Star Cat: Killer Instinct

by Andrew Mackay

  “Who’s coming?” the drone asked as it lowered further and blasted a beam of white light at the faces of the wolves.

  “No time to explain, just get me out of here.”

  “Okay,” the drone shifted towards the trees, successfully diverting the wolves away from the ship.

  “Whoa,” the drone whizzed up as one of the wolves jumped in the air and swiped its claws at it.

  “Wow, that was close.”

  “Go, go, go,” Jelly spied the wolves turn their back, “Do it.”

  “I’m doing my best,” Alex’s voice came from the drone. It whizzed towards the tree and affected a daft tone of voice at the wolves, “Cootchie-coo. Who’s a cute little doggie, huh?”

  “Don’t flirt with them, Hughes. Just get them away from me.”

  “Muuuh-shtaaa-zeeee-taaaaah.”

  Jelly felt a thick blaze of fire rocket between her shoulder blades, “Gahhh.”

  Her chest pushed out and launched her away from the door, followed by her limbs.

  “Whuh.”

  Mastazita had punched her so hard the front of her exo-suit bust open in mid-air.

  GROOOWWWWLLLLL.

  Jelly somersaulted into the air in intense agony. Her legs flipped over her head, and then her tail. The ground whizzed toward her left cheek at an alarming rate.

  WHOOOOSH.

  “Noooooo,” Jelly’s instinct kicked in. She fanned out her forearms and hind legs and spun around, darting to the ground chest-first.

  SCHLAMMMMM.

  She landed on all four paws - as nature intended. Her left knee bent under her abdomen. She was in the perfect prone position to bolt forward like the scurrilous cat she was - and away from the diverted wolves.

  “Run, Jelly. Run,” the drone yelled, shifting from side to side, further distracting the wolves.

  BOLT.

  Jelly ran as quick as she could - which wasn’t very fast. Her suit slowed her down, but the terrain itself was unpredictable. Sludgy and muddy one step, and rock hard the next.

  CLOMP-SCHPLATCH-CLATCH.

  She darted faster, crunching her boots into the breakable ground as she ran.

  The wolves weren’t stupid - and no longer fooled. They grew tired of the drone and took an interest in the prey that tried to make her escape from the vicinity.

  HOWWLLL.

  The wolves tore across the terrain in her direction.

  Mastazita beat his chest with his paws and let out a deathly, guttural growl of murder.

  ROOOAAAARRRRR.

  “Jesus Christ, Jelly,” the drone zipped up the side of the tree and whizzed through the air in an attempt to catch up with her. The live feed provided a perfect aerial shot of Jelly’s progress - or lack thereof.

  She slowed down, almost out of breath and attempted to climb a thick rock in front of her, “I c-can’t g-go on,” she huffed and puffed, lifting herself over the rock.

  The packs of wolves bounded forward at a furious rate.

  “Nggg. Help m-me,” she huffed, clinging to the side of the rock, “They’re going to kill me.”

  HOOWWWLL.

  The wolves sped along the terrain with great expertize and balance. They ran so fast they nearly fell over one another in a fierce battle to get to the front.

  “Muuuh-shtaaa-zeeee-taaaaah,” the voice from the gargantuan shattered its way across the ground. Jelly was too far away from Mastazita to see him, but his voice was present.

  A slow and violent death was imminent.

  The first wolf slowed to enjoy the torment it dished out to its exhausted prey.

  “Grrrrr.”

  Jelly slung one leg over the top of the rock, a few inches away from its nose. All four of her limbs hurt her whenever she moved.

  “No, no, d-don’t—” she tried, before letting out a low-pitch growl, “Grrrrr.”

  SNASH.

  The first wolf turned its head left, and then right. The rest of its pack lined around it, ready to feast.

  The wolf snarled at Jelly. It trundled forward with a deathly sincerity and swiped at the end of her tail.

  SWISH.

  “Naaooww,” Jelly turned around and moved her tail out of its path, “Oh, G-God.”

  Her heart-rate picked up, sending beads of sweat along her brow. She felt her body begin to cook and pulsate, along with the furious beating of her heart.

  “Ngggggg,” she clutched her chest and slammed the back of her head against the rock. She was out of harm’s way - for now. If the wolves could climb even a foot up the hard surface, she’d be toast.

  The first wolf attempted just that.

  It scrambled up the side of the wall, encouraged by the rest of the pack.

  WHUMP.

  It landed on top of the rock with her and whipped its tongue around its mouth, ready to feast.

  The ground began to shake, shifting segments of mud and rocks around. The rumbling got louder and louder as Jelly resigned herself to her fate.

  She stared into its eyes, knowing that if it didn’t kill her, she’d probably have a heart attack, “Just d-do it. K-Kill me, you son of a bitch.”

  “Grrrrr.”

  The wolf pressed its paw on her busted exo-suit chest piece and dug its claws into her fur.

  “Nyeeeoooowww,” Jelly squeezed her eyes shut and lifted her arms up. She tried to grab the wolf, but felt the strength drain from her body.

  CLLLUUTCCCH-CRRACCCCKK.

  “Whuh,” Jelly coughed up a mound of blood into the wolf’s face, “Neeeooow.”

  Its claws pierced through her fur and sunk into her flesh. She let out a pathetic whine and struggled to keep her eyes open.

  Saturn looked down on the assault.

  The shape of its rings formed a dreamlike ‘smile’ across its surface, signaling that everything would be okay.

  Jelly let out her final breath and made herself as comfortable as she could. Her beating heart calmed down. Soon, it’d be in the claws of the wolf.

  “I’m r-ready,” she whispered.

  “Grrrrr—”

  BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-SCHPLATTT.

  Three white balls of light whizzed past her head. The wolf released its grip on her chest. The three bursts of energy came from a huge vehicle a few feet away.

  The first bullet whizzed past its head.

  The second punctured its shoulder, shifting its claws out from Jelly’s chest and into the air, exposing his chest for the third bullet.

  SCHPLATTT.

  It rammed into the wolf’s heart, killing it instantly. Its carcass launched into the air and crashed into the pack below.

  “Jelly, stay where you are,” Tripp’s voice waded into her ears.

  “Huh?” Jelly leaned left and saw a gigantic tank storm toward her. A man swung the turret from within the cage on top, “Tripp?”

  “Jelly,” Tripp shouted from the cage, “Stay down.”

  She pressed her head to the rock, shifted her weight toward the tank and slipped down the side of the rock.

  BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM.

  Tripp yanked on both triggers and fired hundreds of continuous shots at the rock.

  BLAM-BLAM-SCHPITT-SCHPLATT.

  The bullets chewed through the rock, busting it to pieces as the wolves scurried over the summit.

  The first three beasts each caught a bullet in the face, shattering their skulls. Their carcasses slid down the other side of the rock, creating a blockade for the rest of the hungry pack.

  “Jelly, get in,” Jaycee’s voice came from the radio on front of the tank.

  “Jaycee?”

  “Yes, it’s us. Now, do as you’re told and get in.”

  “Miew,” she scrambled to her knees and pushed forward, clutching at her chest.

  Jelly staggered forward and clung to the side of the tank and lifted herself up top. She barely managed it.

  “Tripp?”

  He swung his turret around and released the triggers, “Yes, Jelly?”

  “Get us out of here. There are hundreds of
them.”

  BLAM-BLAM-BLAMMM.

  “Aww, don’t you wanna stay and throw a party with them?”

  “Screw you, Healy.”

  Tripp took out another half-dozen wolves and kicked the floor, “Jaycee?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Back up, man,” Tripp stomped on the roof once again, “Jelly says there are more.”

  “On it.”

  VROOOOOOOOOOM, KERRR-RUNNNCH.

  Tripp and Jelly staggered around the roof of the tank as it backed-up without warning across the rocks.

  CRUNCH-SMASH.

  The conveyor backed along rocks, pulverizing them as the weight of the tank backed over them.

  Jelly slammed the metal bars surrounding Tripp as he spun around, firing at the wolves, “Open the cage.”

  “What are you doing? Get out of the line of fire.”

  “Open the damn cage.”

  “Okay, okay,” Tripp lifted the latch and swung the cage door outward, “Get in.”

  Jelly darted inside, turned around and slammed the cage door shut, “There are so many of them.”

  “What the hell are they?”

  “I dunno. But they’re seriously pissed off.”

  “Stay behind me,” Tripp roared over the gunfire, “Out of the line of fire.”

  VROOOOM-RUMBLE.

  Jaycee stepped on the reverse pedal, swung his left arm over his seat and looked through the back visor.

  “Hang on tight, guys. This is gonna be one helluva rough ride back to Charlie.”

  Tripp pulled on both triggers and unleashed a torrent of bullets at the speeding pack of wolves.

  THRAAA-TAT-A-TAT-A-TATT-TT.

  The bullets created a spectacular array of swishing, white tracer lines as they chewed through the ground.

  The tank continued to crush through the rocks as it barreled backwards.

  SCHPLAT-CRACK-CRACK-SPATCH.

  The bullets lifted along the ground and up the chests of a dozen wolves, flicking their bodies into the air.

  The ones that survived growled, undisturbed by the carnage and death surrounding them.

  “Whoa, they are pissed off, aren’t they?”

  Jelly caught her breath and gripped the back of Tripp’s seat, “I dunno about you, but I prefer the Shanta.”

  “Don’t speak to soon, Jelly.”

  THRAA-AA-TAT-A-CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.

  The bullets came to a halt. Tripp couldn’t move his hands off the trigger, “Yaaggh.”

  “What?” Jelly asked in haste.

  “My hands are stuck.”

  A whiff of burnt, synthetic skin blasted their face.

  “Ngggg,” Tripp tore his left hand from the left trigger, and attempted to do the same with his right.

  KERR-RAAA-AAACK.

  His arm came away, but not his hand.

  “Holy shi—” Jelly whined and stepped back in shock.

  The wires, connectors and bolts bust out of the cavity in his wrist and sparked up a storm, leaving his smoldering, severed hand fused to the red-hot turret.

  “Agghh,” Tripp grabbed his wrist with the remaining hand, “J-Jaycee?”

  “Yeah? I’m a bit busy down here, to be honest with you.”

  “My hand, my hand,” Tripp gasped and looked into the messy, electronic fusion in his wrist cavity, “How far is Opera Charlie?”

  “Huh?” Jaycee looked up whilst squeezing the gears, “Are you seriously asking me are we there, yet? Right now?”

  “No, you idiot,” Tripp pointed behind him at the relatively serene Space Opera Charlie hundreds of feet in the distance, “If you keep driving you’ll lead these bastards right to our home.”

  “Oh,” Jaycee said. “Good point. You want me to stop?”

  “Hell, no.”

  Tripp turned to Jelly, who shuddered with fear, “We have no choice. We can’t stay here.”

  “I know, I know.”

  “We gotta get to Charlie and hole up before they beat us to it.”

  SCREEEECH.

  Jaycee spun the gears around, shifting the enormous weight of the tank sideways along the rocks.

  “Hang on to something,” he roared through the lid in the roof as he slammed the gears forward.

  The tank rumbled at speed along the desecrated ground with the wolves hot on their tail.

  CHAPTER TEN

  R.A.G.E. Arena

  Laguna Vista, South Texas, USA

  A young, brown-skinned man stepped out of an unmarked car in the gravel parking lot. He squinted over at a Mack Truck parked by the gate as he made his way to the back of the car.

  CLUNK.

  His hand yanked the back passenger door open. A woman was sitting inside with a hood over her head.

  “Get out.”

  The woman lifted her arms and tried to squeal, but her voice was muffled. Her breath fogged through the material of the hood covering her entire head and face.

  “Give me your hands.”

  She shoved them to the door and kicked her feet in defiance, “Mffpphh.”

  The man grabbed her wrists and yanked her out of the car. The woman’s heels kicked along the stones, almost tipping her balance as she tried to stand up straight.

  “Mffggghh.”

  The man slammed the car door shut and frowned, about fed up with her incessant desire for freedom, “Shut up.”

  He grabbed the silver sleeve on her impeccable suit and walked with her towards the dome entrance.

  “We’re here,” the man said into his headgear. “Open the door.”

  The woman stumbled forward, scared for her life.

  “Mfgghh.”

  “Stop squirming. You don’t want me setting off your DecapiCuffs, now. Do you?”

  A metallic figure eight comprised of two metal discs shackled her wrists together. She knew if she were to run, she’d lose her hands.

  “Come on, woman. Your public wants to see you.”

  Her muffled screams of protest began to grate the young man’s ears, “Nu-huh, you don’t get to cry. Not after the stunt you pulled.”

  “Mffggh.”

  The young man pushed the woman toward the dome’s entrance.

  The door began to slide up.

  “Wait. You’ll bang your head and ruin your pretty face.”

  Thirty cats ran around the arena, expending their energy. Some of them hopped onto the table and play-fought together.

  A few of them played against the wall, tossing and turning.

  The leader of the pack, the Egyptian Mau, paced around the RAGE wall, licking her mouth and surveying her brood.

  “Meow.”

  The majority of them stopped to look at her.

  Mau purred and fell onto her side, “Maaah.”

  Noyin looked up from the computer and chuckled to himself, “Look at them. Happier than pigs in feces.”

  “No better place for them,” Sierra watched Jamie and Leesa bond over a cute ball of fluff.

  Jamie stroked the cat’s head and smiled, “Hey, girl. What’s your name?”

  Purrrrr.

  “She doesn’t have one,” Leesa said. “We should give her a name.”

  “What was your cat called?”

  “Suzie,” Leesa whispered with a solemn look on her face.

  “Did USARIC give her back to you?” Jamie asked.

  The girl shook her head, “No. We thought they’d give her back to us. My Dad kept asking, but they said they needed to keep her.”

  “Keep her?”

  “Yeah. They told us she died.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry.”

  Leesa wiped a tear from her eye. She looked over at Remy, who was sitting in front of the giant telescope.

  “What happened to Remy’s pet?” Leesa asked. “Bisoubisou?”

  “Ugh,” Jamie sniffed. “It’s a long story.”

  “Tell me.”

  Jamie picked up the white cat and was about to tell her, when the door to the dome caught everyone’s attention.

  WHIIRR
.

  A silver pair of pants and black boots were the first thing everyone saw as the door slid up.

  A man dressed in black stood with her.

  He grabbed the woman’s shoulder and pushed her into the dome.

  “Get in.”

  Sierra moved forward and folded her arms, “About damn time, Finbow. Where have you been?”

  Finbow brushed his hands in disgust, “Ugh, I touched her.”

  “Never mind that. What took so long? You missed the message.”

  Jamie pressed his fingers around his neck, relieved that his Decapidisc had been removed, “I hate those things.”

  “Yeah, really,” Leesa said. “Thank God they didn’t work.”

  “They keep saying they’re not the bad guys,” Jamie whispered.

  He watched the silver-suited woman drop to her knees and bawl through her mouth gag. Her bound wrists hit her lap, revealing the metal figure eight shackling them together.

  “Who’s that?” Leesa asked.

  The woman slung her covered head to her chest and started to cry, “Mfgghh.”

  SCHWUMP.

  The dome door slammed to the ground, sealing everyone inside.

  Curious, most of the cats approached the crying woman in the middle of the room.

  “Hissss.”

  All thirty of them flapped their tails, deeply unhappy at the woman’s presence.

  Sierra rode up behind their new captive and stood behind her, “Gentlemen, ladies, boys, and girl. What you see here is the quintessential example of fear-mongering and abuse.”

  Jamie grabbed Leesa’s hand, filled with suspense. She squeezed back, and held her breath.

  “Remy?” Sierra called to the boy.

  “What is it?”

  He ran from the telescope as Sierra clutched the back of the woman’s hood, “I think you may want to see who this is.”

  “Who is it?”

  “She made you famous, my little comrade,” Sierra said.

  “Mffgghhh,” the woman kicked her legs forward and shrugged her shoulders.

  Noyin and Rana stood together and watched Sierra perform her theatrics.

  Grace looked up from the central table and wrapped her knuckles along the surface, “Take the hood off her. We don’t want her having a coronary, and besides, she’s not that important.”

  The RAGE gang knew who this was, but weren’t overjoyed at the prospect of keeping her captive.