More than out of time, I ignored my friend’s suggestions. Like a yogi-cat, surrendering to life is one way to live, and with the last moments of breaths left in me and the rest of the world, I chose to surrender. It was worthy. No one would hate a cat for that.
Louie perked his ears. “From my calculations, and from the orange light bulb’s descent, we have four minutes, give or take two or three minutes.”
Content to die, I rolled on my side and itched my upper back. “Be strong. A warrior doesn’t cower at the first signs of death. A warrior is bold and yowls to the winds that he is death.”
“What?” Mars cocked an eyebrow. “I think you had too much catnip today. But, seriously, I think if—”
I jerked back as the cat heavens struck me with an idea too genius even for my mind. I shot to my feet, chest out, ready to perform what may be my last duty as the Way Keeper. “Mars, do you remember the crack I created when I bashed my muscular hind paws into the window?”
“Yeah, I just told—”
“You peck away at that. I’m sure it will break the glass.” I faced Twinkles and Louie. “I’ll lead, but you two must follow me as we climb the rope closest to the window. Once Mars breaks the glass, we jump inside. Or, no…Mars, just grab Squeakers and us climbing will be the distraction.” I dipped my head. “Got it?”
Louie stood straighter. “Great plan, boss.”
Twinkles wrinkled her brow. “But that’s what—”
“We ride.” I dug my back claws into the porch and shoved off. I rounded the corner of the house and dashed to the side; the Hellkatz in tow. Mars, already at the window, flapped his wings and hovered. The clinking of his beak against the window pierced the air.
“I don’t see Squeakers anymore,” yelled Mars.
“Then we get inside after you break the window and find him.” I crouched and launched myself to the rope. I dug my claws in. My muscles contracted and I grunted as I climbed, the rope jerking back and forth with every new claw placement as I inched my way up.
The rope tugged downward when Twinkles latched onto it, and then Louie. I lost my grip and yowled. Scratching at the rope, I couldn’t catch myself and fell. The wind pushed my fur against my skin as my rear-end pummeled Twinkles, and like dominoes, we took out Louie.
Thud after thud, we fell onto the driveway. Too numb to feel pain, I clasped my teeth on the back of Twinkle’s neck and pulled her to her feet. “Get back up there.”
Kashish!
Small shards of glass poured down on us like rain, and we took cover under our paws. When the raining glass stopped, I heard Mars’s wings slap the air as he headed toward us.
“From my calculations, only a minute left,” said Louie. “Give or take two or three minutes.”
The sunset darkened. I jumped onto the rope. My muscles burned as I climbed, and Mars pulled on my back fur to hasten my ascent.
Level with the window, I leaped. My claws caught the window’s ledge. My back legs kicked at the wind as my heartbeat picked up. Struggling, I yanked myself over the lip of the window and onto the windowsill. Twisting, I landed on Don Vito’s two-legger’s hardwood floor.
I growled when I saw them. Sonny and Don Vito stood in a corner next to a desk with a blue lamp. Don Vito’s claws were over Squeaker’s neck.
Back arched, fur on end, I took a step toward them as I heard Louie and Twinkles land on the wood floor behind me. “Let go of my mouse.”
Don Vito smirked. “We’re not called the Clawmousers for nothing.”
“You tell ‘em, Capo,” said Sonny.
“I’m Don Vito, Sonny. Don Vito!”
Slowing my approach, I lowered my arched back. “Give me Squeakers.”
Don Vito narrowed his eyes. “He’s my toy mouse now. Not yours.”
The orange sky lamp drifted lower and the light from outside dimmed more. I swallowed a fur ball heading up my throat. Any minute now, Don Vito would have nine minutes to consume what was inside of my Squeakers toy, my best buddy. Then Don Vito would possess the Way Crystal and rule the Universe. And the leader of the Clawmousers could then decide what worlds ceased to exist, and which ones he’d rule with an iron paw.
“Don’t.” I took another step, not believing what I was about to say. “I give you Squeakers, you give me what’s inside of him.”
The sky lamp dipped below the horizon and Squeaker’s stomach glowed. My heart nearly exploded. The Way Crystal activated.
Thrusting his paw inside a pocket on Squeaker’s stomach, Don Vito searched for the crystal.
“No,” I screamed.
Sonny jumped in front of Don Vito, and hissed. I swiped my front claws at Sonny to get to Don Vito before he took the crystal out of Squeaker’s pocket, and consumed it.
Sonny blocked my attempt, and growled as he dove at me. Turning, I kicked out my back legs. Hitting him hard, he tumbled to the side. Louie and Twinkles held him down, Sonny’s low mews in protest did nothing to help him.
Don Vito pulled out the violet crystal.
My eyes widened and my heart ached. “Don’t you dare.”
The size of a small pebble, the Way Crystal would be easy to swallow. As Don Vito held it up, it shined brighter and the violet highlighted his white Persian fur to a mauve color. Tipping his head back, Don Vito opened his mouth.
I gasped and threw my paw to my lips. “Mars, get him.” Taking two hefty steps, I jumped at Don Vito. Behind me, Mars glided from the windowsill.
Don Vito’s claw tips sheathed, and the crystal dropped toward his mouth. My shoulder bashed into his stomach as Mars swept in, his talons outward. Almost onto Don Vito’s rough tongue, Mars grabbed the Way Crystal out of mid-air.
“You little…” Don Vito grunted and tackled me. He slapped me silly and I flew back into a desk chair. I rolled to my feet.
“Give me that crystal,” screamed Don Vito.
Mars veered toward the open window. “I’ve had too much stress over this already. So, nope.”
Sonny wiggled his way out of Louie’s and Twinkles’ grip and jumped. Both front legs wrapped around Mars just before the parrot exited through the window.
The Way Crystal slipped from Mars’s talons and bounced off the wood floor, and slid toward me. An idea shot to my brain just like the last time and I leaped atop the desk, pushed aside some papers, and eyed my target: the bulbous blue lamp on the desk’s edge.
Lifting my hind legs upward, I balanced on my front paws. I kicked backward. My rear paws pressed hard against the lamp and the lamp toppled over. I spun around and rushed to the desk’s edge to watch in the hope that I had executed my plan to perfection.
In what seemed a lifetime, the lamp fell. It twisted. Turned. And hurled toward the floor, twirling and twirling.
A crash and the lamp broke apart directly on top of the crystal. Blue shards splattered on the floor. Growling, Don Vito rushed to the lamp’s wreckage and dug through the debris.
He whined a mighty cry when he found it; the Way Crystal. In tiny pieces, it had shattered like glass.
He threw his front paws into the air. “It’s useless.”
My mouth wide, my fur on end, and in shock at what I’d just done, I laid on my forepaws. “What did I just do?”
Don Vito dropped his paws to his side. “You ruined everything, you mangey mongrel.”
After my fur rested from eyeing the wreck that was the Way Crystal, I glared down at Don Vito. “It’s worse than useless. You eat it now, it’ll kill you.”
He let out a yowl. Stomping his paw, he hissed. “You ruined everything, Butters. Everything!” He marched toward a room as he looked over his shoulder. “Sonny, let’s go. And Hellkatz, you can see your way out.”
I gave Twinkles and Louie a nod, their mouths agape, clearly surprised at what I’d done.
Sonny walked toward his boss and he and Don Vito disappeared into the room. Don Vito kicked the door shut. It shook the walls when it slammed. Sonny’s voice boomed. “Losers.”
“Shut up, Sonny,�
�� said Don Vito.
“The Way Crystal, the prophecies, the destroyer of worlds…is…gone?” said Twinkles, her eyes nearly bugging out of her skull.
I dipped my head and stifled a cry. “Indeed.”
“Now what?” said Louie, his tail wagging back and forth.
“We’ve done all we could regarding the Way Crystal, but we have Squeakers, so we still came out on top.” I hopped off the desk and snatched Squeakers with my teeth. Out of the side of my mouth, I spoke, “Tomorrow, we meet when the bright lamp in the sky begins its rise. We’ll have a briefing on my other neighbor, Khengis Cat. He plans to rule our neighborhood. If successful, he’ll expand from neighborhood to neighborhood. We begin Operation Stop Khengis tomorrow.”
Louie raised his brows. “Operation Stop Khengis?”
Twinkles purred and batted her eyes. “You’re so brave, Butters. So brave.”
“I know.” I glanced at the door that Don Vito slammed. “But no more talking about Operation Stop Khengis. I’ll see you bright and early in the morning. Now, Mars, help us get down from here.”
Mars furrowed his brow. “Just unlock the cat door that Don Vito locked and go out the front.”
“Don’t mock me, Mars. I know what I’m doing.” I pointed to the broken window. “Hellkatz, let’s go home.”
In my cat bed, I stared through the window. The full moon lit the backyard, giving off a peaceful shine. And right now, my two-leggers were upstairs and in bed.
I yawned. “What a day.”
Mars sat perched in his cage, grooming. “You glad you got Squeakers back?”
With my cheek pressed against Squeakers’ soft chest, I snuggled and purred. “He and I are best friends forever.”
“I’m shocked, but proud of you. You broke the crystal. Now I don’t have to worry every year if Don Vito will take it. Plus, you broke generations and generations of an old curse or magical whatever-you-call-it. I was half-expecting the world to crumble apart when I saw the Way Crystal in pieces.”
“Your intuition was correct. The world would end if the Way Crystal broke into pieces.”
“Well, you destroyed it, and the world remained intact. So—”
I snorted. Licking my paw, I wiped behind my ear. “A keeper would never destroy the crystal.”
“Well, you did, and like I said, I’m impressed.”
“That wasn’t the Way Crystal, Mars.”
Mars gave me a blank stare. “What?”
“I know you think I’m a bozo, but I ain’t that dumb to leave Squeakers out in the open with the Way Crystal easy for the pickings. I let Don Vito take Squeakers.”
“You lost me at that wasn’t the crystal.”
“At some point in my life, I had to stop Don Vito from even thinking about taking over the Universe. Us Way Keepers have fake crystals made for situations like this.”
“I’m still not following.”
“Do I have to spell it out to you?” I turned and padded to my two-legger’s wall. At the corner, where one wall met another, a portion of a baseboard was strategically placed by the previous Way Keeper—my mother—rest her soul. Two paws high and two paws wide, the piece fit like a puzzle.
I extended a claw and dug behind the baseboard puzzle piece. I pulled and it tipped over, face down. Behind it, and in a little cubby, sat the real Way Crystal. I snagged it and held the violet beauty out to Mars. “Hellkatz unite.”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“I’m being as real as pigs rolling in mud.”
He slapped his forehead with his wing. “Put that thing back in there and never tell me about it again.”
I froze as I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Past the window, and on the fence, sat Don Vito, eyes narrowed and glaring at me.
“Shoot.”
“What?” said Mars.
“Next year, we may have to be on guard again.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “Just a hunch.”
“Oh, brother. Go to sleep, Butters. You’ve put me through enough for one day.”
I padded to my bed, Way Crystal in my mouth. Laying down, I dropped the crystal between my paws. Tomorrow, I’d have to find another hiding spot for it. “Did I forget to mention you’re now on security detail?”
“What?”
“You’re my bodyguard now.” I dipped my head. “Congratulations.”
Mars yawned. “We’ll talk about this in the morning. Good night, Butters.”
“Good night, my friend. And good night, world. I’m glad I could save you again.” Smacking my lips, I closed my eyes and faded off into a deep, heavenly sleep.
Bestselling Author, Brandon Ellis currently resides in SE Asia. He writes Science Fiction with archaeological themes and twists.
Find out more at brandonelliswrites.com.
62
The Fusion
by B.K. Boes
Aiden stands on the edge of an abyss, ready to bond to a hellcat and become a Defender of his people, but even if he can survive the perils of the darkness below, the very Fusion he seeks might kill him.
The Fusion wasn't meant for people like Aiden. His family was duty-bound to the Chroniclers, to the preservation of knowledge. No, Fusion with hellcats was for Defenders, those sworn to protect the underground civilization Aiden called home.
The problem was Aiden wasn't meant for the Chroniclers. Every fiber of his being told him so.
And that's why he stood on the edge of the Boundary where solid rock gave way abruptly to black abyss. Here, just a day's journey from the comforts of the underground city, the air pocket was barely stable. Lamps embedded in the cavern walls behind him provided enough light to make the shadows over the edge of the cliff deeper, more intimidating. Down there, he would need the aid of the stolen suit he now wore. And to get there, he would need the aid of the stolen glider on his back.
I can do this.
Aiden breathed deeply and shook the nerves out of his limbs, imagining his doubts like droplets flinging from his fingertips. The Fusion was the only way to change his fate. Or at least, it was the only way the governors of his people would allow him to leave the Chroniclers and become the person he knew himself to be.
If Fusion works, if I bond to a hellcat, they have to let me join the Defenders. They won't have a choice.
He purposefully did not think about what would happen if the Fusion failed. He'd studied the records extensively to understand how the Defenders did it. If his coalition's mantra, that knowledge was true power, had any truth to it, Aiden would be fine. He hoped.
Stomach twisting at the effort of ignoring the fact that even Defenders trained from childhood sometimes perished during the Fusion, Aiden slipped the face shield over his head and tightened the straps at the back. The mask would filter the toxic air below and make it breathable. The hood of the stolen suit fit snugly over the edges of the shield and ensured none of his skin was exposed to the elements. The nanotech fabric was engineered to protect the wearer from harsh elements, including extreme heat, but it also allowed certain sensations through, such as pressure and texture. The pressure of a light draft, for instance, would feel more like a tickle against the skin.
The suit was nothing like his Chronicler robes, all layers and tassels of different colors to denote station, family, and skill. His colors—cream and amber—had both labelled him clearly and made him invisible at the same time. The Defenders didn't have colors; they had ranks, sure, but even the lowest ranked among them commanded respect. And Defenders with hellcats…well, no one would be overlooking any of them any time soon.
Aiden pressed the release on the shoulder strap, and the mechanical bones of the glider began to move, spreading out to either side, hissing as tiny propellers came to life along the arced edges. It was built to sync with this particular suit, and a strange prickling sensation rolled across his scalp from his hairline to the base of his neck as the suit tuned into his motor functions. With controls activated, he could now send
signals to the suit and to the glider using concentrated thoughts.
Imagine hovering above the ground, and you'll hover. That's how it's supposed to work.
For a moment, Aiden considered deactivating the suit. Right here, right now, he was safe. He could turn back and no one would be the wiser. He pictured returning to the norms he’d been forced into his whole life, pictured the cavernous archives, pictured fetching records for the Scholars or recording and organizing the death records—every second of it eating away at his soul as he longed to be more, to be himself.
Aiden closed his eyes and commanded the glider to hover. His feet lifted gently off the ground. He laughed. "This isn't so hard," he said aloud.
A mental image of soaring at top speed through the archives, scattering Scholars as he went, made him laugh again, until the suit burst forward, jerking his body into unplanned motion.
"Stop!" he screamed, and the suit abruptly obeyed. His head whipped forward along with his hands and feet. It felt as though his chest and stomach had hit a barrier, though there was nothing there. He hung over the void now, having left the cliff behind. He looked down and swallowed a lump in his throat.
Okay, just…be careful with your thoughts.
Records indicated it took Defenders a dozen or more practice sessions to really get the hang of using the suit with a glider. Aiden had expected some difficulty and chalked up the mishap to a successful experiment. He hadn't slammed into a wall. That was something, wasn't it? And it seemed when he wasn't thinking of exactly what to do, the suit had him hover in place. It had safety features built-in. He needed to be a bit more careful, that's all.
He activated his suit's glow with a thought and pictured himself descending slowly, which he began to do. This motion was fairly easy to master.
Blue light gently radiated from his body, letting him see a few meters in every direction. He knew rock walls lay beyond the wall of black, but as he floated downward, he had to remind himself that he wasn't in an endless void of nothing, that he would reach the bottom…eventually.
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