Needlebanger's POV

It was a chilly day consisting of dark clouds, strong winds, and occasional rainfall. Most of DrugClan had stayed in their dens, only leaving one to enter another. Whether it was a storm outside or a beautiful day, through the past quarter-moon the majority of the Clan was quiet and reserved. Twitch's death had hit the Clan hard, especially his siblings. Many were simply embarrassed... how were we supposed to party if the Party Place was off limits?

In the drug nest every cat was silent. Hazecloud, Chickenwing, and Munchbelly passed around a thick blunt without sharing a word while Crackheadstar and Cocainenose shared lines. Bone and the wide-eyed white she-cat had taken Twitch's death just as hard as LilPlump and Chickenwing, though Bone was taking it a bit better than Cocainenose. He realized, just as I did, that the tom was going to kill himself eventually. 

LilPlump had barely moved from his nest since we had returned home from the disastrous party. Meowmeow was still trying to get him off of the Xanax, but the distraught tom wouldn't even talk; he had even started to lose his extra weight from lack of eating. Even Pouncepaw was dramatically torn over Twitch's death, as if she thought the two would one day be mates. She had taken it upon herself to venture through the forest. Few of us had seen Pouncepaw since his death, but every now and again you could hear the pitiful she-cat wailing into the wind.

The eerie silence in the drug den was too much for my sober mind and when Munchbelly sighed and stood up to leave, I awkwardly followed in behind him. No cat looked up, no cat said goodbye, they only continued to get high.

Standing at the entrance to the den, I gazed around at the deserted clearing. I watched Munchbelly head over to Crackheadstar's den and disappear into it. It only took the deputy a few heartbeats to exit the den and when he did he had some sort of pouch slung over his flank. Curiously, I padded over to the tom. A shiver crept down my spine as the cold raindrops seeped through my pelt. "What's that?" I asked, gesturing with my tail to the ugly pouch. It had dark brown and light brown checkers with a shiny LV logo plate in the middle.

Munchbelly jerked his head toward me, probably shocked that I had followed him out so quietly. "Oh, this?" He glanced toward the bag and, though his shoulder fur briefly bristled with awkwardness, raised his chin defiantly, "This is my Louis Vuitton pouch... I- uh, use it to transport the Clan's drugs."

My whiskers twitched with amusement and I tried to hide my purrs as I snickered, "Why did you choose such an ugly one? Out of all the colors you could have chosen... and you chose that?"

With a humph, he turned to walk away before adding, "I'll have you know this ugly pouch is worth more than Madam Lillian's stash, I assure you!" He whipped his tail and padded off, muttering more to himself, "Ugly pouch... don't you listen to that nasty she-cat, Louis... beautiful, you are, and they all know it."

Snorting, I hurried after the tom until I was at his side again. He narrowed his eyes at me and swung the pouch onto the other side of his flank self-consciously. "What do you want? To degrade Louis some more? I will cut that tongue out of your mouth, you inconsiderate bastard!" Munchbelly looked more offended than angered.

I continued to try to swallow my purrs as I replied, "Oh, Munchbelly, hush about your pouch. I couldn't care less. I was just looking for something to do, something that doesn't consist of sitting in every other cats' grief."

Munchbelly nodded, and for a few moments, was tranquil. It was only until we came to a slope that he halted and finally looked at me. "Well, if you're interested in meeting our drug supplier, then come along," Munchbelly murmured as he dug underneath a boulder in the slope. Uncovering a mouse and a fat pigeon, he stuffed them into his bag and started to pad off. "I'm in a hurry, he doesn't like to wait... and don't say anything when we meet him. He's a sketch-bag and barely trusts me."

I tilted my head to the side as he began trekking up the slope. "Okay, but is it a long journey or are you so stoned that you needed to pick up a snack?"

The dark tabby tom scoffed, "Great StarClan, are you as ignorant as a kit or are my ears filled with bees? It's for the supplier, you fool!"

Together we hurried up the slope and when we finally made it to the top, heart beating like a trapped bird, I could see beyond the forest and into a strange territory; there was no grass, few spindly trees, and a lot of loud commotion. The breeze brought a rancid smell, almost choking me. I ducked down as a monster let out a long, high-pitched howl, a couple more following it. "We aren't going down there right?" I muttered, swallowing nervously.

"Oh, are we ever," Munchbelly purred and took off down the hill toward a tall silver-mesh fence while I hesitated to move forward. His Louis pouch bounced as he tore down the slope. "Hurry up!"

Sighing, I skidded down the hill as the deputy squeezed under a split opening in the fence. "Watch you don't scuff your precious bag!" I teased. Munchbelly glared at me over his shoulder as he popped out on the other side. The rain had come to a stop by the time I ducked through and appeared on the sketchy side of the fence.

Following more cautiously, I gazed around at a dirt clearing where many broken monsters were lined up on the other side of a rustic-rock building. It's clear squares weren't so clear; they were cracked and layered with dust. Two large, white entrances were between the not-so-clear squares. One was open just enough for a cat to walk into, while the other was closed completely. The broken monsters came in all different shapes and sizes, but every one of them had something missing: a couple had no paws, one had no nose, and a few had no openings to its stomach! At least they're dead. 

Puddles were scattered throughout the dirt clearing but they all smelled sour and had weird rainbow colours swirling in it. Munchbelly caught me as I sniffed it and snapped, "You fool! Get your muzzle out of that before it burns your nose off."

Munchbelly led the way through the dirty clearing with confidence while I cautiously stalked in behind him. "Can we speed it up? I don't like this place." I whispered, eyeing the monsters vigilantly. Every noise made me jump and every time I jumped, I felt like rushing home even more.

The deputy didn't say anything for a few moments as he led me toward the edge of the rustic-rock wall. Munchbelly peeked around the corner and warned when he turned back, "We have to run by Twolegs and cross the street, so keep to the sides and try to stay unseen! I have had rocks thrown at me and even been chased by Twolegs with weird sticks. This is a dangerous place for a cat..."

Great way to make me feel better about joining you! I sighed and watched him peek around the corner again. "Let's go, keep up with me!" Munchbelly hissed and with that, he took off across a deserted street. I rushed after him, fear churning in my belly that I would lose him and be lost forever. Panic swelled in my chest as we scurried toward an old, grey building that was leaning to the side. Broken, moldy wood splintered near the roof; the damn nest was nearly ready to collapse!

Rotting crow-food was piled up throughout the quiet street, sitting on the metal hole-covers and blowing in the wind. The whole street reeked like rotting food and the putrid smell of monsters. At the end of the dirty street I could see where Munchbelly was heading. My fur bristled with alarm as Twolegs passed by on the side of the street in swarms. Monsters rushed up and down the black road at high speeds, only stopping occasionally to wait for another to pass by so they could turn onto another street. So many different colors, so many loud noises! I could feel my legs trembling as I forced myself to continue on the deputy's heels.

We halted at the corner of a beige building that sat beside the old nest. Munchbelly crouched down and peered around the corner. "When I say go, run with me and do not stop for anything! Keep to the wall and avoid all Twoleg contact."

You don't have to tell me that... I thought as I watched Twoleg after Twoleg hurry by with their hands full of bags, weird colorful rectangles, and brown cups. Swallowing, I prepared to run.

"Now!" Munchbelly snapped. Together we tore down the white brick road on the side of the street, dodging through the Twoleg's big, heavy paws. I could hear them gasp in surprise as we ran in between their legs. Suckers! I thought triumphantly.

As we continued to swerve around the strange creatures, I noticed one particular Twoleg was sitting on the white road; he had fur bushing from his face and ragged fabric hanging loosely from his skinny frame. He had a cup beside him and a sign resting against the wall with strange, choppy lettering written on it. With his tan, weirdly-shaped log slung over his shoulder, he played sorrowful music with his fingers and sang even though his voice was raspy and uneven. We rushed past him, his scent strong and sour, and I glanced back to observe the sad, old tom one last time. Out of every Twoleg that strolled by, not one stopped to listen.

"Pay attention, we have to cross the street before the light turns green!" Munchbelly's urgent demand brought me back into the present. Jerking my head toward the street beside us, I watched Munchbelly begin to dash across the stinky black surface. Monsters were halted on the street and for a split heartbeat I hesitated. I forced myself to run after the deputy full tilt and could feel the breath of the monster from one's rear end and one's face as I passed by. I had ran so fast that I ended up hopping onto the white brick road just as Munchbelly did. Within moments, the light turned green and the monsters started to roll off again.

I heard a gasp from above and when I whipped around, I found myself alone. Pure panic bolted through me and when I glanced up, I spotted a Twoleg gazing down at me with her paws stretched to reach for me. "Needlebanger, get your slack ass over here before you get killed!" Munchbelly called from an alleyway, his voice echoing. I let out a hiss at the Twoleg and took off into the shadows. When is this trip going to be over? I felt like curling up into a ball right then and there, no matter how much crow-food lay around me!

Munchbelly didn't stop to talk or catch his breath; by the time I had entered the alleyway he was already halfway through it. I could hear the aggravated tom mumbling curses to himself. Panting, I rushed after him and slowed down by his side as we came to the backyard of a rundown, pale green nest. The nest was even worse than the grey one we had passed earlier. Though the walls were sturdy, part of the roof was entirely gone. Long, bright green ivy vines trailed around the back left corner of the nest, just below the hole in the roof, where the wood was charred. Almost every square opening in the walls were broken.

Another white building lay beside the burnt pale green house, except this one had strange, colorful, bubbly letters and funky drawings written all over the back wall. I padded over to it and gazed at the fascinating letters. Twolegs are so... creative.

Spotting movement in the corner of my eye, I swung my head around to see what, or who, it was. A tall, lanky cat appeared from the other side of the alleyway we had came through, his shoulders slumped and ears straight back. He had cream colored fur with a pale tan color marbled throughout his pelt and as he approached I noticed his narrowed eyes were flitting between Munchbelly and me. The tom paused a couple tail-lengths away from Munchbelly and lifted his head to look at me. I noticed his jaw was crooked and he had a slit on his top lip that revealed his yellow canine tooth. There was a large scar across his flank, too.

"Do I look like a fool to you?" The tom snarled, baring his teeth at Munchbelly. Before the dark tabby tom could defend himself, the cream colored tom stomped up to him and spat, "What is this meeting to you, a get together? A free-for-all? Get her the hell out of here or the deal is off!"

"Woah, Nacho, calm down! This is Needlebanger, she's from my Clan. She only wanted to come for the journey..." Munchbelly insisted, glancing over his shoulder at me nervously. The tom locked eyes with me again but said nothing.

Off in the distance, Twolegs howled angrily. I flinched and hurriedly looked around to make sure it wasn't us they were yelling at. I heard Nacho snicker. 

A few moments of silence edged by before Munchbelly spoke, "I brought you a pigeon and a mouse in exchange for your troubles."

Nacho's eyes finally broke from mine and widened with eagerness. "Good," he muttered. Nacho scurried off to a pile of large black bags from the area he had appeared from and pulled out a couple of clear pouches. Dropping it at Munchbelly's paws, he licked his lips as the deputy opened his pouch and tossed him his prey. Immediately the scrawny tom started gobbling it up viciously.

There were four pouches: one had several colorful pills, one was completely filled with green buds, another half full with white powder, and the last had dried mushrooms. Munchbelly gasped at the sight of the mushrooms and, as he shoved the bags into his pouch, he purred, "You managed to get mushrooms this time! I won't forget that; next time I'll bring you more prey," Too busy eating to answer, Nacho continued to devour his meal without acknowledging the deputy's comment. Munchbelly blinked at him as he pushed the mouse aside and began to tear open the pigeon. "Well... in a quarter-moon we will meet here at the same time. See you then." Nacho only grunted. 

Together, Munchbelly and I started to head toward the alleyway. "Maybe we should consider offering him a place in DrugClan? It would be easier to get our stuff and he would probably put on some weight..." I suggested once we were out of earshot. Munchbelly narrowed his eyes with thought and to my surprise, he nodded. 

Munchbelly didn't think about it any further. He trotted back to Nacho and paused a tail-length away. "Needlebanger and I were wondering if you would like to join our Clan." He asked, tilting his head to the side. 

The cream-colored tom's ears went back and he glared over at Munchbelly. "What's the catch?" He spat, gazing from Munchbelly to me. 

Shaking his head, Munchbelly let out a nervous purr, "Well, in exchange for the same job you do for me now, you would have a safe place to stay, prey at your paws, and insane parties." Instantly, Nacho's eyes lit up with curiosity. 

A smirk crossed his face, "That sounds like a good deal. I have a couple friends who might be interested, too. They can pull their own weight better than me, though. Maybe when we come grab your next batch I'll find them."

Munchbelly and I nodded to each other, "Sounds like a plan."