Huddled up in the corner of the dark cabinet, all breathing within stops. There wasn't even so much as a twitch when the sensation of fur came from her hand.

Silence.

Just silence.

Just pure and utter silence.

It's heavy. The air is so heavy, so tense. She felt as though she were suffocating under the pressure.

An eternity passed with every second.

Someone...Anyone...Hurry...

It was times like these when she had...visions. She wanted to call them flashbacks, but these events...they never happened.

She wasn't that person drowning in her own tears because she had torn her family apart with her own bare hands.

She definitely wasn't a killer either.

She had no blood on her hands nor had she burdens upon her shoulders.

She wasn't staying at a friend's place because there was no one at home waiting for her anymore nor was there anyone for her to wait for.

No, of course she wasn't. There was always someone there...There was...

Footsteps. The echoes break into her thoughts.

The silence was no more, but she still refused to breathe. Not until then. Not until she was sure.

A muffled voice came from the other side of the door. The fur from before had moved upwards towards her face and was getting dangerously close to making her sneeze, but still it felt as if each muscle were frozen in place.

Not until she was sure.

Her ears strained, a pressure built up in her chest, her heart raced, and she bit her lip, staring at the apparent emptiness before her. The tension was getting to her, making her dizzy, making her feel as if the world was slowly flipping upside-down...

Click.

There it was. She shuffled slightly, pressing her ear to the door, her companion following suit, curious.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

Almost. Almost.

Bang.

And in that moment, Kamila's heart stopped.

No...No! The sound! The sound was off! It sounded like...!

She rushed out, frenzied, panicked.

Who? Who was it? Who died because of her this time?

She rushed out, completely expecting a woman laying on the floor, her purple hair in a tangled web, red staining her azure dress.

She was greeted instead by a surprised redhead with a peculiar hairstyle covered in streamers.

"What was that?" she asked, laughing.

Odd. This stranger's laughter helped soothe Kamila's heart quite a bit, as if she her an old friend comforting her after a nightmare.

Maybe... maybe it was a nightmare. There was no way she'd ever use a gun in any of her machines, after all. The girl felt her own face crack into a smile of her own, out of relief and out of amusement at this person's expression.

"It was my mom's birthday the day before yesterday, but this came out so good, I wanted to use it again," she beamed.

"It's not my birthday," the young lady pointed out.

A deep, rich laughter that Kamila would recognize anywhere rang out, reverberating throughout the room.

"It's okay, isn't it? I mean, we're celebrating your 'birth' as a detective, after all."

The girl ran past the stranger and hugged the huge man behind her. "Dad! You're home!"

"Hey, Kamila," the whiskered man smiled. "I'd like to introduce you. This is Lynne, a newly assigned detective."

"Nice to meet you, Lynne!" the small lady giggled.

But somehow... somehow, it felt as if this had already happened. As if this person before her was already an important part of her life.

Kamila shrugged it off and smiled. Perhaps that just meant that the two of them would click? That would be fantastic if it were like that.

A meow came from behind. The black feline walked steadily out of his hiding place, red bandana hanging proudly around his neck, towards the trio.

"Hey, look! We've got a guest."

The cat merely mewled in response.

Kamila turned back to Lynne to see his face scrunched up in thought. "...Oh, my...Is this-?"

Her question went unfinished because, as she spun around to face the older detective, she tripped on her foot and fell flat on her face. The fact that she had a sore face was probably not helped by the fact that a bundle of fur had nestled on top of her head right next to her up-ponytail, making a disapproving noise.

Jowd chuckled.

"I-Is this that kitten from the park...?" Lynne tried again, her voice coming out slightly strained because, Kamila guessed, she was trying not to let the rest of them know just how much pain she was in at the moment.

"Before you worry about that, perhaps you'd like to get up first...?"

"That'd be nice."

"Here, Sissel," Kamila smiled. Sissel jumped off the redhead and walked over to be carried in the little lady's arms. Jowd helped the new detective get up from off the floor, a huge grin on his face.

"Is that-?"

"Yes," he smiled, cutting her off, "it's that same cat."

"Yep! And did you know? Sissel is a special kitty."

"...Huh? Special?" Lynne blinked in surprise.

"Yep! He's always a kitty. He doesn't get any bigger!"

"That's weird..."

Kamila nodded in response. Lynne picked the feline up, admiring the red bandana hanging proudly around his neck.

"So why Sissel?"

"It fit," Jowd shrugged in response. "But that's beside the point. You're not going to let all this food go to waste, are you, Lynne?"

"I hope not," a new voice added itself to the scene. "I spent a whole day baking and cooking and frying yesterday."

Kamila smiled. For some reason, even when she knew her mom was safe, seeing her always made her heart a bit lighter.

"So, shall we dig in?"

"You bet!" Lynne grinned. The group headed for the table, and the two detectives began scarfing down the turkey almost as soon as they sat down.

"Honestly, you two…Don't let the cake go to waste!" the eldest woman scolded.

The littlest lady merely laughed. Of course nothing was wrong. Of course.

Cabanella had danced his way into the scene along with Missile, and the pair only served to make the grins in the room even wider. The Inspector pulled out a couple of glass bottles and cans and pronounced that it was time to paaaaaarty.

Soon, though, the adults closed their eyes, dreaming drunken dreams, leaving only the cat, dog, and little lady.

She sighed as she stroked sleek black fur as another bundle of tan settled close to her.

"Hey, Sissel…"

The feline's ears perked up, and he looked her straight in the eye.

"Sissel, I…"

She turned away, took a deep breath, and turned back.

"Listen, Sissel…I'm worried."

His eyes seemed to question her statement.

"A-About these…visions I seem to see. Sometimes, I can see myself, crying, alone…I can see Dad in jail…and I can see M-Mom…d…d…d-de…"

The girl bit her quivering lip.

"D-Do you think they mean anything…?"

The cat lay his head down. She gave a soft laugh.

"But then again, maybe there is something wrong with me if I'm seriously talking to a cat."

Now Sissel looked insulted. Kamila giggled.

"You know I didn't mean anything by it," she cooed. She swore that she saw the curves of his lips tilt upwards ever slightly. She sighed, feeling lighter albeit a bit. Perhaps her confession helped (even if it was towards the family feline)?

Well, no point in worrying anymore, she thought. She stood up, scaring Sissel off her lap and looked around. Grinning, she moved back into the cabinet and groped around in the darkness and finally found that one little box.

Stealthily, she climbed to the top of the cabinet, peeked through the frame, pressed down on the button, and smiled. Lynne was never going to forgive her for catching this moment, but oh, well. It was a pretty funny picture anyway.


...The same picture she tucked away in her shirt as she hid there in the darkness of the cramped cabinet as she had done, so many years ago.

Voices. Shouts. Gunshots. Yelping.

No, she screamed in her mind. Silence. Please... let there be silence!

It wasn't meant to be. The door swung open and she found herself torn from the comfort of the dark and forced into a new kind. She was only half aware that he slung her over his shoulder and carried her away, that she was plopped into a leather seat of his dilapidated SUV, that Sissel was running full speed after them into the road, and she watched while she could still see as the cat became a bloody corpse, road kill, knowing full well that she may be next.

Her ex was rambling on about how she shouldn't have left him, how everything would be fine if she'd never let go again. By now, the ringing in her ear grew into a constant buzz. It made her head hurt. She felt herself slip further and further away from consciousness, little pearls pricking her eyes. The man to her left grew quiet before saying something to the effect of its alright, they're finally together.

She could only watch they drew further and further away from the city she'd come to love. Kamila felt all strength slip away from her.

Lynne... Missile... Sissel...

I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry you guys got hurt because of me...

Mom... Dad...

I'm sorry. I don't think... I don't think that I've any more time left. I'm sorry for being so weak.

Thank you, everyone. Goodbye.

And those were her last thoughts as she finally slipped into total darkness...


I'm scared, but read and review anyway.