Chapitre 4: Chapter 4: Meeting Tucker
This time when Susan woke she immediately knew where she was and wanted to cry all over again. She wiped the crusty old tears out of her eyes as best she could and didn't. Susan just got up to do a little exploring of Tucker's room when the door opened and
Cynthia appeared.
"Come with me," the Persian said. Susan followed without question, hoping to get at least a look at where they were. Unfortunately, she was only taken as far as the bathroom.
"I'll be right out here when you're done," Cynthia said before closing the door firmly behind her.
Susan turned and was delighted to find the bathroom similar to the one she had at home. There was a very big, very deep litter pan as well, almost the size of a sandbox, and she wondered why they bothered with modern plumbing at all. But as Susan cleaned herself up in front of the mirror and washed her face and hands, she noticed that everything in the room was in twos. There were two sinks, one with human sized handles and one with more cat-friendly ones. And the counter was very large, lots of space in fact for a cat to hop up and do a thorough tongue cleaning as well.Susan carefully washed and examined the bite on her hand. It seemed to be getting worse, not better, and hurt way more than it should have, she thought. Still, it felt better now that it was clean again and her headache was gone thankfully, the bump no where to be found.
Susan helped herself to a towel, wondering how they kept the cat hair off of them before laughing a little to herself.
Honestly, Susan, she thought. The last thing you need to worry about is cat hair.
Finished, she softly knocked on the door, knowing any attempt to use the strange cat paw lock wouldn't work. Cynthia opened the door and sniffed at her.
"Better. Follow me."
Susan obeyed, not wanting the white Persian to have any reason to be mad at her or Tucker.
Or, at least, any madder, she thought.
Susan was disappointed when Cynthia returned her to Tucker's room.
"We will come for you shortly," Cynthia said, huge white tail starting to thrash, the very thought of what was to come making her angry. "I expect you to behave."
Cynthia closed and locked the door again, but Susan checked to be sure, just in case. Anxious and getting very frustrated, Susan considered the stained glass window. She had no idea where it went. Were they inside some building? Outside in the woods? She tried to see through the frosted glass, but with no luck.
Susan hunted around for something to pry the window off with, but found nothing. She considered breaking the glass, but knew if Cynthia caught her she would get Tucker into further trouble and possibly herself as well.
"And I would go where?" Susan spoke aloud, just to hear herself. "I have no idea where here even is."
"Cat City," a soft voice said behind her and Tucker was there.
Susan lifted him up into her arms and held him tight, stroking his fur and feeling the heaviness of his loud purr through her whole body. Just for a moment, she closed her eyes and chose to believe she was safe, Tucker was still Kitty and everything was back the way it was before. But soon the pain in her hand made it hard to hold him and Tucker's voice broke the fantasy completely."We don't have much time."
Susan reluctantly let him go. "I hope I didn't embarrass you or anything," she said, feeling strangely shy. Here she thought Tucker was just an ordinary cat!
He left her for a moment. When he came back, he was pushing a small, white plate with his nose. On it was what appeared to be a tuna sandwich and a glass of milk.
Susan suddenly realized she was starving. Her stomach agreed, growling so loudly she actually blushed.
"Sorry," she said.
Tucker pushed the plate again, tail drooping. "No, Susan, I'm sorry," he said. "I knew you'd be hungry but they wouldn't let me feed you."
Susan reached for the bread and took a big bite. It was the best tuna sandwich she ever tasted. "I'm glad your mom changed her mind," Susan said around a mouthful.
Tucker's tail twitched. "She didn't."
Susan looked down at the sandwich then back at her friend, knowing he was going hungry for her. Without a word, she broke off a large piece of the sandwich and set it on the edge of the plate. Tucker looked up at her and his whiskers twitched.
"Thanks for sharing," Susan said.
"You're welcome," Tucker answered before starting in.
It didn't take long for the two friends to polish off the food. Susan poured Tucker's portion of the milk out on the plate and they finished that too.
She set aside the dishes, wishing there was more but happy her stomach was finally quiet.
"Now what?" Susan said.
Tucker sighed softly and did a reasonable shrug of his cat shoulders. "They are trying to decide. Until then, you're stuck here. Susan, I'm so sorry!" Tucker's tail started to thrash and he got up to pace in circles. "This is all my fault!"
"You saved me," Susan said. "Thanks."
"There wouldn't have been anything to save you from if I had been more careful," he said.
"Have you always been able to talk?" Susan wanted so much to ask a million questions but wasn't sure how much he could or would tell her."Yes," Tucker said. "But you couldn't understand me. At least, not untilÉ" "Until?" Susan reached out and stroked Tucker's tail. He instantly relaxed and sat
down next to her.
"Until the rat bit you," he whispered.
"I don't understand," Susan said, confused. "What does that rat have to do with anything?
"They were following me," Tucker said, obviously miserable, his huge eyes almost full to the edges with pupil. "I didn't know they were there. They aren't supposed to exist anymore! But they followed me and caught you and I led them right to you!"
"I'm okay, though," Susan said, not sure how to make her friend feel better. "You rescued me."
"I shouldn't have brought you here," Tucker said. "I've put us all in danger. But now I need to tell them about the rats, and no one will listen! Or, almost no one."
"I don't understand," Susan said. "Please tell me what's going on, Tucker."
He shook his head, swiping his rough tongue across the back of her hand. "I can't, Susan, I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to tell you anything yet. I wasn't even supposed to meet you!"
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"That day under the porch, I was on patrol. I'm not sure if you knew, but the rats were watching you then."
Susan thought back. The rustling in the grassÉ was that the rats? She had felt a chill for a moment in the yard, remembered the squeaking as she cleaned her boot. He saved her from the rats? Susan shivered a little.
Tucker went on. "I took a chance attracting your attention. Then you took me in, and I figured it would be easier to watch you from inside, to keep you safe. I messed up. I was only supposed to keep an eye on you and your parents, the house, not join your family."
"What's so important about my house?" Susan asked. Personally, she wasn't that fond of it. What could be so special?
"SusanÉ" Tucker trailed off. "Okay, fine, I'll tell you this much. Your house and the woods around it act as a protective gateway. To our City, Cat City. And without your house and those woods for protection, Cat City would no longer exist.""Where are we?" Susan asked.
"Under your house," Tucker said. "Underground." "And the rats?" Susan said. "What about them?"
"Old enemies," Tucker said, "that everyone thought were long gone."
"And you're sure they were the ones who attacked me?" Susan said. "Not some ordinary rats?"
"You can understand me, can't you?" Tucker said.
Right, Susan thought. Stupid question.
Susan was sure Tucker would have told her everything if his mother hadn't chosen that exact moment to walk through the door.
"Tucker!" Cynthia snapped at her son. "What are you doing in here?" "Nothing," he said, ears flattening a little, tail drooping.
"It doesn't matter anymore anyway," Cynthia muttered. "The Council has called a full City meeting in Center Square. It's time to go."
Tucker looked up at Susan, one paw coming to rest on the back of her hand.
"I'll be right there with you," he said, and something in the way he said it made Susan feel afraid again.
Cynthia turned and left and Tucker followed, Susan close behind.
"What will they do to me?" She asked him in a whisper as they made their way through the warm, neat house, human sized, Susan noticed.
"I won't let them hurt you," Tucker hissed back. "I promise!"
Susan tried to feel better about it but was somehow unsure her friend had a whole lot of choice in the matter.
About as much as I do, I guess, she thought.
They reached a small kitchen, much like her old kitchen in New England, full of yummy smells that made Susan's stomach rumble all over again. Tucker flickered his ears in sympathy as he led her to the door.
He paused at the doorway as his mother walked out and turned back to Susan. Despite the circumstances, he actually seemed excited.
"You'll have to tell me what you think," Tucker said."Of what?" Susan asked, following him outside onto the sidewalk. She froze as she looked out over the City in its underground valley, unable to speak or even think at that moment.
"Welcome to Cat City," Tucker said.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone