Cat Refuge

by Liza O'Connor

  There was silence on the other side. Had he gone away? She knew he hadn’t. Her whole body tensed and froze as she waited, expecting the door to splinter into a thousand pieces any moment.

  The sound of a car driving to the house broke through her paralysis. She stood and looked out the window. It was Jason. He had heard her. He had come for her.

  ***

  “You seem anxious to put your magic potion to the test,” Winston said as they pulled up to Catina Nelson’s house.

  Jason didn’t reply. He had no response that wouldn’t make him sound crazier than he already did. He had planned to drop Winston off at his office, when he was suddenly overwhelmed by the certainty Catina was in immediate and mortal danger. He turned the car around and headed towards the estate at break-neck speed.

  Winston’s objections were ignored, his questions left unanswered. What explanation could Jason offer that would in any way satisfy his friend? His reasoning was insane. She needed him. That’s all there was.

  ***

  As they stopped the car and got out, Winston looked around. “Tell you what, partner. I’ll have a look around the place while you dally with the mistress. Oh, and don’t forget your magic potion.”

  Before Jason could suggest Winston might also want to take some, his friend was gone.

  Jason touched the bottle with a que-tip and dabbed the liquid on the back of his tongue. The foulness made his body shake so violently that he dropped the open bottle. Before he could recover it from the floor of his car, over half the bottle’s liquid had poured onto the carpet. “Damn!” he cursed, knowing this was the only bottle Dr. Taylor had. Since he had no idea how quickly Dr. Taylor could produce another bottle, he must treat it as the only bottle there would ever be. Now it was half-full. His concern over this matter helped him to withstand the sudden desire to hack out his tongue to stop the foulness that presently overwhelmed his senses. How in God’s name had Taylor withstood this? It was nearly impossible to think with such repulsive foulness battering his senses.

  He waited several moments and then put the half-empty bottle into his jacket pocket. Taylor had said he would need to reapply in thirty minutes. He would do everything within his power to be away before that became necessary, but just in case, he would take the bottle with him.

  He stepped out of the car and looked around for Winston. He sensed something was very wrong and he wished his friend had remained close by. Together they were stronger than apart.

  “Mr. Connors,” Catina whispered from the second story window.

  Jason felt, more than heard her call. He looked up and sensed her presence behind the screen. He surveyed the area and saw no one around as he walked closer to the window.

  She removed the screen and crawled out onto the sloping roof of the porch beneath. “I must leave here. Will you help me?”

  “Of course,” he said, once again looking around for danger. “Come to the edge and I’ll help you down.”

  She half-crawled, half-slid to the edge. She wore a silky nightgown, meant to seduce more than cover. In the bright sunlight, it revealed more than Jason wished to see. She edged over the gutter and slid down, letting her feet land first on his shoulders and then, holding the gutter for balance and partial weight, stepping into his arms and sliding down between the loop of his arms until her feet touched the ground.

  Jason released her, wondering if the foul-tasting serum was working at all. Her gown had slid up considerably during the last maneuver, and her semi-naked proximity aroused him painfully. He focused on her exquisite body.

  “We have to leave now,” Catina whispered. “Before he knows I’m gone. Quick! We haven’t much time.”

  Jason pulled himself together and moved, expecting the looming blackness of Tiburon to appear any moment. He got Catina into the car and slid into the driver’s side, expecting an attack, but none came. The house remained quiet. He pulled the keys from his pocket and fumbled with the starter for a second before the engine came to life.

  “Hurry” Catina whispered, her voice shaky and low. “Please hurry.”

  Just then the most inhuman cry of anguish thundered through the air. Jason looked up and saw Tiburon looking down at him from the window above. Never in his life had he seen a look more deadly. A chill ran up his spine. He stomped on the gas pedal, pulled the car out of the driveway, and headed full speed down the mountain.

  He had gone no more than a mile when he slammed on the breaks and pulled to the side. “Shit!” he screamed and slammed down his hand on the steering wheel.

  “What’s wrong?” Catina asked. “Why have you stopped?”

  “Winston. I left Winston. He was around the back, checking out the house.”

  He pulled the car around and headed back up the mountain.

  “You can’t go back up there!”

  “I have to. I left my partner.”

  She reached out and touched his arm. “Jason, please. If you go back up, it will mean both of our lives…”

  He looked at her hand grasping his arm. Nothing. Thank God, he had taken the antidote or poor Winston would be forgotten and abandoned.

  “And what about Winston?”

  “There’s nothing we can do for him. If either Tiburon or his sister has found him, he is most certainly dead by now.”

  Jason suddenly pulled to the side of the road. He pulled a piece of paper from a clip on the dashboard and wrote down a number. He handed this to her. “Turn the car around and head down to safety. There’s a 7-Eleven at the bottom. Stop long enough to call this number and tell them that Jason Connors said he needs immediate backup. Give them the address and then get the hell out of there. They’ll probably tell you to wait there, but don’t do it. Instead, call this number,” he said as he wrote down another number and handed it to her, “Ask for Carl and say I asked him to take you in for the night. He’ll find a safe house for you.”

  Catina accepted the papers but looked far from satisfied with the solution. “Don’t go back up there, please. You’re all I’ve got now,” she whispered.

  Again, the emotions Jason felt were strong enough to make him question whether the antidote was working. How much time had passed? he wondered. “I have to. I shouldn’t have left Winston there at all.” He opened the car door and stepped out. “Get out of here so I know you’re safe. And call for that backup.”

  He slammed the door and began a jog up the mountain. As his breath became ragged he questioned this plan of his. Maybe he should have gotten a little closer to the house before getting out of the car. He heard the car turn around and stopped a moment to watch it drive down the road. “Good girl,” he panted and headed up the mountain.

  Chapter 23

  Winston moved around the perimeter of the house with caution. While he didn’t believe people turned into cats, he realized his friend could be involved in something dangerous. He felt a quick check of the premises would be prudent.

  The aesthetics of the garden escaped his notice as he scowled at the clumps of six foot rose bushes and shrubbery which could hide danger from his view. A crying sound came from beyond the garden, and Winston headed towards it. He entered the cat refuge and silently checked out the cages as he moved by, still following the crying sound. It seemed almost human.

  The sound came from one of the cages. He had never heard a cat cry like that. He stared hard into the dark enclosure, looking for the source. Finally, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he saw the naked black woman lying on the stone, her face buried in her arms, her body racking with each sob of tears.

  “Ma’am are you hurt,” Winston asked in a low whisper.

  The crying stopped, and the woman looked up. For a moment, she seemed almost wild and feral. In fact, for a brief moment, Winston thought she was a panther. But then she stood and glided towards him. Her sleek black body was perfect in every way. Her silky black hair, shimmered, even in the dim light of the cage. She seemed to have no embarrassment or modesty about her nudity.

  �
��Help me,” she pleaded.

  “Of course,” Winston replied, unable to tear his eyes from her body.

  She pressed her body against the wire mesh, her fingers poking through to touch Winston’s hand on the other side.

  The warm musk of her body filled Winston with a desire more intense than he had ever known. He pressed against the mesh in response to his sudden need to touch her, to love her. The mesh keeping them apart frustrated him. He looked for the door. She likewise made her way to the door, watching him steadily with those black eyes the entire way.

  God, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He reached the cage door and pulled. A thick chain and lock kept it securely closed.

  “Who did this?” Winston felt the urge to kill whoever had locked this beauty away from him.

  “Free me.”

  He pulled out his gun, aimed it at the chain and fired. The bullet hit the steel with a metallic twang and ricocheted off into the cage. The woman screamed in pain as she collapsed to the ground holding her bleeding hand.

  “Jesus! Are you all right?” He threw himself against the mesh.

  The woman huddled in such a tight circle she suddenly looked... Winston stared in confusion. There was no woman in the cage. The creature curled in the corner of the cage was a huge panther. He stepped away. A moment before he had been certain it was a woman. He had been trying to open the gate to let her out. Had he succeeded, that beast would have ripped him to shreds.

  He re-holstered his gun and backed away from the cage and into the angry path of Tiburon.

  “Who are you?” Tiburon asked as he grabbed Winston by the neck and slammed him against the cage.

  “I’m here with Connors, FBI,” he gasped, amazed at the man’s lightning speed.

  “You’re not FBI.” Tiburon reached in the man’s pocket and pulled out his ID. “CIA. What does the CIA want with the cat refuge?”

  “I’m here with Connors,” he repeated. “The CIA isn’t interested in your activities. I’m just a bystander…”

  “But you aren’t, you know.”

  “Aren’t what?” Winston slid his hand to his gun holster. Tiburon’s agility and strength would far outclass his own well-honed martial arts. To survive he would either need to talk or shoot his way out.

  “Either now. You aren’t here with Connors, because he just kidnapped my wife against her will and drove away. And likewise, you aren’t a bystander. You’ve trespassed on my lands and attempted to kill my panther.”

  “I wasn’t trying to kill her. I was trying to….” Winston stopped, realizing that admitting he was trying to set a giant panther free upon the city was hardly a brilliant admission. Nor could he reasonably explain he had thought she was a woman. “Look, I didn’t mean to hurt her. The bullet ricocheted; fortunately, I think it only struck a paw.”

  Tiburon took the news like a blow. He dropped the man and pushed him away as he scrambled to unlock the gate and tend to the panther.

  The panther did not move as Tiburon took her paw and studied it. Finally, he set it down and stroked her head. Whatever kindness he felt was totally void from his eyes when they turned and rested upon Winston.

  With unbelievable speed, Tiburon was upon him, pulling him into the cage. “Damn you! You’ve no idea what you’ve done, but you will pay. With your life, you will pay!” He lifted Winston up and body slammed him down upon the ground in front of the panther, holding him still as the injured panther took a bite from his leg.

  Pain seared through Winston as he screamed. He pulled the gun and shot into Tiburon’s chest. Winston watched as the black giant’s eyes narrowed from the pain, but he only released one hand to slap the gun from Winston’s grip.

  “That’s not possible,” Winston exclaimed, but before he could delve into the thought further, the panther tore another chunk of flesh from his thigh. The pain became too much, and Winston lost consciousness.

  ***

  Jason rounded the corner just as he heard Winston’s scream. He had known Winston for over twenty years and had never heard the man utter a sound over the various injuries he had occurred. Dear God, had they just killed him?

  As he came upon the cage with his gun drawn, it took several moments for the horror of the scene before him to sink in. Tiburon was feeding Winston to the panther. Jason raised the gun and fired several shots into the panther. One in the head and two in the front paw he could see, and a back paw not entirely tucked beneath her body.

  Tiburon stood and blocked her body from further assault. He moved slowly toward Jason. “I had such high hopes for you, Agent Connors, but my confidence was terribly misplaced. All you had to do was let us go. I would have let you have the woman. I only wanted the cub.”

  “You failed to mention Catina would die in the birthing process.” Jason lowered his gun until it was pointed to the ground.

  “We don’t know that. I have never bred with someone so large before. She might be fine.”

  “With her stomach ripped open and devoured by the creature inside her?” Jason allowed Tiburon to come closer, knowing the man’s speed and agility, knowing he was already too close for safety.

  Tiburon looked surprised. “How do you know this? Taylor could not know. Morta is sterile. How do you know so much about my women?”

  “I have an agent doing a little background work on you. That’s close enough.”

  Tiburon ignored him and continued moving towards him. His mind was awhirl with this information. This would imply one of his cubs had actually been born alive. Which cub and to whom? “What you fear will not happen, I assure you.”

  “It has before,” Jason replied. “But you’re right, it won’t again.’ Without warning, he fired a shot into Tiburon’s right foot. Before he could shoot the left, Tiburon was atop him, crashing him to the ground with his massive weight.

  Tiburon wanted more than anything to kill the agent, but he couldn’t, not before he discovered what the man knew and with whom he had shared this information. A cub of his had been born alive…which? He thought back to the thirty-eight women he had impregnated. The image of Wyla Thomas came to mind.

  She had successfully carried into the final trimester. She had disappeared a few weeks before the cub’s birth. Several months later, when he located the hospital, the doctors said she had died during childbirth complications. Neither mother nor child had survived. The doctor who had delivered had taken a sabbatical, so Tiburon had not been able to get very many details. However, the details he had received matched his prior disappointments. The human body tended to reject the alien fetuses and spontaneously abort them.

  “What do you know?” insisted Tiburon as he re-channeled his thinking processes from the injured paw to his other brains. Was it accidental luck, or had Taylor figured out their vulnerability was in their hands and feet? When Jason didn’t reply, he stood and lifted the agent up to a standing position. “Do you have family, Mr. Connors? Because unless you tell me the truth right now, I will see they all die a most hideous death. Have you any idea of the pain of being staked to the ground and eaten while alive?”

  When Connors still did not speak, Tiburon grew weary of the questions. He held the man in a chokehold until he fell unconscious. He dropped the man, like an unwanted bag of garbage and stepped back, allowing room to transform into a panther.

  ***

  The panther pulled the unconscious body into the shade and sank down, ready to begin his meal. A sound from the cage brought his sister’s welfare back to his forethought. He rose and trotted into the cage to check on her. He was stunned to discover her dead. That’s impossible, he thought until he saw the blood oozing from her other front paw and hind leg. He had thought the agent shot at him. He had thought the man a poor marksman, but Connors must know. The CIA’s shot had been accidental, but not Connors’. This man knew their weak point.

  He roared in fury. They had murdered his sister. He would revenge her death a hundred-fold…a thousand-fold! He nuzzled his sister again, unab
le to believe she was truly dead. Morta, beautiful Morta would never run the African plains with him again. The clicking of metal caused him to whirl around. The CIA agent had awoken from his faint and managed to pull himself outside. Why had he not noticed? Had he been so distracted by the news Connors told him, that he had not noticed the man’s escape from the cage? Impossible! But then Morta’s death was impossible, or so he would have thought. He leapt against the wire mesh. It bowed against his weight but held. He stood back and willed himself into human form. A panther could not open the gate, but a man certainly could.

  He walked towards the gate, staring into the eyes of the CIA agent. He would enjoy devouring them both! Then he would find Catina and they would flee from here. He watched the human fumble with the gate. Fool, he thought. I can open the gate as easily as… He stopped, remembering the chain and lock he had placed on the gate only a few hours before. The human could lock him in! With lightning speed, he smashed against the gate and pulled up on the lever.

  The gate opened with the explosion of his weight behind it but caught on the chain Winston had managed to wrap around the post and the gate. Winston pushed against the gate as he pressed down on the lock and snapped it into place. Pulling the key from the bottom of the lock, he stepped away from the raging maniac on the other side of the gate. He had little confidence the gate would hold for long. He limped to Connors. He was glad to find his friend alive, but sorry to find no gun.

  “Looking for this, Mr. CIA?” Tiburon asked, aiming a gun at Winston.

  Winston froze and held up his hands, still holding the key to the cage.

  “Unless you wish me to kill your friend, I suggest you open this cage.”

  Winston didn’t move. He knew if he opened the cage, that Tiburon would kill them both in an instant. Yet, if he didn’t open the cage, Tiburon would shoot them. He knelt beside Jason. “Jason, wake up. This really isn’t a time to be sleeping.”

  “Your friend dies now because you failed to act.” Tiburon aimed at Jason and pulled the trigger.