Chapter 2: Altering Fate

Kitty was on her way to the hospital to check on Perrito. Navigating her way across town with just one eye wasn't easy. A wolf faded in and out her shadow didn't help at all. Despite their heroic efforts, the demon caused a lot of damage. She passed through the wolf as if he wasn't even there.

"Won't be long now," Wolf said.

She was going to step into the wolf's gaping maw but she stumbled backwards in time to prevent her boot from touching the wolf's tongue. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Does it matter?" The wolf passed through her. He was intangible. "We can't touch each other." He tried to bite Kitty to prove his point.

"Yes, it does. I can't see through you."

"Oh, great idea." The wolf leaped onto Kitty's back – well, kind of. They couldn't touch each other but the wolf wasn't falling. He blocked her eyes with his paws.

"I walked into that one," Kitty muttered.

Cats had other senses so she navigated by scent alone toward her destination. That was the plan but the wolf cried, "Oh no!"

He became tangible and with the newfound added weight, she couldn't keep standing.

A whistle heralded the arrival of Death. "Get off of her."

Joining the fray, Lamb stepped out of Kitty's shadow. "Dear, Wolf, we must be patient this time."

"Bah!" The wolf vanished into Kitty's shadow.

"Are you hurt?"

This was the sheep that shot her full of arrows just earlier. "And you care because?" Kitty said.

"He is not of this world. It might not be your time yet."

"Might," Death echoed.

"Cats have nine lives, not thirteen."

"Still going on about that. How's it like talking to yourself?"

"If you tried it, maybe you wouldn't be jealous."

"Some of us have actual work." Death left.

Of course, the sheep was still dangerous. As soon as Kitty turned her back, Lamb shot an arrow.

"Hey!"

"Consider it a gift." Lamb leaped into a nearby shadow to leave.

How was an arrow that made her bleed a gift? She yanked it out of her back. The wound could wait. She could see the hospital just up ahead.

With all the delays she experienced, it was a miracle that Perrito was still alive. For this entire time, Perrito still hadn't received any treatment. Blood dripped out from his wound with Puss's paw blocking what he could. The other patients were in no better shape, some even in worse shape.

"Why is he out here?" Kitty asked.

"They have no resources available. They're busy," Puss said. He sniffed her. "What happened?"

Kitty walked up to the receptionist. "Where is the nearest available doctor and bed?"

"They're busy."

"Fine, I'll do everything myself like always." Kitty went back to Puss. "Come." She led the way inside the hospital where they found patients lying in beds for various reasons. One of these rooms had two doctors performing surgery. "You will stop this and tend to him." She pointed to Perrito who lost a leg.

"You shouldn't be here. We're busy."

They were going to extract spikes from the demon out of the patient's stomach.

"I wasn't asking." Kitty drew her dagger.

"We have no room."

"I'll fix that." She drew her dagger, moving to kill the patient.

Puss parried it with his sword.

"What are you doing?" Kitty glanced to see Perrito bleeding out on the floor.

"You're going to kill him?"

"Yes. Something you should've done earlier. Now, move aside." She tried to strike again only for Puss to parry it once more.

"He's done nothing wrong."

"Perrito needs help. He's bleeding out on the floor, and you put him there!"

Before the cats could fight any further, a doctor said, "Wait, he's dead."

"How convenient. Now, we have room," Kitty said.

The two terrified doctors started treating Perrito. They wrapped up the wound with care under Kitty's watchful eye. When they tried to leave, Kitty halted them with her dagger.

"We've done all that we could. He needs time to rest," a doctor said.

"Let them leave," Puss said.

"Something might happen to Perrito while they're gone," Kitty said.

"They have people to save."

"He is the only one that matters. This town could burn. Would have burned if we weren't there."

"You don't need both of us," a doctor said.

Kitty studied everyone. "Fine, one of you may go."

One doctor remained in the room in case of any emergencies. As if wanting to earn the cat's good graces, he said, "You have wounds on your back."

"Tell me something that I don't know."

"Would you like a bandage?"

"Fine."

"What happened to you, Kitty? Why do you smell like a wolf?" Puss asked.

Kitty ignored Puss. That idiot should know the answers to his own questions. As soon as the doctor applied the bandage, Kitty said, "Do you want to have my kittens?"

Puss blinked. He couldn't believe what Kitty just said. "Can you repeat that?"

Once more, Kitty said, "Do you want to have my kittens?" She was looking at the doctor.

"Yes…" the terrified doctor stammered out. "Would it even work?"

"Love knows no boundaries. We'll make it work." She leaped up for a kiss. The doctor was a human and thus way taller than her.

Puss scanned the area for anything that could've caused this to happen. There was nothing that he could see – Kitty had to be doing this as a joke at his expense. Maybe she wanted a fight here of all places. The room was boring. "Stop messing around!" Puss drew his sword. A fight should bring Kitty back to normal. She could only see out of one eye, which would give him the edge that he needed.

"You don't get to choose who I love."

He couldn't believe how easily his sword slipped from his grasp. Kitty was never this good. They were supposed to be equals.

"Why don't you run like you always have?"

This was wrong. There was no way that she fell in love with a human doctor that they just met. One that she took hostage earlier no less. He had to get Perrito out of here.

"Touch him and you die."

He ran out of the hospital. Everything went wrong somehow – Kitty was willing to kill another human earlier – one lying on an operating table no less. And somehow – she fell in love with a doctor whom she never met before today.

A bar nearby caught his attention. He ordered a glass of leche to drown his sorrows. After the first – a second would do, and then a third. Soon enough, he lost count.

"You're going to drink yourself to death, gato."

Death was here – just like before. It was like how they met the first time. "Go away," Puss said.

"That's it?"

"Yes, that's it. Nothing should interest you."

"You asked me for help earlier. I wouldn't mind claiming two souls."

If it was just his life, he wouldn't have cared, but Death was referring to Perrito. "Kitty left me for a doctor," Puss said. "Happy?"

"You mean she's getting Perrito medical treatment?"

Puss lapped at the glass some more. "She wanted his kittens."

"Tell me everything." Death knocked the glass over.

"Why do you care?"

Lamb appeared from the shadows. "You saved his life."

"I did not," Death said.

"It all makes sense now. So many uncollected marks."

"The only reason I came is for my amusement."

"What happened to your mate?"

"You know I'm single."

"Him."

Puss blinked. "I don't want to talk about it."

"That eager to join me?" Lamb readied an arrow. "Just say it."

A few minutes passed then Death laughed. "She left him for a human. A human! Can you believe it?"

Lamb turned into a golden statue.

"Oh, now this is interesting. I would guess that Lamb is behind Kitty's strange behavior."

"There was no one nearby. I checked," Puss said.

"Are you going to stay here?"

If he left, and Kitty really did want the human doctor, it would only confirm his fears. "Only if you help me free Perrito."

They walked towards the hospital together.