The Prompt: You're at home watching "CSI" when you hear a faint scratching at the door. Upon opening it, you see a small dog looking up at you. You examine the dog's collar and see a phone number and the message "If you find this cat, call this number immediately." (Yes, that's right, cat.) Against your better judgment, you call the number. Two hours later you find yourself in a basement with two dead bodies on the floor. What happened?
My response:
“Who are you? Who, who? Who, who?”
I dropped onto the couch with a big bowl of popcorn, eagerly watching the opening credit sequence for CSI. It had been a long day at work and I was exhausted, but this was the most anticipated episode of the season, and I was not going to miss it.
As the screen faded into the first scene, I shoved a fistful of popcorn into my mouth and crunched loudly. So loudly, in fact, that I thought I was imagining a noise at the front door. When the noise persisted, I paused mid-chew to listen.
There it was again!
It was some kind of scraping or scratching. My curiosity was piqued, but it didn’t override my need to watch CSI. The noise would have to wait until the commercial break. As hard as I tried to ignore it, however, it seemed to only get louder. I began to worry about the paint being scratched off.
Finally, after watching a bullet being dug out of a victim’s spleen, the screen faded to black. I dropped the bowl (still half-full of popcorn) on the coffee table, sprinted to the door and flung it open to face-
Nothing?
I looked left down the hallway, I looked right dow the hallway. When I heard a shuffle at my feet, I looked down. Sitting on the floor, staring up at me with a pitiful, sad face, was a small dog. I crouched down to its level and carefully held out my hand to it.
“Hey little guy,” I said to it. “Where’d you come from?”
It had a white, shaggy coat and an interesting face. It almost didn’t look like a dog, but a dog was the closest animal I could relate it to. It timidly sniffed my hand before rubbing its face on my fingers. I gently rubbed its head, looking for a collar. When I found it, I rotated it around until the tag was readable.
If you find this cat, call immediately: 718-555-7425
“Cat?”
“Meow,” was its answer.
“You’re a cat?”
It just looked at me. It was damn ugly for a cat.
I sighed. “Okay. Come on.” I picked up the cat and brought it inside to the phone. As I dialed, I watched the cat staring at me intently. This thing seemed too smart for its own good.
I didn’t like it.
The line rang three times before a recording clicked on.
“If you are listening to this message, you have found Zeus. You have been chosen. It is very important that you follow Zeus and obey his will. Good luck.”
The line went dead. I looked between the phone in my hand, and the cat. Zeus. This was weird. Obey his will? What the hell did that mean? It’s a damn cat!
Shaking my head, I set the phone back in the charger and stared at the cat as he stared back at me.
“Well? What am I supposed to do? Let’s get this over with.”
I was answered with a loud, insistent meow, and Zeus turned and trotted to the door. I hesitated. Was I really going to follow this cat around?
Zeus stopped at the door and turned to face me, expectantly. When I just stared at him, he growled. I mean, he growled!
“Okay!” I hurried to the door, grabbing my keys on the way, and let us both out.
I followed as Zeus continued to trot down the hallway of the eighth floor, heading straight for the stairwell.
“We can’t take the elevator?”
He growled again.
I sighed and pushed the door open. “You know, you have some serious control issues.”
He merely huffed, not even sparing a glance back at me.
A few minutes later, we were in the basement of my apartment building. I profusely hoped the super wouldn’t decide to check on something down here and find me talking to a cat, in an off-limits area for no reasonable purpose. That could suck.
Without hesitation, Zeus went straight to a dark corner in the back of the room and started digging through a small pile of rubble. After a moment, he stopped and looked at me.
I shrugged. “What?”
“MEOW!”
“Oh, you want me to help? Why didn’t you just say so?” I smirked at my own wit and began to help him move dirt and debris. Zeus only huffed again.
The dig was short lived, as again Zeus suddenly stopped. A low growl was born deep in his throat and he spun around (the first time I’d ever seen a cat spin) to face whatever threat he perceived to be advancing upon us.
I looked over my shoulder as well.
“Zeus, there’s nothing-”
I was interrupted by a door opening and slamming, followed by footsteps and low voices.
“Yeah, it’s right in here,” one said gruffly.
“I can’t believe he just left it here unguarded,” a second man said. “Very careless.”
“Yes, but to our advantage,” said the first.
Zeus hunched his back and his growl grew louder, more menacing. I had made jokes before, but I was actually afraid of this ugly cat now.
The two men entered the large, open room and stopped short.
“He’s here!” the second man yelled. He turned on the spot and tried to sprint, but in a white flash, Zeus was in the air and landed on the man’s back. Zeus’ tail had turned into a large spike and slammed into the man’s head. In a panic, the first guy picked up a nearby two-by-four and swung at Zeus. Zeus leapt into the air once more. The wood made contact with the second guy, who was already spurting a fountain of blood from his head. With a ferocious snarl, Zeus landed on the face of the first guy, claws out. He screamed in agony as Zeus clawed and scratched and bit, and finally plunged his spiked tail deep into the man’s chest.
His body landed with a loud thud next his partner’s.
Zeus hopped off the body, licked his paws clean and trotted back to the corner, where I still knelt, frozen, in complete disbelief of what I had just witnessed. Zeus continued digging as though there had been no interruption.
After a few minutes (or maybe a few hours; I’m not really sure, time seemed to be stuck), Zeus pulled out a delicate gold chain with a small charm attached to it and slipped his head through the loop.
“Now, you undisciplined, smart ass of a girl,” he said to me, “I will explain what your responsibility is.”
They wanted 500 words or less for this one as well, but, obviously, I just couldn't do it. I may have been able to if I'd tried, but it wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining, and I wouldn't have been happy. So here it is anyway. All 1,112 words of it. I actually am pretty pleased with this one. I feel like if I put some time and planning into it I could make it into a full length story. What did you think? Any good? Full of crap? Please tell me!
Ren
