Chapter 10: A Day in the Life of a Cat.
I jumped on my bed as I couldn't help but screech loudly which made my younger brother ran into the room.
"What? What's wrong?" Manuel asked from the doorway.
"It's in there! Get it!" I yelled as I pointed towards one of my sneakers.
Manuel picked the shoe up and shook it once. A rat jumped out and hurried for under my bed. Manuel quickly got the mouse by his tail and lifted him.
"You're the only cat in existence that is afraid of mice." Manuel said as he examined the mouse.
"Shut up..." I said as Sam walked into the room.
"What the hell is going on?" He asked with one hand over the mouth piece of his cell phone.
"I'm just feeding Iris her lunch." Manuel laughed out as the mouse squirmed in his hand.
"Iris, you eat mice?" Sam asked me with a combination of curiosity and disgust.
"Everyone get out of my room." I said and threw my pillow at Sam.
Both my brother's laughed and walked out.
I sighed and stepped from my Bed cautiously.
My name is Iris Robyn Gonzales. My name is actually pronounced something along the lines as Eereese but most of, what I consider, my family doesn't speak Spanish so I never corrected anyone on how they said it. My mother is a cat and my father is Mexican, making me mixed races and species.
I adjusted my glasses and continued writing in my diary as it was the only thing that kept me sane. I was actually almost done before the mouse crawled up onto my knee and sat on my lap.
"I'll see you guys later." I heard Walter, my neighbor, say as he walked out of his house and headed for his car.
He looked at my window and tapped the top of his head as he stared at me.
I smiled and let my cat ears extend then waved goodbye at him.
He smiled and got into his car.
Walter was about three years older than me and didn't find me weird, which is actually quiet an alluring feature.
I sighed and closed my diary then headed downstairs where my mother looked out of the window and into the street. My brothers played video games in the living room TV with the volume down.
"Your father isn't home yet..." She said when she heard me walk closer.
She had yelled at my father last night because he was late coming home again. She suspected that he had spent some time with the new woman at work after hours so she kicked him out.
She still looked angry if only so she wouldn't seem worried.
"I'm sure he's fine." I said as I stood by my mother.
"Hmm. Sometimes I wonder if I'm too jealous." She thought out loud.
I didn't reply as I honestly thought she was. My father went to sleep at my uncle's house last night but has not returned or called.
"Should I call him?" I asked.
"No... He'll think that I'm not mad are him anymore."
"Are you?"
"No... I never really was in the first place."
I stared and began to believe my cousin when he told me that women were over complicated.
I walked into the kitchen and made myself some oatmeal for breakfast. I really couldn't cook except for some small things, but I could make a really good batch of oatmeal.
I sat down and ate as my mother gasped loudly.
"Oh, shit... It wasn't me this time, mom..." Manuel said.
I looked up and noticed the red and blue lights that spilled in through the foyer's window. My mother moved the curtain and I saw a police officer walking closer to the door.
"He better not had been arrested or I'll kill him." My mother said in an annoyed tone and opened the door.
"Hello, Mrs. Gonzales?" The police officer said as he stood outside of the house.
"How can I help you, officer?" My mother said and crossed her arms.
"It's about your husband. He's been-"
"Arrested?" My mother interrupted. "I'm going to kill that guy."
"Well we believe that someone might have tried doing that already." The officer said.
My mother gasped and held her hand to her mouth.
"Can I come in?" The officer asked.
"Yeah..." My mother said and fully opened the door.
The officer removed his hat and looked around until he saw Manuel.
"Manuel..." The officer said.
"Lyle..." My brother replied.
"Where we're you last Saturday?" The officer asked him.
"Here..." Manuel lied.
"Make sure to tell that to the other cop when he arrives sometime this week."
"I didn't do anything."
"You never do."
He sat on the kitchen table as my mother sat next to him and instructed me to boil some water. I took my time so I could listen in.
"Your husband was almost hit by a car early this morning." The officer said. My heart skipped a beat as he continued. "He was found, unconscious, on the interstate. He had a blood trail that we are still trying to figure out where it starts."
"Oh my God! Is he okay, officer?" My mother gasped.
I handed the coffee over to the officer.
"Lilian, now I know you know my name. Sadly, I can say that we know each other enough to talk as equals. Call me Lyle." The officer said.
"Is he okay, Lyle?" My mother repeated.
"He is in the hospital. He has blood all over his knee and midsection. Now I don't know how you'll take this he's being held responsible for possible murder as a lot of the blood has been identified to belong to your brother who is actually missing at the moment."
"No, he would never do that!" My mother replied stubbornly.
"He had been shot with his own gun twice. The gun only had his fingerprints but it looks like someone else shot it."
"No, he would never harm Jonathan."
"The entire family is missing and he was seen entering the residence last night."
"I kicked him out... Oh my God, this is entirely my fault." My mother said and passed her hands through her hair.
"Something is odd though." Lyle continued.
"What?"
"He had a fatal shot to the stomach, sometime last night. He should have died minutes after receiving it but he was found in the morning, alive, and the wound was almost healed. Jeff should be dead but isn't."
"Don't you talk about my husband like that!" My mother snapped. She probably would have slapped Lyle if he wasn't a police officer.
"I'm sorry, Lilian. But it is true. He is under intensive care. He muttered something about the number 44 and 73, does that mean anything to you?"
"No."
"He is down in the Mary-Line emergency room. He is going to be treated and if your brother and his family have not been found by then... Well there is talk about charging him with four accounts of murder."
"My brother's wife and daughter are in Europe at the moment. They went to a fashion expo."
"Do you have a way to reach them?" Lyle asked.
"No..."
"Then we are forced to assume the worst as their location cannot be confirmed.
"This isn't happening..." My mother tried convincing herself.
"Get yourself a lawyer... A good one this time not that ass clown that you got when Manuel attacked that group of adolescents."
"Hey, that was self defense!" My brother said.
"Might have been, but that fool's starting argument was pleading insanity. A frog and two forks could have made a better defense attorney." Lyle replied.
"Can we see my dad?" I asked.
"I wouldn't advise it." Lyle replied.
"Why not?" My mother asked.
"He's not talking right now. He's unconscious, has been since we found him."
-0-
My mother gave us all five minutes to get dressed before we headed down to the hospital where Lyle granted us permission to go see my father.
I hated the fact that all this was happening. I tried my best to not break into tears if only because my mother would have been even more upset.
My mother marched in before anyone else and looked at the bed that my father was laying on. My mother gasped loudly and broke into tears.
"Oh God, Jeff this is my fault..." She whispered and moved by my unconscious father's side.
Sam, Manuel and I moved to join her and Sam placed his hand on my mother's shoulder.
"It isn't your fault, mom. You couldn't have known that this would happen." Sam said.
"I kicked him out... None of this would have happened if I didn't do that." My mother replied and stroked my father's unconscious face.
The heartbeat monitor beat quickly for a few seconds then we all gasped when it flat lined.
The nurse started shoving us out as a doctor moved closer and readied a defibrillator.
The doctor pressed the unit together then moved to try and shock my father back to life but stopped when my father twitched and jerked for a few seconds. He finally stopped and lay still again as the machine beeped rhythmically as it announced that everything was okay.
My mother and I cried out as Manuel moved over to hold me.
"What the hell was that?" The nurse said cautiously.
"I have no idea, but I doubt that we have need for these." The doctor replied and put the defibrillator away.
I cried and stared at my father's hand which tended to twitch slightly then noticed Sam take a bloody note from my father's pocked then put it in his own.
An hour passed and we all sat in the lobby. A police officer had questioned us regarding my father's actions and what might have happened. He took my mother aside and continued asking her questions.
"Who's Zeke or Kassandra?" Sam asked.
Manuel turned to look at him. "What?"
Sam removed the bloody note from his pocket and showed it to us.
The note had a sentence that was hastily written in blood. It was hastily drawn but with some work, I was able to read the words: "It was Zeke, find Kassandra."
"Did dad write this?" I asked.
Sam shrugged and put the note away as the officer and my mother walked back.
"I am going to have to makes a full report so I ask of you all to go home and wait." The officer said. He had a heavy French accent that made him hard to understand at times.
"Wait for what?" My mother asked annoyed.
"Some sort of sign, I dunno. Look: I am trying to make it easy on you all's but the truth of the matter is that a family is missing and he's our only suspect and I very much doubt that having you around will help his case or condition any." The police officer said not at all unkindly.
"He would never do anything to my brother's family, I've told you that already." My mother snapped.
"Like I said: he's our only suspect. Have a nice day." The police officer said and turned around.
My mother flipped him off then turned to look at us. "What was that note that you found, Sam?" She asked my brother.
Sam showed the note to my mother and she also didn't know who they were.
"Zeke?" My mother asked curiously while holding the piece of paper.
"Who's Zeke?" Sam asked and Manuel shrugged.
"Who's Kassandra?" My mother asked annoyed. "Probably that new bitch at his work."
"Michael's girlfriend is named Kassandra, maybe it's her." I said.
"Michael has a girlfriend?" Sam asked.
"Yeah..." I replied.
"Do you know where she lives; I would like to talk to her." My mother said.
"No... Maybe Michael has her address in his room." I replied.
"Maybe. Can you go? I really want to stay and check up on your father." My mother said as a code blue was announced and people ran into my father's room.
We all ran closer but a man nurse stopped us from entering.
Several nurses tried holding my father down as he twitched wildly which made the machine announce different alterations in his heart rhythm.
"Go." My mother said.
Sam and I took off as the doctor's announced that they couldn't use the chest paddles as they make matters worse.
My brother led the way as I brought up the rear. We had changed into our animal forms and ran to my uncle's house.
-0-
The front door was locked and covered with yellow caution tape. We didn't have any luck with the windows either.
"Any luck finding an opened one?" Sam asked me as he jumped down from the second story ledge that was near the master bedroom window.
"No. The only opened one is the bathroom." I replied.
"Can you fit through it?" Sam asked me.
"No."
"Bet you can. Cat's can fit into tight places."
"Cat's can, but I'm only half."
"Good enough." He said and fell on all fours and jumped up into the ledge near the bathroom window.
I jumped after him then stared at the small window opening. It was probably about twenty inches across and thirty high.
"There is no way that I'm fitting in that." I said.
"Bet that you can." Sam said.
"No, I'm being serious. That thing is too small."
"Some cat you are." He said and lifted me closer to the window.
"I'm going to get stuck." I said when I realized that he wasn't going to let up until I at least tried it.
"Then we go to plan B." he replied as he held me up...
"Which that?" I asked as I stuck my head through the window.
"No idea." Sam admitted.
I twisted and shoved myself in through the window but got stuck half way through.
"I told you that I'd get stuck!" I yelled as I struggled.
"That's because you have a big ass." Sam said as he tried forcing me in by my feet.
"Why are you checking out my ass?" I said as I struggled.
"Because it's everywhere! Ow!" He started but I kicked him in his muzzle.
"Keep talking about my ass and I'll kick you again." I said waving my feet wildly.
"Shut up." He said and pushed me again. I finally fell through and landed on the tub.
"Ow!" I let out.
"Are you dead?" Sam asked me.
"No..." I said and stood up rubbing my right elbow.
"Hold on." Sam said.
"What?" I asked but I didn't get an answer. "Sam, what is it?"
There wasn't any sound of anyone so I started getting worried. I looked through the window but didn't see Sam.
"Sam." I whispered but still no answer.
I turned around quickly as I heard slight movement from outside of the bathroom. I listened as it came closer. The bathroom door opened and I stayed still in the tub to not be seen.
The tub curtain opened quickly and a man in a hockey masked yelled and reached for me.
I yelled and cried out for Sam but stopped when the figure laughed and removed the mask.
"Sam!" I let out and smacked my brother a few times.
He laughed and threw the mask into the sink. "You forgot to check Helena's bedroom window."
"So I did this in vain." I asked as I felt my heart still beating fast.
"Pretty much."
He helped me out of the tub and we headed into Michael's room.
I searched his notebook to see if he had Kassandra's address written somewhere. Sam searched the cabinets and dresser.
"Whoah!" Sam said amusingly.
"What?" I asked when I saw a picture of him and Helena that was taken a few years ago.
"Michael wears chick's underwear." Sam said.
I turned around and saw Sam examining a pair of light blue panties.
"What size do you think they are?" Sam asked smiling.
"Six." I replied.
"How do you know?" Sam asked.
"Because those are mine."
Sam flinched and tossed the panties back into the dresser as he wore a horrified look in his face. "Ew! Why is your underwear in his dresser? What have you two been doing?"
I laughed and stuffed the panties back into where they were supposed to be. "Shut up and help me look." I said and kept looking through random items.
Sam wiped his hand on him pants and looked under the pillows.
"Who are you two?" Someone asked.
We both turned sharply and saw a dog Darkstalker standing on the window's ledge. The round shoulders and slender muzzle meant that it was female. Her white and black fur waved gracefully with the wind.
"Oh, Hi, I'm Iris. You're-" I started but my brother had already turned into his werewolf form and tackled her out through the window.
I flinched and ran towards the window just as my brother had span in mid air and landed on his back as the female husky Darkstalker landed on top of him.
"Sam, stop!" I yelled and changed into my cat form and jumped out of the window and landed to the side.
Sam moved quickly and got behind the female husky and wrapped his arms around her until he held her in a head lock.
The female husky cried out as she waved her feet wildly. She tried speaking but Sam buried her muzzle into the ground. He did it a few more times until the dirt started giving way and encased around her muzzle.
"Sam, Stop! It's Kassandra." I yelled and started pulling my brother's arm.
"Who the hell is Kassandra?" He asked and lifted Kassandra's face long enough for her to gasp loudly for air before he shoved her face back into the ground.
"She's Michael's girlfriend!" I replied and pulled his arm harder.
"Michael has a... Oh shit, that's right." He said and quickly let go of Kassandra who rolled her muzzled head to the side and coughed loudly.
"Kassandra, I'm sorry." I started but stopped when she waved at me and gasped loudly then spat out a chunk of dirt.
"I'm sorry, Michael's girlfriend, I thought you were a burglar or something." Sam said then wrapped his arms around Kassandra's waist and pulled her up.
Kassandra gasped loudly as she wasn't expecting that then coughed out one last time.
"It's okay" she let out in a graspy voice then beat on her chest twice with her fisted paw. "It seems to be a tradition that I get attacked by a werewolf every time I come here..."
"I'm Iris, Michael's cousin and this patchy looking fool is my brother, Sam." I said and shook her weak and slender hand.
Both Sam's fur and mine look a lot alike. We both had several different patches of black, orange and white. My fur seems to be more random than his, maybe it was due to the fact that I'm a cat and he's a werewolf.
"I'm Kassandra, I'm sorry for scaring you." She said in a voice that sounded a lot like normal.
"What are you doing here?" Sam asked.
"Come inside, I'll make some tea for your throat." I said and jumped back up in trough the window. Sam followed and I slapped him upside his head before Kassandra made her way in.
-0-
"Michael hasn't been responding to any of the phone calls or texts that I've sent him so I decided to check up on him." She said after she had sipped half of her tea.
"Hold up... So you're really Michael's girlfriend?" Sam asked stupidly.
"As far as I know, yes." Kassandra replied and stared curiously.
"Prove it." Sam said and I punched him in the arm. "What the hell?"
"Dumbass. Sorry about that, Kassandra. As you were saying..." I said and smiled when a light bruise appeared on my brother's arm.
"I normally text him after breakfast and he texts back whenever he has woken up but I haven't heard from him yet. I've called his cell and the house phone but nothing." She said.
I turned and saw the home phone that announced that there were 16 missed calls and 12 new messages.
'Holy crap' I thought but had better sense than to say anything. "Do you have any idea where they could be?" I asked.
"Just one: he asked me to look up an address, when he told me about what happened with his mother and sister after we woke up so I-" Kassandra started but was interrupted by my brother.
"Woke up? After you guys, you know..." My brother started and made a series of sound effects and gestures that steadily grew more and more annoying. He eventually tired himself out and stared at Kassandra. "After you guys, you know, had sex."
"What? No... I just snuck in and we talked until we fell asleep." Kassandra replied.
"Sorry, he's had too much sugar today, continue." I said and pulled on my brother's ear lightly.
"So I handed him my phone and let him look for it while I made them breakfast." Kassandra started "He came up with-"
"Wait, so you mean to tell me that you touched Aunt Christine's kitchen?" Sam asked then looked at me.
"Just to make breakfast, but I-" She replied.
"Well it was nice knowing you... I'll see you again during thanksgiving after you have been thawed out, stuffed, glazed, baked and served alongside some dinner rolls and mash potatoes and gravy."
"Okay, that's starting to freak me out. Michael and Mr. Taliban said the same thing."
"That's because it's true! Just like Rachel, she made a bad ass Christmas ham! We had leftovers for weeks! 'Can I have some more, tia?' I'd say 'Sure' She'd reply and give me some thigh meat in between two sandwich bread slices alongside some mayo and Dijon mustard." Sam amused himself as Kassandra wore a terrified look in her face.
"Who's Rachel?" I asked.
"You know! That one girl that cooked lunch that one day... The one with the eye... The one that was always happy and offered to help..." Sam said.
"You mean the one that never existed?" I asked.
"She could have."
"Okay, no more talking for you." I replied and I tried to pull his ear again but he moved sideways then pulled my hair. I gasped out then punched him in between his legs. He cried out and held himself as he fell out of his chair and hit the floor while groaning lightly.
I scratched my head slightly and gestured for Kassandra to continue.
"She's not actually going to cook me is she?" Kassandra asked quickly.
"Yes..." Sam groaned.
"No, it's just a family joke that she started. But she does dislike it when someone touches her kitchen." I replied.
"Oh, I'll make sure to not offer."
"No, you can offer. She likes that but she will always say that it's okay."
"Well anyway. He found the address he was looking for: It was the city hall. He later told me that they went to check it out but we're told to leave so they were going back at night. He said something about his uncle joining them."
"Yeah, mom kicked him out and he came over here to spend the night." I said as Sam groaned lightly.
"Is everything okay?" Kassandra asked.
"Yeah, well no... They found my dad. He had been shot and left to die in the side of the road. A little bit from city hall, now that I think of it..."
"Oh my God! I'm sorry!"
"It's okay, he's still alive and my dad is tougher than most so he should be okay."
I got a phone call. It was from my mother which made my heart skip a beat.
"Hello?" I asked when I answers.
"Iris? Um... Is your father there?" My mother asked after hesitating slightly.
"What? Isn't he there?" I asked.
"Well actually..."
-0-
I stared at the comical man shaped hole in the hospital wall. Someone had clearly tried jumping out of the window and missed so they took a piece of the wall with them.
"Did dad do that?" I asked after one of the nurses almost tripped on some of the rubble.
"Looks that way. I was walking out of the room, as the doctor instructed, and then heard a large bang and your father was gone."
"So... Has anyone found him? We are like five stories up... And he isn't a Darkstalker... So..."
"Shut up!" Manuel said sharply.
"Manuel-" Mom started.
"Dad wouldn't commit suicide!" He replied stubbornly.
"We never hinted that." I said. "Maybe Mammon took him too..."
"Who that?" Sam asked when he tried fitting through the hole but stopped when mom yelled at him to stop.
"The... Never mind." I sighed. Michael had explained that Mammon is able to erase people's minds. He also told me that both his and my memory weren't affected for some reason.
I heard my name in a small whimper. Nobody else seemed to have heard it so I looked around. I saw Ai at the end of the hall. She stared at me then disappeared into a room.
The police entered the room we were in and asked us to leave. Apparently, my father was now being charged for evading arrest, destruction of property and for confusing the officers since they didn't have an answer for the man snapped hole.
I walked down the hall as my mother repeatedly tried calling my uncle.
I walked into the room and the door closed immediately so I quickly spun around and stared at Ai who stood behind the door with her arms crossed. She pushed herself off the wall and started walking forward but the door swung open and smacked her in the face. Denise, Ai's younger sister, stared curiously as the door headed back towards her.
"Fuck me!" Ai let out as she held her nose.
"What happened?" Denise asked. "Why are you behind the door?"
"I was trying to be dramatic and mysterious!" Ai let out as she examined her nose.
I chucked lightly but stopped when Ai glared at me.
"Sorry... What are you guys doing here?" I asked.
Ai stared to say something then stopped and simply pointed behind me.
I turned and saw a beautiful purple and pink flower that was encased in a glass cover. The encased flower had five purple petals extending from the pink center of the plant. The stem was twice as big compared to regular plants, like roses or lilies. I leaned in closer to try and smell the plant but the casing around it prevented any odor to escape.
"Stupid ass, don't smell it!" Ai let out.
I flinched and moved back. "Why?"
"It's a modified version of the 11's." Ai said as she shifted her nose.
"What?" I asked." What's an 11?"
"She doesn't know" Denise reminded her sister and closed the door after she walked in.
"I know she don't... This one is nicknamed 11-M" Ai started and examined the small amount of blood in her hand. "It is supposed to surprises the demon's powers."
"Okay..." I started.
"Dr. Monroe wanted us to bring your cousin one but we couldn't find him. He said that it might be helpful." Denise said.
"We followed you here from the dog's house." Ai said and sniffed loudly.
"So what do I do with it?" I asked.
"Well you don't play ping pong with it." Ai replied. "You need to have Mammon smell it. His powers should become surprised, for a while, after doing so."
"Should?" I asked.
"Yeah! Should, as in it might work or it might not." Ai replied.
"So you're not sure if it'll work?" I asked.
"Mammon isn't a regular Darkstalker; in fact he seems to be something greater and dangerous." Denise said.
"So what if it doesn't work?" I asked.
"That's why we brought this, too." Denise said and reached into a bag. She showed me two fancy looking injection needles that were covered in a metallic case. Both needles had a green and purple liquid in them.
"11-M is the first of its kind so we don't really know how well it's going to work. So we brought extracts of 11-B just in case. These will surprise any Darkstalker's powers for around two hours." Denise said.
"So I just inject this in him? Where do I stick him with this? In the neck?" I asked.
"You could stick him in the ass if you want just get it in him." Ai said.
"So we stand a chance now?" I asked as I took the case from Denise.
"In theory... You just have to try and either have him smell the 11-M or get him with 11-B if you could get close enough, that is." Denise said.
"So what if I smell it?" I asked.
"Don't know... It's the first of its kind... It might or might not suppress you cat powers." Denise said.
"It might also have a weird side effect, who knows! It's untested and still in alpha." Ai said.
"How long does the effect last?" I asked curiously.
Ai frowned and shrugged. "Who knows...minutes, hours, days...indefinite even. What part of 'first of its kind' and 'untested' don't you understand?"
I surreptitiously changed the subject. "Now we just need to get to him." I said.
"Where is he? Do you even know that?" Ai asked me.
"I've heard that he's in the city hall." I said.
"You're not going there by yourself are you?" Denise asked me, sounding honestly worried.
"No... I'll ask the family. We're like a small army." I replied smiling.
"We also brought you this." Denise said and handed me a small bottle with a spray nozzle.
The spray bottle was small and discreet and looked like it was empty. The top of the liquid bubbled slightly then stopped when I shook it to make sure that the small container had something in it. It had a neatly pasted tag that read "115 (Extract), 17 fl oz" written in perfect cursive.
"What is it?" I asked.
Ai started to say something but her sister interrupted.
"It's an extract of 115, the memory flower. Just spray this so your family can smell and they'll remember whatever Mammon has suppressed.
"Interesting... Quick question! Do you have one that would make a guy...you know...like me." I asked.
"You mean a love potion?" Denise asked when Ai scoffed.
"Yeah, there's a certain neighbor I'd like to use it on." I said.
Ai reached into her pocket and pulled out another small container that looked exactly the same as the other one with the exemption that this one had blue liquid with pink shades in it. It had a similar tag with similar writing that read "16-4/7Q116 (Love Scent (Beta))."
"If that doesn't work you could always try flashing the guy." Ai said.
I frowned and looked up but both girls were already gone.
-0-
We went back home after hours of driving around and looking for my father who was now missing. We didn't find him anywhere. We searched his mother's house. We also returned to my uncle's house and even tried the nearest tire shop, just in case. My mom yelled at us to get to our rooms and we all had more common sense than to argue.
I lay on my bed as I heard feint but unmistakable sounds of sobbing. My mother was so distraught that she didn't even bother asking me where I found the plant I brought back with me.
I stared at it and sobbed quietly as the thought of my father being dead struck me. I heard Manuel open my door slowly and I rolled over to not have to face him.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he sat by the side of my bed and placed his hand on my arm.
I shook my head quickly as tears ran down the side of my face.
"Come here." he said and I stood up and hugged him.
"Where is he, Manuel?" I asked. I hated to admit but I became really childish whenever I cried.
"I don't know...but we'll find him. We didn't check the Mexican food restaurants or anywhere with the word 'taco' in its name." He said and I couldn't help but chuckle beside myself.
"You're such a jerk." I said and wiped the tears from my eyes.
"We cats have to stick together." He said and closed his eyes as black and white cat ears grew out of his head.
I gasped as the things perked shyly.
"You ARE a cat!" I let out and he hushed me as his cat ears disappeared back into his head.
He thought for a second then smiled. "Yes, I'm also a cat. Don't tell anyone, you're the only one I've told." He said.
"Why do you hide them?" I asked.
"What does uncle Jonathan always say?" He asked.
We both repeated what we've heard millions of times in our lives:
"Men are dogs and women are cats."
"Exactly." He said and patted my head.
"I still don't see anything wrong with it." I nagged him.
"Of course you don't, you're a cat." He replied.
"Shut up... Here, can I try something in you." I asked and pulled out the spray labeled "115" and held it up to him.
"What?" He asked and I sprayed some of the liquid in from of him.
He stared then sniffed loudly.
"What is that fo..." He trailed off and twisted his head slightly.
I stared at him as his head shifted left and right as he muttered under his breath.
"Who is that with Helena?" He said quietly as if he didn't dare talk, In case that it would stop the memory.
I sprayed him again and he flinched then said a single word: "Zeke."
"Do you remember him now?" I asked.
My entire family had completely forgotten that Zeke had even existed. To them, Helena never showed off her boyfriend during Michael's 18th birthday party. They never even knew that Michael's neighbors had a son.
"Why did I forget him? He seems...important." Manuel mumbled.
I explained how Zeke had something otherworldly inside of him and after a few gay jokes; I finally helped him remember everything.
"So Zeke-" He started.
"Mammon, the thing in him is called Mammon." I corrected him.
"Mammon...kidnapped Helena and Aunt Christine?" He asked after I finished telling him that exact same thing.
"Yes." I said patiently.
"...and Michael and Uncle Jonathan were probably kidnapped by him too?"
"Probably..."
"...and...you still owe me 20 bucks for that candy I bought you when I was 12." He said and stared at me.
I started to say something then remembered that he was right so I pulled 20 dollars from my wallet and handed it over.
"We need to spray mom with your magic liquid." Manuel said.
"That sounded a lot dirtier than I care to admit so let's go." I said.
I sprayed my mother and brother with the liquid and Manuel and I helped them remember.
After an hour my mother had called what we considered our family, which consisted of: the Oblivions and the Ayalandos. My mom tried calling her friend Samantha Mepp but she wasn't available.
The living room was crowded with half animals that were recalling memories and old unpaid debts, an hour and a half later.
Alexandria Ayalando, my unofficial aunt, reminded her husband, Ray, that she is still mad at him for forgetting their anniversary seven years ago.
After a small briefing of what was happening and with only minor swearing, everyone was up to speed.
"So has anyone found Uncle Jeff yet?" An Oblivion twin asked.
"No." I replied.
"We believe that Zeke might have kidnapped him too." Sam said. It wasn't the truth but it made everyone feel better. I tried believing that too, sometimes a lie is more comforting than a possible truth.
"So who the hell is Kassandra?" My uncle Ray said because he had to say something as his wife wouldn't stop pestering him about things that he never got around to doing.
"That's Michael's girlfriend, the one who knew where Zeke is hiding." Sam replied.
"Can we bring her here?" My unofficial uncle Richard Oblivion asked. "She could probably tell us more."
"Well we don't know where she lives." I replied.
"I'll find her." My unofficial aunt, Aye Oblivion, said and pulled out a small make up kit and looked into the small mirror in it then disappeared. A few seconds later she reappeared with a very confused looking ginger girl who had nothing but a bath towel on.
"This her?" Aye asked and held up one of Kassandra's hand.
"...yeah." I said reluctantly.
Kassandra beamed red as she stood in front of everyone who stared at her. She held on to the towel as if she would die if she didn't.
I took Kassandra into my room and handed some of my clothing then walked out so she could get dressed. I stood in the hall as Kassandra kept asking questions.
"So who are those people?" Kassandra asked as she reluctantly put on some underwear that I recently bought but never tried on. I told her she could keep it, even if it wasn't a perfect fit but it would do.
"Family, in every way that matters." I replied as I heard her struggling to put on one of my pants.
Her body type was different than mine; she had more of a curvy body while I didn't. Girls notice things like that, even if we don't mean to.
"...and who was that lady who grabbed me as I was walking out of the shower? I had to fight her so she would let me wrap a towel around me."
I smiled and noticed a lot of the younger males trying to listen in. I let my right hand shift into a cat paw and I extended my very sharp claws and they all disappeared.
"She's my aunt Aye, a little unorthodox if you ask me. She's married to my uncle Richard. His sister is married to my uncle Ray who was in the military for years before retiring and becoming a novelist." I replied as I examined my cat paw.
"Very, hey do you mind if I just take a skirt?" Kassandra replied after giving up on the pants.
"Go ahead" I said.
-0-
Ten minutes had passed and we had walked back downstairs and Kassandra started explaining what she told me and Sam earlier.
"You didn't touch Christine's kitchen did you?" One of the Oblivion twins asked.
"Yes, I mean no..." Kassandra said reluctantly.
Everyone stared. Some smiles broke off in the crowed.
"I call dibs on a leg!" Felix Ayalando, my unofficial cousin, let out and some laughter broke out.
"I get an arm!" Aiden Oblivion added.
Kassandra turned white as everyone started naming the body part that they would want for dinner, without sounding perverted, and laughing.
"They're not serious are they?" Kassandra asked me.
"No." I said. "They're just having a little fun. The grownups have been telling their kids that for years. Poor Poe still believes that his mother is going to have Aunt Christine roast him if he doesn't help his twin brother clean his room."
"That's a pretty mean joke." Kassandra said as color returned to her face.
"Well it works...their room is spotless." I replied as the laughter slowly died down.
"Well what do we do?" Felix Ayalando asked.
I didn't respond. I looked at my mother who started to say something then stopped when my uncle Ray cut everyone off.
"Well, it's obvious isn't it?" He said as he stood up on a chair then threw his arms around to regain his balance. "We need to help them! We need to be there for them as they've been there for us!"
Everyone muttered words of agreement.
"So we're going to city hall then?" My mother asked.
"Yes...just after I make a phone call." Ray replied.
"Who are you calling?" Alexandria asked.
My uncle Ray smiled and looked through his contacts on his cell phone. "Some old war buddies..."