Note: The song "Leave My Body" doesn't belong to me. Instead, it belongs to Florence and the Machine.

Chapter 8

"Where the hell am I?"

Babbit finds himself in a strange, old-fashion dressing room with a nearly shattered mirror. He was not sure about how he got there.

After looking around the room in a state of confusion, Babbit turns on his right side and sees his reflection in the mirror.

He had on a dashing 1920s black suit with a matching fedora black hat. Babbit also had on silver pocket watch in his right pocket.

You look sharp! Babbit thought to himself in amusement, forgetting that he was in an unfamiliar environment for a moment. Too bad I can't wear this every day!

Babbit continues to check himself out in front of the mirror for a couple of seconds until he hears a soft knock on the door.

"Mister!" a female voice exclaimed in a slight Russian accent from the closed door. "The show is going to start in five minutes."

Show? What show? Babbit thought in puzzlement as he quickly walked towards the door to open it. I'm not a singer! I can't sing for crap!

Babbit opens the door and sees a Russian blue cat of medium height. He could tell that she wasn't very wealthy by what she was wearing.

"I think you have the wrong person, Miss-" He began.

"Sonia." The Russian blue said shyly. "I know you're not in the show, but Miss Margarita Vasquez is expecting you."

Sonia paused so she could fix her apron.

"Better not let Miss Vasquez wait any longer." She warned. "You know she has a reputation of having a nasty temper!"

"Of course I remember!" Babbit lied. He didn't know who Miss Vasquez was. "I'm on my way right this second!"

Sonia curtsied and quickly left.

…

When Babbit went to the table where Miss Vasquez was sitting, he was greeted with a not very friendly glance. He also couldn't help but notice the two empty wine glasses in front of her.

"Its abouuuuttt timmmmeeeee you ssssshowed up!" She slurred in a calm tone. "I wasssss abouuuutttt to givveee up on yyyaaaa!"

She had way too much to drink! Babbit thought.

"Yeah, I had a headache." Babbit said hiding his nervousness about the situation he was in. "And tired from a long day."

"Yourrrr alwayssss tirreddd." Miss Vasquez slurred. She was trying to not to lose her balance.

Babbit sighed. "I'm a businessman, Miss Vasquez-"

"The name'sss Margirrittaaa! Remeberrr?"

"Like the drink?" Babbit teased.

At this, Margarita swore under her breath, stands up, grabs her glass , and bends over to spill her drink on Babbit's suit. However, her planned didn't go successfully well by falling and spilling the drink on the ground.

In defeat, Margarita recovers herself and takes a big gulp of another wine glass.

"Just call me Rita." She sighed and puts her head down on the table.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" a voice from the front stage cried out. "May I present you, Mossy and the Doves!"

Babbit thought he heard Margarita snort.

Through the cheers of the audience, a trio of felines walked up to the stage and was soon setting up.

While looking at the felines, his attention suddenly moves towards the lead singer. She was a calico cat that appeared to be in her mid-twenties. She was wearing a purple flapper dress with a matching hat. The singer also had bobbed red hair, quite unusual for a feline.

Sensing that Babbit was staring at her, Mossy, the lead singer, looked at his direction and winked at him.

Babbit could feel his face was turning a little red.

While Babbit and the others were star-strucked at Mossy's appearance and laid-back vibe, Rita was not.

She lifts up her head and crosses her arms, wearing a disgusted look on her face.

"I can't believe they decide to havvee herrrrr on their inssstead of mmmeee!" Rita huffed. "Sssshe can't sssing like mmmeee! Plusss, ssshe needs to learn how to choose the right outfit!"

Babbit ignores her.

After five minutes meeting her, he got a good over view of Margarita Vasquez's personality.

Mossy clears her throat and the talking ceased.

After getting most of the audience's attention, Mossy begins to sing:

"I'm gonna be released from behind these lies.
And I don't care whether I live or die.
And I'm losing blood, I'm gonna leave my bones.
And I don't want your heart, it leaves me cold…"

She has a pretty angelic voice. Babbit though while he was listening to Mossy's singing.

Rita, on the other hand, can feel her blood boiling inside of her body.

"I gonna leave my body.
I gonna lose my mind.
Said I'm gonna leave my body…"

On instinct, Babbit looks up to see that Rita was a couple of feet away of the stage, throwing a glass full of wine.

Concerned, Babbit gets out of his seat and calls out, "Mossy! Look out!"

Mossy stops singing. "Huh?"

Then she saw the glass was headed towards her direction.

Mossy quickly ducks, barely missing the glass. However, the stage wasn't so lucky.

Some of the members of the audience gasped.

"You idiot!" Rita snared at Babbit. She could sense that most of the eyes were staring at her. But she really didn't care. "That was my chance to shine!"

She rushed towards Babbit and starts choking him.

"But you have to save that hussy!"

"Rita!" Mossy exclaimed in horror while Babbit pushed Rita away from him. "Leave him alone!"

"Sshut up, Mosssyyy!" Rita slurred. By this time, she had too much wine.

Unable to keep her balance, she fells and laid faced down.

That's it! I'm leaving! Babbit thought as he was turning to leave. This Rita chick is insane!

Babbit was getting ready to leave when he heard a voice calling him by his last name.

"Mr. Pierce!" "Mr. Pierce!"

…

"Mr. Pierce!" "Mr. Pierce!"

Babbit opens his eyes and sees that he's in a hospital room, lying on the hospital bed. There were also two feline nurses present in the room. One of the nurses was a short, older Persian cat. The other nurse was a tall, younger Siamese cat.

After blinking for a couple of minutes and looking down to see that he was wearing a hospital gown, Babbit slurred, "Wherrreee am I nurssseee-" he trailed off, drooling a little. He was still under the strong effects of morphine.

"Mary Ann." The Persian cat said sweetly in a Southern accent. "You're in the hospital, recovering."

Mary Ann looked at her chart while the Siamese cat nurse checked Babbit's vital signs.

"His vital signs are normal." The Siamese cat said matter-of-factly.

She gets a mini light out of her pocket and checks Babbit's eyes with it.

"And his pupils and reaction time is normal as well."

"Thank goodness for that!" Mary Ann sighed in relief and puts her chart away. She goes to the side of the bed that Babbit is laying and looks at him straight in the eye.

"You gave us quite a scare last night," Mary Ann said calmly. "We thought that we would have to put you under a ventilator!"

.