II- One More…

It was an old building, only three floors high. The fire escape was added later, so it looked ugly and misplaced. It was dark inside, all the lights were off. Since he never went to bed before midnight he had to be out. The old lady who lived on the first floor was already asleep and the couple from the second seemed to be out, too. The cat decided to wait at the front door. Someone will come and open it. There were cats fighting nearby. It must be near the litter. He wasn’t hungry, so he didn’t care. He laid down at the staircase and waited.
Finally, the couple from the second floor arrived. It may have been minutes, it may have been hours, he wasn’t sure. The girl always cuddled with him, but he wasn’t in the mood tonight. He just went in and ran straight up to the third floor. It was cold outside and he didn’t like it. He had no other choice but to lie down on the “Welcome” sign. He thought it was there for him since he never saw anyone come over. He fell asleep almost immediately.

***

The dizziness, the pain, it was all there all the sudden. She couldn’t open her eyes. It seemed her head was about to explode. Her ankles and arm wrists were in pain. She tried to get up, but she couldn’t make her body move. How did this happen? She was confused. She couldn’t remember what was she doing last. What day is today? Is it weekend? Work day? Was she home? Nothing. Her head was just pulsing all the time. The more she tried to remember something the worse pulsing was. “Breathe. Relax. Breathe. Stop thinking.”, although she wasn’t sure how to do it, it worked. The pulsing in her head wasn’t that strong anymore. She could think. She could open her eyes. Could she? She wasn’t sure. Is it dark in here? Is that what it is? She tried harder to remember. After few minutes of thinking she finally remembered! The cat, the cook, the kitchen, marble floor,… But… What happened after? Where is she now?

***

Presence. Someone is here. He woke up. Feet in front of him. Man opening the door. “Finally.”, he thought. As soon as the door opened he ran inside and right towards his water dish. He was thirsty. The door closed and he heard feet bats on the wooden flour. The man came into the kitchen and stopped at the doorway. “What’s up lil’ friend? Hear you had a catch tonight, ha? That’s my boy!”, young, masculine voice said. He looked at him, as if he was asking is there anything else what he can do. No answer. The man just turned and left. He waited for a while, listening to what is the man doing. Then he decided to join him. The man was on the couch, watching the late night news. Obviously, there was nothing interesting. Half an hour later they both went to bed: cat in his basket, man in his bed. It seemed like a perfect, quiet night.

***

She was afraid. Although her eyes got used to the dark she still couldn’t see anything around her. But she could feel. And what she felt was pain. A lot of pain. She was chained to the wall behind her and her wrists and ankles were badly wounded. She tried to take them off, but it only made things worse. She tried yelling. No answer. Nothing. She couldn’t hear a sound, besides her own voice. She felt tired again. It was freezing in there, where ever “there” was. Cold concrete flour, concrete walls, massive steel chains. Everything cold as ice. She was shaking. She laid on the flour and tried not to think about her situation. Unfortunately, the only picture that was coming to her mind was the one of the back alley and the kitchen entrance. Some moments she could remember the kitchen itself, others the cook. Most of the time… Just the alley. First shock was gone. She gave up on screaming for help or trying to break the chains. Now she was just cold…

***

Barely opened his eyes and already he feels hungry. Looked up. The man was still asleep. It must be very early morning, otherwise the man wouldn’t be here. Went to his dish, but the man didn’t put any food last night. Like he knew the cat has already eaten. He jumped on the kitchen counter, still trying to find some food. Hence he had no luck in the kitchen, he went through all other rooms. Nothing. Nada. Not even junk. His tummy didn’t like this at all. But he was afraid to wake up the man. The man had a temper sometimes. Especially in the morning. No open window either. So, going out is not an option. He just had to wait. Or… did he? It seemed like the man was waking up. His whole body cringed in hope.

***

Running through a desert, she feels thirst, but she can’t find water anywhere around her. She has to stop. She is too tired, she is shaking. It’s freezing cold. “How come it’s so cold in the desert?”, she wonders. Drops of cold sweat formed all over her body. She feels weak. She can’t stand anymore. Falling through an abyss. Screaming for help, trying to catch the air, trying to see what’s underneath. She can’t catch her breath any more. Dark hallway. Sound of chains. Dungeons. Wooden doors with steel locks. Screams. Cold… cold… cold… 
Darkness. She feels cold, standing air in her nostril. Chokes on her own breath. Tries breathing slower. It still hurts. Her body is shaking, it’s covered in cold sweat. She tries to sit up straight, but any movement give her enhance pain. After a few minutes she started crying in desperation.

***

His happiness is never-ending! The man is up and prepares food! He even turned radio on! It must be a very good day for him, today. He turns the radio on only when in good mood. Oh, here it comes. Delicious sausage! His favourite! He was so busy eating that he almost didn’t notice the man going out. He ran towards the door like a falcon towards its prey. He made it once again. He was out and free to run around. He ran down the stairs barely noticing the man behind him. The street was calling him, he had to answer. Half way down the street he looked back to see if the man is heading in the same direction. The man was nowhere to be seen. Nothing can stop him now!

***

Footsteps. She could swear she heard footsteps. Sound of a rusty metal door opening. Someone is definitely coming. Is it a friend or foe? How can she know? She remained still and quiet. Whoever it was, they were going her way. Somewhere on her left side sound of key turning in an old and rusty lock. She tried to get up or at least sit up straight, but she couldn’t move. She was cold and in pain. The door opened inch by inch. Rays of light entered the room. She couldn’t look at the light. She was only able to see a dark figure entering the room. “Please…”, she tried to speak, but couldn’t, “Water…”, she tried once more. The person who entered the room had a bottle of water. It looked like they were thinking about it, so she tried again, “Please…”. She was given the water bottle, but she couldn’t open or drink it. A blanket was thrown at her. It was really thick, but it had intense smell. It smelled like urine. The person left something else on the floor nearby and left. Before the door was completely closed she tried for the last time, “Please…”, but got a “clang” instead of an answer. Tears of desperation formed in her eyes and started dropping. She couldn’t reach for water, nor for blanket. Desperation took over. She was shaking in tears.

Hours later she woke up again. She felt a little warmer. She reached for water, but could drink just three or four sips. She managed to take the blanket and cover herself. She wondered how many hours or days had passed. Did they notice her absence at work? Did they call the police? Is anyone looking for her? Should she be hopping? So many questions without answer. Few moments past. Panic took over. What if she is never going to be found? What is that man going to do to her? Who is he? Is he the cook? Why did he take her? Her fear grew by the moment, her body was cringing in pain. She passed out.

***

Running around can be quite tiring. He felt exhausted. Unfortunately, he was pretty far from home. This was a fancy neighborhood, nothing like the one he’s coming from. There were no buildings here, just family houses with huge back yard. A yard means at least one dog and most of these houses had two or even three of them. Problem was: should he go home now or should he stay here for the night? He came here before, he knew the neighborhood, but… Always that but… How much did this place change since? He was welcomed at some of these houses, but what if the owners changed or got a dog? He decided to take a risk. It was late to go home, some of the territories he was supposed to cross belonged to fight-oriented cats. He was too tired to fight with any of them now. He chose carefully. Somewhere in the middle of the street was a nice, always freshly painted house. They had a small dog who was friendly and usually slept inside.
On his way there he noticed something different. Like, the street itself has changed since he was last here. He tried to find out what it was. He was walking very slowly and carefully, looking all over. Finally, he got it! There were papers on the trees! It seemed like they used to be on every tree, but they have fallen down from some of them. He wondered what those papers were. he saw one of these on the street. As he came closer to it he recognized the girl from the photo. It was one of the girls from the house he was heading to! It seemed to be the older one, but it’s been a couple of years… It might be the little one, too. On the paper, just about the picture, were those things he sees everywhere. People use them for communication, or something.

“DID YOU SEE HER?!”

He was looking at the paper trying to decide if he should go to her home anyway or not. This happened before, to other girls. He has been seeing these kind of papers all over. Especially on his territory. And he has met every single of them. He felt bad about it. That something has happened to them. They were all nice to him. He liked them. And then, all the sudden they were gone and instead of them these papers were all around. Not always, though. Sometimes they would move or something. Cats can change their territory, why wouldn’t people? Although still indecisive he continued towards the house. He couldn’t afford to be picky right now, because going home was not an option anymore and there were dogs in almost every yard. Sleeping out on the street was not an option either- it was too cold and he didn’t like cold.
When he arrived in front of the house he could see how the papers impacted it. It wasn’t a nice, freshly painted house that he remembered anymore. It look sad and bitten by weather. Like its owners didn’t care about it anymore. He instantly felt sorry for it and for them. Whatever happened to the girl from the photo had some serious consequences. He sat there, unable to go to the back yard. It wasn’t just because he felt sad. He also felt guilty.

TO BE CONTINUED…