by K. J. Emrick
"Rat," the rat corrected her. "Name Boster."
Twistypaws looked at the rat with disgust, then looked at me with almost the same expression. "Friend of yours?"
"No!" I protested immediately. "I don't know him. What would I be doing with a rat?"
"Well, I don't know," she said, "what are you doing with a rat?"
"I'm not with him!" I protested.
She looked at the rat again, then back at me, like she'd just proven her point.
"Well, okay, I'm with him here, but I'm not with him. Not like that."
"Like you were supposed to be with me tonight, you mean?"
"You…I…I mean, you know…" I spluttered and spit, the words I wanted to say tripping over themselves and getting all tangled together. "It's not like that!"
"You two," the rat said. "Want time alone?"
Growling, I gave up trying to explain myself and decided the best thing I could do right then was end this. Twistypaws would understand when she saw what was really going on here.
I hoped.
I jumped forward, closer to the rat but not too close. Rats, unlike mice, will try to bite back if they get threatened. "Who's paying you, rat?" I demanded. "Who's paying you to bother Rolo? Tell me, if you want to live."
Tell me if you want to live? Twist's whiskers flicked as her eyes narrowed. Maybe she was right about me being overly dramatic.
The rat's beady little eyes blinked between me and Twist and then it bared its teeth and did exactly what any rat would do when cornered by a cat.
It ran.
I was left standing with Twist, a kind of stupid expression on my face. "Uh, I have to go."
I bounded off as quickly as I could, as much to catch up with the rat as to get away from Twist before I had to try explaining myself again. I'd pay for it later, I knew, but right then I didn't have time to worry about it.
Rats are surprisingly fast. I had been expecting it to run for Rolo's house where it would have easy cover, too, so when it ran in the opposite direction it took me a few steps to get myself after it. It led me on a wild chase, around buildings, behind trash cans, across streets. I lost all track of where I was in my rush to catch the thing. This was going to be tricky, cornering a rat out in the open like this, but I knew I had to get answers. Something else was going on here. Something more than a simple rat problem.
I lost the filthy little rodent at one point and it left me running in circles until I caught his scent. That way. In there.
I recognized that building easily enough. The police station, where Darcy's sister Grace works. Grace had just gotten a new partner, this Jon Somebody-or-other. I've seen him a few times. Not really impressed.
There's not a lot of people working here at this time of night. In a small town like this, the police force doesn't have a lot to do at night. Usually, the building itself is empty while the officers go out on patrol. Which means I could slip in with no problem.
Down the hallways I snuck, sniffing out the rat's scent. This Boster character wasn't even trying to hide his trail. Stupid rat.
I've been in the police station before. I've been just about everywhere in Misty Hollow before. Cats are better at sneaking around than most animals. I get in where I want to, and nothing stops me short of a locked door. I can't work doorknobs.
Being a cat is awesome, but we have our limitations.
All through the station I track, until finally Boster's trail leads me into the hallway that goes to the back of the building. Halfway down, I stop. This isn't right. The only thing ahead of me is the locked door out of the police station. Another hallway leads to the holding cells where they keep the bad people. Not many places left to hide.
I can't smell Boster anymore. Where did that rat…?
Oh, no.
I looked up in time to see the rodent dropping down on me from above. He'd climbed up the wall to get above me. That's why his scent stopped here, and why I couldn't see him. Filthy rodent.
Scrambling to the side, my claws clattering on the linoleum of the floor, I rolled to keep him from dropping on my neck. The plop he makes as he lands is squishy and funny, but I've seen rats survive worse.
We both scramble to get our feet underneath us. I got there first.
I don't think it necessarily saved my life to get the drop on Boster the rat. I do think it saved me a lot of embarrassment later on, not having to explain the bites and scratches the mangy creature would have given me.
Score one for the good guys.
I held Boster down with both of my forepaws and bared my teeth right in front of his face so that he got the message loud and clear. When I had his full attention, when he stopped squirming and trying to bite at me, I growled, "Talk."
"I talk. I talk." The rat had a low breaking point. Most rodents do. This is why you never go into business with a rat. You certainly never hire one to do a job for you.
Only, someone had hired this one.
Boster finally got around to telling me, in those short and halting sentences of his, who had hired him to scare Rolo out of his house. I was surprised, but it all made sense.
Kind of.
I was about to ask a few more questions to clear up the rest of the details when I heard keys being inserted into the back door keyhole. Someone was coming in.
"Ha," Boster laughed at me. "No time. Run now."
As much as it frustrated me, I knew the rat was right. "Fine. You run. You run just as far and fast as those stubby little legs of yours will go. If I ever see you around Misty Hollow again I'll cut your tail in half. Got me?"
"Yes. Yes. I go. Far away. Never see Boster again."
Rats. Jelly-hearted cowards.
I let him up and when I did he scurried away into the shadows of the building. I didn't bother watching him go. I know I scared him enough that he'll keep his word and keep running until he's out of Misty Hollow for good.
Now it was my turn to run.
As soon as the back door opened I shot out like a streak, right under the feet of the person trying to get in. Behind me, I heard a surprised yelp and a familiar voice.
“Smudge!” Darcy, my owner, gasped. I stopped abruptly and turned to look at her as the beam from her flashlight hit me in the face. Surprise at seeing her here right now would be an understatement. As she turned away from me I darted out the door only to stop once again at the corner of the building.
I have no idea what Darcy was doing here but I bet it had something to do with her friend Anna's death. Where her friends are concerned Darcy never gives up on them. Even after death.
I'm kind of the same way.
Which left me with a decision to make. I had to go help Rolo, especially with what I had just learned. On the other hand, I couldn't just leave Darcy here. She needed someone right now and it looked like I was the only one around.
Except that guy going around the front of the building. I cringed when I recognized Jon Somebody-or-other. The new guy in town, the new police detective. Of course he'd be coming here now, when Darcy was sneaking into the police station. That's just the way our luck ran.
So back into the police station I went. It took me a little bit to sneak my way back in, just like I did when I was chasing Boster the rat, and then I had to find Darcy. I rubbed up against her leg to warn her just in time. We hid as Jon came into the room.
Huddled together, we waited until Jon left again. She and I both sighed in relief at the same time. I made sure Darcy left after that. I figured she'd pushed her luck about as far as it could go for one night. After locking the door behind us, she walked away as quickly as she could.
I walked with her for a little bit, rubbing up against her legs as I did. I had to go, but I needed to let her know I was there for her. I gave her what encouragement I could. I understood what she was doing. Sticking up for your friends means doing everything you can, even if you have to break into a police station to do it.
"That's easy for you to say," she told me, as if she had read my mind.
When I knew she'd be okay I turned off in the direction of Rolo's neighborhood. I had my own friend to help out.
This needed to end. Tonight.
***
I didn't go to Rolo's house. I needed to see someone else. Someone who lived across the street.
It was still deep in the night, which for Misty Hollow meant most people were home asleep in their beds. It was one of the great things about a small town like ours.
At the house across the street from Rolo's there was a little fenced in yard that was full of brown grass. A sign that read "Beware of the Dog" hung from one nail on the gate.
Ordinarily I don't voluntarily walk into yards where dogs live. They're territorial animals, and they like to bite you first and ask questions later. This time, I didn't have a lot of choice.
Boster had given me the name of who hired him to scare off Rolo. It was the Rottweiler I had seen earlier at this very house, watching me at Rolo's window. Ranger was his name, according to his hired rat. It was the tough kind of name people liked to give their dogs, but it was better than finding out his name was Killer or Brutus.
What the little rat didn't tell me before Darcy had interrupted us was why Ranger wanted Rolo gone.
Jumping up over the fence easily, I landed on the other side in the yard, and waited. I didn't have to wait long.
"Most cats would be dead, sitting where you're sitting," a sharp and gravelly voice said to me. "But then, you aren't most cats, are you Smudge?"
"So you know who I am?" That's not surprising. Most of the civilized animals in town know me, either personally or by reputation. That's what happens when you stick your nose into things whether you're asked to or not. "Good. Then you know I'm not here for a social call."
Ranger snorted as he stepped out into the gray circle of the porch light. "I don't socialize with cats." He was even bigger now that I was up close to him, all dark brown and black, his pointed ears held stiffly forward as his eyes bored into me.
"You socialize with rats, though, don't you?" I kept my tail from flicking, even though I was ready to jump at any second if Ranger tried anything. "I spoke to the rat you hired to make Rolo leave. That wasn't very nice of you."
Ranger stood very still for several seconds. Then he smiled in a way that managed to bare all of his teeth. "I could have just killed him, you know. Rolo's not much of a fighter."
I shook my head. "You weren't going to risk that. If you killed him, that would have brought a lot of attention on you. You, or whatever dog on this street did the murder for you."
Ranger chuffed, a short little laugh. "Murder is for people, Smudge. Dogs don’t commit murder. We just kill." Saliva dripped off his muzzle, and I watched it go plop, plop to the ground. "Dogs don't get arrested, and we don’t go to jail. Maybe you should have let Boster scare him off. Killing poor Rolo is sounding better and better to me."
He snapped his jaws shut for emphasis.
"Well, you're partly right." I waited a moment for my heart beat to calm down before I said anything else. No wonder Ranger was the lead dog around here. I doubted any other dog would dare go against him. "Murder might be a human concept, but killing is killing, and they do arrest killer dogs. The animal control officer puts them away. And then puts them down."
I put as much emphasis into that last part as I could. Then I waited for my point to sink home.
For the most part, cats go unnoticed by animal control. We keep to ourselves, keep out of people's sight, and when we get hungry we kill mice. Dogs, on the other hand, are their own worst enemy. They get into garbage, dig up people's lawns, and when they go bad, people get hurt. Cats aren't afraid of animal control officers.
Dogs are.
Ranger, to his credit, was smart enough to know that. Even though his expression never changed, he took a single step backward from me. "Now, Smudge, there's no reason to get the authorities involved in this."
"I think there is." I pressed my advantage while I had it. "I'm looking out for my friend. If you don't stay away from him, then I'll make sure the animal control officer takes a ride out this way. When he does, I'll also be sure it's on a day when you and your friends are running around out on the street. I don't see a collar around your neck, Ranger. When was the last time your owner registered you or got your rabies shots?"
Now Ranger looked down right nervous. His one front paw kept lifting and setting back down like he didn't know whether to walk away or charge at me or dig his own grave.
"Have you ever had your rabies shots?" I asked.
He didn't say anything, but his smile faded away completely. It was enough of an answer for me.
I think I'd made my point. Just in case Ranger missed it, though, I decided to spell it out for him. In small words. The kind a dog can understand.
"Here's the deal. You and your friends are going to leave Rolo alone from now on. I don't know why you wanted him gone so bad and I really don't care. If anyone hurts him, or tries to scare him away again, they'll answer to me. You know what that answer will be, Ranger?"
He nodded his head. "The animal control officer."
"Good boy."
He curled his lips angrily. I held his gaze for a moment longer before turning away, letting my tongue loll out between my teeth when I did. That had been a big gamble just now. If Ranger had decided to take the hard line and use me for a chew toy…
"Smudge?" he called to me as I was about to jump the fence out of his yard.
I didn't turn around, but I couldn't keep my ear from twitching, or my heart from pounding. "Yes?"
"Don't ever come into my yard again. If you do, I'll kill you and bury your body where no animal control officer will ever find it."
I heard his steps going back up onto the porch, into the shadows, away from the light. I jumped the fence then and walked away. There wasn't anything left to be said.
I'd drawn a line in the sandbox today. Ranger and I were now enemies. I didn't know how that would play out, but I wouldn't have done anything different. No matter what might happen later on.
Like I said, I was doing this for a friend. I'll risk anything for a friend.
***
"So it's over?" Rolo asked me.
It was the next day. I'd caught an hour or two of sleep out in the park in the center of town, and now I was back here. Ranger had been watching me as I came down the street. True to his word, he left me alone. He didn't even give Rolo a passing glance.
"It's over for now," I assured Rolo. "No one's going to be bothering you. If they do, you tell me right away."
"But what do these dogs want?" Rolo was as nervous as ever, licking the puffy white fur around his shoulders over and over even though he'd already worked all the knots out already.
"I honestly don't know what they wanted," I had to admit. "Just don't worry about it, okay? I'll keep investigating. If I find something out I'll let you know first."
Rolo seemed to relax at last. "Thanks Smudge. That makes me feel a lot better. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"You won't ever have to find out," I tell him. "Maybe I'll see you in town later?"
He looked around the living room with its ugly carpet and its old and worn furniture, and a smile wiggled his whiskers. "I don't think so. I like it here."
I had to smile with him. Rolo would always be Rolo. Nothing would ever change that.
Out the window I went again, leaping down to the yard and heading up the sidewalk without minding the dogs staring at me from up and down the street. As long as they stayed on their side of the fence, so to speak, I couldn’t care less if they stare at me.
I was heading back to check on Darcy when a familiar shape jumped out from behind a bush to walk with me.
"Pretty proud of yourself, aren't you?" Twistypaws said. "The way you helped Rolo out and all?"
"Actually, yes I am," I answered honestly. Hey, I'm as modest as the next cat, but when I've done something right I don't mind preening over it. "There is one thing I'm
not proud of, though."
"Oh?" she asked. "What's that?"
I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, and she stopped with me. It was a bright, sunny morning, and her gray fur practically sparkled. "What I regret," I said, "is that I had to break a date with you to help him."
"Is that so?"
Her eyes smiled at me. A little ripple went through her fur. Tentatively I reached out with the tip of my nose and touched hers.
Electric.
Twist leaned forward to whisper to me. "I'll let you make it up to me. Tonight. If you can fit me into your schedule."
I wasn't about to pass that chance up. "Just you and me," I told her. "My friends can fend for themselves for one night."
As Twist rubbed her face against mine, I really, really hoped I was right about that.
Even a cat needs a night off.
—End—
The Sparkly
I love Sunday mornings.
Darcy Sweet, the human that I live with, usually sleeps in way past when the sun comes up. So of course I sleep too, curled up on the bedspread at her feet.
Hey, a cat's life is rough.
Don't believe me? Walk a mile in my paws sometime. The life of a good looking black and white tomcat isn't all squeaky toys and naptime.
It used to be a lot more comfortable to sleep on the bed with Darcy before she brought this other guy into our house. Jon Tinker. Her boyfriend or something like that. He's here with us now, and I have to keep moving as he spreads out on his side of the bed then turns over then tosses again. I mean, seriously. I could teach this guy a few things about the proper way to sleep. Curl up, tuck your face into your paws, relax. Nobody should put as much effort into sleeping as this guy does.
Here he goes again, sweeping his leg across the mattress and pushing me to the edge. Terrific.
With a little mewling growl to let them know what I think of the current sleeping arrangements, I jump down to the carpeted floor and stalk out of the room. I shouldn't have bothered. Neither of them heard me.