
The moment the kitten jumped up, the nerves of Anita tensed up in response. Based on all the documentaries and videos of the hunting patterns of cats that she had watched and read through till now, she knew she had only one chance; if she failed to execute her planned manoeuvre until the last possible position with zero errors, she would end up in the stomach of her crazed feline predator.
As she took a deep breath, Anita felt her perception of time speed up; her perception of time had increased to the same extent as when she had first observed the chime of their wall-clock alongside Prakash after they had turned into a munchkin.
The world around her seemed to have perceptively slowed down as each of the actions of the kitten became clear and detailed to her eyes.
Her pupils dilated as she saw the kitten jump up from the floor, the hairs on its fur swerved back due to its jump and its mouth slowly opened up, revealing a set of sharp teeth that glinted like razor blades in the light.
Her heartbeat slowed down while her muscles tensed up like a coiled spring under complete compression as she bode her time, patiently waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Felines were born crafty; every time they lunge at an enemy, they would always ensure to create a footing just before its kill; just in case to change its direction in the last possible second either when its prey executes a feinting manoeuvre or launches its final-ditched retaliation out of desperation.
In the middle of its high jump, the hind legs of the feline landed on the vertical wall followed by its front legs and in a manoeuvre that defied physics, it executed a second jump.
"Now!" Like a fully loaded spring that was released from its hold, the body of Anita jerked to her left at the exact same time the feline took a foothold mid-jump; on seeing her movement, the feline instinctively jumped towards its left for its second jump.
The moment its legs left the foothold during its second jump, the body of Anita shot to her right, as if her previous action was but a feint. Using the utmost gripping power granted to her palms and the soles of her feet during her transformation, Anita swerved and jiggled her way to her right amidst a flurry of paws each of which possessed deadly might concealed within them.
This action barely created her enough leeway to avoid a fate between the jaws of the feline as it desperately flailed its front legs to get back at the prey that it had barely missed along its fall.
'Screetch'
A series of ear-piercing sounds were left in its wake as the sharp nails of the kitten dug into the walls of the bookshelf during its fall as it tried to catch the delicious prey that had cunningly slipped through its lunge.
"Ugh," Anita bit her lips to endure the pain as she hadn't come out scot-free during the exchange. Her left leg hung limp as a long bloody gash travelled from her thigh all the way till her ankle. There was another bloody gash on her left arm leaving Anita with only her right hand and right leg to work her way up. She had to leave the range of the kitten before it executes another jump.
'Meowrrr'
'Meowrrr'
On its second jump, the kitten only managed to scratch the toe of her left leg. The kitten wailed in frustration as it jumped up again and again in vain for Anita had already climbed up to four feet in height which was well beyond its reach and was still brimming with enough vigour to reach the top.
Slowly, two more kittens entered into the room following its wails as they glared in her direction. Her back was drenched with sweat as she had barely escaped from death. After a couple dozen seconds, Anita had finally reached the top of the bookshelf. Her limbs felt sore as she had obviously overtaxed them to climb up a height of seven feet that was almost 12 times as tall as her with only a single useable hand and leg.
Standing at such a height, Anita could have a clearer look at the entire room. She saw rows upon rows of books, a couple bird feathers that lay atop the table near the window and the three kittens that scrambled on the floor in a maddening effort to scale up the bookshelf and gobble her up.
"Akash!...Diana!...Akash!...Diana!...Akashhh…Dia.." Anita fell on her knees as she began to bawl out like a baby. Despair struck her quicker than she had feared.
Prakash put his life on the line and had created a chance for her to escape while sealing off all his paths of survival, all for the faintest hope; a possibility that their son was in this room and that she could reunite with her child.
Except for the footprints of Diana on the ground floor that had been formed from water, she had practically no clue as to where Diana might have wandered off to. She neither had the idea of the circumstances surrounding Diana nor her mental state and the thoughts that ran in her head.
'Slap'
Anita ruthlessly slapped her own cheeks in an effort to calm herself down. She didn't have a surplus of time to squander on tears. She had to find their son soon and ensure his safety. Otherwise, if there was no hope in finding him, she had to get back and save her husband from the clutches of their rabid dog.
'Rumble'
'Rumble'
A loud sonorous sound of thunder that grew in magnitude after each passing second reverberated in her surroundings. Just the vibrations that were generated in the air due to the soundwaves rattled the house along with all the objects within it.
'Bam'
'Crash'
Suddenly, there was a loud sound as if a giant mountain had smashed into bits by unending rages of water.
"Oh no! Late; I was too late!" Anita fell on her knees as the small hair-like projections on her palm firmly held onto the bookshelf while despair drenched her eyes. For she saw, through the window, a massive mass of water like an ancient heavenly body rushing towards her.