Clowders

by Vanessa Morgan

  “So you believe me now?”

  “About what?”

  “About having the feeling something is watching us?”

  He was dumbfounded. “Do you have the feeling that something is watching us?”

  “Yes. All the time. I told you about this before,” Jess said.

  Aidan remembered, vaguely. She had indeed mentioned this a few weeks ago, but he hadn't paid attention back then because he thought she only used it as an excuse to show him what a bad choice they had made by coming here.

  “You're saying everyone here feels like something is watching them?” Her quavering voice was enough to convince Aidan that she was terrified.

  “Some will probably see nothing, but they won't admit to it. Typical group behavior. Nothing more than superstition.”

  “But --”

  “There's nothing more to add, Jess. What are you trying to say?”

  Jess frowned but didn't argue.

  She wasn't gullible. She was smart enough to understand that this was like watching a horror movie and then afterward, feeling as if something was observing you from the shadows or following you in the streets. She was only afraid of something which she knew didn't exist.

  Or was she?

  Maybe she'd made it all up.

  “I believe I told you this before,” he said, “but I'm starting to think you're doing all this to get us back to America.”

  “Why did you look it up, if you never noticed anything?” Jess asked. “You must have seen or heard something that piqued your curiosity.”

  “Lorenza talked to me about it,” Aidan said, his tone unsure. “She sounded convinced--”

  “--Lorenza? When did you see her?”

  “It's not what you think. Lorenza came to the clinic because one of her cats was sick.”

  “Can't Simon help her out?” Jess asked.

  “You know how Simon is. It's not that easy.”

  “I don't want you to see that girl anymore. Otherwise, that will be my reason to go back to America.”

  ***

  A few minutes past 3:00 a.m., Simon jerked awake. He heard the quiet clicking of claws through the bedroom. Though it was too dark to distinguish anything, he could have sworn it had come from an animal.

  But it wasn't an animal. Not really.

  Simon instantly knew who it was.

  The more he thought about it, the more dread twisted his insides. He was used to this creature checking up on him once in a while, but he wasn't used to the fact that now its intentions might have changed.

  It was no longer about control. It was about revenge.

  “Claire, wake up,” he whispered. “I think she's in the room.”

  She mumbled something and turned her back toward him. As soon as Simon switched on the lamp on the bedside table, he could hear the creature running away from their room. Could the fact that she retreated be a sign that they were still safe?

  He looked at Claire who was fast asleep, and wondered if it was better to let her sleep or to wake her up, which would undoubtedly scare her? He chose the first option.

  He padded across the room to the closet and threw open the door, snatching a navy blue sweater off one of the middle shelves.

  Simon pulled it on, on top of his pajamas. He then crossed his arms protectively over his chest, taking slow steps to the bedroom door.

  He heard the skittering of paws from the corridor.

  Then, a thump across the house, which almost made him choke on his heart.

  As he crept into the hallway, he switched on the lights with the switch on his right and descended the staircase. As he arrived on the landing, he noticed the front door was wide open. He veered around, his eyes wide, but nothing was there. Not anymore.

  He approached the front door, little step by little step, his heart pumping beneath the linen of his pajamas. He felt himself go wobbly and kept his eye on the door as if the creature could jump through and attack him any second from now.

  He stopped at the threshold of the door, his toes brushing the frame of the screen door as he looked outside. The thin branches of the pines groaned and complained as they swayed back and forth.

  At the bottom of the stairs that ran in front of his house toward the pavement, a dark silhouette lurked in a crouch, searching for something in the bushes next to the stairs. Luckily, it had its back turned, so it hadn't noticed Simon approaching.

  Simon recognized this creature. Its feline posture. The way it moved. Its long human limbs. It turned its head into Simon's direction, its black eyes devouring light.

  Simon's eyes went wide, and he immediately looked away. The idea of this thing, knowing that he was standing so close to it made his blood run cold. He swiftly took a step back and shoved the front door closed, throwing the dead bolt into place.

  Simon's breath caught. Through the long, narrow window near the front door, he stared at the thing that was leering at him.

  She's just checking up on me, he whispered, trying to convince himself of what he knew wasn't true.

  The longer he stood there, the more fear drummed at his brain. His body went tense at the thought.

  Claire showed up behind him. “Simon? What's going on?”

  “She's here,” he said.

  He heard Claire's breath catch in her throat. She approached him near the window and took his hand for comfort. “We knew she would be back for us, didn't we?”

  A bolt of anxiety shot through his veins. Something clicked inside his brain, told him to get away from this town as quickly and as far as possible. “Maybe she's observing us, as usual.”

  “No. She's teasing us,” Claire said. “Look at her face, the way she's smirking. She wants us to know she's out to get us. That it's only a matter of time.”

  “What should we do?”

  Claire suggested that if Simon got rid of Aidan, maybe they would be spared.

  CHAPTER 17

  In Clervaux, people didn't celebrate Halloween on October 31st; instead, they had La Fête des Chats, the Carnival of the Cats. It was a two-day event comprised of rides, games, food, rummage sales, concerts, dance performances, and ghost tours. Children dressed up as cats and decorated their homes with feline decorations. Luckily for Eleonore, that meant she didn't have to miss out on Halloween all that much. She was just like her dad in that regard. They both adored getting scared senseless. In fact, Eleonore had been asking to go to a Halloween event for days now, and it was hard to explain to her that these weren't as common in Luxembourg as they were back home. Sure, there was this occasional Halloween party for teenagers or a pumpkin carving contest for kids, but hardly anything else. So when Jess heard about the Carnival of the Cats, it looked like the perfect opportunity to put Eleonore's mind off Halloween.

  On Wednesday afternoon, Jess had taken her daughter around the town to look at the decorations. In their street, shop managers were hanging orange fairy lights with spooky black cats overhead to provide a dazzling rainbow in the dark sky. Illuminated figures lit up the yards every few feet, mostly arched-back black cats, and the roofs of the houses and shops sported glittering cobwebs and giant felines. Even more so than before, the town was a cat lover's dream.

  It was three days before the main event. A crisp fall air had settled over Luxembourg. The leaves had turned to ochre almost overnight and covered the alleys of Clervaux like a thick carpet. Several community workers swept the leaves away from the main road with broomsticks.

  In the shopping streets and on the main square, stall holders were setting up their tents and display tables. Some shop owners put typical fall decorations and pumpkins in their windows, while others included as many cat-themed items as possible. The furniture store in front of their apartment focused on cat figurines, designer cat beds, and cat print cushions for the occasion, and the boutique next door displayed only printed clothes - mainly T-shirts - that featured either cuddly felines or a horrific creature that was half-human/half-cat. In the chocolate shop, Jess found that same figure
in the form of marzipan cake toppers.

  Was this the creature Aidan had mentioned yesterday?

  All she knew was that it looked vaguely familiar.

  She'd seen it before, in the forest, after the accident. At least it looked like it.

  “What kind of animal is this?” she asked Marie, the manager of the chocolate shop, in her best French.

  “It's not an animal,” Marie said. “It's a good luck charm, an amulet. It protects our cats. Everyone carries it here.”

  Her first idea was that Europeans were weird, but then she reconsidered. In America, they had “touch wood” or the avoidance of the number 13 to ward off misfortune. She knew that behind many beliefs there was a long history of superstition to which many people felt inwardly obliged to adhere. This amulet probably wasn't any different.

  “Is this used all over Luxembourg or only in Clervaux?” Jess asked. She couldn't remember having seen it anywhere else.

  Before Marie could answer, a giant, inflatable cat popped off the sidewalk and screamed at Eleonore before dropping back to the ground in preparation for the next unsuspecting soul who stepped on the booby trap.

  For a few seconds, Eleonore remained silent, utterly in shock. When it dawned on her that she had been tricked, the sobbing started.

  Jess went up to her daughter to offer consolation.

  “I wanna go home,” Eleonore whined.

  “Okay, darling. We will.”

  Before going back to their apartment, Eleonore wanted to stop at the bakery to greet Romero. That would be a sure bet to cheer her up again.

  Jess hadn't noticed them before, but there were four small bowls beside the back door – two for water, the others for food. Romero was drinking from one of them. He paused upon seeing Eleonore, then stepped out of the shade to approach, going straight toward her for extended cuddles.

  As soon as Jess approached, Romero hissed, his back hairs bristled, and the cat ran inside. All of the other cats in the street started to hiss at her as well.

  Why do all these cats hate me?

  Eleonore froze and yelled, “Mom! Mom! Mom!”

  “Don't make such noise, Eleonore! It's not a disaster.”

  “But, mom! It's Avalon.”

  “What?”

  Eleonore's finger motioned toward the window above the bakery, and Jess immediately saw what Eleonore was making such a fuss about.

  “Avalon!” Eleonore yelled. “It's Avalon!”

  Their cat sat in front of the window above the bakery, staring down at them. There was no doubt it was Avalon as she recognized the odd ginger patches on two of his legs, which looked as if he were wearing a mitt and a boot.

  What was Avalon doing there? And why hadn't Georges told her he found their cat when he knew they were searching for him?

  She went inside to ask.

  Georges was behind the counter, putting croissants and currant buns into a bag for a client.

  “Excuse me, Georges. I just saw our cat behind your window.”

  “The white one? He came to us.” Georges' tone was dry as if he didn't care much about the implications. He further ignored her as he handed over the bag with croissants and buns to his client and settled the bill.

  Jess didn't wait for him to finish before she offered a reply, “Well, we'd like to have him back. Eleonore is devastated without him.”

  “Absolument pas,” Georges said. “It was the cat's decision to come live with us. We respect that.”

  “He's our cat!” Jess said. She tried to keep her voice down to sound more intimidating. How could he be talking about respect when he openly admitted he'd stolen someone's cat?

  The client stayed put after being served, probably to see how this would all turn out.

  “He's coming back home with us right now, or I'll call the police,” Jess said.

  Pulling Eleonore with her, Jess went straight to the back door to make her way inside the house, but Georges held her back.

  “You picked the wrong town,” Georges said.

  Eleonore immediately pulled into herself and turned away from Georges, hiding her face in Jess' coat.

  Jess, too, flinched at the menacing tone of his voice, but she firmly held her position. “I'm not leaving here without Avalon,” Jess said.

  “As you wish.” Georges took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. “C'est Georges, de la boulangerie,” he said. “There's an intruder in my house. That foreign woman. She's trying to steal my cat.”

  Jess' mouth fell open in surprise. How dare he do that?

  “The police will be here in a few minutes,” Georges said. “Can you please wait while I serve my clients?”

  “Great,” Jess replied. “There's nothing they can hold against us.”

  Officers Chadov and Debaillie arrived less than five minutes later. Before he spoke, Officer Chadov ripped a messy bite out of his chocolate-glazed eclair and ignored the glob of custard cream that clung to his chin. “C’est quoi votre problème, madame?” he asked.

  “I'm sorry I don't speak French. English?”

  Officer Debaillie fell in to translate. “What’s your problem? Why are you trying to take Georges' cat away?”

  “He's my cat. I have pictures of Avalon and an official chip to prove he's ours.”

  “It's not up to you to decide for the cat,” Officer Debaillie said. “Every cat here has the right to be free and to choose for himself. The law states it here.”

  Eleonore peeked at the two policemen from beneath her mother's arm.

  Jess couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was so surprised that she was unable to utter another word.

  Next to her, Eleonore started to cry. She had understood everything. Her sobbing was heartbreaking.

  “Do it for my daughter,” she pleaded. “She loved that cat. And Avalon loved her as well.”

  “We'd appreciate it if you'd leave now,” Georges said.

  “We're not leaving without Avalon.”

  “If you stay here, your daughter will not only be cat-less but motherless, too,” Officer Chadov said.

  What was he implying? That he would put her in prison? She couldn't be sure.

  Jess looked at Georges who had a little smirk on his lips and then at the two police officers.

  “I won't leave it at that,” she said, and she took Eleonore's hand and guided her toward the exit.

  Eleonore screamed as if she were being dragged to a scaffold, ready to be executed.

  ***

  Simon couldn't concentrate on the sales pitch of the two pet food representatives who marketed their new addition to their range of products and checked if the clinic needed to supplement its stock of cat food. “The chicken with pumpkin is doing well lately. Even the cats want to get into the spirit of autumn,” the oldest of the two pet food reps said. “It's now available in a 9x8 box.”

  Simon knitted his eyebrows together. He was familiar with their brand, so he probably didn't miss out on the information by not listening. He knew pumpkin was beneficial for a cat's digestive system, so it was all he needed to hear. “Everything for the cats, right?” Simon said, absent-mindedly. Instead, in his head, he repeated the discussion he would soon have with Aidan. It was a role he didn't want to play, but saving Aidan just wasn't worth it.

  When the two representatives were out the door, Simon knocked on the door of Aidan's cabinet. “I expect to see you in my office in five minutes,” Simon said. “It's important.”

  ***

  Aidan felt numb. As he walked out of the clinic during midday, he felt nothing but emptiness, as though his heart had been cut from his chest and replaced by a void. When Simon had asked him to come into his office, the last thing Aidan had expected was to get fired. “Dismissal for a serious cause” the C4 mentioned, which implied there was no notice. No time to look for another job or to save money for the uncertain times ahead. They didn't have any money left to survive without unemployment compensation or to go back home to start anew. The timing
couldn't have been worse.

  Aidan had asked what that serious cause entailed, and Simon had replied he had put both the cats and the residents of Clervaux in danger.

  “But what did I do? I know there has been a dispute about putting cats to sleep, but I obeyed the stupid rules of this town.”

  “I don't have to defend myself. I expect you gone within half an hour.” Simon took out several files and started on his work without looking up at Aidan.

  “You'll be hearing from my lawyer.” It was a hollow threat, because Aidan didn't have to money to pay one.

  “Do whatever you like.” Simon still didn't look up. His face had been devoid of any emotion – as usual – so it had been impossible to guess what he was thinking.

  When Aidan could come to no logical conclusion as to what happened, he had asked Simon if his dismissal had something to do with the Tengu.

  Simon's expression had shifted from neutral to shocked. “Where did you hear that name? Was it Lorenza? Is that girl telling you stupid stories?”

  Incensed, Aidan stood with a glare. It had, in fact, been Lorenza who had told him the uncanny tale, but she wasn't the one to have mentioned the name. No one in this town had ever mentioned the Tengu. It was a subject that shouldn't have been breached. “I'm just asking.” Aidan’s gaze faltered as he looked at Simon. “You're not telling me anything, so I have no choice but to guess.”

  “Get the hell out of my hospital.” It exploded out of him as a yell, but the look on Simon's face had been that of contained anger. Knowing Simon, he wouldn't want that anger to be released.

  And that was how Aidan found himself outside the clinic in the middle of the day, not knowing what to do or where to go.

  Aidan couldn't go home. Not immediately. Jess would only make him feel guilty for losing his job and would probably go straight into a financial panic mode. Facing failure and seeing his dreams fall apart was already hard to handle. He didn't need the guilt on top of that. What he needed was someone who boosted his ego and told him that everything was all right, even though it wasn't.

  He called Jess to tell her he had to work late and went out for a drink with Lorenza. He didn't have a particular agenda; he only wanted to feel better.