by S. E. Smith
“That’s Biscuit. The golden one is Honeybun, and the cream-colored one is Butter. I’m Jana,” the female explained with a slight grimace. “That’s what happens when I’m hungry. I name things after food. They are my babies, so you have to be nice and not eat them.”
K-Nine watched as the golden one sniffed at him, jerking back several times before tentatively stretching forward again. His gaze focused on the third one. Butter was swiping at his tail. Curious, he moved the tip. The small kitten jumped backwards, staring at it. Moving it again, he waited to see what would happen. Almost immediately, the cream-colored furball pounced on it with a low hiss. A soft snort escaped him. K-Nine watched in fascination when the kitten sneezed and shook its head. He wondered if the tiny creature was trying to process the information it was receiving.
“Honeybun, no baby! That’s not a nipple,” the woman exclaimed with a reproving laugh when the kitten tried to push under his back leg.
K-Nine quickly shifted his leg and released a soft, startled woof. Honeybun ignored him and simply tried to climb up onto his side to join her brother. Allowing his head to fall back, K-Nine decided that if he had to be out of commission for a while, this was as good a place as any.
Matrix will find me, K-Nine thought with a contented grunt and twitched his ear when Biscuit nipped at it. Eventually.
Three
Two hours later, Jana sighed as she looped the flimsy leash around Linguine’s neck and attached the clip to the leash because there wasn’t a collar to clip onto. She had searched for a collar for him, but none in the office fit. It was a good thing the office did have a few leashes for owners who’d forgotten to bring one when collecting their pets.
“Now, don’t go taking off or anything without giving me some advance warning, you understand? These things aren’t made all that great and I’m going to have my hands full. One jerk from you and I’ll be lucky if I don’t end up with a broken wrist or doing a faceplant, not to mention that you might strangle yourself if the leash does hold up. Oh, and before I forget, I’ll need to stop at the gas station or we’ll be walking home, so no barking at everyone,” Jana instructed before she released a laugh when Linguine sneezed and looked at the thin cord with distaste. “I promise to take it off the minute we get home. I live in the middle of nowhere, so you’ll have plenty of room to roam.”
Jana stood up. With a grin, she picked up the small travel carrier with the meowing kittens inside. She had concluded that unless she wanted to drive with kittens climbing all over her, she had better get them used to being in the carrier.
“Okay, office is clean, kittens are confined, dog food is in the trunk, and you are on a leash. Everything’s good to go, so I say we make like a tree and leave,” she announced with a bright smile.
Jana giggled as Linguine walked calmly beside her. If this was a wild wolf, she was Tinkerbell. There was no way a wild wolf would behave like this. Heck, she didn’t know many domesticated dogs that were this good on a leash. He had to have been trained, maybe as a service dog or something. She would take a picture of him and print out posters to display around town this weekend. Surely if someone had lost him, they would be eager to have him returned.
Jana opened the back door, placed the carrier on the back seat, and secured the seat belt to the handle. Walking around to the other side, Jana opened it for Linguine. Her mouth dropped open when he jumped in without her having to say anything, and circled before sitting down. Her eyebrow rose when he sneezed again.
“You’ve definitely done this before,” she murmured with a shake of her head. “Okay, gas station, here we come.”
Jana shut the back passenger door and walked around to the driver’s side. She opened the door, slid in, and paused in surprise when she saw that Linguine was now sitting in the front passenger seat beside her. She frowned and glanced at him, then the back seat, before returning her gaze to his dark gray eyes.
“Okay, you’re a front seat kind of dog,” she murmured, reaching out to shut the door with a shake of her head. “I’m good with that as long as you stay on your side of the console.”
Jana fastened her seatbelt and started the car. She immediately rolled down the windows. The air conditioning had died last summer and she didn’t have the money to fix it. She didn’t need it all that often anyway. She slowly pulled away from the vet’s office and onto the main highway. There was a convenience-gas station a half mile down the road.
Turning up the radio, she reached over and absently scratched Linguine’s back as he stuck his head out the window. She sang along with the song playing and tried to think about what she was going to do with the next two months off.
“We could go to the lake,” she murmured between songs. “Or, I’ve been wanting to put in a new flower bed in the backyard, near the tree with the swing. I could do that, too. I was thinking of going up to Canada, but that’s kind-of hard to do with four animals. It will be nice to save some money, anyway.”
Doc Wilson had been very generous. He had paid her for the two months in exchange for her keeping an eye on the office. It wasn’t like that would take too much time. She had cleaned it yesterday and had been finishing up this morning when the truck driver appeared. She’d go in once a week to make sure everything was okay. Other than that, there wasn’t anything else to do, but enjoy her own mini vacation.
“Remember, no barking at anyone,” Jana warned in a soft voice as she pulled into the gas station and up to one of the pumps.
“Woof,” Linguine replied with a low rumble.
“I’m taking that as a ‘yes, ma’am’,” Jana replied dryly.
Placing the car in Park, she turned off the ignition and unbuckled her seatbelt. She quickly wound the thin cord of the leash around the headrest before she opened the door and slid out. It wouldn’t be much of a hindrance if the huge wolf wanted to get out, but it was better than nothing.
“Stay and be good,” Jana ordered again before she grabbed her wallet and headed inside to pay for the gas.
K-Nine turned his head to check on the kittens since he didn’t hear them making any noise. Through the small openings, he could see them piled up on each other, sound asleep. Turning his head back toward the front, he curiously watched the activity around him.
There was a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and conditions of transports either pulling into the refueling stop or passing by. His ears flickered back and forth, trying to pick up and process everything. The sensors embedded in his nose were collecting data. Being unable to process it at the moment was very frustrating.
His head turned when a dark gray transport pulled up beside Jana’s car. Seconds later, a male stepped out of the transport and closed the door. K-Nine’s head tilted as he studied the tall, slender male for a moment before his attention was caught by a window sliding downward.
“Daddy, can you get me a water and a bag of chips?” A small female with dancing green eyes asked.
“Sure, what kind?” The male asked.
“Can I go get them?” Another girl asked, leaning forward to peer out the window.
“Go with your mom, Violet,” the male finally said. “Gracie, do you want to help me pump the gas?”
“Sure!”
K-Nine watched as the little girl pushed the door open and slid out. Her eyes widened when she saw him. For a moment, she wavered between coming toward him and following the male. He saw her cast a longing look at him before she disappeared around the back of the transport.
K-Nine understood that this was a family unit for this planet. It didn’t differ much from Zion. He listened as the male explained what needed to be done. It was obvious the male cared about the little female. A few minutes later, the sound of the fuel pumping slowed before it cut off.
His head turned when he saw Jana hurrying back toward her transport. She had a drink and a bag in her hand. She walked around the front of her transport, opened the door and placed the items inside, before beginning to fuel it. She was almost done when he hear
d the little girl’s voice again.
“May I pet your dog?” The girl asked Jana.
Jana paused before she nodded. “Sure, just be careful and let him sniff your hand first,” she said.
K-Nine stuck his head out of the window when Jana and the girl called Gracie walked around the back of the transport. He tilted his head and closely studied the little girl. She had curly blonde hair that flew out around her head, a small nose, and rounded cheeks, but it was her eyes that captured and held his attention. They were a vivid green and danced with innocence and intelligence.
“My name is Gracie Jones. We’re from New York,” Gracie said with a smile. “Where are you from?”
“Here, I’m afraid,” Jana laughed. “What are you doing in Glennis?”
“We’re on our way home. My mom and dad had a convention to attend. It was fun. People were talking all different kinds of languages and didn’t know that Violet and I could understand them,” Gracie said with a grin. “What kind of dog is this? I’ve never seen one with blue fur before. Did you color it?”
Jana shook her head. “No, he was brought into the vet’s office this morning where I work. A trucker had hit him. Initially I thought he was a wild wolf, but he’s way too friendly for that,” she explained.
“I’ll have to do some research and see if I can find out what species he is,” Gracie murmured, holding out her hand toward K-Nine.
“How old are you?” Jana asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Seven, but I’ll be eight soon,” Gracie replied with a giggle. “He’s so beautiful.”
“Yes, he is,” Jana replied, watching as Linguine lowered his head and ran his tongue carefully over the back of Gracie’s hand.
K-Nine felt a surge of longing flow through him. He wanted a pack of his own. He rubbed his head against Gracie’s hand when she started scratching him behind his ear. He wondered if he could take this little girl with them. She really knew how to scratch.
“Gracie, time to go,” Violet called out. “I got you some candy, too.”
“I have to go. Thank you for letting me pet your dog,” Gracie said, turning and running back to her transport.
“Bye! It was nice meeting you,” Jana called out, taking over scratching his head. “I think you are a charmer.”
K-Nine grinned and pulled his head back inside Jana’s transport. He released a surprised ‘woof’ when the little girl rolled down her window and blew him a kiss as they pulled away. Yes, he decided, it was time for a pack of his own.
He couldn’t resist sticking his head out the window when Jana pulled out of the refueling station. His eyes narrowed and his tongue hung out as the transport picked up speed. He was really beginning to like this world.
Four
Present Day:
Jana giggled while watching the newest member of her family struggle to walk. It wasn’t easy when you had three kittens attacking you all at once. She knew that from experience. In the last three days, she had discovered that Linguine was a total sweetheart. He was patient, and almost as curious as the kittens.
She hadn’t known what to do with him that first day. Once she’d finally reassured herself that he wasn’t going to eat the kittens or her, Jana had given him a quick exam and found no injuries. The only thing she could think of was that maybe the truck had just grazed him and knocked him a bit silly. Hoping his natural instincts would guide him home, she’d opened the back door to the office. Instead of taking off into the woods as she’d expected, he had sat down and stared up at her with wide, curious gray eyes. Unsure of what she should do, she had loaded him and the kittens into the back seat of her ten-year-old, dark green Toyota Camry, made a quick stop at the gas station and the grocery store, and then headed home.
“Butter, you’re going to end up with another mouthful of fur,” Jana warned as she lifted the forty pound bag of dog food out of the trunk of her car. She’d brought it home from the office several days earlier, but at the time, she had only wanted to bring in the smaller bag of dog food she’d brought home. “Ugh! This is heavy,” she groaned. “Honeybun, keep up, sweetheart.”
Jana paused and watched in shock as Linguine turned and gently picked up the smallest kitten by the nape of her neck. Biscuit immediately lurched forward, trying to grab his sister’s tail when she meowed. Shaking her head, Jana turned back around and toed open the back screen door which was slightly ajar.
“This should last longer than the five pound bag,” Jana said cheerfully as she dropped it in the pantry. “Though, if you keep eating the way you have been, I’ll need to make another run to the office soon enough. I swear, between you and the kittens, I’ll need to take on a second job.”
Jana knelt down and gently extricated Honeybun, who was staring back at her with a sleepy look, from Linguine’s hold. She cuddled the kitten against her chest and reached her left hand out to scratch behind Linguine’s ear. Once again, a look of pure bliss came into his eyes. She was about to stand up when a soft red glow at the tip of his right ear captured her attention.
“What’s this?” Jana whispered, her eyes glued to the light.
Linguine’s ear twitched and he sat frozen, his gaze on the door. Jana carefully lowered Honeybun to the floor and reached up to touch the light. She was surprised when she felt the small bump. Realization dawned on her and she released a groan.
“You have a tracking device on you, don’t you?” She asked, twisting to sit on the floor. “Of course, you do! You were probably raised in captivity, which is why you are so good around people, before you were released back into the wild. They are probably tracking you to see how you are doing. They are so not going to be happy to find that I’ve adopted you,” Jana groaned in despair before she looked at Linguine with a twinkle in her eyes. “Oh, well. We’ll just tell them that this is Jana’s Resort for Wayward Animals. It will be our little secret, okay?”
Jana leaned forward and brushed a kiss across Linguine’s forehead before she cuddled the three kittens who were demanding their usual dose of attention. She pushed up off the floor and wiped her hands on the back of her jeans. With a shake of her head, she scratched the wolf’s head once more before she turned her attention to her daily chores.
“Okay, guys. Momma’s got to finish cleaning up the mess you made yesterday before I prepare some breakfast for all of us,” Jana informed them with a grin. “Who wants to help fold clothes?”
Almost immediately, the three kittens took off for the living room as if they’d understood what she’d said. Jana paused in the doorway and looked back at Linguine, who continued to stare intently at the door. A slight frown creased her brow and she gave him a sad smile.
“Do you want to go out?” Jana asked in a slightly uneven voice. Her eyes widened and her breath caught when Linguine turned to look at her and shook his head. “Well, how about you keep the kittens occupied while I fold clothes? Mr. Marker, the landlord, came by for the rent last week and the cheeky little furballs had taken my panties out of the basket just as I opened the door. I was mortified that he saw them playing tug-of-war with them! You know what that dirty old man said? He said he wouldn’t mind playing with my panties as long as I was wearing them! He’s got to be, like, in his, I don’t know, sixties? I was, like, take the money and go already.”
K-Nine’s eyes danced with amusement at Jana’s rambling commentary. He had learned over the last three days that she liked to talk… a lot. She talked to him, she talked to the kittens, she talked to the box on the kitchen wall, she talked to the smaller unit she held in her hand, and she talked to herself. He’d never encountered anyone so entertaining in his life. Even Matrix didn’t talk this much.
He also liked the fact that she was very affectionate. She was always cuddling him and the other three creatures. His gaze turned to the fluffy balls of fur. Kittens, she called them kittens. He had discovered that they liked to attack his paws, tail, and ears whenever he lay down. Actually, they attacked just about anything that moved and were surprisin
gly pretty good at the stalking part. They just needed instruction on their execution.
K-Nine settled down near the long, brightly patterned piece of furnishing where Jana sat. She was lifting clothing items out of the pre-formed material used to house them. The kittens were trying to pull a piece of her clothing through one of the small holes in the side until they saw him. The moment he lay down, he saw them coming. A soft bark had two of the kittens darting under the low wooden table while the third, Honeybun, plopped down in front of him and looked up.
A long sigh escaped him and he lowered his head. Once again, a tiny, sandpaper tongue swept over the sensor embedded in the tip of his nose. Honeybun, the golden one. The information flashed through his sensors and into the database in his brain. Within seconds, he could feel one of the other kittens trying to climb on him. Biscuit, the climber. The little gray kitten enjoyed climbing on everything and was much better at it than his siblings. K-Nine’s head jerked around when he felt a tug on his tail. Butter, the cream-colored one. She had grown very attached to his tail and even slept with it tucked around her little body. K-Nine was amazed at the distinct personalities of the three creatures.
They were as fascinating to observe as Jana was, K-Nine thought with a wince when Biscuit dug his sharp claws into his side. A moment later, Biscuit was passed out, sprawled across him. K-Nine lifted his tail, Butter still attached to it, and carefully lowered her next to her brother. Honeybun had pushed up under his front leg and was softly purring as she settled down to sleep. It wouldn’t last long, but it would give Jana time to finish her chores and perhaps feed herself.
With a sigh, K-Nine lowered his head beside Honeybun and listened as Jana talked about the vet she worked for. His eyelids drooped as her soothing voice washed over him. He absently tried to connect with Matrix. He could feel the emergency locator beacon pulsing in the tip of his ear. He had a vague, nagging feeling that he should be concerned. He knew he was here on Earth with Matrix. They’d been searching for something, but he couldn’t remember what. His memory files were still partially offline while the repair bots continued working on the damage to his communications system and memory storage, but K-Nine knew there was something important that he needed to remember.
