Chapter 4

"Do you think that Babbit and Catstello forgot about the meeting?" Penelope asked worried.

"I don't think so," George replied. "Babbit usually never forgets meetings."

"That's true, but if they don't show up in the next ten minutes," Sylvester uttered sleepily. "I'm leaving!"

The felines were now in the bed and breakfast's dining room waiting for their boss and his assistant to arrive. Penelope and Sylvia were both sitting in a red love seat, while George and Kitty were sitting in matching red chairs. Claude, Sylvester, and Benny were standing up. Claude was walking quietly back and forth, while Sylvester and Benny were both leading on strong bookcases, trying not to doze off.

Seeing how Sylvester and Benny were acting, Penelope couldn't help but remarked, "At least they didn't come back under the influence or completely out of their minds!"

"Yeah, for once!" George said hiding his sarcasm.

While the rest of the felines were relaxing for the meeting, Claude couldn't relax for some reason. He was still pondering about if he should tell the others about his "encounter" with a mysterious presence. Sure, Claude knew that he was going to get ridiculed about this, especially from Sylvester, but he also didn't want them to have an unpleasant surprise later on.

Noticing that Claude was walking back and forth in a quiet manner, Kitty asked with concern, "Claude, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Claude said politely while slowing down his walking. "It's just I'm a little tense."

Sylvia, who was texting on her phone, suddenly looks at Claude and says, nearly exclaims, "You're always tense about something!"

Claude was about to say something rude about Sylvia's texting habits, but Kitty gave both Claude and Sylvia looks to drop the subject.

Fortunately, Claude and Sylvia got the hint and actually dropped the subject.

A couple of seconds later, the felines could hear some commotion coming from the lobby. One voice, that sounded extremely familiar, yelled out, "What are ya doing? You don't have time for that right now! We're already late because of you not finding our way back on the road easily!"

"Gee, that sounds like you Sylvester!" Claude teased. The others, expect for Sylvester, laughed.

Sylvester was getting ready to give Claude the bird in response, but saw Babbit and Catstello arriving in the dining room. Instead, Sylvester gave Claude I-deal-you-later-look.

Sylvia was thinking about going over to Babbit and Catstello to greet them, but after she got a good look at Babbit's facial expression, Sylvia decided that greeting them, especially Babbit, wouldn't be a great idea.

…

After going over business matters, Babbit has noticed and sensed that Claude was distracted during the whole meeting. He decided to see what was causing Claude's distraction.

"Oh, it's nothing" Claude replied after being asked about his behavior during the meeting. "It's just nerves."

"Claude, it seems like you always have nerves!" Catstello quipped.

Babbit gave Catstello a sit-down-and-shut-up look. Catstello obeyed and sat down, sitting in a red chair near Babbit.

"I'm serious, Babbit!" Claude insisted while trying to hide both his anxiety and insecurity. "It's just nerves."

"I'm not buying it one bit Claude." Babbit sighed while tapping his feet on the floor. "Out with it."

Knowing that Babbit wouldn't back down until he gets a real response, Claude took a deep breath and said quietly, "I think this place has some unknown presence in it."

"What do you mean an unknown presence?' Babbit asked trying to be serious.

Taking another deep breath, Claude replies nervously with his fingers interlocked together, "Well, uh, I think there might be some kind of ghost here."

Suddenly, Catstello, Sylvia, Sylvester, and Benny burst out laughing. Claude pulls his head down in embarrassment, while Babbit shakes his head.

I was afraid this would happen. Claude thought in embarrassment.

"You have been watching too many horror flicks and those sci-fi thrillers!" Benny exclaimed while still laughing.

"Yeah, and watching too many of those types of movies will play tricks with ya mind," Sylvester added. "Especially if you're on your way to the nut house!"

Claude could felt that his face was turning red with anger.

"Cut it out Sylvester!" Babbit shouted. Sylvester, Sylvia, Catstello, and Benny had ceased their laughter.

After the laughing and Claude's internal anger had died down, Catstello said without attending to make fun of Claude, "Claude, you know that there is no such thing as feline ghosts, right?"

All of the felines' attentions were now on Catstello.

"Exactly where did you learn that piece of information?" Babbit asked annoyed.

"Uh," Catstello hesitated. "Uh, I was watching this movie on the History Channel-"

"That's a documentary, stupid!" Babbit remarked annoyed. "Plus, that channel is just a bunch of propaganda BS!"

"Oh, my mistake."

The rest of the felines were trying real hard not to laugh out loud.

…

"Now, I can finally relax!"

Babbit turned off the lights of his bathroom and got in the bed. He gets his book from the nightstand to read. Instead of opening the book, Babbit just looks at it.

"I must be tired." Babbit yawned and put the book back on the nightstand. "I'll read tomorrow."

Babbit turns off the lamp and lay in bed with his eyes closed. Nearly thirty minutes later, he was fast asleep.

A Few Hours Later…

"You are going to pay buster!" A female voice sneered loudly. "You are going to pay!"

"Who's there?"

Babbit tries to sit up, but for some odd reason, he can't. He can also feel some unexplained pressure on his body, as if someone was holding him down.

That's odd. Babbit thought while he struggling to move. This has never happen to me before.

While he was struggling to move, Babbit heard that female voice again. This time, it was laughing mischievously.

"Who's there?" Babbit asked for the second time, but louder. "I'm not afraid of you!"

It was true. It was difficult to scare Babbit off in most situations.

Again, Babbit tries to move from his current position, but to no avail.

Suddenly and out of nowhere, Babbit feels extreme pressure on his neck, as if someone was actually choking him tightly. Babbit tries to speak, but couldn't. He was also gasping for air.

"Ha Ha Ha!" the female voice laughed again, but this time, it was louder and had more of a sinister tone. "Who's the idiot now? Ha, ha, ha!"

Just after the voice said that statement, the pressures that Babbit was feeling suddenly went away. Babbit moved he's leg up to test it.

Relieved, Babbit got out of bed and checked in his bathroom and outdoor patio to see if anyone was out there. There was no one out there.