The Watcher Chapter 9

"Tuna"

Ander's POV

'The cops are almost here' I hear a cat say from the back door. That's the next thing I'm aware of.

I look down. I'm on top of J.C.'s chest, and am shaking like a leaf in a tornado. Shaking with pure, unrefined rage. Shaking with rage I didn't think anyone, let alone little old me, was capable of.

'Did you hear me?' asks the cat, who has now, completely disregarding my instructions, come inside.

'Yes' I answer.

Then it finally sinks in. The cops are here. I have to get the hell out of here. I look down at J.C.'s body. His chest is covered in blood. His face is torn to shreds. His eyes are…never mind where his eyes are. I think I see the cause of death: A large slash near his carotid artery.

I did all of this. I killed someone. The thing is, I don't feel bad. I don't feel bad, or guilty, or even shocked. I feel…proud, like this is what Mom meant when she said I was the only one that could stop J.C. from abusing and/or killing more cats.

I look down at my paws before I exit the house. They're covered with blood, as well as my claws. I stop and lick the blood off. Contrary to the saying, revenge is a dish best served warm and sticky. I make a mental note to rinse my mouth out before I go home to Randy, but savor the taste while it's still there.

After my I get all the blood off my paws, I go out to the yard and round up all the animals. He had twelve kittens, four full grown cats, four rabbits, at least forty total rats and mice, two iguanas, and some kind of lizard or gecko.

'What do we do now?' one cat, a tortoiseshell, demands. That's a good question. If we all stay here, we'll be put in an animal shelter where we'll probably get killed. Randy, I'm sorry to do this, but…

'Follow me. I'll take us all home to my human. He'll know what to do' I answer. Since the police aren't here quite yet, I go back inside one more time. I have some personal business I need to take care of with J.C. I'll just say that when we depart, a couple of internal organs are lighter than they were.

I can tell as soon as we set out that this is going to be a long, troublesome journey. For starters, I have no clue how I'm going to get back home.

'Okay, does anybody here know where Glenview Road is?' I ask. Hey, it's worth a shot.

'No, but you should ask Tuna. I'm sure he knows' the tortoiseshell from before says.

'And where can I find Tuna?' I ask, mentally adding "besides in a can in the supermarket".

'Go left from where you're standing right now, and he'll be down by the stream' she says.

'Alright, listen up everybody! I'm going to go talk with Tuna. (Then after that, maybe I'll talk to Salmon, or Tilapia, or possibly Herring. Who knows?) If the police come before I get back, everyone run to the stream. That's where I'll be. If for some reason, I'm not there, wait for me' I instruct. I can't help but wonder if this is what that guy from the Bible, Moses, had to go through. Surely he didn't have to talk to Tuna.

After leaving the tortoiseshell, whose name is Spice, in charge, I set out to find the stream, and hopefully Tuna.

It takes me the better part of half an hour to get to the stream. When I do, I find a large (and I do mean large) tabby sitting with its paw in the stream. It pulls a fish up out of the stream and has the fish in its mouth before I can realize what happened.

'Are you Tuna?' I ask after it stops chewing.

'Nope. I'm a cat' it replies.

'Surely you know Tuna then, I mean, how many cats live down here?' I say.

'Don't call me Shirley, my name's Tuna' it says.

'But I just asked if you were Tuna and you said you weren't' I tell it.

'And I'm not' it says. I let out an exasperated sigh.

'Then where is Tuna?' I ask.

'I don't know. Rivers, cans, supermarkets, fish markets' it says.

'I want the cat named Tuna!' I shout.

'Then you've come to the right place' it says.

'Alright, if I'm at the right place, then tell me, where is Tuna?' I ask, trying not to let the frustration show in my voice.

'I just told you, rivers, supermarkets, fish markets. Oh! I forgot to say restaurants. I'm sure there's plenty of tuna in restaurants' it says.

'You! What is your name?' I demand.

'Tuna' it responds.

'Okay. You are the cat I am looking for' I say. I take a deep breath.

'But I thought you were looking for Tuna' Tuna says.

'Let's not go there again' I say, putting a paw up in a gesture similar to that that humans make when they tell someone to stop.

'I need some help, and a friend of mine, Spice, seems to think you can help me' I explain.

'Well, I reckon I can try. What do you need help with?' he asks.

'I'm trying to find my human's house. It's on Glenview Road' I say.

'Whoa! Slow down a minute. If that is your human's house, why do you need me to help you find it?' Tuna asks. I proceed to explain everything that's happened, starting with J.C. killing Mother.

'That is quite a brine soaked cucumber you got yourself into there, little fella' Tuna says after listening to my story.

'A…brine soaked cucumber? What's a brine soaked cucumber?' I ask, puzzled.

'A pickle' he says.

'So, can you give me directions or not?' I ask.

'No. I think it'd be easier if I came with you all. It's over eight miles to get to where you're going. You all probably won't get there until tomorrow afternoon, anyhow, and you'll need someone who has experience with the outdoors to help keep everyone alive' he answers.

As Tuna and I set out to go back to J.C.'s house, a large pack of animals appear on the horizon.

'Your subjects' I tell Tuna.

'No no, Anders, those are your subjects. You're the one that will lead them to…say, where are you leading them to? What will you do once you get them home to your human?' Tuna asks. To be honest, I hadn't gotten that far with my plan yet.

'I'll cross that bridge when we come to it' I tell him.

As soon as everyone has caught their breath, we set out, with me and Tuna in the lead of the pack.

I realize something as we're walking along. This will be the first night I haven't had a warm bed to sleep in since the night I met Randy. God, I miss Him so much. I hope He isn't too upset tonight when I'm not there to watch over him, and go to bed with him. Even though I'm not the religious type (I've always found the idea of Bast, the Egyptian cat goddess, being the creator of life to be insulting, and I'm not so sure about some of the other religions), I say a silent, nondenominational prayer for Him and His family, ending it with "I'll be home soon, Randy".

A/N: Okay, this story is finally back after three and a half months. Sorry it took so long.

Please R&R if you liked this chapter. It's much appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

-Yours truly, Randy Taylor