A soft clattering follows a mangy looking alley cat as the sun sets on another day in the city. More of a metropolis than city, simple things in life are often overlooked. Most of the citizens of this giant city look to alley cats like the mangy one as pests to be exterminated, but what these people don’t realize is the uniqueness and importance this cat has for most of the world. Shamelessly licking itself, it sits atop a dumpster near the end of a cluster of business offices.
This cat, oblivious to the world it chooses to live in, thinks about the things in its past and wonders who those events will impact now and today. A passing car pulls the alley creature from its thoughts to have it realize the late hour. Without tarrying further, the cat leaps off the dumpster and trots on its way.
On the other side of the city, a woman gazes at a broken cell phone wondering what else could go wrong in her day. Flipping it open and shut, she tries to fix the problem herself while waiting for an acquaintance to meet up with her. Frustration settles in as an unattractive alley cat wanders by like it owns the street. The woman, tired and weary from many days of hard work and high stress looks at the cat and sees something in the creature she may have otherwise missed.
Curious as to why she might be attracted by this beast, the woman flips open her phone one last time in hopes that she could get it working again and finds the screen is lit and functioning. Seeing this, she turned toward the cat and took a picture of it so she would remember to think more about the cat. Feeling the warmth of daytime leave, Melinda [put different name here] put her cell phone in her pocket and started to walk away. The cat, when it turned around to see its audience leaving, began to meow to her. Baffled, Melinda took steps toward the cat and thought she saw a smile appear on its face.
The cat, seeing that it got the woman’s attention, was quite pleased with itself. “Unfortunately,” it thought, “this will not be enough. She will need more time before I can let her know who I am.”
Tygrus, seeing that his time was running out, walked toward the woman as he meowed again. He figured that since it got her attention the first time, it would keep her attention. After another minute, she was kneeling and timidly stroking his back with her hand. Wonderment filled Tygrus as he felt the caress of her touch. Shivers ran down his spine each time she stroked his back. Wanting more of this sensation, he pushed for more contact, but quickly saw his folly as she stood back up and started to walk away again.
Melinda couldn’t figure out why this alley cat had decided to befriend her, but she knew she couldn’t take care of it right now in her life. As much as it pained her to see a beautiful animal emaciated and dirtied up, she had to walk away if she was going to make her appointment with the man. It had only been two weeks since they met, and yet she knew something significant would happen between them. Despite feeling this way, Melinda realized that she couldn’t just leave the poor feline on the street to get caught by someone else and then put to sleep. The first time she heard of the law in this city stating that all stray animals would be put to sleep for the health of the citizens it made her sick to her stomach. Since that time, she made every effort to catch and adopt out any strays she came across that were sociable.
When he fingers lifted away from his arched back, Tygrus became annoyed with the human woman. He had heard stories about her kindness to stray animals and thought this was his best chance to get finally get her attention. He realized that she didn’t just lift her hand from his back and stand up, but she started walking away while talking to something in her hand. Panicked, Tygrus trotted toward her in hopes she wouldn’t chase him off like so many others. That thought made him want to pursue her, so he made sure he kept his eyes on her without her knowing. He looked and waited for a moment when he might be able to grab her attention again.
Worried about the cat, Melinda looked back one more time before she left to see the sidewalk empty. Alarmed, she looked all around her while she headed toward her meeting in hopes of catching one last glimpse of the friend she had made. Her fingers still remember the touch of the cat’s fur from her petting its back. She realized how pleased she was to feel the softness of its fur when it came up to her. Deep down she knew that she wanted to keep this stray for herself, but as with all the others, she knew that she couldn’t take care of it properly. Saddened, Melinda stopped looking and began to think about the meeting she had ahead of her.
Reflecting the human woman’s worry, Tygrus began to sense a danger in the air. This danger was something he was unaccustomed to, and knew that if he didn’t figure out something to do about it, this woman might not last much longer on the path she has chosen for herself. He turned around to see that the woman was gone from sight. Cursing himself for getting lost in his thoughts, Tygrus smelled the ground for her scent to follow.
Nervous and tired, Melinda was relived when she saw that her cat friend did not try to follow her. This was supposed to be a meeting in private after all, “if you could call a cat an intruder,” she thought. “He hasn’t he called me yet? It’s getting dark, and I can’t be out after the sun has set in this part of town. Alex knows this… where is that man?”
After a few minutes of tracking her scent, Tygrus was surprised when he saw the woman again. He knew what lay in wait for her at her destination, but he did not know how to dissuade her from meeting this particular appointment. Tygrus was pulled from his thoughts by a melody carried on the wind. Mingled with the sound, a poignant scent filled his snout. Blinded by worry, he bounded toward the woman as she stopped to look at her watch. He knew his time was running out to stop the events that had been put in motion.
In another part of this metropolis, a many stares at his watch wondering when it will happen. For the hundredth time he wonders about his motives. He wonders if he can find justification for what is about to happen to someone he once knew. Once upon they were closer than close. Once upon a time, the thought of a single hair on her body causing her pain would motivate him to action. “Where did I lose those strong feelings of protection? Why her? In the end, they found my price… and I gave in. I’m so ashamed,” he thought as a drop of condensation rolled down the side of his drink. People as different as snowflakes walk outside the window of the tiny café he sits in.
“Nothing I can do now will atone for this soul. This must be my last. Alex Dameon must never do this again. Ever. There was a day when I would never allow an ignorant person, let alone ignorant woman, walk into what she’s walking into. Melinda, forgive me. Heh, nothing personal… who ever coined that phrase. Well, it suits this situation well,” Alex’s thought race as the sun casts a golden hue on an otherwise corrupt and dark city.
Tightening his fingers around his drink, Alex takes another deep drink in hopes that his senses would pull his mind away from thinking. Iced tea had that affect on him. It somehow was strong enough to pull him out of his deepest thoughts and ponderings. His mind still led him to Melinda and happier days. She always brought a smile to his face. He reminiscenced of a love purer and truer than any he ever experienced in his life. Pulling a hand away from his drink, Alex looked at the scarred and line palm to try and gaze into his soul. “These hands… oh what have I done? Where did my integrity go? Can’t think on that now… I must rely on my hidden ace. If only I knew that it got there in time,” Alex thought as his ran his hand through his tawny hair.
“I must find her!” Tygrus thought as the final dim of the sun lit the rooftops. He thought he had followed her scent directly, but something seemed to be wrong with the scent now. He knew it was her’s, but he could also smell a taint to the scent. Confused, Tygrus emptied his mind and concentrated solely on the woman’s scent. Once he cleared his mind, Tygrus knew exactly what was wrong with the scent. Humans, especially woman, give off a distinct smell when they become distressed, and the strength of the scent change urged Tygrus on faster. Heart racing, his legs took him on a dizzying journey until he came upon a scene that caused his hackles to rise. Feeling every muscle in his body tense, Tygrus bared his teeth at the group of men surrounding the woman.
Wondering how she stumbled onto this rough looking group of men, Melinda slowly pulls her briefcase in front of her as a shield. Just over five feet tall, she knew she was no match for these men who were three times her size. “Alex, where are you?” she wondered as the men started to close in around her. Before they encircled her, Melinda broke out into a sprint down the street. Blindly running, she silently pleaded with Alex to show up or at least call her so she could tell him to get help for her. Corner after corner she ran around in hopes of ditching at least some of the pursuers. At one point she looked back and thought she saw the alley cat from earlier following the men, but she thought her fear was taking over and making her see things.
As Melinda took another sharp turn, she saw that she had made the only mistake she could; she ran into a dead end. Turning around, she saw her pursuers slowly walk around the building to find her trapped. Grins broke out on the grim faces of many of the men as they saw a difficult quarry turn into helpless prey. Panic settled in as she realized that she would be caught in this trap. Her thoughts drifted toward Alex, and for the umpteenth time, she wondered how she had gotten stuck in this mess. As she had earlier, Melinda thought she had seen her mangy cat friend but again attributed that fleeting thought with her hysteria. Wrapping her briefcase strap around her hand, she started to swing it around in hopes of fending off her assailants.
Turning around another corner brought Tygrus face to face with the situation he was hoping to avoid. Eight large human men leered at the one person Tygrus hoped he would not see trapped. Looking ready for a fight, Tygrus saw Melinda take poorly aimed swings at her attackers with her briefcase. Knowing he would be cutting his time short, Tygrus turned around and left the scene of the battle to look for a path onto the roof of one of the neighboring buildings. Spying an escape ladder that had been lowered, he leapt upon the first few rungs to the first landing. The next few stories of the escape were taken at a sprint as Tygrus knew that he had no time to waste. Once upon the rooftop, he gazed down upon the bleak scene taking place below him.
One man had a gash above one eye, but there were still seven more uninjured and amused men. Movement caught her attention as Melinda saw the bleeding man slowly stand from the place where she had knocked him unconscious. “What am I going to do now?” she thought. “My escape run took most of my energy, and I only have enough strength for one or two more swings of my briefcase before I won’t be able to lift it again. Alex, were you involved with this? Please tell me it’s just a coincidence that you arranged a meeting with me and I ran into these men.” As these thoughts swam through her head, her pursuers encircled her to complete the trap. She fended off the hysteria threatening to consume her rational thoughts and replace them with frantic, useless thoughts of escape.
Seeing her despair, Tygrus embraced his inner self, and felt the familiar stretching of skin and fur. His muscles rippled as they also stretched and grew. The familiar pain of bones extending and reforming to fit his other shape seared his mind as he tried to rush through the transformation. The cracking of his hips came next in order to support his weight on his hind legs in this form. This was his least favorite part of transforming; the reshaping of his hips and hind legs. Blinding pain fills his head as his back straightens into position and his full weight settles on the newly reformed hips. With the completion of the transformation, Tygrus stretches and growls deeply into the last rays of sunlight. “Now I will come, woman.”
The nine people in the alley stop their deadly dance and look around to try and find the source of the animalistic shout that broke into their world. The oppression of rage quenched the fire of the eight men as they once again hear the howl of an enraged creature. Knowing that his time to strike had come, Tygrus looked down into the alley one last time and then leapt off the rooftop. Baring his newly enlarged teeth, he gazed at the eight attackers and wondered which would be his first prey.
Time slowed to a crawl as the nine people looked up to see a giant human-like cat was falling toward them. Melinda thought she was hysterical, but when she saw the creature falling, she had no more doubts about her hysteria as she thought it looked familiar. The eight men began to give off scents of apprehension when they saw the beast coming closer and closer to the alley floor. A vicious grin spread across Tygrus’ face as he knew his timing was right. Before they knew he had landed, Tygrus tore the first man’s throat out with one clawed hand. Gazing around at the other seven, he dropped the dying man at his feet, and dared the others to try to attack him. He craved for one to be foolish enough to attack him or the woman. Movement caught his eye as one of the men grabbed the woman roughly. Wrapping one hand around her throat, the attacker yelled in a gravelly voice, “Beast I don’t know what you’re after, but this woman is ours’. Go take your dead meat and play somewhere else.”
Grinning deeper, Tygrus turned toward this man. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the frightened look on the woman’s face. The horror painted across it was not what he had expected. He expected relief or joy – something more positive. What he saw cut at his heart. Trying to think of something to say, his said in his bestial voice, “You will not harm that woman. She is mine. All of you run now before you up like the man on the ground. Leave quickly men, before I decide that you are worth my time in killing.”
Melinda stood in shock as she gazed upon the dying man in front of her. She knew that she had wanted saving, but she did not imagine this would be her rescuer or the way she would be rescued. Horror settled into her very being as she saw blood drip off the clawed hand that had dealt one of her assailants his dying blow. This creature almost seemed familiar to her, and yet her shock and hysteria hindered her ability to think clearly. Yet she could see a standstill between her assailants and the beast. A hand grabbed her arm while another tightened around her throat. Surprise filled her eyes as the rough hand threatened to choke her.
Alex, in his café, checked his pocket watch for the time. He knew it would be almost over. Melinda was feisty, but she would not be able to get away from these men. A couple of times, he grabbed his phone and dialed her number but send mocked him as if to say he had betrayed the one love in his life that had stayed true. The last rays of daytime had long since disappeared and the moon offered no light. “I can only hope the help arrived in time. At this point, I could care less if this client even came back alive as long as Melinda was safe,” his tormenting thoughts broke through his outer calm.
Reality had left her vocabulary as she stood staring at the monster. It looked like a feline, but it also looked like a human. Melinda wondered about how the poor creature came into being knowing that gene splicing had been a popular science a few years back. Her thoughts stopped when the creature spoke. “… She is mine…”, those words echoed in her mind as the man holding her tightened his grip on her arm. Wincing she stared at the cat-like human. The gravelly voice continued, “We won’t let you have her. She’s ours’. We paid for her delivery, and we intend to have the package. No bastardization of humanity will change that. Os, Dell… teach our crasher a lesson about butting into other people’s business.”
Wrapping his arm around Melinda, he began to stroke her stomach with his fingers as he held her throat from behind. Trembling, she endured the humility of having this man behind her have his way. Smelling her musk on the air, Tygrus roared in anger as he knew the woman was being taken advantage of. The man holding her stopped in mid stroke at the sound of fury that came from the beast. Turning to face the woman, Tygrus snarled at her captor and knew the time for play had passed. Striding toward the captor brought a tightening of his hand around Melinda’s throat. She yelped as it became more difficult to breathe. Eyes narrowing to slits, Tygrus continued walking toward the man who had the woman.
Os and Dell ran toward the monster as it advanced on their partner. Smelling their sweat, Tygrus turned toward them and swung with claws unsheathed. Both men turned and stumbled away as the claws tore at their clothing. Seeing they were scared off, Tygrus resumed walking toward the one man who deserved his wrath. The trembling woman angered him further as he tried to ignore the fact that his presence was adding to her stress. Reaching the man, Tygrus saw the woman’s face fade to a purple color as he knew the hand around her neck was squeezing the life out of her. Baring his teeth, he tore at the arm that was connected to the hand around her neck.
A yell of pain pierced the night. Clutching his useless arm, the man let go of Melinda. Frightened she walked away from both man and beast when the man released her. When she looked at the creature, the feral glow in its eyes took her breath away. The fear she first felt began to melt away as she sensed safety in the monstrosity in front of her. Hearing fading footsteps behind him, Tygrus felt inwardly satisfied. “One last problem to resolve and then I can take the woman away from this. I hope she can forgive me for the violence I caused,” he thought as he stepped toward the cornered man.
“Leave like your friends or you will suffer more than you already have. Know also that few are likely to believe a story of a cat-man attacking you, so do not try to get people to track me. Your scent sickens me… run little man!” Tygrus yelled as the last man hobbled out of the alley.
Chuckling to himself, Tygrus turned to the woman. He expected her to be frightened of him. He expected her to want to run away. He expected her to scream at the blood that was caked in his fur. Instead, she stood and stared. Unsure of what next to do, Tygrus sheathed his claws. He stood looking back at the woman, nervous that she would run from him. Still, she stood and stared at him. An instant later, her eyes rolled into her head and her body collapsed to the ground. He was by her side as she hit the ground. Animal noises could be heard in the distance night as Tygrus scooped the woman into his arms.
His thoughts were shattered as he knew the chase and playing must be over. Alex knew his clients did not like to do much in the night of the city. Superstitions and rumors about the night culture of the metropolis haunted even the largest of men. His table was littered with empty cups, signifying his worry. “Not a single one of my clients has taken this long to give me the results. Does that mean help arrived? Was she saved from what I thoughtlessly involved her with? Waiting here will be the end of me. I must return to my flat before the night advances too much,” he thought as he got up from his table.
He knew that if he was going to receive a report, it would come later and his waiting was not going to make it come faster. Looking at the empty cups in front of him, Alex knew it was time for him to leave. He hated waiting. In a world where you could get food and eat it in under ten minutes, waiting to hear a report was agony for him. Sometimes he could never understand where this mentality came from, and at other times he knew that he was product of this modern, fast paced world he lived in. Memories of simpler days broke through his troubled imagination. He thought of days where smiles were innocent, not sinister. He thought of days where laughter was a common noise and a comfortable noise. The night held no fears for him as the bell on the café door announced his departure. This night was one he would try to forget, but he knew it would never leave his memories.
Shaking and dizzy, Melinda stared at the beast in shock. She was in shock of what could have happened to her if it had not showed up; in shock because of what the beast did once he showed up. The pavement in the alleyway had blood spattered on it while the dead man’s body lay prostrate on the ground near its pawed feet. She could not believe her eyes despite her other senses registering their acknowledgement of the event that had barely commenced. Her neck, red from the rough grasp of one of her assailants, started to show bruising from the violent handling she endured. Her legs cried from her failed escape attempt. She felt some of her own blood on the palm of her hands as she realized it was from holding her fists tightly. Mind racing, she struggled to maintain consciousness as she realized the creature was staring at her.
“I overdid it,” Tygrus quietly lamented as he saw the color fade from the woman’s face.
Looking at his hands, he knew he needed to clean them before trying to reason with her. The stench of blood filled his nostrils and caused bile to linger in his throat. He detested doing what he did. Images of his rage flashed through his mind as he tried to ignore the fresh blood all around him. He fought back his bloodlust with all his might and hoped that the clouds above held rain to wash out the smell. At times he hated his animal instincts, and this time he loathed them. Wanting to reach out to the woman, Tygrus searched for something he could clean his claws with. His nostrils twitched as he caught a new scent; one neither created by the woman nor by the dead body. He realized his wish had been granted when he heard the first drops of rain hit the pavement nearby.
“Come with me,” he gruffly told the woman.
Rain always made him grumpier. He wished for her to speak acknowledgement. He longed to hear her agree. What he saw was a woman, battered and in shock of what she had seen and still sees. In his heart, he hoped she would see past the scene in front of her and accept him.
Melinda looked around her, trying to avoid making eye contact with the creature near her. She could not figure out how she felt about it either. As her gaze stopped on the creature, she began to think, “On one hand he did save my life. Without asking a thing, he came to stop the assault on me. It was a little bit of a shock to hear it speak of me as if it owned me. On the other hand, it killed a man and threatened to kill all the others. That does merit worry. And yet, I can almost see worry in its eyes. My thoughts are so muddled.”
Putting a hand to her head, she felt the first few drops of rain as they fell on her nose. As more rain fell around her, she gazed back at the beast in front of her. It had not moved its body since the last man had run out of the alley. She wondered if that was a good thing. He was standing at the entrance of the alley however, and she figured that could pose a problem. When it addressed her again, she still was not prepared to hear intelligence from it. “Come with me,” were the words it spoke.
She knew what answer she wanted to give, but the look of worry in its eyes caused her to hold her tongue. Her mind was blank. Thoughts slipped away faster than the rain fell. The smell of clean rain filled her nose while the tenseness in her muscles melted away under the cool feel of it. For a moment, she thought that the images from the her attack would wash away with the rain but that thought left when she saw the worry in the creature’s eyes fade to sorrow. “Sorrow – strange that a beast would express sorrow. It seemed bloodthirsty, not human. Yet as I think about its facial expressions, I remember seeing a distaste for what it was doing in its eyes. Maybe I should go with it. I don’t seem to have much of a choice at this point at least,” she thought as the rain began to fall quicker.
The rain began falling as Alex stepped out of the café. Something about the night seemed amiss to him, and the rain confirmed that there was something wrong. It only rained on nights when he knew angels must be weeping. There may have been a massacre somewhere, or it could just have been that his friend fall prey to those he sold her to. Disgusted with his thoughts, he let the rain soak him to his bones. He hoped that the rain would wash away his sins of his current profession. “Father of Gaia, please let her be safe this night. I hope these rain tears are for me and my foolishness – not her pain and shattered hope.”
Rubbing his claws to get the blood off, Tygrus said a silent prayer of thanks for the opportunity to make him more presentable. He could not stand to be filthy. Thinking twice about trying to lick the blood off, he continued to try and scrub it off. Hoping that the woman would take it as a good sign, he extended a cleaner paw toward her, claws retracted. Melinda, hand trembling, reached for the outstretched paw. She did not know what would happen, but something in its eyes told her it would be okay. As he felt the woman’s hand gingerly grasp his, he knew that they both might be able to forget what happened earlier that night.
