Twist felt frozen. Just a few feet away from her was her sister. Everything else felt unimportant. All thoughts of where Twist was flew from her mind, and all she could do was stare. Suddenly, the distance between them seemed too great. Dart ran towards Twist, letting out a shaky breath. The tackled her sister, and they tumbled to the ground laughing.
"Twist!" Dart looked close to tears. She dug her face into Twist's fur, and Twist smiled. She licked Dart's ear and laughed.
"Yeah." Twist mewed. Dart let out a shaky laugh, her relief clear. Twist closed her eyes and enjoyed their shared moment. It felt like they were the only two cats in the world. After a while, Dart rolled off Twist and let her stand up, which she did. All of a sudden, Dart let out a gasp, her eyes wide and filled with horror.
"Twist..." she seemed lost for words. "Your paw..." Twist looked down at her front left paw, realizing that her sister couldn't possibly know what had happened to it. Why it was gone.
"Oh.. yeah." Twist meowed, unsure of what to say. "The injuries were too bad. It..." she paused again. "It had to go." Tears spilled from Dart's eyes.
"Twist... I'm so sorry." She started to sob, and Twist limped over to her sister, nudging her cheek.
"Please don't cry.." she said. Twist silently cursed herself. She had never been good at comforting people. It seemed to be enough for Dart though, as her tears slowed. She smiled sadly.
"I'm glad you're here..." she murmured. Twist smiled back at her sister.
"I'm glad too."

...

Twist lay under the boilers outside, letting the warmth flow through her body. Dart was beside her, smiling. She had insisted on having Twist rest, despite her protests. Twist had to admit that she was tired, and the boilers were a perfect resting spot. While the two drifted to sleep, Dart explained everything that had happened when Twist was gone. Twist was mortified, and felt guilty about leaving her sister alone.
"I missed you so much.." Dart whispered, twining her tail with Twist's.
"I missed you too." Twist responded, and nuzzled Dart's cheek. She grinned, and Twist laughed.
"So.." Dart began. "What happened to you?" Twist's smile vanished. She didn't like reliving her experience away from Dart, and honestly couldn't remember it that well anyway.
"Well..."

...

Twist awoke on a soft surface, her head pounding. Her legs felt numb to the point where she couldn't feel them, which scared her. Twist began to panic. A strange tall creature wearing something over its mouth turned to her, making a distressed noise. It pierced Twist's thigh with a thin, sharp shiny object, and everything went dark.
Twist awoke later, in a different location. She was on something soft, and silver objects surrounded her. They looked like very skinny trees, but with no imperfections.
"What.." Twist muttered to herself.
"You're in a cage, sweetie." A strange voice called out, making Twist jump.
"Who's there?" She yelled, trying to keep the fear from her voice. She wasn't very successful.
"Look in front of you, hon." The voice responded, sounding bored. Twist gazed in front of her, her eyes meeting the unfamiliar yellow ones of an old hairless cat. He was also surrounded by the metal trees that made up this..
"Cage.." Twist said aloud. She snapped her focus back to the stranger. "Why am I in a cage?" The cat rolled his eyes.
"Because ya need to be fixed up. He glanced down at Twist's paw, eyes narrowing. "Actually, I think ya already are."
Twist went to look down at her paw, but saw nothing. Only a stump remained, no paw. Twist let out a shaky breath.
"Where.." she paused, taking a moment to comprehend the situation. "...is my paw!?" She snapped, turning to the stranger. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. The stranger widened his eyes.
"They took it, girlie. Needed to go." He said in a casual tone.
"Better get used to not havin' it." At his words, Twist hissed.
"What?! Why did they take it?! Why do I have to change my life because of it?! Where is Dart!?" She was yelling now, tears slipping down her face.
"I dunno who ya talkin' about, but you seem mighty mad, so I'm gonna turn 'round." He turned to face away from Twist, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She wanted Dart more than anything. Dart, who would tell her that everything was okay and give her thirty reasons to convince her it was. Dart, who would make her laugh and brighten her day. Dart, who would fix everything. Twist silently let her tears fall, wishing for the days when her sister was there to wipe them away.

...

Dart stared at her sister, who had gone silent. Dart was mortified, as Twist's situation sounded so awful.
"Oh gosh..." she started. "I.. I don't know what to say..." Twist let out a shaky laugh.
"You don't need to say anything. It's okay." She looked up, meeting Dart's gaze. "Besides, I'm here now." Dart smiled.
"Yeah, and I'll never let you leave again." She gave Twist a friendly shove, and all the tension in the air evaporated.
"Get some sleep, okay? I'll get you settled tomorrow." Dart meowed. Twist grinned, laying her head on her paws.
"Okay." She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh of contentment. Dart smiled, and licked her sister's ear.
"Goodnight." She whispered, but Twist was already asleep.