Hellcats: Anthology

by Kate Pickford

  Felix saved him.

  And he saved her.

  She was deep in the forest now, and far enough away that they wouldn’t find her. Pausing to rest, she looked around.

  It was a perfect spring day. A light, cool breeze brushed over her arms. And in the deep shade, growing out of the darkness, a small patch of wildflowers waved in the wind.

  A faint meow. Then louder.

  Faith’s bright yellow eyes glared at her through a small copse of trees.

  Hope was not dead yet. And neither was she.

  Stephanie Mylchreest mostly writes post-apocalyptic, dystopian and dark fantasy in the wee hours of the night, after her children have gone to sleep. She enjoys writing stories about characters placed in highly unusual situations, and exploring how they deal with the fallout.

  Find out more at www.stephaniemylchreest.com.

  52

  Soul Cats

  by Wes Pollock

  One feline's overnight journey from kitten to cat.

  “We take this soul, right, Shadow?” Mewly asked.

  “No my little friend. We put this one back. Normally we would take it and keep it. But I know this family. The mother saved one of my kittens long ago. So I will take it, fulfilling our obligation to the Gray Lady, then I’ll put it back. Always pay your debts Mewly. Before we take it, tell me the rules,” Shadow answered.

  “Allll of them? But Shadooowww, all the other kittens are taking baby souls. How come we can’t?”

  “If all the other kittens jumped off Sapphire Bridge would you jump too? Tell me the two most important,” Shadow said.

  “Nooo,” Mewly mewled. “Right?”

  “Right. Just because other cats are soul-stealing demon spawn doesn’t mean we have to be. Sometimes we don’t keep the souls.”

  “But whyyyyy? It’s fun.”

  “You’ve stolen souls before then, have you?”

  “Noo, not by myself. You know that,” Mewly whined. “But all the older cats say it is. How come we can’t have any fun Shadow? Don’t you like fun?”

  “You know, this is why I work alone. The rules Mewly. Or should I just take you back to your mother and let her apprentice you to someone more to your liking,” Shadow said.

  “No no, please don’t do that Shadow. The loft gets so cold at night. And my brothers gang up on me cause I’m so small. Your Catdominium is much nicer. And you always have mice in the walls. And there’s no dogs. Rufus the cow-dog thinks it’s fun to chase me cause my legs are so short. He slobbered my whole body last week. It was gross.”

  “Who started it with Rufus, Mewly? I’ve told you a hundred times that if you tease him, he’ll catch you. You’re lucky he’s so old. If he had any teeth left, you’d be munched instead of slobbered. The rules…”

  “I almost got away,” Mewly said proudly. He fluffed his tail out and strutted on the bed next to Shadow and the human infant. “The first one is—don’t get caught. The second one is—do what’s right. Right?” Mewly asked.

  “Yes, well done. Tell me when almost counts?” Shadow asked.

  “Horseshoes, hand grenades, and atomic weapons.” Mewly sighed.

  “Which?” Shadow asked.

  “Are all worthless to a cat,” Mewly replied. His tail compressed and his whole body sagged until he was laying on his belly trying to keep the kitten tears from starting. Shadow was mean.

  “Alright. Watch. See the way the tiny human’s breathing is slowing down? The soul will be free soon. If we don’t put it back, the baby will die.”

  “But, isn’t that what we want?” Mewly asked. “We’re soul-stealing cats. Coolest killers to ever tread the earth. That’s what Tofu says. Isn’t putting it back against the rules?”

  “Tofu has the brains of a sweet pea. Do you not want to be smarter than a flower?” Shadow asked. His attention was on the sleeping infant now, waiting for that crucial moment when things could be reversed. “Sometimes a thinking cat does that which others think he should not. Do you want to be a thinking cat or a tofu cat little one?”

  “Yesss. I want to be a thinking cat. But Tofu says it’s cool and all the other kittens have already started taking souls,” Mewly whined.

  “Listen, for the last time. If you want to be like Tofu, go be like Tofu. He’s fake as a stuffed mouse. He even dyes his hair. I thought you wanted to be something more. I guess I was wrong. As soon as I’m done, I’ll take you back to your mother and she can arrange things with Tofu.”

  “Don’t do that. Please Shadow. My father would kill me,” Mewly said.

  “Your father... Hmph. Let’s not talk about your wandering progenitor. Is he back again?” Shadow asked.

  “No. But my brothers would tell him,” Mewly said.

  “There’s no doubt who their father is. You, I have my doubts about,” Shadow said. “They look just like him. You don’t look like any cat I’ve ever seen. Who has one green eye and one grey? No one I know.

  “Listen, we must be quick now. He’s stopped breathing. Any second it’ll start to come out. When it does, you put your nose right on his lips. It’s even better if you can get in his mouth a bit so none escapes,” Shadow said. His short tickle whiskers brushed the baby’s lips.

  “And don’t bite the tongue. That’s not a good thing,” Mewly said. He was proud he remembered that. Rule 15 of seven million.

  “Alright, climb up here, right next to me. When you do this, you’ll be sitting here on the chest, just like this,” Shadow said. He showed Mewly proper paw and tail placement. A paw in the wrong place or tail-twitch at the wrong moment could ruin everything.

  “You’ll see grey mist start to come up out of its mouth. Only Soul Cats can see it, so pay attention. If you miss it the baby is dead forever. Right after that, not before or you’ll just kill the thing, you stick your nose as close as you can and inhale. Breathe in as much and as hard as you can. If we were keeping the soul that would be it. We’d be done. But we don’t want to keep this one. We want to preserve its life,” Shadow said.

  “Why? I know you told me, but I forgot again. Isn’t there a rule against that?”

  “No you didn’t, and yes there is. I have something of an arrangement, an accord if you will, with the Gray Lady. I occasionally take certain liberties and in return she occasionally allows me to do her favors,” Shadow said.

  “Uh, I did forget Shadow,” Mewly said. “What’s a accordion?”

  “Pay attention and you’ll see,” Shadow said.

  The baby’s body started to twitch. Its little chest tried to lift, to expand the tiny lungs within, but it couldn’t. Thin lips, once pink and shiny with baby-spittle, quickly turned blue.

  Grey mist started flowing out and Shadow stuck his nose right into the infant’s mouth. He inhaled until his body was three times its normal sleek black size. Soul Cats were bigger on the inside than they were on the outside, much like frogs. When he could inhale nothing more, Shadow sat back and waited.

  The dead baby’s body went limp. Shadow quickly went into action again. Time was of the essence. He shoved his nose into the dead baby’s mouth and exhaled as hard as he could, forcing what was in his lungs deep into the baby’s chest.

  When he was done, he coughed like he had a hairball ready to be launched, then gave his shoulder a cursory lick while they waited to see if it took. Sometimes dead was dead. Shadow rarely cared about the outcome. Normally he did his job and moved on to the next one. But this time was different.

  This baby’s mother had saved one of Shadow’s own kittens from her cat-killing dog. Somehow the little feline furball, eyes barely open, had escaped the rockpile her mother called home and wandered into this baby’s backyard, where the meanest most cat-hating dog in the world lived.

  Tinkerbell was known far and wide as a dog to be avoided. Long-legged and keen-nosed, she always knew when some cat was slinking about. She was clever too. Her favorite trick was to wait, eyes closed, feigning sleep. For hours if necessary. More than a few normally patient felines ha
d fallen prey to this trick.

  When the baby’s chest started to rise and fall again, just before it let out a soul-piercing, back in the land-of-the-living wail, Shadow grabbed Mewly by the scruff of his neck and hopped out of the crib, much to Mewly’s embarrassment. Kittens don’t like being treated like kittens. Mewly was glad Tofu wasn’t here to see his shame.

  “We do for those that do for us. Good or bad, we do,” Shadow said as solemnly as he could through a mouthful of kitten fur. “Remember that.”

  “Out the window, quick. It’s best not to be seen on the job. She won’t give us treats anymore if she thinks we hurt the baby. Or save any more of us from Tinkerbell,” Shadow said.

  They padded stealthily across the yard careful not to rouse Tinkerbell. She was in the house, but there was a well-used doggie door. They climbed over the fence and walked to the pond behind it.

  “Catch your breakfast quick as you can. After that it’s back to the barn for a catnap. We have twin three-year-olds to liberate just before sunrise. We have something overdue to see to before that. You’ll need all your wits and energy,” Shadow said.

  “Awwww, didn’t the widdo kidden catch any souls tonight?” Tofu said then laughed at Mewly’s cringe. “We got seven, didn’t we Rusher?”

  “Eight Boss, we got eight. You forgot. That one kid made the mistake of falling asleep in his sister’s room. Two for one. That was pretty sweet,” Rusher said.

  “Tofu, you lie worse than a magpie. Shut up before I shut you up,” Shadow said softly. “Why don’t you tell us why you’re not called Marmalade anymore. That’s an interesting story.”

  Tofu fluffed his tail and arched his back. He stared at Shadow and flexed his long sharp claws. But he did nothing more.

  “Cowardly piece of shit. Seven, eight, my puckered pooter. With that drain on oxygen you’re teaching, fat as he is, you’d be lucky to get two in a week,” Shadow said. He sat and calmly started to lick an extended hind leg.

  “Call me that again, I dare you,” Tofu said.

  “Coward or piece of shit? You’re both.” Shadow answered without looking up from his grooming. “The Widow knows we live in her barn. But she doesn’t know how many of us there are. She’d never miss you or that lump of dung you’re supposedly teaching.”

  Tofu took two sideways steps toward Shadow. He hissed and fluffed out even more hair, trying to look as big as possible.

  “Remember what happened last time, Marmalade. And what I told you,” Shadow said.

  Tofu hissed again then backed away. “Come on Rusher. I heard some squeakers out by the horse trough. Let’s get a snack.”

  “But Boss, he called you—”

  “I said now Rusher. Let’s go. You need the practice,” Tofu said. He sauntered out as if he didn’t have a care in the world. When he looked back to see if Shadow was following it ruined his grand exit.

  “Brainless and stupid is no way to go through life Mewly,” Shadow said. The other cats in the barn snickered. “Take that nap. We’ve got a big night.”

  “Come on Fuzzbutt, time to go,” Shadow said to the sleeping kitten a few hours later. The moon had set but the stars shone bright.

  “Mmph. You let it get away. It looked so juicy. The fish dream is my favorite,” Mewly said. He sat up and yawned, showing all of his fish-catching kitten teeth. “I need to pee and I’m hungry.”

  “Take care of one now and I’ll take care of the other later,” Shadow said. It never failed to amuse him how kittens always wanted to eat, sleep, or pee. Had he been that way?

  Mewly extended his front legs and arched his back in a spine-cracking stretch. He sighed and licked his lips when he straightened up, looking like a new cat. The tip of his tail arched smartly.

  “Let’s go by the stream. Should be easy for someone with your hunting skill to snag a couple fat frogs,” Shadow said to his young protégé. He hoped nothing dragged his short-legged student into deep water and ate him. Mewly was a very small cat. Sometimes catfish were dangerous. All spines and slime-thrashing tail until you dragged them out of their murky puddles. The snapping turtles never let go once their jaws clamped shut. They could hold their breath for days too. There was no winning if one of the big snappers got you. Life was full of danger. Especially if you were a particularly small kitten.

  “Wait until you see the bubbles this time,” Shadow said. “Frogs and fish and turtles all swim underwater. All of them make the reeds move. But only the frogs will make bubbles as they come up. I always thought they could breathe air like us. But they dry out and die so fast I’ve never been positive. Do they suffocate or dehydrate? Who knows?”

  “What’s dehysnake?” Mewly asked.

  “Hydrate. Dehydrate. Basically, to dry out. For frogs it’s a death sentence.”

  “Why?” Mewly asked.

  “Because frogs are supposed to be near or in the water, where they live, all the time. When they get stuck on land, with no water, they dry out and die. If you got stuck in the water, you would drown. You’d be wet forever. Or at least until the crawdads and water beetles ate your sorry self.”

  “Crawdads?” Mewly asked in a shaky kitten voice. He’d never heard of those scary things.

  “Big segmented crustaceans with ten legs and huge claws they use to catch fish and tadpoles and careless kittens,” Shadow said. “I’ve seen some were bigger than you.”

  Mewly took in a huge breath. His eyes widened until the entire stream reflected in them. He backed up from the edge, onto drier ground.

  “Maybe you should show me how? I don’t think I could do that,” Mewly said shyly.

  “Oh, I’m sure a strong brave cat like you can handle whatever comes up from the depths. I have confidence in your abilities. And please, whatever you do, don’t get eaten.

  Shadow watched Mewly kitten-foot to the edge of the water. The turtles were the only real dangers and they mostly slept while the sun was down. It never hurt to put a little fear into the young ones though. They tended to live longer if they thought they might be some creature's snack.

  He wished he could do the same for Mystique and her band of troublemakers. Housecats belonged in their houses, not out here where being brushed and dainty counted for diddly squat. He knew she was following them again. She had all the stealth ability of an angry bull moose. None. And it wasn’t as if he couldn’t smell her. Her musk sent a shiver through him that he almost couldn’t ignore.

  “A gardener from one of the Sparrow Hill houses tied a new litter in a burlap sack and tossed them in this very stream. Now they’re ours and since their eyes are open, they need training.”

  “You won’t be my teacher anymore?” Mewly squeaked through a mouthful of frog.

  “As long as I’m training you the Gray Lady won’t assign any of them to me. She knows I can’t stand housecats. There isn’t a single one of them that’s worth two flicks of my fat tail.”

  “But what about Mys—“ Mewly started.

  “Including Mystique and all her little catgirl friends. Cute doesn’t equate to smart. And yes, I can see her and smell her, same as you. I wish she wasn’t here.”

  “I’m not really hungry anymore,” Mewly said.

  “Remember what I told you about not telling the truth?”

  “That unless I was saving someone’s life I almost always ought to?” Mewly asked.

  “Good, that’s correct. Do you know why I asked?”

  Mewly thought about Shadow’s question. Why would his teacher ask him about telling the truth? He hadn’t told any lies. He didn’t think Shadow had lied to him. Was it something he said?

  “Because I should do it?” Mewly asked, hoping it was the right answer.

  “Yes. But why? Why should you do that? What does it matter?” Shadow asked.

  “Because what I say is what I do. And because what I do is…is… I can’t remember the last part. I’m sorry Shadow,” Mewly said.

  “That’s alright. You did well. Is who I am. That’s part of what you forgot. Wha
t I do, and that do is the key part, is who I am. You are known by your actions more than by your words,” Shadow said. “Do you understand this?”

  “I know it’s important, but I think this is one of those things you told me would make no sense now, but when I was older it would. I know this is important, but I don’t understand why,” Mewly said.

  “That’s good Mewly. Knowing when you don’t know something isn’t as easy as it sounds. You’ve done well little cat,” Shadow said.

  A shiver of pleasure ran down Mewly’s spine and his tail fluffed bigger than ever at the praise.

  “How did you learn so much Shadow?” Mewly asked.

  “Same as you. Some stuffy old catmare taught me. There were times I wanted to strangle her too. But eventually I figured that the old girl actually knew what she was talking about. Once I learned to listen, my life changed,” Shadow said.

  “How Shadow? How did it change?” Mewly asked.

  “Too much talking. Too many questions. Time to be going,” Shadow said. “Souls await us.” One soul in particular. Clancy Moran’s cat-killing days were over.

  The big black cat and his black and white, orange-nosed sidekick sauntered down the deer path that skirted Clancy Moran’s big green house, half a block from Tinkerbell’s. Any cat within rifle range wound up with his tail adorning Clancy’s shed wall and its body tossed into the gigantic berry bramble.

  “Shadow, how come you call Marmalade Tofu?” Mewly asked.

  “Mostly to make him mad, but partly because he is exactly like Tofu,” Shadow said.

  “Oh, I see. Shadow?” Mewly asked.

  “Yes?”

  “What’s tofu?”

  Shadowed laughed a near silent cat laugh, a very rare thing. All cats grinned and all cats smiled, they loved showing off their teeth, but they almost never laughed. They weren’t built for it; weren’t designed for it. Their throats were wrong. Shadow did. It was a staccato hissy prolonged exhalation, but unmistakable nonetheless.