Thursday, April 21, 2005

Is anybody reading these? I had a lot of coms with the first chapter, but the last two got almost none. *sigh* Oh well. I'm still having fun!

Strays part 4 Voices in the Dark It must’ve been the dramatic change in temperature that woke me up, because when I came to for the second time I was freezing. I opened my eyes, but it didn’t make any difference. Everything was pitch black. I was free of the sack though, so I sharpened my senses as I tried to decipher my surroundings. My eyes jumped around seeking any single point of light. My hands felt the stone cold wall I was leaning against and my ass rested on a hard concrete floor. My ears could pick up nothing but my own breathing. I had no idea where I was, I couldn’t see, and everything was deathly quiet. On my own personal meter, I was three notches away from panic. I was about to call out ‘help’, when a small voice came from my right. “Yokata. You’re awake.” My whole body jerked in surprise and I let out a startled scream. The voice came closer. “Gomenasai! I didn’t mean to scare you. Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.” It was the same child-like voice I had heard before. “O-genki desu ka? How do you feel?” she asked. I pulled myself together and calmed down a bit. “.... s.. Samui kimochi. Cold,” I whispered. “Hai. Choto mate, kudasai. Wait here.” I waited to hear footsteps or hopefully the sound of a door. But there was silence; not even any footsteps. I called aloud. “Hello?..... Hello!?” My voice echoed in the darkness. It was as if the girl had vanished. Then I had a disturbing thought. Was she ever there to begin with? Did that bump on the head make me blind and was I delirious from hypothermia? Was I loosing it........ if I ever had it? Oh man, I was freaking out now. “HELLO!” I yelled. “Calm down. I’m right here.” Now she was right next to me! I could’ve sworn there was nobody there! “Here, take this.” I reached my hand into nothingness and felt something soft and fuzzy. I grabbed it. It was a blanket. Maybe I wasn’t going crazy. Well, anymore than I already was. I quickly draped the blanket around my shivering body. Whoever my captor was, they sure were friendly. “Dai jobu desu ka? Honka wa? Are you OK? Do you want anything else?” But I was through playing ‘wounded soldier.’ I wanted to get to the bottom of this. “I can’t see. What’s going on? Where am I?” The girl spoke to me in a calming voice. “Don’t worry. You’ll be OK. Your eyes just haven’t adjusted yet. Now, come with me.” I felt a hand grab my arm and help me up. Gently pulling me along, she lead me around a nearby corner. As soon as we rounded the bend, I started seeing a faint point of light. I couldn’t tell what it was just yet. The light was very dim and I had left my glasses at home. I glanced down at my guide. I was just faintly starting to make out her features. She was about 5 foot 2, wearing a dark robe, and white gloves. Her head and face were covered by the robe’s hood. Suddenly I got a real creepy feeling. Had I been kidnapped by some cult and was now to be a virgin sacrifice or something? Er.. I mean.. um.... oh, who am I kidding? “Well, if this is some kind of trap,” I thought, “I’m not going to go down easy.” As we slowly walked towards the dim light, I was ready for anything. As we got closer, I could see that the light was actually a firing barrel, like the kind you’d see bums crowded around in a back alley. The fire wasn’t strong enough for me to fully make out where I was yet. It only illuminated a small portion of the room. I felt like I was in some kind of vampire movie. We stopped about five feet away from the barrel. My guide let go of me and stepped to the side. I firmly planted my feet and curled my hands into fists as I looked into the surrounding shadows. “Here we go,” I thought. A new voice came from the other side of the barrel. “Artukei?” Wouldn’t you know it; a woman. “Is your name Artukei?” I glared into the darkness. “Depends on who’s asking,” I said. “No need to be defensive,” she said. “I only want to talk.” “Yeah, that’s what they all say. Then why all the dramatics? Can’t you talk to me face to face? Or are you just some sniveling worm who hides in the shadows?” I heard a growl from another part of the room. The head voice chuckled. “Very well. I must warn you though. My appearance may..... shock you.” I scoffed internally. “I’ve seen a lot of things. If she can shock me, she deserves to.” As the figure started to inch its way towards the fire, my imagination went wild as I pondered what could be so shocking. Was she horribly disfigured? Was she a terrifying alien? Was she really a man? I started to see a vague but feminine outline. The first thing to come into the light was her foot. The light continued to creep up her body as she came closer. So far I saw nothing shocking. She was wearing white stockings, long white gloves that came up to her elbows, a white thong, and a very peculiar top that only seemed to cover the front and sides of her breasts. She stood almost 6 feet tall, had long dark hair, and wore a white headband. “So she dresses a little provocatively. Big deal.” Yet I had the strangest feeling that I’d seen her before. What did this decadent femme fatale want with me? Why did she seem so familiar? And how could I be this damn lucky?!

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Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Strays part 3 Lost The animal shelter called a few days later. They wanted me to come down so they could explain the details. I arrived not quite knowing what kind of news to expect. I walked up to the front desk. “Excuse me,” I said. “I’m here about the white cat that was turned in the other day.” The same doctor as before was behind the counter waiting for me with the cat in his arms. “Just as I thought, it was nothing serious. Just a piece of glass stuck in her paw.” The white beauty jumped from his arms, onto the counter, and started nuzzling my arm. The doctor continued. “Otherwise she’s perfectly fine. Uncommonly healthy for a stray.” I scratched the cat’s ears. “Well, maybe she belongs to somebody,” I said. “We thought of that,” the doctor replied. “We looked at all the missing pet reports made within the last six months. No-one’s reported the loss of a white cat.” “So, what happens now?” “Well, the next step would be to put her up for adoption. And since you were the one who brought her in....” “Hmm.” I drove home with the newest member of our family in my passenger seat. She sat up as she watched the scenery pass by. “Aisha’s gonna flip. And Kida’s gonna love you.” I thought. “What shall we call you?” I said. “Snowball? No, way too redundant. Queen? Princess? Artimus?” I laughed at the bad Sailor Moon reference I had just made. “Maybe Aisha has some good Ctarl names for you.” The cat seemed too pre-occupied with the outside to pay any attention to me this time. As I pulled into the driveway and got out, I was bubbling with excitement just thinking about Aisha and Kida’s reactions. I opened the passenger door to welcome our new resident. But the door wasn’t even six inches open before she jumped out and ran off into the woods! “Wha... HEY! Come back!” I yelled. But it was too late. With lightning speed, the feline rouge had made her escape. Suddenly I thought, “Did this cat just play me for a patsy? Was I being played this entire time?” No way. No cat could be that smart. “Maybe she does have a family. Yeah, the doctor said she was way too healthy for a stray. I’m sure she knows the way home.” Even though I thought this, it still wasn’t enough to soothe the wound of knowing that I wasted my money on the adoption papers. That night I went to bed still gravely disappointed about my day. I didn’t tell anybody about what happened. When Aisha asked about my visit, I told her that the cat already had a home. Which I was pretty sure was the truth. How else could a stray have a clean bill of health? This was the most convincing argument in my mind. But I still didn’t feel thoroughly convinced. I tried to get to sleep but these thoughts kept whirling in my head. I got up and decided to walk off the tension. Maybe the night air would clear my head. I put on some sweat pants and my cord jacket and stepped outside. I started walking down the sidewalk as I looked up at the sky. All I could hear was the clopping of my feet and all I could see were the stars. My mind wandered as I tried to take my mind off the... “Meow!” “Kitty?” I unconsciously uttered. I looked around for a small white figure but saw nothing but blacks and blues. The call persisted. “Meow! Meow!” It was coming from the woods; the same exact spot where the cat disappeared. I slowly walked towards the noises, almost as if it were luring me like a siren’s song. I brushed branches and snapped twigs as I followed the cry deeper into the forest. Soon I came to a small clearing. The meowing was loudest here. It had been continuous from the start. But as soon as I stepped into the clearing, it stopped. My eyes darted all over, seeking movement. “Kitty!” I called. Nothing but silence. I seemed all alone in the black. Suddenly, I heard a rustle in the trees above me. I looked up and saw a shadow descend upon me and engulf me. “Huh!? What the...!?” As I fought to escape the shroud, I felt hands from behind me push me to the ground. There was no room for me to get my arms up and brace myself, and I smacked my head something fierce as I crashed into the dirt. I don’t know how long I was out, but when I came to I could definitely tell that I was moving. I could feel something binding my legs and there was pressure against my abdomen. I could also feel that I was bobbing slightly. And though disoriented and blinded by burlap, from as best as I could figure, I was facing the ground. Somebody was carrying me, over their shoulder no less. And I’m a pretty heavy guy. “Who ever this guy is, he must be pretty strong. Er? This is hardly the time to be impressed, boy. You gotta get outta here.” I was about to start struggling, when I heard a small voice in front of me, behind my porter. It sounded like a little girl. “I really wish you hadn’t done this. We were only supposed to lead him.” My carrier responded, “I know. But it’s more fun this way.” Is that....? That sounds like a woman! A third voice piped up; again, female. “I actually prefer to see them this way.” She had an accent that I couldn’t place at the time. “Hey, that’s not very nice!” the smaller voice said. The third voice let out a groan. “Let’s just get this over with. What does she want with him anyway?” She? This is getting interesting. “She didn’t say. She only told us to come and get the man who lived there,” my little advocate replied. The one carrying me said, “Did she say anything about him being alive?” I’d like to see you try it, sister! The small one once again spoke on my behalf. “You wouldn’t dare!” I rocked up and down as my porter laughed. “Chill out. I’m only kidding. This is just way too much fun!” An all female and rather eccentric trio of assassins. How lucky was I? But the more important question was ‘why me?’ I wanted to stay awake longer and listen to their conversation, but all this pressure on my head was unbearable. My injury was throbbing from the crash and all the blood rushing to my head didn’t help it at all. I finally gave in to submission and blacked out again.

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Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Strays part 2 Karma “I’m sorry, sir. We don’t open for a few more days.” “But I know the owner, Jinnai Makoto. Just get her. She’ll vouch for me.” The girl went to the back as I stood outside the door. I glanced behind my shoulder and saw the maples lining 25th street all starting to bud beautiful bright green leaves. I looked back in the window and saw Makoto peek her head out of the kitchen. Her face instantly lit up and she started weaving through tables as she ran towards the front and opened the door. “Justin-kun! Konnichiwa!” she said excitedly as she bowed slightly and shook my hand. I knew it was typical in Japanese culture, but this little gesture wasn’t going to cut it on U.S. soil and between two good friends. “Oh, heck with that!” I yelled, and I bent down and gave her a huge bear hug. She squeaked in surprise like a little school girl at first, but then laughed lightly and patted my back. “Come in. Please come in.” She ushered me inside and called to the girl standing at the back. “Chiyo-san! O-cha, kudasai! Hayaku!” The girl immediatly dashed into the kitchen. I hadn’t heard Makoto bark orders like that in almost three years. But this time I wasn’t on the recieving end. “This place sure looks different than when I left it,” I said as I observed the new interior. At the front there was a small reception desk and a couple benches for a waiting area. The dining area screamed Japanese. The tables were very low and instead of chairs there were cushions for the guests to sit on. On the walls were breath-taking murals of the mountains and country-side of rural Japan. “What do you think,” Makoto asked. “It’s beautiful,” I said. “It’s like I’m back in Tokyo.” Makoto and I sat down at one of the superbly crafted hardwood tables. I crossed my legs indian style at first, but then a look of ‘oops’ flashed in my eyes and I started to change my position. Makoto chuckled and said, “It’s OK. I’ll let it go this time.” I relaxed and went back to crossing my legs, which was more comfortable for me anyway. Makoto always used to bust on me hard back in the day for not sitting properly. The girl from before came up holding a tray with a teapot and three cups. She set it on the table, sat down between us, and poured some tea into my cup. “There you are, sir.” I lightly bowed. “Arigato, gozaimasu.” Then she filled Makoto’s and finally her own. “Ah, gomenasai,” Makoto uttered. “Justin-kun, this is Hashiro Chiyo, my assistant manager. Chiyo-san, this is my best friend, Justin.” Best friend? Wow! I had no idea Makoto regarded me so highly. I extended my hand, which, again, I knew wasn’t Japanese custom, but it was like a reflex to me. “Hajimemashite, Chiyo-san. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She shook my hand. “The pleasure’s all mine,” she said. She looked like your typical young Japanese girl. She had long black hair, brown eyes, and a rather plain yet very pretty face. “So you’re Justin. I’ve heard a lot about you.” “Really? Good or bad?” I asked. “Wait, coming from Makoto, probably bad..... and they’re probably lies.” She and Makoto laughed. “Actually, good,” Chiyo said. “Did you really buy this place for her as a Christmas present?” Ah. The urban legends had taken root. “That’s right. I did,” I proudly admitted. “Wow!” she said, “that’s incredible! My boyfriend only got me sweater and a CD.” We all burst out laughing. “So, what are you doing in my neck of the woods, Justin-kun?” Makoto asked. “Oh, I just came by to see how the place is looking,” I said. “And I was just coming back from picking up Aisha’s engagement ring.” Intrigue swept across the girls’ faces. “Ooh, let us see,” Makoto begged. I pulled the ring box out of my pocket and opened it up. Inside, surrounded by red velvet, was a golden ring studded with three 14 karat diamonds. The two gazed almost greedily at the precious treasure. “Sugoi,” Makoto gasped. “Suteki desu ne?” I asked. Makoto answered almost lost in the ring’s allure. “Hai. Dai suteki. Oh, Justin-kun, she’ll love it!” After we had visited for a little while, I said my good-byes and was on my way. As I started walking back to my car, I heard a small noise from the alley behind me. I looked around and noticed a white cat peeking its head around the corner. “Hey there, sweetie. What’re you doing down here?” I said. It slowly started to approach me, limping a little and meowing loudly. “Here. You hungry?” I asked. Makoto had given me a small sushi platter that she insisted I take home. I took out a piece of snapper, crouched down, and held it out. The cat looked at me curiously with its emerald eyes and cautiously sniffed my leftovers. It gave it a few licks and then wolfed it down, almost biting my finger. “Wow. You must be famished, huh?” I pulled out another piece and set it on the ground. As the cat ate I slowly brought my hand down and gently started to pet the creature. Already I could hear it purring. Its coat was soft and felt very clean. A little unusual for a stray. I looked to see if there was a collar. Nope, nothing. But I noticed that its back right paw was stained with blood. “Aww. Poor thing,” I thought. Just then I remembered that the animal shelter was on my way back from there. I decided I would be a good citizen and take the cat in. But as my hands reached around the cat’s sides, it jumped back and hissed at me. I got down low and spoke very calmly to it as if I were talking to Kida. “Calm down. It’s OK. I just wanna help you.” The cat flicked its ears as if it were trying to translate my words. “That looks like it hurts. I know some people who can fix it. Trust me. I just want to help.” I offered my hand, showing that I didn’t mean any harm. “It’ll be OK, I promise.” The cat slowly approached me again and started rubbing its head against my fingers. “So, you trust me?” I asked. It looked up at me and gave a soft “meow.” I’m not sure, but I think I saw it nod as well. The cat had consumed the last of the sushi as we arrived at the animal shelter. I reached in the back and grabbed a towel that I keep there for emergencies and swaddled the cat as I lifted it out. As I walked to the door, something must’ve spooked it because it started to try and wrestle its way out. I scratched its ears to calm it down, then I lifted it up and reassured it, “Don’t worry. Everything’s gonna be fine.” I entered and walked up to a lady behind the front desk. “Excuse me,” I said, “I found this stray near 1st street. It has a wounded foot.” A nearby doctor came around to have a look. “Let me see,” the doctor said. I let down a corner of the towel to show the injury. The doctor carefully examined the blood stained paw. “What’s your name?” he asked as he started writing on his clipboard. “Artukei,” I said, “A-R-T-U-K-E-I.” “Address?” “145 Kennedy St SW.” “Phone?” “555-2613.” The doctor gently lifted the cat from my arms. “We’ll take her to the back and give her a full examination,” he said. The cat tried desperately to get free. Once again, I did my best to pacify it. “Don’t worry,” I said. “Everything’s gonna be OK. I promise you. These people are going to take good care of you. You trust me, remember?” Almost as if it understood me, it calmed down and looked at me with its big green eyes. “You seem to have a real gift there,” the doctor said. “Eh, I have a daughter,” I shrugged. The doctor gave me a confused look. “Don’t let my boyish looks fool you,” I said. “Well, the injury doesn’t look like anything serious,” he said. “She should be back on her feet in a day or two.” As the doctor walked towards the back, the cat never took its eyes off of me. “OK, that’s kinda eerie.” With the pride of knowing that I had done the right thing, I returned home. I stepped through the door and I hadn’t gone further than “I’m ho...” before Kida had fastened herself to my leg. “Hello sweetie,” I said as I patted her head. “Hello daddy,” said the figure coming down the stairs. I looked up. “Washu! Class out for the day?” I asked. Washu is Kida’s private tutor. She comes over three times a week a gives Kida brief lessons in science and math, of course. Aisha was right behind her. “Come here, Kida-chan,” Washu said. “I still have to give you your assignment.” Kida let go of me and rushed over to her teacher. I pulled Aisha aside. “How’d it go today?” I asked. “Great,” she said. “Today’s lesson was on animal classification.” “Oh. How is she?” “Excellent. She’s smart as a whip. You should’ve been here, Justin. You would’ve been so proud.” “I already am,” I said as I beamed with joy over my daughter. Washu was just finishing. “Remember to be a good girl and study hard.” Kida bowed slightly. “Yes, Professor Washu.” Then Washu patted her student’s head and opened a portal back to her lab. “Take care everyone!” she said. “You too!” I called back. “Say ‘hi’ to DJ for us!” Aisha said. “I will!” And with that, she vanished. Kida looked up at me. “Daddy, can I play video-games now?” “Only if I can play too,” I said. “But only for an hour. Then you hit the books.” She ran into the living room. Gumdrop poked his head out from the top of the stairs and sniffed the air for a sec. “I smell immanent digital bliss!” he said. Then he scampered down the stairs and into the living room yelling, “I call dibs on Bowser!” After the peanut gallery had left, Aisha gently grabbed my arm. “Did you get it?” she asked as she lightly hopped up and down like a six year old. I reached in my pocket. “‘Did I get it,’ she asks,” I joked as I pulled the ring box out. Greedily, she snatched it from my grasp and quickly opened it. She gasped and her eyes shined. “It’s the one I wanted. Oh, Justin, it’s perfect!” She immediately put it on. “I would’ve gotten here sooner,” I said, “but I wanted to stop by Makoto’s. Also, the weirdest thing happened.” Aisha’s ears twitched. “Nya? What?” “It’s strange,” I said. “On the way home I found this stray. It had an injured paw so I took it to the animal shelter.” “A stray? Cat? Dog? Pokémon?” “Oh, it was a cat.” As soon as I said this, Aisha went all chibi-eyed on me and she sounded like Kida. “Aww. I little kitty?” She gave me a big hug and started purring. “Purr. My big hero.” “I wonder if she would’ve reacted differently if I said it was a dog.” I thought. But then Aisha became a little confused. “Wait. What’s so weird about that?” “Well, the cat acted very strange,” I said. “Whenever I spoke to it, it.... it looked at me as if it could understand me. As if it were human or something.” “Hmm. Well, what’s going to happen to it now?” “The doctor said they’d take care of it and give it a full examination.” “What’ll they do after it’s well?” “Eh.... if it’s healthy enough they’ll probably put it up for adoption. It didn’t have a collar, but.... most likely it already belongs to somebody.” “Well that’s good,” she said. Then she continued nuzzling me. “Purr. You saved that little kitty’s life.” I scoffed at her sweet remark. “Pssh! It’s nothing.” Apparently, Aisha didn’t think so. She tilted her head up and licked my cheek. I raised an eyebrow and we both exchanged looks of mischief. Slowly she moved in to kiss me. “Daddy!” Kida’s voice hollered from the other room. I let out a painful sigh and whispered, “Hold those lips.” I called out, “Alright! Coming!” as I went to vanquish evil with my little girl.

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Monday, April 18, 2005

This is part one of currently the biggest fan-fic I've writen for this site. So grab a drink and get comfy.

Strays part 1 Out of the Shadows A silver moon shone down on the city of Metrolex. Onto the skyscraping office buildings, to the condos and apartment complexes, and down into the streets it bounced. In a dismal alley on the west side of town (the fish market district to be exact), there came a rustle from a pile of newspapers. A small white figure emerged from underneath and into the moonlight. It was a cat: a beautiful white cat with green eyes and a coat that almost glittered in the dim light. It stepped out cautiously, flicking it’s ears and smelling the air to make sure no-one was there. After confirming its surroundings, it looked back and let out a loud “meow.” Three more cats came out of the shadows. One had green eyes as well and was yellow with stripes of a darker shade, almost looking like a miniature golden tiger. Another was jet black with yellow eyes and a bit more slender than the others. The last was the smallest of the four and had orange and white fur and sky blue eyes. With the white one in front, the feline quartet navigated its way around the broken bottles, garbage bags, and other assorted trash that littered the alleyway. When they came to the entrance, they spied a truck making a late delivery. A man opened the back and called to his partner, “Hurry up, Tony! They’re not gonna stay fresh forever!” The man began to hand down one of several small crates to his friend. The other man set them on the sidewalk in front of a small shop. Back in the alley, the white cat looked at the orange one and flicked its ears in the direction of the truck. This was obviously some sort of signal because Orange immediately started running towards the man on the ground. He was about to set the next crate on the curb when he heard a small “meow” from at his feet. He looked down and saw Orange eyeing the crate and licking its lips hungrily. “No, no, kitty. Go home,” he said. But then he heard another “meow” behind him. He turned around and saw Black with the same expression. “Go home!” he shouted. At this point, Yellow had joined in and was jumping and pawing at the crate. “Damn cats. Hey Byron!” He called to his friend in the truck. Byron looked out and asked, “What’s going on?” Tony was holding the crate up to his shoulders while the three cats jumped and pawed at him. “I’m surrounded!” he yelled. Muttering under his breath, “Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Byron jumped down and went to aid his colleague while White jumped into the truck unnoticed. As the men tried to shoe the cats away, White pushed a crate towards the edge of the truck. Summoning all her strength, White pushed and pushed until the crate was teetering over the edge. Then she gave it one final nudge and leapt back behind the remaining cargo as the crate crashed onto the street. The two men looked back to see what had made the noise. They saw a small pile of splintered wood, crushed ice, and fresh mahi-mahi. “Aw, crap!” Byron yelled. The three cats rushed towards the wreckage. “No! Bad cats! Get away!” Tony screamed. But Byron held him back. “Aw, screw it. Let’em have it. We can’t sell damaged goods anyway. C’mon! Let’s get the rest unloaded before anything else happens.” As Byron jumped into the back and lifted up another crate, White silently made her getaway and rejoined her accomplices on the ground. The cats quickly gathered up their spoils and ran back into the alley. Mission accomplished. Meanwhile, a few blocks down, a gray van patrolled the streets. A man sitting on the passenger side rubbed his arms and blew into his hands. “Tell me again why we’re down here,” he said. “We’ve been getting numerous reports of strays in this area,” said the driver. “No, I know that,” the other replied. “What I’m wondering is why we’re out here when it’s frikking freezing.” “Stop complaining. We just need to do a quick survey and then get back to the shelter. Besides, I do have the heat on.” The man gave a confused look and checked his vents. They were still closed. Smiling sheepishly, he opened them up and put his hands against them. As he warmed himself, he glanced out his window at the alley. “Hey, I think I see something. Stop here.” The cats sat silently enjoying their hard earned reward. For a moment, they were unaware of the two men with snares and crates slowly approaching them, until Black caught them. She arched her back and hissed at the intruders. “Don’t worry, kitty. We’re not going to hurt you,” said one of them. White, Orange, and Black slowly started to back away into the shadows. “That’s weird,” said the man. “I thought I saw four.” In a warlike screech, Yellow leaped off the top of a dumpster and lunged at the other man’s face. He screamed in shock and the thought of his face getting torn off flashed through his mind. But the golden feline simply bounded of his chest, as if trying to knock him back. Then she ran to her companions and they all disappeared into the shadows. Running at full speed, the four dodged and weaved past the trash bags and miscellaneous garbage. White lead them to the hole in the chain link fence where they had entered from. One by one she ushered them through to safety, but she stayed behind to make sure they weren’t being followed. She stalwartly guarded the opening and flicked her ears. After a minute, she decided the coast was clear and she was about to pass through the fence herself, but stopped. The fish; they had forgotten the fish. It had been so long since they had a decent meal, and those fish were too good to leave behind. In the end, her stomach and her concern for her friends won and she started running back. She made it back to the alley and spied the largest piece of fish left. She went into a full sprint straight towards the deliciously sweet meat. But, unfortunately, she was motivated too much by hunger this time and didn’t even notice the man’s snare come around her neck. Like lightning, she was jerked back and into a plastic crate. “Couldn’t resist, could you?” the man said. White meowed loudly, hoping that her family would hear. “What about the others?” his partner asked. “We’ll get them eventually. This’ll be enough for now,” he said as he laid the crate in the back of the van. As the door closed, White continued to cry out into the night. But when she heard the engine rumble and felt the van start to move, she sorrowfully lay down and closed her eyes in submission. As they drove back, the two officers started to make small talk. “Hey, did you see last night’s episode of ‘Space Opera 7?’” “You actually watch that crap?” “I happen to think it’s very funny. What do you watch?” “Oh, I don’t watch a lot of TV. Mostly I... what was that?” They had gone about five miles when the man in the passenger seat heard a strange sound. “What was what?” the driver asked. “Eh, nothing,” the other shrugged. “Probably one of the crates falling over back there. So anyway...” They were about to continue when they heard a deafening “BANG!!!” come from the back. “What the hell?!” the driver yelled. The noise persisted “BANG, BANG, BANG!!!” and every time it sounded the whole van shook violently. The other man slowly turned around. He looked into the back through a small window. All he saw was black. But then suddenly, two big green eyes moved right in front of his and a low growl resonated from the back. The man whipped back around, his face deathly pale screaming, “Pull over! Pull over!” The driver slammed on the breaks and the van screeched to a halt. “What the hell is going on?!” the driver screamed. “There’s something back there,” the other whispered. “Something big.” “Wh... what?” the driver stammered. But before the men could think another thought, the van started to rock and up and down as if it were in an earthquake. The two held on for dear life thinking this was the end. Then there was one last colossal BANG...... and everything was still. The two men just sat there panting, their faces white. Until finally, they mustered up all their courage, opened the doors, and leapt out to see what had caused all this. They could already see that the doors were flung wide open. As they got closer, they noticed that the doors were now bent and distorted. They cautiously peeked around the warped doors and looked into the back. There was nothing there. Nothing but a busted up pet carrier that looked as if it were torn in half. “Oh my god, look at this,” the driver said as he examined the inside of the door. It was mutilated: riddled with deep claw marks and humungous impressions that resembled giant fists. “What the hell was that thing?” Although free, the enigma that was now “Little White” was also in unfamiliar territory. She looked up at the moon with her small green eyes and let out a lonesome yowl. She was lost. Lost........ and left alone........ crying........ in the darkness.

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Friday, April 15, 2005