Nicole sat down at her bedside, giving a yawn and scratching her back. Looking at the alarm clock resting on the nightstand next to the bed, the flashing red lights glowed "10:53. P.M."
"Alright, so there's breakfast for the kids and Richard in the morning, seconds for Richard afterwards; drive the kids to school; drive to work; stay until four; accounting for any possible overtime which might spring up I'll have around another four hours to cook dinner and clean the house afterwards." She murmured softly to herself, not wanting to wake up her husband, who was sound asleep and snoring in his underwear behind her. She gave him a smile and a quick peck on the cheek before changing her clothes and slipping under the covers next to him. Her head rested onto her pillow and she felt her eyelids close shut as her mind began to drift away.
...
Nicole's head shot up as her mind was thrown out of her dreams. She looked around, squinting at the alarm clock. It's soft glowing letters read "1:23 A.M.," the female cat growled, cursing under her breath. She went to lay her head back down when she heard a crash downstairs, underneath her floor. She was wide awake now, her eyes fully opened, and her senses alert. Without making a sound, she opened her door and crossed down the hall to the top of the stairwell that lead into their living room. She could hear movement going on in the kitchen and the sound of object colliding.
"Wait a second Nicole, plan out a course of action." She said in her head. The sounds of a conversation could be heard from where the blue feline was stationed. "Alright, theres at least two of them..." She crawled down the stairs, keeping her body low to avoid detection. Once she had hidden behind the couch, she had a better view of the two men standing in the kitchen.
The two men were a bit tall with average builds, one holding a bag and the other holding the flashlight; the classic duo of house robbers. Nicole couldn't make out whether they were armed or not, this was what she feared the most. One misplaced step or noise could mean two through the chest for her. Or worse if they took the family hostage and demanded certain "services" in exchange for their release. She shook the thought clean from her mind and laid flat on the floor with her claws out, sliding across the carpet to the entrance of the kitchen. A small light bulb illuminated the scene that was playing out before her.
After smashing in a back window, the men had climbed in and were throwing open any cupboard door they saw in hopes of finding something of value. Through the dimly lit light, she could see the robbers had ski masks over their heads, typical burglar attire. No evidence of a firearm could be seen, which steadied Nicole's nerves a bit, she could handle this situation much better now.
"Nothing. Jay, you said this house was loaded! This place is a dump!" One of the crooks said to his friend, Nicole stood up from her spot.
"I resent that remark!" She called, surprising the two men who were stunned at the sudden appearance.
"Holy-!" One of the men made a break for the door, but Nicole sprinted up from behind and pounced on him, knocking over some chairs and clearing a counter top of it's contents. The feline clawed and tore at the man's clothes and face before being tackled herself by the other one. He was equipped with a lead pipe, which he swung and made contact with her head. She fell down dazed, but only more enraged. The man with the pipe made another swing, but Nicole caught the pipe this time, swinging the robber's arms from side to side before throwing him off balance and kicking him in the face. It was then she received a jab right in the jaw from behind. She stumbled over, catching herself on the counter to see the first man was back up. With her teeth and claws bared, she pounced once more, gnashing and clawing at the burglars, with little room in the tiny kitchen for movement.
Nicole was out for blood, not only was she angered by the fact that two men had broken into her home, but they were also a threat to her family. They were in her house, they had to deal with her now. Avoiding another swing from the lead pipe, she grabbed ahold of the man's collar and flipped him over her shoulder through open doorway and into the living room. The other robber grabbed ahold of her tail and pulled as hard as he could, taking Nicole's feet out from underneath her and banging her head against the corner of the counter. He grabbed onto the thin article of clothing the blue feline supported and tugged.
"Get off me!" She growled, pulling her leg up and kicking the foe off of her, following up with a claw to the face. The man cried out in pain as he held up his hands to cover his wounded face. Fresh stains of blood could be seen coating the robber's hands as he drew away. Nicole had tasted blood, she wasn't finished yet. "Where do you think you're going?" She said, throwing an arm around his neck and twisting him over herself again, crashing him into the floor with a thud. She stood up, cracking her knuckles and then her neck. "It's rude to leave before the host invites you cordially!"
The sound of feet pounding caused the feline to look up as the second man came charging back in the room, barreling into Nicole and throwing her back into the wall. Catching herself, she got out of the way just in time to avoid getting her neck sliced by a butcher knife the crook had just picked up off the floor. The two stood up, guessing the other's move before they themselves did. Nicole jumped back, avoiding a swipe at her abdomen. Another swipe, another dodge. The robber finally charged again and thrust his arm out at her chest. Sidestepping out of the way, she used the opportunity to connect another swipe to his face and arm, making the man drop the weapon to protect himself from another attack.
She had the advantage now. Ducking below his arms, she connected a punch with his groin, dropping him to his knees. Taking a hold of his shoulders, she then drove his knee into his face, knocking him to the floor lying on his back.
"You think you can come into MY house and endanger MY family? Not on my watch!" Her teeth were bared as she grabbed the man's throat, claws fully lengthened. She could feel them puncture into his throat, he grabbed at her wrist, but she used her other free hands to rake into it, creating three ribbons of blood to pour onto the floor.
"Please don't do this! Please!" He begged, his voice was raspy and afraid, Nicole's eyes narrowed.
"And I'm sure you would've been so merciful if you ATTACKED my children and they said the same thing? No no, I don't think so. You're gonna get what you deserve!" Her grip on his neck tightened as her claws dug deeper into his jugular, she could feel his pulse quicken as the man began to cough up blood now.
"No! No please!" His voice sounded desperate, and his actions were more quivering, but Nicole didn't seem phased.
"What's the matter! You were so confident before! Didn't expect a housewife to put up a fight, did you! Just expected to come in here and do whatever you wanted!" She smiled viciously, seeing the last amounts of energy drain out of the robber before his head fell back and his eyes glaze over. She finally released his grip on the lifeless man's throat, shaking off the excess blood. Standing up, she gazed one last look over the man. "And now, I get to play with your little friend..." Walking over the man, she walked back into the darkened living room. Nicole's senses were at their peak, listening and smelling for any sign of the remaining burglar. "I know you're in here!" She called out sinisterly. "Come on out, I don't like it when my prey hides!" She heard movement in the corner behind her.
Turning just quick enough, she had enough time to dodge a swipe at her from a switchblade. The man had his mask removed, with blood staining his platinum blonde hair. He looked like he hadn't shaved in a while, a layer of fuzz coated around his lips and chin. He swayed from side to side, blade pointing directly at her, reflecting what little light it could in the moonlit room. He lurched forward, swinging away as Nicole was able to duck and avoid any attacks the man threw at her. Kicking her foot out, she knocked the man off balance, following through with a punch to the nose. The crook cried out as new blood leaked out of his broken nose. He covered it with one hand, and held the knife with the other.
"I'm going to kill you, you bit-!" The man's threat was cut off as Nicole elbowed him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him before using her tail to grab his neck and throw him to the floor.
"You made a bad move coming into MY house. A VERY BAD MOVE." She spat, extending her claws out again. The robber attempted to throw Nicole off of him, but it only made her even angrier. Digging her claws into his skin, he cried out in pain as blood ran out and over Nicole's paws once again. Pulling out, she started to claw at his abdomen, throwing articles of ripped clothing and blood around the room and it's furniture. She grinned evily, enjoying the wails and cried from the man she was tearing into, but the yelling began to become bothersome. Looking around, she found the mask the burglar dropped and jammed it into his mouth, a look of absolute terror shown from his eyes.
"You'll wake up the kids if you keep yelling!" Her voice was sweet, as if she was casually talking. "I'm going to have to do something about that!" Her expression quickly reverted to it's previous state, grabbing his neck with both hands. "I'm going to make sure you never harm my family again!" She pulled with all the energy her arms could muster, ignoring the desperate muffled screams of the man she was kneeling over. Finally, her arms flew up, blood streaming down her arms as she looked at her newly acquired prize with sickening pride. "You won't need this where you're going anyway." She added in, discarding the man's torn out throat into a garbage bin near her. Standing up, she stretched out her back and looked around. Two bloodied, dead men in her house, the kitchen a wreck and a window to repair. "You guys were more trouble than you were worth..."
Her ears suddenly stood up as she felt another presence in the room. Turning to her left, she froze in place as she found Anais, her four year old daughter looking at her, the girl's stuffed Daisy the Donkey doll in hand.
"M-Mom? What...happened?" Her voice wasn't alarmed, more tired than anything. She must've been awoken from the noise from earlier and had just came down. Nicole calmed her composure and placed a smile on her face, walking over to her daughter.
"Oh, nothing sweetie! Just a little mess to clean up is all." She patted the rabbit's shoulder comfortingly.
"Is...is that blood on your arm, Mommy?" Nicole's eyes widened, seeing that the fur up to her elbows were covered in blood, and even more so on the robe she was wearing. She hid her amazement and continued to smile.
"Oh, that's not blood, dearie. This is just some bizarre dream you're having!" She lied, hoping her daughter would buy it in her half dazed state.
"A...dream? No...I would know if it was a dream..." She yawned and shook her head, trying to wake herself up. "I would know...if it was a dream." She repeated. Nicole felt her stomach churn, not wanting anyone in the family to see this, she had to act quickly.
"No no, sweetie. It's all a dream. And mommy wants you to wake up now, it's time for school!" She played on with her act.
"W-what? School? Wait, what...time is it..." The small bunny's sentence was cut short as Nicole pinched a nerve on her neck that knocked the young mammal out cold. Nicole caught her and sighed.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. I love you, but mommy has to fix what she did." She got up and began to walk up the stairs towards the young bunny's room. "Dammit Nicole, you got sloppy. You gotta make sure no one knows what happened." Her mind said to herself, carrying Anais into her room and gently laying her down in bed. "First I gotta clean up." She whispered to herself, seeing her bloodstained garments and arms.
Throwing all the articles of clothing she had on into the washing machine, she quickly hopped into the shower and was able to scrub off all the blood out of her fur. With a fresh set of clothes on, she got to work removing the two dead men downstairs by throwing them into garbage bags and throwing them into the trunk of her car. "Alright, now for the kitchen." She said, running back in, making sure not to wake up anyone else in the house. Removing all the contents off the floor, she gathered all her cleaning supplies together and began to scrub every scrap of dirt that even remotely resembled blood. After the floor was shining clean again, she picked up everything that had been misplaced or dropped during the struggle, placing them back in their regular spots. As if they had never been moved.
"Perfect. That's the last of the kitchen." Walking out, she could see a giant pool of blood that had congealed into the carpet where she was kneeling over the second robber. "Aw geez..." Sighing, she ran back into the kitchen and collected her cleaning supplies again, working on the carpet for a good half hour before giving up. "Ugh! What is with this carpet?" She looked around hastily and spotted the easy chair sitting aloft in the corner of the room. She picked up the chair and placed it over the portion of the carpet most heavily stained with red. "That will have to do until later, I still need to remove those two from the car. I've got the perfect place for them..."
Getting into the car, the blue feline made sure nobody noticed her departure at such an early hour as she took off the road. She made sure to not draw any unnecessary attention to herself for fear of someone finding the contents in the back of the car. It was a while before Nicole stopped the car and parked it. Stepping out, she looked up at the rainbow factory she was currently employed at. She popped open the trunk door and proceeded to drag the two bags behind the facility to the dumping site. Two large pipes exited out of the building, dumping thousands of gallons of assorted discarded colors into a man made gorge that seemed to go on for miles. Nicole carried the two bags to a cliff overlooking the gorge, taking caution to not fall off herself.
"Let's just hope this works!" She said, throwing the two bags into the river. Much to her relief, the bags started to combust a few seconds after hitting the water, with the bodies dissolving right after. The molecules began to rip apart as the chemicals worked their way through and began to eat their way through every atom making up the bag and bodies. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Nicole returned to her car and made her way back home, right after buying a replacement window for the smashed in one in the kitchen. Entering the house, she could see the sun's rays start to penetrate the horizon, throwing down long beams of yellow and red into the house. It was now morning.
Nicole, now tired and weary, made her way upstairs into her room, not even bothering to remove her clothes. She sat down onto her bed, looking at the alarm clock still placed next to the bed. It's red face reading "6:29 A.M." Her alarm was set to go off in one minute exactly, she spent the entire night occupied with those two robbers. Bending over, she held her head in her hands, sighing deeply again, wondering why she went through all the trouble for that. Almost immediately did the images of her family flock into her head, reminding her why she works so hard. She worked to provide a comfortable living for them all. She was happy with what she had and worked hard to continue being happy, and that was enough for her. Nicole smiled acceptingly and stood straight up, turning off the alarm just as it went off. The feline turned, planted another kiss onto her husband and smiled.
"Time to start the day. A mother's work is never done."