Colt Harper: Esteemed Vampire Cat

by Tyrolin Puxty

  Oblivious to my departure, Brynn raises the knife above her head, ready to strike.

  “Wait!” Saffy says. “Colt left. That’s Sean now.”

  “What are you on about?”

  Poor Saffy. I can’t even explain that only our own kind can see our true form.

  “That mist up there. Don’t you see it? It’s Colt.”

  Brynn groans and lowers the blade. “You’ve got to be joking. Look, mister, don’t even try to possess me. Chasers have ankle tattoos that prevent the likes of you from entering.”

  Sean is coming to, but it’ll take him a while to get used to his body again. Saffy inches closer to Brynn, staring up at me with amazed eyes.

  “How long will he stay there for?”

  “For as long as he can. Then, it’s suffocation for him. We’re in the middle of nowhere, so even if he could leave the hatch, he wouldn’t find someone in time. And if he tries to enter Sean again, I’ll stab him. He’s trapped.”

  At peace with my decision, I float. For once, I actually saved a life. Maybe that’ll get me into heaven. If there is a heaven for creatures like me.

  “His real form is kind of beautiful,” Saffy says, mesmerized by my tiny cloud.

  “Saffy, don’t get attached.” Brynn sits on Sean’s lap. “Dear, I presume you’re a little freaked by this whole vampire cat thing. You always thought you were a chaser, correct?”

  Saffy nods and glances at me.

  “The truth is I’ve known about your little problem for a while. I’ve been waiting for this day. You are in your entirety a pureblood vampire cat. Uh-uh, don’t speak yet.” She raises her finger when Saffy goes to object. “Weak and desperate, you wriggled your way into your mother’s womb. You possessed a fetus. That’s never been done before. Everybody knows that if you possess a fetus, you’ll merge souls with a human, becoming one. Nobody was stupid enough to try. Except for you, of course. Dad and I were there when you were just a few days old. You nattered all about yourself and your ‘adventures’ as a vampire cat. After a few days, your memories scrubbed themselves out and there you were, precious Saffy. Dad and I left and moved to England where I trained to become a chaser. When I found out your mother and stepdad died, I figured you killed them. Shockingly, no. When I located you, I was stunned you were still the little innocent. I certainly had no reason to go after you unless you killed a human. I thought that day would never come.” She sighs. “And then you slaughtered that couple on the boat. Ah well, they were old. Don’t feel too bad.”

  Saffy backs into the wall, tripping over her feet. “Brynn? What are you talking about?”

  Brynn remains calmly on Sean’s lap, twirling the knife. “I’m sorry, Saffy. As far as I’m concerned, we’re not family. You’re just a parasite inside of a defenseless body. I have to stop you before you hurt anybody else.”

  The heartbreak on Saffy’s face is undeniable. To be honest, Brynn’s comment jilts me too. Parasites, are we? Low blow.

  Brynn stands and raises the blade above her head.

  “Hey! Hey Brynn, what do you think you’re doing?” Jax hits the cage as furry ears sprout from his head. “Brynn? Stop!”

  Saffy doesn’t even try to shield herself. She stands there, as if ready to accept her punishment. She makes it easy… so easy… for Brynn to sink the knife into her abdomen.

  “NO!” Jax shakes the cage as his features slowly morph into his wolf form.

  Saffy drops to the floor, her eyes open wide. For once, the sight of blood smeared onto the tiles doesn’t fill me with joy. It doesn’t make me hungry or thirsty.

  It makes me angry.

  “Right then!” Brynn wipes the blade on her shirt, a glint in her eye when she looks at Jax. “You’re next!”

  Saffy’s white. She’s motionless. I can’t believe Brynn took a life like that. And we are supposed to be monsters?

  She can’t be dead. I mean, I’d see her energy leave her body, wouldn’t I? Unless it’s taking a while. If there’s even the slightest possibility I can save her, I’d do anything. Literally.

  I can’t help it. I have no choice. As Brynn approaches Jax, I aim for Sean and dive back in.

  “The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity.”

  – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

  ou cold-hearted …” Jax trails off when his mouth grows into a dribbling snout.

  “Life hurts a lot more than death,” Brynn says. “I’m a protector. A guardian. It’s a thankless job, but it satisfies me knowing that I’m making the world a better place.”

  Jax growls, frantically swiping at Brynn through the cage, unfazed by the silver that’s slowly cooking him alive.

  Jumping back into Sean is unpleasant. It’s worse than diving into a shallow pool filled with ice and needles. Feeling returns to my fingers, my mouth. My body.

  “I’m sorry Sean,” I whisper. “Just for a minute, I promise.”

  He doesn’t respond. I hope he’s not too mad at me. As a surge of adrenaline rushes through my veins, I break the handcuffs and grab Brynn before she stabs Jax.

  She squirms in my grip, then starts laughing.

  “Oh hey, Colt. Didn’t take you long to wriggle back, did it?”

  “It’s just temporary.”

  “Ah, I doubt that. Sean’s dead. I checked his pulse while I was sitting on him. There’s nothing in that body that suggests his consciousness or soul or whatever the hell you want to call it is in there.”

  My grip loosens, so Brynn takes the opportunity to slide out and put the blade to my throat.

  “But… but how?” My voice breaks. Ew. I need to take better control of this meat suit.

  “Um, let me guess. Did you feed his body properly? Give it enough water? This bag of bones was only alive because you were in it. You must’ve wriggled your way in just as he passed.”

  My knees go weak. “No! But I promised him he’d get his body back…”

  “Looks like you lied. Sheesh, you’re already taking on his lousy human emotions. That’s weak, Colt. If it makes you feel any better, Sean was diagnosed with some pretty heavy stuff a while back. He probably just wanted to say goodbye to his family, but because you’re a monster, you deprived him of that. Good one, jerk.”

  There’s a lot of emotion bouncing around inside of me and I don’t care for it. “So I’m in full possession of his body?”

  “Yep. You’re probably going to become more humanized.” She rolls her eyes. “But you’re still a monster. Probably only half of one now. Just like Saffy. How ironic.”

  I hiss and kick her against the cage. Through the bars, Jax wraps his furry arms around her chest. She twists and struggles, but can’t break free. With his gigantic toe claw, he scratches at her ankle, turning it into a ripped, bloody mess. “AH! My tattoo! Let go of me, dog!”

  Visibly offended, he howls and bites into her neck.

  “No no no no! Stop! Please! Stop!” she screams as Jax’s string of drool slithers down her chest. She elbows his snout and pulls away, covering her wound. “You freak! What did you do to me?”

  “He turned you.” I smile at Jax who snorts proudly. “Looks like you’re going to be extra scary every month.”

  “You turned me?! But my tattoo should—” She glances down at her ankle. Spit flies from her mouth as tears fill her eyes. “No! Take it back!”

  “He can’t take it back,” I say calmly. “You can go ahead and kill us, but you’d be killing one of your own. Don’t you understand that you’re a monster through our eyes? A woman once told me it’s about perception. And we perceive you as a bit of a bitch.”

  Brynn is mortified. Holding her gash, she steps closer to the ladder and looks up at the full moon. And howls, as hair sprouts through her skin and a tail rips her pants. She climbs up the ladder just as the full transformation sets in, and bolts into the forest, wailing into the distance.

  Jax whimpers in his cage and sits down.

  “Don’t feel guilty, Jax. She deserved it.” I gi
ve him a friendly scratch behind the ear. I open the cage door, but he doesn’t move. He just sits there, the silver sizzling him alive.

  “AAAAAATS,” he growls, his voice low and difficult to discern.

  “Cats?” I glance at Saffy, too anguished to look at her lifeless body for long. “There’s only one cat here, buddy.”

  Jax shakes his head. “AAAAAATS!”

  Ats? Ats… Bats!

  The bats are coming for him. He only had one shot to behave and turning Brynn was the last straw. We crane our necks to find the source of the deafening flutter above. Within moments, the hatch practically swarms with shrieking bats, awkwardly flapping around Jax.

  I cover my head, fighting the urge to pounce on them. I can just imagine how delightfully chewy their wings are. Jax tries to claw at them, but there’re too many and they’re too fast. Like a tornado, they gather around him and take hold.

  I can’t let Jax go to the valley. I hate to admit it, but he’s my friend (ugh). And he doesn’t deserve it. Besides, there’s nothing left for me here. Saffy’s gone, I failed Sean and… Man, screw these useless human emotions!

  The bats pull Jax out of the cage and flutter up the ladder. I leap onto one and hold on for dear life as its wings violently hit the sides of my head. This is a great way to get a migraine.

  As we ascend into the night, I glance down at Saffy through the hatch, unsure how to mourn her.

  I don’t know if it’s my imagination or the fact that the headache is altering my vision, but as the bats slip into a wormhole to take us to the valley, I spot Saffy move.

  Just my luck.

  “I’m running out of quotes.”

  – Colt Harper: Esteemed Vampire Cat

  he’s alive!” I know I’m speaking, but I can’t hear myself over the bats. “Hey? Could you drop me back off? Please? Guys?”

  No response. It’s only when my face is sucked up by the world’s biggest vacuum that I realize it’s too late. We’re traveling through the colorless, featureless, airless wormhole. Those altruistic impulses, they get you every time. So I hear. This was my first.

  Landing is never fun. Jax and I crumble onto the grass, dazed and weak.

  “I have to get back to Saffy,” I slur.

  “Bats… bats…” Jax mumbles, leaning on me for support. He’s back in his human form, his eyes rolling around in his head. “Oh God, the BATS! Where are we? Please don’t tell me…”

  My eyes adjust to the lush green and the high mountains. Everywhere I look, skinny red legs run by endlessly and other monsters who haven’t yet made the transformation.

  We’re in the valley.

  It’s not what I expected. Part of me thought it’d be like Mount Doom with lava spewing from volcanoes. But instead, it’s more like the finale to Zelda: The Majora’s Mask (a memory provided by a geek I possessed for two months).

  It’s peaceful. As feet shuffle through the carpet-like grass and petals float through the air, I can’t help but feel like this isn’t a bad place to end up.

  “It’s so quiet,” I whisper, confused by the sky. I can’t work out what time of day it is, if time even exists here. It’s perpetually dusk… or dawn… it’s as if it’s in between.

  The valley walls are cut out from the mountainside to form a barrier too high to see over. It’s quite narrow in between the walls—no bigger than a standard two-lane road. A few trees dot the land, but not many. The council probably planted them there so monsters could count how many laps they’d done.

  “Wait.” Jax helps me to stand. “Why are you here? You didn’t do anything wrong, did you?”

  “Not technically, but I didn’t want to be left behind. I thought I’d come with you.”

  He blinks. “What are you talking about?”

  “Jax, don’t make me get all touchy-feely, okay? I’ve never had friends before. I didn’t know what it’s like. Having you around was kinda nice. And I didn’t have anything left so I followed you. Besides, it’d make for an epic story the moment we bust out, right?”

  He shakes his head, a large grin spreading across his cheeks. He pulls me in for a hug, patting me on the back. “I don’t even care that you smell funny. This was so sweet of you! I mean, it was totally stupid, but sweet.”

  “Ease up on the chick flick moments, yeah?” I push him off. “So what do we do? I don’t want to become a pair of legs.”

  “I don’t think we have much choice,” Jax says. We walk through the valley, unsettled by the number of monsters panting and puffing, running for all eternity.

  “I’m not sure how long they’ll allow us to walk for. Maybe we should start running?”

  “Maybe…” Jax looks like a chastised child. “I can’t believe I turned another human. I said I never would.”

  “Buddy, Brynn wasn’t human. She’s a manipulative weirdo with no regard for anything or anyone. At least this way she’ll understand the hardships we go through as monsters.”

  “That’s… not exactly what I expected you to say. Is Sean still in there? Maybe even a little?”

  “No. I can’t hear him, or feel him. He’s just gone. But somehow, I’m stuck with his leftover emotions and stuff. I can’t believe I kissed Brynn. Ugh.”

  “I can’t believe she dated Sean.”

  “I can. She’s a chaser. They sniff out people they think are ripe for our picking. Sometimes they can even work out potential victims. She might’ve cornered Sean thinking he was in danger, then gave up when she realized how much she hated him. I don’t care how many times she tells me she’s the good guy. At the end of the day, Brynn’s only in it for herself.”

  “What do you think she’ll end up doing with herself? It takes a long time to adjust. I doubt she’ll find a pack to run with. She’ll be out to get me though.”

  “Well unless she comes to the valley, you’ll be safe. Considering she’s a newly turned wolf, it’ll be a long time before they send her here. We’ll be a pair of legs by then, so she won’t recognize us. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  He chews his inner lip. “That doesn’t make me feel a whole lot better, Colt.”

  “MOVE IT OR LOSE IT!” A voice grunts from behind.

  A boulder-like object tears between us, jogging on the spot when it turns to face us. Its hair is soaked and sticking to its face. Its skin is bright pink. It can’t stop puffing.

  But there’s no denying it. It’s Lexi.

  “Holy moly! What are you guys doing here?” She hurries over the hug us, then promptly returns to jogging on the spot. “Wow, the years have been kind to you. You haven’t aged a day.”

  “Lexi, how long do you think you’ve been here?”

  “Eighteen years, at least.”

  I laugh. “It’s been about twenty-four hours.”

  She stops running, mortified. “WHAT?! And I have to do this for eternity?! EFF, EM, ELL!” She groans. “I was wondering why I hadn’t transformed into the legs yet! Shiitake mushrooms! Shiitake bloody mushrooms! Fudge-sticks, argh! And to top it off, I hit my arm knee on another monster and it’s still hurting! I think pain lasts for an eternity here too!”

  “Arm knee…” I shuffle through the possibilities. “Oh, your elbow.”

  “Whatever! Guys, you gotta bust me out of here! I can’t stay here. This is hell. This is actually hell.”

  “That’s kind of the point,” I say. “I think if it were possible to break out, someone would’ve done it by now.”

  Lexi drops to her knees and grovels at our feet. “Please get me out of here! I haven’t thought about tickling once while I’ve been here. I’m rehabilitated! I’m fixed! I don’t need to be a prisoner, right?”

  “Lexi, get up,” I say. “I’m not your parole officer. I can’t help you out of here. Come on. We better start running before someone catches on.”

  “Please,” she sobs. “No more running. Never ever again!”

  “Up!” I heave her onto her feet. “So is this like a beep test? Do we start slow, then bolt?”
>
  “Colt, I don’t know. There isn’t exactly an orientation. All I know is, if you don’t start running on your own, you’ll do it involuntarily. It takes about ten years to transform into the legs. Oh, look. There’s one now.”

  I shudder at the pair of legs running backward, its strides long and quick. I’ve never seen anything quite that disgusting before; and I’ve seen Lexi changing into pajamas.

  “Do you think the legs can see?” I ask, totally hypnotized.

  “What?”

  “The legs. Can they see? Do they remember what they used to be? Do they even think? It’s not like you have a brain in your foot.” I pause. “Do you think they learn to like running?”

  “Colt, no idea!” Lexi says. “I don’t really want to talk about it. I don’t want to know!”

  “Wouldn’t it be cool if right now we woke up and found ourselves still on the plane? As if none of this crap ever happened. As if it were the Bakhtak messing with us.” I cringe when I think of Saffy alone in that hatch, bleeding out. “Maybe we are dreaming. What do you think? Maybe we can wake up!”

  “You’ve lost it,” Lexi whispers, wiping the sweat from her brow.

  “Yeah, I think I have.”

  A light breeze ruffles my hair. It’s surprisingly cheery in the valley. The view is breathtaking, the grass is soft, and the exercise is a nice change of pace. There’s no gore, violence or cemented city blocks. It’s just monsters thrown back into nature.

  What’s so wrong with that?

  I feel a little guilty for all the unnecessary killing now. The way I spoke to people, the way I possessed their bodies. When will we learn that we’re all one? Hurting someone else hurts you… so why do we do it?

  “Hey, guys?” I click my tongue when I realize how dry my mouth is. “I think I am losing it. There’s all these lame thoughts going through my head. All of these… happy, peaceful thoughts. I feel like some kind of monk.”

  “Yeah, we told you.” Jax pants, his face flushed. “You’ve been in a hypnotic trance for the past day.”

  I stop running. “Say what? A day?”