Rise of the Cat Women Ch. 02

This story is copyrighted 2018 by Kaereni, may not be excerpted, reprinted, reproduced, or reposted in any form without the express written consent of the author. Visitors to this web site may read or temporarily download pages but are not permitted to modify or re-distribute them.

The story may contain sexual activities and situations that are to be read only by readers above the legal age of consent. All characters are above the age of 18. The story is not to be read in locations where such stories are illegal. If you are not of legal age, or live in the wrong place, please do not read.

Authors note: Special thanks to Ed for going through this story and fixing my mistakes. Any other mistakes still in this story are my own fault.

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True to form, it took the better part of a week for John to pick out his primary and secondary sites. The one he really loved had two issues. First was a sapling that blocked the lower part of the target area while the second was a low hanging branch. While the sapling was a simple shot for him, the branch was a good three inches across and would take more than one shot to drop. Crawling down the tree where Honey was waiting and looking worried he said, "You know what to do?"

"Honey remember...Catch casings as they fall and watch for sisters." She hugged him and added, "Please be careful shooting love. I don't want to die with you."

Nuzzling her face, he replied with a smile, "Don't worry love. John will always take care of his Honey girl."

Again he climbed the tree and sighted in on the sapling. "Shot..." he thought to Candy as he pulled the triggers. He smiled as the sapling fell over.

He could see figures running around franticly and heard Candy reply a moment later, "Clear."

Changing his aim, he fired at the base of the limb. "Fuck..." He whispered as he watched the bullet punch through but not drop it. Firing again, he said "Damnit!" Like the first shot it didn't shear the branch.

From below Honey said in his mind, "John hurry, Goddess has ordered the response team to come out!"

He fired a third time and was rewarded by seeing the heavy branch fall and break free. He almost ran down the tree in his haste to get clear. Once on the ground they moved around to the west and one of the fall back sites. This time Honey came up with him and they hid in the tree waiting.

As Honey listened in, she relayed what she heard to John. They had agreed that he would shut his mind down and only talk to her and Candy. Finally, after an hour she said, "They have given up looking."

The original plan called for only a few shots a day. But after waiting another hour John looked at Honey and smiled, "Time to give all of them a surprise." With her following he moved up to the secondary site and crawled up the tree. Sighting through his scope he could see the cat women in a group examining the branch and tree above. One in particular was not looking at the branch, she was looking north.

"Got you," he whispered. He waited until he had the shot he wanted as she moved around slightly still looking north before firing. Quickly sighting in he fired a second time at the same point before hurrying down the tree. As he and Honey fled to the south and then to the east side of the compound he thought to Candy, "By the way... shot."

"No shit," was the snarled reply.

Kitty heard a thump and turned to look at a hole in a tree near her. As she was looking she felt the passage of a bullet and saw it center punch the first hole. For the first time in a long time she felt fear and dropped to the ground. "FIND THEM," her mind screamed. It was then that she heard the first of two shots.

"About two miles," Candy said from the ground. While she trusted John's shooting, these shots made her blood run cold.

"Goddess we are sitting ducks here," Kitten thought franticly. Only Candy knew when the shots would come and frankly she was scared shitless.

Kitty looked at Kitten and then the others; she could feel their fear feeding her own and nodded. "To the house quickly," she thought. She had meant it to be an orderly retreat but her all pets bolted, Candy and Kitten practically picking her up and dragging her.

Once they were inside the house Kitty breathed a sigh of relief, "We're safe now." She caught Candy's doubt as the woman replied, "Or sitting ducks."

"House, north west corner, ten by ten feet," Candy thought to John.

They had almost made it to the eastern safe point when John stopped. He looked at Honey and smiled as he retreated back to the south. The place he found to shoot the front of the house was almost four miles away and up on a small hill. While it out of his comfort range, he could hit the house and didn't have to worry about the bullet being close to anyone.

He hummed as he set up the front legs of the rifle and sighted in on the house. "Center punch door... clear?" He asked Candy.

"Clear," came the reply a moment later.

John sighted in on the upper third of the front door and fired. The bullet had dropped four feet and drifted off to the left almost three feet. Shifting his aim, he fired through a window to the east side of the house and then for good measure rotated over to an ATV parked out beside the house and fired at it. Although he was aiming for the gas tank, the bullet hit just below and slammed into the engine. "Close enough," he whispered.

Refilling the clip, he looked at Honey, "Anything?"

"No," Honey replied as she picked up the casings. As far as she could tell the search was still on the west side.

"Location?" John asked Candy.

Candy was as close to panic as she had ever been. She had stationed herself towards where she knew John would fire with everyone to the west to her. Even so when a bullet blew through the house not three feet from her she jumped. She heard a second bullet blow through long before hearing the first report. "SHIT!" she yelled looking around in blind panic. It was almost a minute later before she heard the report. "My god...four miles at least!"

Kitty was feeling pure terror. There had to be at least three sniper teams on them. It was a matter of time before one of her pets or daughters got hurt. She had to get them away. Or lead the attackers away from her family. "Stay here!" she said as she ran through and out the front door.

"Movement," Honey said suddenly.

John slipped a fresh clip home and raised the rifle. He saw a cat woman running to the ATV and jump on it. He smiled as he took aim at the pickup parked close and fired at the engine compartment. His first shot hit a tire and flatted it. Grumbling he fired again and this time it hit the driver's side window shattering it. He took aim again and was rewarded with seeing green fluid leaking out. At least he had hit the radiator he thought to himself as he shifted to look for the cat woman. She was lying flat next to the ATV and not moving.

As he watched she bolted back into the house. "Time to move and call it a day," he said getting up. Letting Honey lead they made their way to their night spot.

Kitty couldn't understand why the ATV wouldn't start. It wouldn't even turn over. She was about to chew someone out when she heard the hiss of air escaping and looked at the truck. As she watched she saw the driver's side window blow out into a million glass shards. She then heard the thump of a bullet hitting the engine. That was all it took for her to get up and sprint back inside in a blind panic. They were trapped like rats and she knew it.

It was only after she was inside that she heard the first of three shots. Crawling over to her pets, who were now crying she said, "What do we do?"

Candy looked at her Goddess and it pained her to see Kitty in this state. However, she knew it was for the best. "Four sniper teams at least Goddess," she said. After a few minutes when another shot had not appeared she said, "They are waiting for something, or are trying to drive us a certain direction." She paused and looked at the others and felt their fear. "The trick is to outwit them while our guard force tracks them down."

"You mean like split up?" Kitten asked.

Candy smiled and nodded, "Yes." She looked at Kitty and said, "With your permission Goddess?"

"You're the expert," Kitty replied.

"Okay...Bunny you and the sisters get down into the root cellar with the children." She looked at the others. "Sandra you and Tina will make one pair and work your way up the east side. Beth you and Kitten up the west side, and the Goddess and myself will go up the middle."

"I will go with you and the Goddess," Bunny said firmly.

Kitty looked at Bunny, "No you three need to protect our daughters at all cost." She looked at Candy, "Now?"

"Yes out the door at a sprint and into the woods. They can't track all of us," Candy replied. "One, two, three..." The six busted out of the house and split into three pairs. Once they were in the woods and alone, Candy thought to her, "Now we find a nice tree to hide in."

John was up in the tree on the north side before dawn broke the next morning. He had his IR scope with him and was scanning the area. He found Candy and Kitty up in a large evergreen in the middle right were Candy said they were. Also he found Kitten and Beth where they said they were. Although it took him the better part of an hour in the pre-dawn light he finally tracked down Sandra and Tina. They were holed up in a creek bed but the differences in the temperature was enough that they stood out like neon lights.

He sighted on them first and fired a round that hit the bank near them. Spinning quickly, he loosened one in Beth's direction making it close but not too close. Back and forth he fired between the two sides until the two pairs broke and ran back towards the house. He was about to fire when he heard Honey say franticly in his mind, "John we must move NOW!"

"Go east I will meet you at site," he replied. He had to get at least one shot off to Kitty to let her know she too was not safe. He said to Candy, "Cannot see well, you left or right side?"

"WHAT?" Candy replied. She trusted John's shooting but not that much. "Not clear... Not clear..." she said mentally just as a bullet slapped the wood between her and Goddess. A moment later another shot hit the edge of the tree and propelled splinters into them like tiny wooden daggers. This was real her mind screamed as she and Kitty scrambled down to the ground. A third shot slapped the ground just in front of her hand and she screamed in terror. Grabbing Kitty with one hand she ran for her life.

Quickly John made his way north as the search parties ranged in on his last shots. Once he was clear he moved slowly around to the east. It was unfortunate that the last three shots would leave shell casings on the ground. "Coming to you," He thought to Honey.

Kitty had never seen Candy panic. But when the three shots targeted them, she found that even the tough SEAL had a breaking point. That scared her even more. They ended up in the middle of a briar thicket huddling close to the ground. Even then she saw Candy shaking and a wild look in her eyes. In a whisper she said, "We aren't going to make it are we?"

Candy wasn't shaking with fear; she was shaking with anger. John's shots had been way too close and she didn't like how he had managed to panic her. Looking at Kitty she said softly, "I don't know Goddess. I'm sorry." She looked around and added, "We are isolated, ranged and targeted, just how they want us."

Kitty looked down and said, "Want me you mean..." She thought, "Honey, something has come up...If I am not here when you reach the compound..." she sobbed, "You and John will have to take over..." She felt a wave of shock roll through the clans. Shit she had not been able to focus on Honey alone. She looked at Candy and clung to her tightly, "Go to the house where you will be safe."

"Please don't do this to me..." Candy sobbed holding on to Kitty. In her mind she said, "John it has gone far enough..."

John who was near Honey stopped, "Has she admitted she wants to live?" When Candy didn't answer he added, "Then it is not over. Time for you to leave her."

"No!" Candy said and thought at the same time.

"Trust me...please..."

At the same time Kitty said, "It is the only way, you knew this day would come Candy."

With a scream that was a cross of rage and sorrow, Candy stood and ran towards the house.

Kitty watched Candy race away and then ran to where their camp was; once there she stood up and slowly spun around with her eyes closed. Although she was afraid, she hoped it would be fast. After a minute she opened her eyes. Why had they not shot? She walked over to get a gourd of water and had it explode in her hand. She looked at the neck she still held dumbly and could not move. The report when it came was from the east.

"I love you," he thought to Honey as he moved faster and in towards the fence. He was up and over in a matter of moments and up in a tree. He paused and then said on the general talk, "Thirsty Sandy?"

"John?" Kitty replied surprised.

"The one and only," He replied. "I said I would not play your game and become your Judas. I did not say I would not play any games."

"You turned? Who Honey?"

"No Goddess I tried but could not. One of my sisters did the job for me, for us."

John broke in still talking to everyone. "You see daughters of the Goddess, she wanted me to kill her once she threatened to hurt my mate, your sister." He laughed mentally, "So I decided to change the game. You will never know where the next shot will come from Sandy. You will not be able to eat, drink or sleep unless I allow it." His mood turned somber, "So far I have not shot to hit anyone. But if anyone interferes all bets are off."

"John no!" Honey screamed in her mind.

"I'm sorry Honey girl, but we knew that it would come down to this in the end..." He saw the back door start to open and swung his rifle and fired. The bullet slapped the house over the door and he said, "Don't do it... I don't want to kill you Candy."

"You would kill me?" Candy asked in shock.

"If you force me to I will. You are too good for me to allow running around out here."

Kitty said to John alone, "Can't we talk about this?"

John replied, "No, say anything where everyone can hear." He scrambled a tree over and waited.

"John, you know the humans will not leave our kind alone until I am dead. Come in and we will talk about it."

"Sandy, your own expert explained it to me. The human race is dead, dead, dead... It is a matter of waiting them out. Try telling the truth for once." He paused, "Tell them Kitten."

"John is right. Within the next thirteen years the virus will have wiped out the humans and turned all into our kind." Kitten replied simply

"Candy, you know the military mind as well as I do. In such a situation what will they do?"

"Fall back and consolidate their position." Candy replied. She thought to Kitten and Beth, "Damn he is smart. He is forcing the Goddess to say the truth to all of us."

John heard murmurs of agreement from the other ex-military in the clans. The most vocal of which was Sandra, "Candy is right Goddess. They will fall back and fortify a position, perhaps Australia or New Zealand."

"You claim to be these people's Goddess and spiritual leader. So tell the truth to them. Don't you think they deserve that?"

Kitty sighed as she sat down. "They can't handle it John," she thought to him alone.

"How do you know unless you try?"

"JOHN!" Honey's mind screamed. "Hel..." her mind cut off mid word.

"So that's it then," He said raising the rifle and sighting it in on Kitty's head. At this range he would not miss and she would be dead before anyone heard the shot.

"NO!" Kitty said jumping up. "LET HONEY GO!" her mind screamed just as he fired missing her by a whisker. "Please don't kill me John," she sobbed as she dropped to the ground crying.

"I missed?" he thought in amazement. It was then that he heard the distant shot. In a heartbroken mind voice, he said, "You killed her... Why? She never did anything except love me."

He raised the rifle and sighted it in on the Goddess's head. For a long time, he held it there before lowering it. "No, I will not kill you now. One day, when you are not expecting it I will reach out and touch you." As he moved away he thought out, "I turn my back on our kind. Do not come near me or I will shoot first and not ask questions." As he crossed back over the fence he added to Candy, "I know you will have to come after me. I am sorry it has to end like this Candy."

"I'm sorry John, more than you can ever know," Candy cried in return. She looked at Beth, "I have to go... You know that don't you."

Beth nodded tears streaming down her eyes. They had been talking about asking if John would give them each a child once he and Honey had their children. Now, Honey was dead. "Please make it painless for him." She finally said.

Candy nodded and hugged her quickly before rushing out the door. As she hit the tree line she kept to the ground, it was faster. She needed get to where John fired from and work out from there. As she passed the Goddess on the ground sobbing she thought to her, "You sure fucked that one up Kitty."

Candy had just found the piece of brass about one hundred yards out from the Goddess when she heard Kitten go off on her. "You killed her, your own chosen one... you make want to join John and turn my back on my own kind!"

"I didn't..." Kitty sobbed.

"You ordered her taken by any means... Everyone here knows it..."

"She's not dead...yet," a voice said in their minds. "You want I should finish her now?"

"NO," Kitty screamed in her mind. A million voiced echoed her word.

"Okay, okay...no need to yell. I figure she got only a few minutes anyways," Replied the voice with a mental shrug.

"Bring her to me... NOW!" Kitty replied. Then she said, "John... she is alive..."

"Nothing has changed," John replied as he continued moving north.

Candy was not paying attention to the words going back and forth. She was looking at the shell and thinking. Which way would he go? Not to the south, that way was full of humans. He knew about other sniper teams and lots of sisters to the east and west. That left only north. But how far would he go before going to ground? She headed to the fence and started looking for signs of where he had crossed. It took the better part of fifteen minutes as she looked. Finally, she saw a lightly disturbed place on the other side. Crossing over she started following him. How far back she didn't know but she knew he was in front of her.

All through the day and into the night Candy followed John's spore. She shut her mind down to everything other than him. When she and Beth had worked together she could feel where Beth was even though they didn't talk. She hopped she could do the same with John. Finally, about two am she heard John say to her mind. "Please Candy. Don't do this. I know you have to protect her, but we liked..." she felt the love that they felt for her and Beth. "I liked you two. Don't make me kill you. Honey would never forgive me."

"John... Can we talk face to face?" Candy pleaded. "You have my word that I will not try anything." When John didn't answer she added, "I have a confession. I started out to kill you and put you out of your misery that much is true." She sent a thought to Beth who instantly nodded in agreement. "We, Beth and I want to join you instead. I can't go back there, not after what the go...what Kitty did."

Again, John didn't answer. Candy added, "I am coming forward John. Kill me if you must to feel some peace. But I would rather hug you and feel your tears on my shoulder and mine on yours." She began moving forward again expecting a bullet to strike her at any moment. Instead she found a small fire with a cat woman sitting next to it. Jumping down she moved forward and blinked, "Who are you?"