Beware the red eyes
It was a dark stormy night in Central Park, Marlene strolled through the empty park, a dark umbrella hoisted over her shoulder. Droplets of rain ran down it in streams as it pattered to the ground. The wind had picked up and was stinging her face with its icy blast, she rubbed her paws together trying to stay warm and hurried along. A noise swarmed into her ears, her ears perked up and she turned around, under one of trees was a little black object; she couldn't quite make it out through the curtain of rain. She slowly approached it, as she got closer she realized it was a kitten.
The tiny animal was yowling, and trembling from the cold, her heart went out to it. She knelt down on the grass and called out to it, the kitten lifted its head and looked at her; its eyes were a dark red. The strange color didn't deter her, she brushed it off thinking it was from the irritants or an infection. A timid meow escaped the creature as it scampered towards her. Marlene reached out a paw and stroked it through its fur, it was drenched in water. The creature purred in content and rubbed its furry head against her paw. With a smile she gathered the kitten into her arms and held it close, shielding it from the rain. Surprisingly it remained calm and didn't lash out when she tried to touch it.
Marlene stood up and carried it back home, the kitten remained silent the whole way- except for the occasional small meow. After identifying its gender she set him down and prepared a small bed for him out of blankets and pillows, next she took a fish and put it in a bowl and left it beside him. The little cat poked his nose into the bowl and took a whiff, he recoiled. Marlene raised an eyebrow, since when didn't cats like fish?. Maybe he was too young, the proper food would be better. Fortunately Julien had given her a supply of cat food from Gladys; considering how she always mistook him for a cat.
She took a can from the mini cooler the penguind had procured for her and popped it open with her claw. She pulled back the lid, the sharp edge cut into her skin, she winced and wiped the blood off with a rag and emptied the food into the bowl. The kitten wandered over to the small puddle of blood left on the floor and began to lap it up. Marlene blinked, well that was abnormal, maybe he was just so dehydrated that he would drink any fluid. She set down a dish of water for him and wiped up the spill.
"Well, if I'm going to keep you than you need a name. I'll call you..." she trailed off and thought for a moment "Smudge". She patted its head with a smile, the kitten nipped her fingers in return. Marlene giggled and gave him a toy to play with, he batted it away and instead lunged at her tail, gripping it with his tiny claws.
"Hey, cut that out" she teased, she pried him off and planted him in front of the food dish. Smudge turned away and curled up in the makeshift bed, she guessed the little critter was too tired to eat. She decided to leave the food and water dishes out in case he changed his mind. She sat beside him and stroked a paw through his rough fur, feeling the clumped together patches brushing against her fingertips. The kitten opened his eyes and stared at her, Marlene frowned; his eyes were still red.
She stood up and searched through the cave for eye drops or anything to clear them up- Smudge followed after her, biting at her ankles. She found bandages, creams but nothing she needed. Realizing his health depended on them she snuck into the Veterinary clinic and smuggled a bottle back. She rushed back not wanting to leave the kitten alone, he hadn't eaten or drank anything; she hoped he wasn't ill. Her heart racing with worry for the young animal Marlene stepped into the cave, her eyes widened, and the bottle fell to the floor. Scattered across the floor were bones and clumps of grey fur, she stepped back a step. The first thought that ran through her mind was if Smudge was alright, she cautiously stepped around them and searched for him. She found the little cat curled up on his bed licking his lips.
With a relieved sigh she looked around the room, she wasn't sure where it all came from. She figured it was from a rat that the kitten had caught and eaten, and quickly swept it away. She discovered an object beside her bed and picked it up, it was Julien's crown. Julien never went anywhere without his crown, something was definitely amiss. She was broken from her thoughts by a soft purr, Marlene put it down on her blanket and knelt in front of Smudge, she tenderly rubbed behind his ear with a passionate smile. He slowly removed his head from his tail and looked at her. She gasped, ribbons of blood dribbled down his jaws and black fur. He lapped it back up causing her to cringe, fearing he was injured or sicker than she first thought she hurriedly grabbed a cloth and wiped his face clean. Smudge purred and drifted back to sleep.
Marlene didn't hear anymore of the cat until he started yowling in hunger, she noticed he didn't touch his food and set him down in front of it. Once again it remained untouched; this worried the otter, if he didn't eat he would surely perish. She had to make sure he got better, she had to get medicine, but she couldn't leave him alone. She took the cat to Becky and Stacy, hoping that they could watch him. The overexcited badgers were expecting to participate in another of their wild games, so they were puzzled to see her with a little kitten.
"Marlene, what's with the cat?" Stacy asked her.
"He's my cat, I found him all alone in Central Park" she explained in a haze, she didn't want to waste time dotting the Is and crossing the Ts.
"Oh, he's so cute" the other cooed, she stroked his head. Smudge nipped at her fingers. "And feisty" she added, retracting her paw.
Marlene nodded "look, I need to go get some medicine for him, can you watch him?".
"Sure, Cousin" Stacy answered with a grin.
She sighed in relief "oh, thank you. I'll try not to be long, okay?". She handed him over to the two giggling females "Mommy will be right back, okay?". The kitten gave a quiet meow in response, she kissed him on the head and hurried out of the habitat.
Finishing another heist at the Clinic Marlene went back to the badger habitat, she knocked on the side of the rock and waited for someone to answer. Five minutes passed, she knocked again, there was still no answer.
"Hello?" she stepped forward and looked around "is anyone here?".
A soft meow entered her ears "Smudge?" she followed the voice further inside. She found him seated calmly on the floor licking his paws, around him was a puddle of blood. Her eyes widened, in the red fluid were bits of orange fur, she cautiously turned her head to the right. Stacy's corpse lay in a heap, fresh blood pooling out from the stomach, her eyes were wide and glazed over. Marlene gasped and stumbled back, he finished cleaning himself and lapped away at the bodily fluid. She doubled over and hung her head feeling nausea slither up her throat.
He was responsible, he killed Becky and Stacy, and possibly Julien, one little cat. Her chest tightened, what if she was next?. He jaunted towards her, she backed away "stay away from me".
Smudge rubbed his head against her leg with a purr, he crawled around her legs and licked her paw with his rough tongue. He looked up at her, she tried to look the other way but hesitantly stole a glance down. His dark eyes locked onto her hazel ones, her fear gradually melted away and she knelt beside him, feeling a slight smile tug at her lips.
"Okay, so you eat flesh and drink blood, we can still make this work".
He chirped in response, she grabbed a blanket and threw it over Stacy, bundling her up she carried the corpse back to her habitat, and stowed it away for his next meal. When she was finished Marlene knew he would need more, it was the only way for him to survive, the question was would she kill for him?. She looked back at the kitten who was curled up on her bed slumbering soundly with uncertainty, and back at her claws. She knew what she had to do, she threw a cloak over her shoulders and fleeted out into the night.
Mort skipped down the path singing a happy tune about Julien's feet, he didn't know where his beloved feet were or the lemur who wore them. Maurice had told him that he had left for Marlene's hours ago, they hadn't heard from him sense. He said that he was fine, and reassured him that the king would be back later. Of course this didn't satisfy him, so the little mouse lemur decided to head out and search for him himself- despite Maurice's warning.
He had just finished the last line when he heard footsteps behind him, being oblivious to possible peril Mort ignored it and skipped along. A shadow loomed over him, he felt warm air blow down his neck. He stopped and turned around, a cloaked figure stood behind him. He couldn't see its face; it was covered by a hood, the object in its paw glinted from the moonlight reflecting back to him; it was a knife.
"Umm, hello" he greeted with a nervous wave.
The figure didn't answer, it raised the sharp blade "what are you doing with that?". It drilled the knife through his chest Mort let out a shrill scream and collapsed to the ground, eyes wide. The cloaked figure pulled back its hood; it was Marlene, she stared at the little lemur's body, opening her mouth she softly whispered "I'm sorry, Mort".
She gathered him into her cloak and returned home where Smudge was waiting. She presented the meal to him and he hungrily gnawed away, this began a pattern. Each day Marlene would kill a Zooster and feed them to him, this went on for weeks until each and every one of her friends had been brought down by her paws. Smudge was growing up and so was his insatiable lust for blood, with all of the Zoosters gone she had to resort to feeding him the animals in the park. She was running out of food, everything and everyone was destroyed, leaving her and the caf.
It had been days since he had last eaten, his yowling rang out through the cave walls non stop. Marlene tried everything she could to shush him but nothing worked, all she could do was give him her blood when he was thirsty and patches of flesh to tie him over. But she couldn't keep it up forever, all of the blood loss had made her weak. All she could do was hold him close while they both waited for death.
She had returned from another hunt empty handed, the kitten laid where he was howling in hunger. Marlene sighed and knelt in front of him "I'm sorry, buddy. I couldn't find anything else". She stroked his rough fur to calm him, he pressed his teeth into her finger drawing blood. She kept her finger in his mouth allowing him to continue. He hungrily drank away and licked his lips, having tasted blood for the first time in days he wanted more. He tensed up the muscles in his back and legs and lunged at her throat.
"Smudge, what are you doing?!" she cried out, eyes wide as her back hit the floor.
The little caf hissed and sunk his claws into her flesh, Marlene screamed in pain and using the remaining strength in her arms pried him off. She reached out and grabbed onto the corner of her bed, attempting to push herself to her feet. Using his leverage he pounced on her chest and slashed his claws across her throat in one swift motion.
Marlene gasped "how..could...you?" she squeaked, betrayal shone brightly in her eyes draining of strength and life. She slowly fell onto her knees and clutched her paws to her throat, gasping and chocking on the blood filling up her airway. She looked down, bloody trails ran through her fur, and stained her white chest. Marlene collapsed onto the floor coughing and wheezing, she reached a trembling paw out for something to help her, anything. All she was met with was the cool floor and the dark fluid pooling around her. Her eyes widened and she pulled it back, leaving a paw print smeared with her own blood. As the bodily fluid filled up in her lungs through her fading vision she could see the dark gleaming red eyes.
After the kitte had completed his meal he left the cave, and ventured out into the city searching for more souls to claim. When you're out at night you better beware the little black cat with red eyes.