Just a disclamer before you begin reading. The idea for this story goes to Chiojuda, I just wrote it because she could not. Enjoy!~
"Is he gone?"
"I think so…"
Out of the bottom of a living room's couch came a long haired, white cat, cautiously stepping forward. She looked one way, then the other, before turning back to the couch.
"Alright," she said, "Komodo's gone, come out."
Bolting out first was a black and white tom. Following him, more slowly, a gray tabby tom came out of the hiding space. He sat down, angrily flicking his tail from side to side.
"How did we become cats?" The first tom, Zak, wailed.
"I haven't done anything to cause this," Doc, the second tom, snorted.
The female, Drew, started, "Then how did we become cats? Doc, is there any way it could have happened?"
"Only if somebody managed to change our genes, Drew, but it would only work in theory, and not overnight!" Doc answered.
The first tom stared up, and looked all around the room, "Everything's so big now…Wait. How are we going to get out and get help?"
A silence took over the three. Then, through the doorway through the bedrooms, a lemurian came through, and didn't notice the three cats. That is, until he almost stepped on Drew and jumped back. Instinct took over, and the female hissed and arched her back. It, in turn ran off, presumably to find the three that he had almost squashed.
"Fisk?" Zak wailed and bounded after it, only to trip over his own feet and into the television stand.
The door it went through shut behind it, leaving the three alone. Drew sighed and glanced around the room in thought, while Doc stared at his paws in thought. Then, the door opened again with the lemurian running after the casts, with a chase ensuring. It continued for awhile with claws and fur flying until Doc managed to get out a slightly open window in the room. He yowled from outside, and the other two quickly jumped to the sill and out. Behind them, the lemurian shut the window closed.
Exhausted from the chase, the three cats walked to, and sat down on the side of the road leading from their home. They all stared out onto the seemingly unforgiving pavement ahead. They'd either have to wait and possibly starve for someone to come, or they had to walk the miles out next to the nearest city or town.
"So…what do we do now?" Zak asked the question they were all thinking.
Drew sighed, "I don't know, Zak, we can either walk or stay…"
"We'd better go on ahead, it will be sometime before anyone shows up now that Argost's gone, and we can't count on Doyle…." Doc said.
"You know, he might pull through Doc!" Drew retorted, puffing out.
"That brother of yours never does!"
"Hey, you're not always-!"
"Both of you! Stop it!" Zak wailed, interrupting the argument, "Uncle Doyle might've been turned into a cat, too!
A silence came after that thought, each of them realizing that maybe everyone who could help them were cats as well, facing each owns dilemma. After several minutes of another silence that day, Drew finally stood up, and headed down the road. The two toms stared at her, wondering what she was doing.
Drew turned and saw them, sighed, and turned back, "No one's going to come, we might as well head out."
Zak quickly sprung up and bounded after her, with Doc following shortly after-taking many looks back towards their home.
After seemingly hours of walking alongside the road-no cars-the trio finally reached the highway. Cars now raced pass them as they crouched under the guard rail of the exit to their home. Zak was puffed up as he realized how fast they were going, and how debris was torn apart underneath the tires.
"We should stay just within the trees," Doc said, almost yelling to be heard above the cars, "People might stop-might even try to hit us on the side of the road…"
Zak lashed his head around, "Why would they try to hit us?"
"Some people really don't like cats, Zak."
Zak gulped, and Drew spoke up, "We'd better get going. Zak, stay close, ok? I don't want anyone getting hurt…"
With that, she started off. For miles they each had to encourage each other to keep going, despite the hunger, thirst, and exhaustion that plagued the three after the terrifying morning; even when a light rain started falling.
"At least the trees are helping…" Drew tried to keep optimism.
Zak retorted, "Not much…"
"She's just trying to help Zak…" Doc spoke up.
Zak sat down and tried to catch his breathe. "Why'd this even happen?"
"Well, in mythology it's happened before," Drew said, "An Irish tale tells of children turned into swans, Circe turned men into pigs…now someone changed the Saturdays into cats…"
"Those are just stories, Drew," Doc reminded her, "They never happened; they're just used to explain things in reality."
"Maybe they did actually happen. How could one person make all of that up?"
"Well, many people make them up; an entire civilization does."
"How does that explain this, then!"
Doc had no reply. He didn't know how this happened, how he and his family became cats and were forced out of their own home and now were roaming the streets to find help. They didn't even know how far they'd come, or whether they passed any towns or cities. All the cats could do was keep moving forward, maybe try to find some food, shelter, anything to help. All they could do was that, or to sit around and grieve in their own self pity-which Drew wouldn't allow, and neither would Doc in normal situations.
Drew looked from Doc to Zak, who was still sitting down and watching his paws shuffle dead leaves. "Come on Zak, we'd…we'd better keep moving."
With a sigh, Zak stood up and strode past Doc, who followed him close behind. Then, as if to help lighten up their misery, the rain stopped, though the gray clouds still loomed. Still, the three kept on; not a glimmer of hope in sight. Not for hours and hours of several cars, road kill consisting mainly of squirrels, and cigarettes of which were stepped on by the travelers, getting caught between toes and claws. That's when night fell on the roads.
The three started to shiver, for even though the warm weather the wind made their wet fur freezing. Hunger was tearing even worse at their stomachs-almost to an unbearable point. Even when all seemed lost, the three still kept going, they kept going up until the point it seemed that fate wanted them to stop.
Which, they did. Each stopped dead in their tracks and tried to keep low, hidden, out of sight. A good ten feet in front of them, staring toward the highway with sharp teeth being hung open, was a coyote. Now, normally the Saturdays-as any humans- could get rid of a coyote, but when you're not even a foot tall another animal twice, maybe three, times your size with sharp teeth built for tearing meat can get pretty scary.
"What do we do?" Zak whispered.
"Shush!" Drew warned, "We don't want to be spotted…"
"Unfortunately, fluffy, your fur sticks out like a sore thumb," the coyote's feminine voice came, while her eyes stared straight, "It wouldn't be any use anyway, I've even eaten dogs before, you'd be a much, much, easier catch for me…"
Doc puffed himself out, "If you even try—"
The coyote shook herself, "Stripes getting a backbone, is he? Besides, kitties, cat is much too stringy for my taste. Tried it once, never gonna try it again."
"You'd better—" Doc tried again.
"By the way, huns, names Candi," she said, not taking her eyes off the road, "Watcha bunch doing out here, anyhow?"
Doc snarled, "What's it matter to you?"
Candi blinked, "Just curious, stripey. But, you're a smart one. Ya should never trust others, they'll get your trust and then next thing ya' know, your lunch. But, I assure you, hun, ya'll can trust me."
"How do we know that?" Drew growled back, starting to puff out her fur.
"Well, for one thing, I haven't called others, now have I? And, I haven't snapped your necks yet, either."
"You said you didn't like cat…"
"Doesn't mean I won't have some fun once in a long, tiring while."
This sent shivers up Zak's spine, making his hair stand up. Drew saw, and stepped up next to Doc, protecting her boy.
"I don't see the fun in killing…" Drew said.
"Sugar, you ain't a coyote. Especially my type of coyote, born an' raised in the hardest life for coyotes, a life with humans. Growl at them once, and they shoot ya dead, but the rest of us, of course myself too, don't give a care, their fault for their stupidity, those other coyotes…" Candi held her head high, as if proud of her statement, "But, ya never did answer my question-what are you doing out on Cali's roads…"
Drew sat down, "You'd never believe us…we barley believe it ourselves…"
Candi finally turned to them, "Try me, fluffy, I've heard everything…"
Doc and Drew exchanged a glance before she began. "Well, we're humans…"
Under her breathe, Candi muttered, "Sounds like that brown kitty…"
"And, we were thrown from our home, so we tried to get to the next town to try and find someone-anyone-who would help us…but so far there's just been road."
There was a silence from the coyote as she seemed to think it over. She looked from them, to the road, back to the cats. Finally, Candi turned back to the road for good.
"Look, huns, I'm not gonna sugar-coat this. To me, ya all sound like you've been eating mushrooms. But, I know another cat, came by this way earlier, and managed to catch me. He told me these stories as he talked with me, much ones that sounded like yours about animals tranformin' to people, and back and forth. He's coming back this way tomorrow, exact same path, he told me. So you might as well rest here and wait for 'im."
"How do we know we can trust you?" Doc replied.
"Haven't ratted you kitties out yet, have I?" She smirked, "Besides, if what you crazies say is true, you won't last another three minutes out here in Cali's animal world. Just sleep out here for tonight, and ya'll meet him…Morning and day are kinder then night out here..."
"Alright…we'll wait…" Drew answered while Doc gave the white cat a "what did you just do?" look.
"Nighty night then…" Candi stood, and walked out to beside the road.
Doc ran after her, "Where do you think you're going? Off to tell the 'others'?"
Candi laughed, "Look, stripes, I'm hungry. Coyotes get hungry…not sure what humans do, but I need to hunt for mine…and eventually…you will too…."
With that, Candi waited for cars to pass, and darted across the road and stopped on the other side. She turned back and again smirked, before walking into the trees on the other side. The cats could only tell that she turned back again by two gleaming eyes staring out.
"Should we wait here?" Drew asked.
"Can we trust her?" Doc returned a question.
"We either trust her, or start walking again-which I know I'm too tired to do…" Zak added.
"We're all tired, Zak, but I didn't like that coyote—" Doc said.
Drew interrupted, "I didn't either Doc, but we all know we could starve if we kept on…"
"We'll have to stay here tonight then…" Doc sighed, "I hope your right, Drew…I hope there really is a cat who can help us…"
Drew pushed her head against him, "The morning will be better…"
So, the three spent the night in the roots of a tree, right near where they had met Candi. Each were curled up on each other, and each were dry now, the rain had finally dried off, and if to be a sign of hope, clouds cleared the sky, letting the waning moon shine down. Even though they each barley slept, by the time morning had arrived, each were sound asleep.
Grass rustled in the distance which was followed by a voice, "Candi? Cannnnddddi? Darn, guess I missed her. Ah well—Now wait a minute, who are these three cats?"