Chapter 27: The Cat Came Back
The Mayor ordered everyone to remain in their shelters for the remainder of the night and a little deep into the morning. Gabriel went to his dark room, while Pablo remained outside and kept an eye out. Pablo was standing on the wall, looking out with binoculars to check for the undead. The herd they diverted seemed to be long gone and the threat was thankfully gone. Pablo had other things on his mind, but he convinced himself to remain quiet and keep it to himself until nightfall. He was standing guard on the southern wall, keeping an eye out as the sun came up. There was a few straggling undead walking around, but the majority of them were gone. As he was watching this one undead walk away from their position, someone came up there to speak to him.
"Mr. Mayor," Pablo said, as he put down his binoculars.
"Please, call me Max." the mayor said, as he grabbed the binoculars to look for himself. "It's starting to look normal out there again. I can't believe how close we came to being swarmed."
"You're telling me." Pablo said, sighing again. "I just got here, and I like it here. I would prefer not bugger off so soon."
"I'm very hesitant to trust," Max admitted, "But I'm glad to have you here. Your help has been invaluable, and that's a total understatement."
"After Denver, we were just happy to find anything." Pablo admitted.
"How bad is it out there?" Max asked.
"You don't want to know." Pablo answered, "What I saw out there in the west was the worst of humanity, at a time when we cannot afford to toss away so much life so recklessly. We are technically an endangered species, yet some of us are acting like there's still several billion of us walking around. Every survivor we have is precious, and we have to protect them as if the human race depends on it. No exceptions."
"Well said," Max said, as he put the binoculars down. "I agree with that."
"I hope so," Pablo said, "Because we can't afford to risk lowering our numbers. I just wish California thought about that too before taking action."
"Is there something bothering you?" Max asked.
"No," Pablo replied, "Why do you ask?"
"You've been rather tense," Max observed.
"I'll be alright," Pablo replied, "I'm just a little tired, and peckish."
"I hear ya," Max said as he was heavy eyed as well. "I'm going to check up on the other points. I think we will give it a few more hours before letting everyone back out from the shelters."
"Seems right," Pablo said, "See you around."
Pablo watched as the Mayor walked away, and then he turned and noticed something he didn't notice earlier. That black cat was back, and it was sitting on a window ledge no more than ten feet away from his position. Pablo stared at the cat as he fought a desire to shoot the little fur ball with his silenced rifle. Good judgement got the best of him because he didn't do anything. He didn't shoot the cat because there was a chance that it was just a cat, and he didn't want to spook Max, as the last thing the mayor needed was someone complaining about him shooting a small animal.
"What are you looking at?" he called out to the cat.
The cat got up and stretched his back, before meowing at Pablo and scooting off the ledge and onto the ground running away.
Pablo ignored it and stayed at his post until the curfew was finally lifted and everyone was allowed to come out of their shelter hours later as Max had suggested. Pablo was relieved a short time after that and he immediately went to Alyssa's place to check up on her and Diane. When he arrived, Alyssa could tell that something was bothering him, but didn't say anything until she finished making breakfast.
"Pablo," Alyssa started, "Is something wrong? Are we still in danger?"
"No," Pablo answered, "At least I don't think so."
"What do you mean by that?" Alyssa asked.
Pablo paused for a moment as he was hesitant to talk about it. He then looked over at Diane who was glaring at him from across the table.
"You promised," Diane reminded him, "No more secrets."
"Alright," Pablo said as he sighed, "There was this black cat, and it kind of freaked me and Gabe out a bit this morning."
"You guys were freaked out?" Alyssa repeated, "By a cat?"
"It talked to Gabriel," Pablo informed her, "And Gabe knew what it was saying!"
"Gabe can talk to cats?" Diane asked, surprised by it. "I didn't know that."
"Neither did I," Pablo admitted, "But that's the least of my worries. That cat represents something much worse: a witch."
"Excuse me?" Alyssa asked as she couldn't believe. "A witch?"
"From New Salem?" Diane also asked.
"I don't know," Pablo said, "But witches are known to communicate and get along with all types of animals, especially cats as they consider them kindred spirits."
"There's a witch?" Diane said, still surprised, "Here?"
"That I also don't know," Pablo admitted, "But we should be careful just in case there is one amongst us. If we just act normal and pretend to be oblivious of her, chances are she'll act normal as well and keep doing her thing."
"Then stop freaking yourself out," Alyssa ordered, "Even if there is a witch, that doesn't mean we're in danger. If Gabriel is capable of being nice despite his people's less than admirable reputation, then there nothing that says this witch can't be too. Let's not judge this witch until we meet her and learn a bit more. Understood?"
"Alright," Pablo said, as he understood. "A valid point."
They hadn't spoken about the witch or the potential of one for the rest of the day. When Gabriel emerged from his dark room as sun down, he didn't want to talk about it either as the first thing he wanted to do was fly around and make sure that threat from the undead was gone. He spent the better part of a half hour flying for miles around the town and checking up on the split herds that had traveled far away. He was relieved to see that the town was safe from them as long as they continued on their current course. Gabriel also took note to give the wolves a heads up about thee half that was closest to them, as the Lycans would have no trouble using the surplus for their own food supply. When Gabriel flew back to town and made a smooth landing on the roof of Alyssa's building, there was someone waiting for him. That same black cat was sitting pretty and purring as Gabriel walked closer to it.
"I know what you are," Gabriel called out, "If you've got something on your mind, just spit it out already."
"Do the humans know what I am?" the cat asked him.
"They do not," Gabriel replied, "As far as they know, you're just a small fluffy pain in my ass. I prefer not to let them know, cause the concept of your true form would freak them all out, big time."
"I agree," the cat concurred, "But you know my charge. I will protect my master from anything I deem threatening to her, even Vampires."
"So, you have a master." Gabriel said, taking note of it.
"Are you here to hunt for us?" the cat inquired.
"I am not," Gabriel admitted, "I may not be the biggest fan of witches, but I will cause no trouble for your master as long as she doesn't cause any trouble for me or the people I'm protecting."
"Fair enough," The cat said as it started to walk towards the stairs.
"So," Gabriel said, as he leaned back on the door leading into the building so no one else could come to the roof to interrupt them. "How long have you and your master been living here in this town?"
"Longer than you think," the cat replied, "Since the beginning."
"Is that so?" Gabriel said, as he remembered what his brother said. "Was that even before the undead came?"
"Yes," the cat answered, "Long before then."
"Interesting," Gabriel said, "I might need to speak to your master about that."
"I will ask," the cat replied, "Why do you wish to speak about times before the undead walked the earth?"
"My people are investigating it," Gabriel answered, "They might even try to help the human race."
"That's not like them," the cat admitted, "Usually your council prefers to stay in the shadows, and let evolution take its natural course."
"I'm just as surprised as you are," Gabriel agreed, "Pass the message along. All I wish to do is talk, nothing more. If she keeps my secret, I will keep hers."
"I'll get back to you on that," The cat said, as he scampered off to the emergency stairs by the fire escapes. He used the steel steps to make his exit and vanish into the shadows on the ground and was gone. Gabriel tried to use his enhanced sight, but it was no use. The cat was gone and they had to give him a little trust for the time being. Trust in that the fur ball was telling the truth and that his master was not aggressive, but just as friendly as the rest of town. That didn't change the big news: there was a witch in the small town, and they were just going to have to deal with it.
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