by Laura Watson
This human wasn't a regular there. He didn’t recognize him, his smell was different. A small, fit looking man of about forty came into their area. Rufus thought that he had a kind face and thumped his tail as Ralph walked by his cage.
Ralph looked at the cages of animals big and small with a look of horror on his otherwise pleasant face. This was some bad shit. How long had those poor animals been in there with no food and no water? Ralph already hated the idea of an animal shelter, fucking concentration camps for animals, in his opinion. That was their real purpose, hidden behind a facade of humaneness. What the fuck was humane about gassing a living creature? Killing something just for being alive?
It was a mockery of everything he held sacred.
Ralph knew that animals were gifts, it was the reason he had spent all of those long tedious years to become a veterinarian. He'd be damned if he'd leave these poor little guys to starve to death in a cage. They were still responding to his presence, though, he quickly observed, so maybe he wasn't too late.
Ralph frantically unlocked the cages and opened the doors. He checked through each room of the shelter to make sure that he had found all of the animals there.
He would at least give them a chance to live, he thought, before those Gray bastards got him.
He took a bag of the shelter's dog food and poured it outside, beside of the building, and then found a tub he could put some water in. The water was still working, thank God, he thought.
Rufus looked at the man in wonder. What was he doing? Ralph left the door open to the outside world, propped open with an empty cage, and left, cutting across the long field that adjoined the shelter's east side.
Rufus took one tentative step outside of his cage.
He sniffed the air, it smelled okay, he listened intently but heard only the far off distant screams and shouts of the humans who were being taken to the strange ships hovering overhead. He had been hearing that for two days now. Rufus stepped outside onto the grass for the first time in over two months.
Ralph walked through the field, hoping to cross it to get to I-64 East where he would only have a short walk back to his house. A soft warm breeze blew across the field, tugging at his shirt and fanning his sweaty forehead. He was going over a list in his mind of what he needed to do when he got home, put some water up, he thought, close the blinds, find the candles. He had purchased them years ago, but had never had to use them. Now where the fuck did I put them? He asked himself. He was ticking of the items on his mental list as the day was wearing into evening.
Dusk was almost on him as he walked, his three former companions had joined the other animals at the shelter, and even though he coaxed them and called them to follow him, they stubbornly stayed behind. He was alone now, walking towards the freeway located on the other side of the field when he saw a group of four people approaching on his right. He quickened his pace, hoping to avoid contact with them but they hurried their paces to intercept him.
“Don't follow me!” Ralph shouted back at the pursuing group as he ran. “You need to separate!”
They're targeting groups!” “What?” one of the women shouted back, hurrying her pace to a jog to catch up to him. “Get the fuck away from me!” Ralph shouted, and started running. The group ran after Ralph, shouting for him to stop as he ran clumsily across the uneven surface of the field.
Ralph ran, ignoring their shouts to stop. He stumbled and reeled like a drunken man as he ran over the rocky uneven surface, the muscles in his legs burning from the exertion, the breath tearing raggedly in and out of his lungs.
Ralph tumbled, as the toe of his right, loafer clad foot, hooked a patch of the field's thick, tufted grass. He lost his balance and fell, headfirst onto the ground, plowing through the tall grass. A minute later, his heart thumping wildly, and out of breath, he sat up, a small cut in his scalp trickling blood in a thin ribbon down the side of his face.
Ralph tried to stand up. His legs felt unsteady and the blood rushed, a sickening hot flood into his aching head. His vision blurred and he sat down hard. The four people that had been running after him now gathered around him as he sat . A young, dark haired woman, from the group, in a pink blouse and faded jeans leaned over him, her face a mask of gentle concern, and asked.
“Are you alright?” “What?” Ralph said shakily. “Are you alriiiii..” her words trailed off as she slipped upwards. Ralph felt a nauseating pulling feeling in his stomach that lifted him. His vision cleared and he saw the ground rapidly retreating below him.
Rufus watched, as the other animals filed out of the small gray concrete building. Three large dogs quickly claimed the piled up dog food and water, growling menacingly at the other animals that approached it as they ravenously ate their fill. The kittens who had been calling for their mama tottered outside on small, unsteady legs, looking around them in awe at the outside world, their eyes large and bright, their whiskers twitching as they tried to take in all of the strange new smells at once.
Rufus knew they'd die unless another cat came along to protect them, they were way too young to be on their own yet. He looked hopefully at the odd assortment of animals now fanning out at the doorway, noticing the three small dogs that had walked in with the man, there. Rufus was hoping that maybe, in the assortment of animals, a cat might appear to take care of the orphaned kittens.
Where was a cat when you needed one? He thought irritably, keeping his eye on the four small fluffy white kittens who sniffed the air experimentally, cataloging each new smell in their large olfactory banks for later use. They scampered over the paved sidewalk to the grass and stepped cautiously on the green surface, pawing at the strange green grass that swayed slightly in the breeze.
Well, I guess they can come with me, Rufus thought, not having the first idea what he was going to do with four rambunctious little kittens. How would he take care of them? What was he going to feed them?
They can't be over a few weeks old, he thought, they need milk. Rufus sniffed the fresh summer air. There was a creek nearby. He looked longingly at the field, wanting more than ever to just take off running through it to the clear cool water of the creek, but what was he going to do with these kittens? Rufus sat down, his mind stubbornly accepting the new responsibility he faced.
Rufus stood up and called the four kittens to him.
“You're coming with me,” he announced, as they gathered close to him. They liked this large brown creature. He was warm and furry and he smelled good.
One of them licked his face, making Rufus laugh as its'
little pink tongue tickled his sensitive nose. “Come on then,” he said, starting off towards the field. He walked slowly so they could keep up on their tiny, unsteady legs.
A large white Persian cat appeared at the door of the building. She looked frantically around her as she walked, then spotted what she had been looking for.
She covered the distance between herself and Rufus with two great leaps, growling low in her throat at him as she approached.
Rufus backed slowly away from the small brood of kittens, not wanting to alarm the mother cat any further. Sophie, realized that Rufus had been protecting her small babies. Her entire posture changed, the arched back relaxed and her ears shot forward in greeting. She walked up to Rufus and licked him playfully on the ear.
“Thank you,” Sophie said, the soft purring sound she made was soothing to Rufus' ears. She ran up to the small brood of kittens, and licked their small faces while they frisked around her, pawing at her face and ears.
Their mama wasn't dead after all, Rufus thought happily. She had been in the holding area, near the gas chamber. Her cage was in the back staging area, the last place the man had checked before leaving. The small kittens huddled closely to their large Mama as she started off through the field adjacent to the shelter.
Rufus watched them vanish into the tall grasses and sighed softly to himself. He smelled the air, then found a scent to follow. He was free!
Rufus ran as fast a
s his small legs could take him, through the tall summer grasses growing in the field, following the scent he had caught, to a small creek that ran alongside of the property of the shelter.
He smelled the water of the small flat creek, the unique, fishy smell that only creeks have.
He lapped at the water thirstily, filling his stomach for the first time in two days. He padded quietly along the creek bank, looking for a place to lie down before the night came. There, he found a little hollow in some reeds and bushes to curl up and sleep.
He pawed at the earth with his small front paws, a habit born of instinct, turned three times in a circle, tucked his tail up beneath him and laid down, a soft oomph escaping his throat. It was warm and dry and he was completely hidden from the humans. He fell asleep with the sounds of far off screams and the nearby buzz of the insects. The quarter moon was shining overhead.
Claudia
The chattering of a couple of quarreling squirrels woke him up at dawn. The heat that had barely dissipated from the day before was already beginning to return. Rufus stretched and yawned sleepily. He sat up and scratched his haunch with his hind leg and looked around him.
He heard a rustling noise coming from the reeds just in front of him. Seconds later, the rushes parted and a small raccoon stepped through the reeds, coming nose to nose with Rufus. Its' masked face startled Rufus and he sat down hard. “What do you want?” Rufus asked gruffly. Rufus was a little embarrassed at his own reaction, it was just a little raccoon after all. “Who are you?” the little raccoon asked nervously.
“I'm Ruf...he began, then thinking about his sweet old mama, who would never get to feel the outside world again, he said instead, “I'm Josh.”
“Well, Josh” the nervous raccoon replied, “You had better get away from this creek, I have my babies here, and I might not look it, but I'm a good fighter. I'll tear you to pieces if you so much as sniff in their direction!” “Whoa!” Josh, said. “I don't eat raccoons lady, so just relax.” The little raccoon looked at him uncertainly, then shook her head and backed up a few steps. “What's your name?” Rufus asked cautiously, eying her warily, he had just noticed the long incisors that still peeked out from her muzzle. “Claudia,” she responded shyly, embarrassed by her previous outburst.
“I'm sorry I frightened you Claudia,” Josh said gently, “I only came here to sleep last night, I was locked up in that building over there.” He tossed his head in the direction of the shelter, now only a tiny gray speck on the field's horizon. Claudia squinted her eyes.
The brightness of the morning sun sent tiny slivers of pain through them. “My eyes don't work so great in the day,” she said, some of her nervousness now disappearing, “but nothing can get past me at night.”
Josh looked at Claudia. She sat on her hind legs, her small hand like paws feeling the ground in front of her. Her front paws were restless, either constantly searching the ground for something to pick up or she held them, palms out, towards him. Rufus shook his head, his large ears flopping clumsily across his face.
“Well, I'm going to get going now” he said.
“Where are you going to go?” Claudia asked quickly. “I don't know yet,” Josh said quietly, “Just away from here. I think I'll follow the water for awhile.”
Claudia yawned, not use to being up during the morning, and said, “Stay here for a little while Josh, I promise I won't yell at you anymore, you just scared me, that's all. I think it would be nice to have you around, and you can meet my two little ones tonight.”
she added hopefully.
Claudia had been so lonely after her mate Cecil had been killed by a hunter. He died before he could even see his new babies. Since then, Claudia had been alone, and she desperately wanted to have someone to talk to again, to have a friend. “I don't know,” Josh replied, “there's nothing here to eat, and I have to find something, I'm starving.” “I can fix that,” said Claudia, her eyes twinkling. “I happen to be the best fisher around.” She leapt to the creek bank and in a flash, she had fished out a large rainbow trout. “This will fill you up,” she said happily, her words forming strangely around the wriggling mouthful “and, you can stay right here now, there's plenty more of them in there,” she motioned towards the water. Josh looked at the large fish still twitching in Claudia's mouth.
He had never seen a fish. It smelled like the creek water he had lapped up the night before. Claudia dropped the fish at his feet and it flopped weakly in the matted grass before finally dieing a few minutes later.
Josh licked the dead fish. It tasted like the creek water too. His hungry stomach decided things once and for all and he felt the strange sensation of bones cracking as he hurriedly chewed it up and swallowed it. He didn't like the cold, slimy skin, but the meat wasn't bad at all. The small bones of the thing scratched at his throat. He would have to chew better next time, he thought.
Josh suddenly felt sleepy again, he wanted nothing more than to curl up on the soft grass. His eyes began to droop as he thanked Claudia for the meal and after he had pawed the ground, and turned around three times, he laid down with a soft “oomph” escaping his throat. Claudia scurried back into her nest in the nearby oak tree and inspected her two sleeping babies. After licking their small dreaming faces, she fell asleep. She smiled to herself for the first time in months, since Cecil died. She had a new friend.
The Denial
“Look around you Laura,” Ralph argued, “What do you think they're going to do with us?” He sat and looked at Laura with growing disbelief. “Come on, you really don't believe all of that crap in the papers do you?” Laura asked in astonishment. “Why wouldn't I believe it, Laura? It was by accredited NASA Scientists.” “Well, there's your first clue,” Laura scoffed. “Those guys are the last people I'd ever believe.” She grimaced as she pulled her knees up to her chin. Her back stiff and aching from sitting in one position for so long.
“Well,” Ralph replied, “I don't think the
newspapers would have published the story if it didn't have at least some facts.” “Oh bullshit!” Laura replied angrily, “they'll print anything that they think will sell one of their fucking newspapers, Ralph. It doesn't mean that everything they print is the fucking Gospel truth you know.”
Ralph could see that Laura was scared, hell he was too, but to sit up here, right in the middle of what the papers called “The Harvest” and still deny what was happening was, well, just insane. Did the Gray motherfuckers have to walk up to Laura and rip her fucking arm out it's socket and start gnawing on it for her to get the fucking picture?!
Laura wasn't the only one in denial up there.
Ralph had been listening to the arguments rage all around him over the last two weeks. “Why would they come all of this way, just to eat us?” a small portly woman argued loudly to the older woman sitting next to her. “I mean, jeez! They have all of this advanced technology, why don't they just clone people, and save themselves a trip?” “For that matter,” she continued, “why don't they just breed people, grow them in labs or something? It just doesn't make any sense!” The older woman didn't have an answer for her, and neither did Ralph, but in the Pilot's area, Darius was reciting an ancient passage in The Ritual that might have shed some light on their conversation.
“We tried and failed to breed them, to seed them”
he chanted. “We cannot recreate the abundance that you have provided. We shall never attempt it again.” Darius sipped The Sacred Green Wine, his body swaying, relaxing from its' intoxicating effects. All of the long, miserably bright day's work forgotten temporarily, as the feeling of well being enveloped his Gray mind.
“”Laura,” Ralph began, gently, “I know you're afraid,” “You're damn right I'm afraid!” she shouted back. “But it doesn't mean that all of that crap in the paper was true!” “They could be taking us to work for them, or to...I don't know, study us maybe,” she said lamely. “Yeah, in fucking shackles, yeah, that's what they're doing,” an Asian man of about thirty shouted o
ver at her. He had been sitting across from them listening to the back and forth argument taking place between her and Ralph. “Did anybody ask for your fucking opinion?” Laura shouted back at him.
“Hey Lady,” the Asian man replied quickly, “I don't really care if you want my opinion or not. As you can see, this isn't exactly a fucking democracy up here.”
Laura looked at him, her mouth dropping open. “You had better get those romantic ideas about the sweet little aliens out of your mind lady,” he shouted. “These dudes DO NOT look like friendlies of any kind to me. The sooner you face facts, the better chance you'll have.”
Laura looked at him coldly. “Chance?” she asked, her eyebrows lifting in surprise, “Chance at what, exactly?”.
“To survive” the Asian man replied.
Ralph listened to the exchange, his mind reeling.
“Am I the only one on this whole fucking ship that can see what's happening?” he interrupted. “Man, he said looking at the slim, neatly dressed Asian man sitting across from him, “just how the hell are we supposed to survive this? Am I the only one who sees those fucking barbed tails their holding, or who realizes we're sitting at over 10,000 feet above the ground in a FUCKING
UFO?!!!
“Dude, chill!” the Asian man replied, holding his shackled hands out in a warding off gesture. His large dark eyes brimmed with intelligence and quiet intensity.
“What I mean is that they have to have some kind of weakness. If we can find it, we might have some kind of a damn chance to get off of this thing and get back to the ground.”
“Man, you've been watching too many science fiction movies,” Ralph replied. He studied Jason's tanned face, and shook his head. “Those kind of ideas are what got us up here in the first place. Why is it so difficult for people to believe that there are more intelligent beings in the Universe than they are? They always think they can outsmart, out reason or outright bully anything that comes their way. Well I'm not buying it bro. We're fucked.”
