Dr. Susan's Reign: Cat Johnson series (Cat Johnson Chronicles Book 1)

by Katerina Degratte

  Chapter 24

  Raven

  I look at Cat sleeping peacefully in the bed, a pink fuzzy robe covered in kittens wrapped around her body. A small smile on her face, as opposed to her usually catlike tongue whipping her remarks. Smarter than I would have expected from the first glance and far more interesting.

  The dolt fell asleep in the shower after likely pouring through that journal all night. She’s lucky I was able to notice before she cracked her skull on the bathroom tile. I would have offered comfort last night, but I was too upset from her poking her nose around and asking about the pictures of my family. Of when I was another me. The changes not being accepted by the significant other, so I was left.

  It was more of a marriage because it felt right after growing up together and being around each other. He and my family had us hanging out since we were babies. But it always felt too going through the motions, especially with sex that was never quite enjoyable. We hardly did, except the times we were planning kids and our wedding night. Or just because it felt like something I had to do. I found out he had another and wasn’t even all that upset; it meant I wouldn’t be deemed to sleep with him. Seeing as guys weren’t my type. My brain is a little slow on the uptake to that.

  We had that conversation after that. And they decided they wanted nothing to do with me. The kids wouldn’t talk to me anymore, as I was seen as an outcast. It didn’t change how I felt about them; I still loved them. And Harry, I loved more like a friend than a lover.

  Claire would have started third grade this year, Henry starting his first year of school in kindergarten. I should have fought for custody more, but I was trying to get shit under my belt first, then I’d take his ass to court. Given they even would chance at that.

  This happened a mere six months ago. I was supposed to see them on weekends, but I went into a downfall after my world changed. My parents disowned me, as I wasn’t the perfect straight Christian daughter they raised. Mutual friends breaking off. Well, most of them anyway, some still talked to me now and again. And I drowned and wasn’t seen fit.

  Cat jumps up as if alerted by something. Charming grimacing as he was enjoying sleeping on her chest. His face is still too young to show true anger. “What time is it? Where am I? I need to meet up with Maori?” Still half asleep.

  “Calm down, honey. I can meet up with Maori for you and get the specimen. Then I can be back in a few hours so we can go to HQ with all our findings.”

  She nods before laying back down in a lum- charming, making his way back over to her, the cute kitten.

  Now I just had to hope Maori would see me after last night. Hopefully, she recognized me as me being the one to let them free. Not that those thoughts were the greatest as she was dosed up on a million and two things Susan drugged her with.

  Why Susan would let Cat go is a mystery. She was an unselfish lover, from what I’ve seen. And caring about those around her, even with how to cut off and secretive she is. Hopefully, she’d be willing to start things over.

  Chapter 25

  Maori

  The fish swim around the stream in varying sizes. Once we go up to the water, they seem to see us and swim as far as the four-foot stream will allow them.

  I look at Tiger’s pensive face as he just stares at the water. The size of them wasn’t nearly as bad as one would expect. Being the size of what goldfish could grow to if given the proper climate. Their eyes are what really sell me, though. Untainted. With how much area is covered here, though, I have no doubt catching them, then releasing them with the serum in their veins would be worth the effort. Besides, what could fish do to command humans? This world wasn’t built underwater. ANd building it that way seems like it’d be a lot of effort. It would wipe out a lot of humans, though. Considering how long we were stuck with that virus.

  The virus was so much work. There was at least a month there that Cat was home every damn day. I couldn’t go out on the town and do my Cat stuff because she never fucking left. Something about being safe and shit. And she got so lonely that she would cuddle me and try to put me in cute outfits. I’m not sure how I survived the impact that covid had on us with the dress up.

  I look to Tiger for instruction as he seems to be a master of these woods. Hopefully, I wouldn’t be here long enough to kick him out of that spot.

  “I don’t know why you’re looking at me. I’ve only been here a few days later than you, and I’ve never fished before.”

  Hmpf, some help he is.

  I make my way closer to the water’s edge. Perching for my perfect moment to strike before jumping at it. He just swims away, though, as Tiger is there laughing his ass off at me.

  “You so sure about this Maori?”

  “Shut your mouth.” I growl. Being in the water wasn’t as bad when you were bigger than it. I still couldn’t fathom why humans went to pools, though. On average, 390 deaths each year are acquired from drowning in a pool or at a spa.

  How do I know this info, you may ask? During some of my time alone, I like to boot up the laptop and look up certain things. On a cold day going to youtube to watch bird videos is far more appealing than going outside to complete said task. Even with my thick coat, I could still get the chills.

  I take a bite down into the water again. My form is big enough that I capture two, in fact, and a mouthful of water. And it tasted way better than that bird trash Tiger was trying to get me to feed on. Fresher, juicy, and quite satisfying.

  “How is it?” Tiger’s jokes are gone as I caught something on my second try.

  “Why don’t you find out for yourself?” I catch another one in my mouth, spitting it in his general direction. And it hit the face! Score!

  “Has Cat ever told you, Maori, that you’re a bit of a bitch?” I swipe a playful paw at him.

  “Not really.” I shrug. She used lots of cutesy names to the point of annoying. ANd hector may have used that word to describe me once or twice before.

  He growls, sniffing at the fish before licking it. Seeming satisfying, he licks it a few more times. Before finally deciding to devour it. His eyes wide open, as no words are spewing out of his smart mouth.

  I poke a paw at his body. “Earth to Tiger, are you still alive under there? Did you get some sort of disease? Are you in shock?” He continues as it gets worrying. I punch him in the shoulder with my paw.

  “I just wanted to see how freaked out you would get.” Fucking asshole. “Seriously though, Maori, that has to be 10 times better than those birds. It makes the birds taste like microwave meals in comparison to a nicely cooked dinner.” I shake my head at the comparison. “I would steal some of Susan’s food before she made me an outdoor cat.”

  Ah, that explains it. I never really had an interest in the food Cat would digest. A few times, I tried it as a kitten, and sometimes I would smell at it. But I’ve seen her eat enough ramen and Chef Boyardee on lazy nights that her food didn’t really captivate me.

  “Have you ever had lobster?” He asks as the word sounds foreign to me. So I had to say no, right?

  I shake my head.

  “Well, Susan, a while back ago, was preparing it for herself as a treat. She got it out of the shell and was ready to eat it when she got distracted by something else. When she got back, I was finishing eating it. After that happened, she made me an outdoor cat.” Hm. Hardly seems fair; she did leave it out. What did she expect? Stupid human.

  “Scoot over. I want to catch some fish in the stream with you. That was super tasty.”

  I begrudgingly give him some space. Smacking him in the face with my paw when his face bumps into mine, making us both lose the fish. And another time when his nose got too close to my ass.

  Chapter 26

  Cat

  I woke up feeling like I’m lying on clouds, the beds that soft. Looking in the mirror to the side, to see my hair is an arrayed mess. There’s some clothing at the edge with a note.

  Cat,

  I hope I’m not overstepping my bounds, but what you
chose out wasn’t all that professional. And given the situation at HQ, you may be taken more seriously wearing this.

  Also, you fell asleep in the shower. NO, I did not take advantage/feel you up. I just got you into my bathrobe, and then the bed. I’m meeting with Maori to get the specimen to take back to HQ when we get there.

  I hope we can put this mess behind us and start over.

  Love,

  Raven

  I raise a befuddled eyebrow, not recalling having said Raven could go to HQ with me. And a bit on the bummed side that I didn’t get to see Maori. I decided to take a gander through what she gave me to wear.

  A flowy green business top that had a bow that you could tie at the neck to add the cute element. And practical black leggings, that yay had pockets. There’s also a pair of heels there, but I decided to go with my own boots that I was wearing. I could wash off the moss, and if I wore heels that weren’t heeled boots, I looked like I was Bambi.

  I change into the clothing, seeing it fits me in a flattering way. Managing to score some hair ties so I can put my mess of hair in braids. Not the most professional hairstyle, but it would do, and it helped tame my flurried locks. “What do you think, Charming?” I turn towards him to see him curled up on the bathrobe, looking cute as a button. It was pretty fuzzy, so I could see why he decided to take up sleep there.

  I hear the door open, as Raven must be walking in. Unless she has a roommate, I’m unaware of. “Oh good, you’re ready.” She looks me over before frowning when her gaze hits my feet. “You aren’t wearing the shoes I left out?” Geesh, controlling much?

  “I don’t really do heels.” She opens her mouth as if she’s about to say something before closing it. Probably deciding it’s not worth the effort to fight over. “Anyway, sorry I’m late. It took a while to find where Maori was.” Not sounding all that sorry.

  “If you woke me up, I could have gone.” Her face was unbelieving.

  “That’s what you told me when you shot up like you were trying out for ‘The Exorcist.’' Eh, so I had a few sleep issues. My trazodone and paxil were at my house, where I couldn’t exactly get to them at this very moment. They weren’t my first concern after I heard Maori had been captured.

  “Sorry you had to see that.” I don’t actually meet her eyes due to embarrassment. “Thanks for the clothing. What time is it anyway?”

  “About four in the afternoon.” Shit. I meant to head out earlier, so I could take care of that then go to the game store with my excuse. At least I didn’t have another shift there that I was missing by this point. “Also Maori wants you to meet up with her tomorrow morning in your guy’s spot. She gave me hell for showing up in your place.”

  Good for her; I can’t help the grin that sneaks up my face.

  “Ready to head to HQ?” She asks.

  I nod, following her, while trying not to glance at how her ass looked in her bright pink leggings. She was wearing those with a blue and purple sweater.

  So instead, my eyes fall back on the picture. My teeth clamp down on my tongue to prevent me from asking questions about the family. I didn’t need her turning on me now since it seemed she was, in fact, working with HQ.

  “What exactly do you have in that crate of yours?” I look but don’t see many giveaways from the holes in the box.

  “Some giant baby bird. Your damned cat threw him at me.”

  “I’m not damned. I didn’t do that.” He was a little self-involved. Charming decides now is the perfect opportunity to join the conversation, climbing up my back to my shoulder. I thought he was asleep on the bed, or I would have said bye.

  “She wasn’t talking about you.” I picked him up, much to his protest. “You probably should stay here.”

  He cries. “I don’t want to stay here. I’ve never been alone except for a short time after Maori was taken.” Gosh, way to make me feel bad. Things at HQ could get messy, though, and I didn’t want to be a bad cat owner by knowingly inviting him.

  “Sure, you can come.” I shoot Raven a glare, as she agrees to him coming with. Was she that dense that she thought it could possibly be a good idea? “Besides we already left the apartment now, so it would be more work to get him back in and settled.”

  “Yay!” Charming is gleeful that he’s going to be with us on our excursion.

  xxXxx

  “Why are you bringing the traitor in our mists?” Brian, as always, is the one to greet us. Him looking me over like I’m roadkill. So no different than his usual expression towards me. Great...

  I start to open my mouth, but Raven silences me so she can explain to him. And by the way, he looks at her, it was likely better that she was doing the talking.

  “She was working undercover, so she could find strong information about Susan.” She shoves him the crate, ready to be rid of the bird fellow.

  “What the hell is this?” He scoffs at it while Raven has gone off to find someone more reliable to talk to. Good one, had him distracted.

  “If I have any say of it, you won’t be coming back.” He doesn’t even bother trying to conceal his hatred towards me. What the hell did I ever do to him?

  “Raven, you brought her back?” Someone else says, and I recognize the voice as Genova. Genova was the saucy redhead that was the closest thing in charge of this operation. Usually, she and I were on much better terms, so it was hard to see her staring at me with daggers so intensely.

  “She can be trusted.” Genova nods.

  “Alright everybody, time to set up the council so we can hear Cat out and make a decision.” Shivers run down my spine. Maybe I should have gone with the heels if I was going to talk to that lot. Too late to do anything about it now.

  Raven goes back, grabbing my hand with a whispering, it will be alright.

  xxXxx

  The room. With its blank walls. The council members sitting up front ready to judge me and cling to every word I say. Nerve-wracking, to say the least, for a super anxious person like myself.

  “Cat, we brought you in today because we believe you have committed treason. Raven.” She waves to the one friendly face in the room. “Has brought to our attention you were rogue undercover and got some important info. Speak carefully as your next words will be analyzed more carefully than that frog in high school bio.” Genova announces before giving me a slight wink. That at least had to be promising. Maybe this was more for appearance’s sake than an actual serious intervention.

  “May I speak your honor?” Brian asks, and I curse the fact that he’s on this committee. It consists of five members right now. Genova, Raven since she was close to Luke, a long time member that I was so-so with, Jim and Tom. Jim, and Tom I’ve worked side by side with a few times. Tom and I especially made good partners, so I expected their responses to be to the point.

  “What is it, Brian?” She asks him, slightly irate. It was no secret that he and I weren’t on the best of terms.

  “She’s clearly in the wrong. What’s the point of having this proceeding?” She looks like she’s hard at work resisting the urge to roll her eyes at issue.

  “Cat has been a long-time good employee for us. We will see what she has to offer, then vote then.”

  “But-” He starts, but she cuts him off. I bite my tongue so painfully it hurts to prevent me from laughing.

  “Brian, if you don’t think you can be serious enough about this matter, I’ll take you off the board for this meeting. She’s been a long-time trusted employee and deserves a hearing.” He rolls his eyes but refrains from saying anything else.

  “Meeting sounds exciting.” Charming cheeps from my shoulder, nearly blowing out my eardrum in the process.

  “Gen, you clearly see she has a co-conspiracies in there with her as is.” He points to Charming.

  “Brian, this is the last warning I’m giving you before I throw you off the board for this meeting. That is a fucking kitten. Not a damn conspiracy terrorist!” Charming seems to ditch me and the run-up to her for pets. “If you’re allergi
c to cats, let us know.” She turns towards him, sounding about done with his bullshit.

  “No, ma’am.” He nods, eyes still glaring daggers at Charming. Charming playfully bats a paw at him. It gets some laughter from all around as he cringes at it.

  “Alright then we can start. Cat, are you aware why we brought you here today?” She directs at me.

  I nod. “Yes, ma’am. I’m here to prove my innocence.” I imagine Brian has to swallow down a scoff at that comment.

  Chapter 27

  Tiger

  Whispers go on around the woods. Maori’s actions over the past few days, gathering some unwanted attention. I can’t help but overhear in our cave. Maori dead asleep, as I stay with one ear upwards to get a snippet of what’s going on.

  “Can we trust her?”

  “She’s working with those humans. Killing one of us for her humans gain.” The queen spider sneers. Maori already gaining some enemies here in the short time she’s been around.

  “She also got one of those bird brains for the other human.” Disgust. “Why do things for the humans?” If Cat wasn’t with Maori here, she wouldn’t have walked out of this damned place.

  “Well they aren’t exactly the smartest.” A slither comes from up top—the snake king.

  “They aren’t all bad. If it weren’t for humans, we wouldn’t be this powerful.” A younger voice chimes in as the older one’s grown.

  “No one asked for your opinion Randall.”

  “We can’t do anything to her. While she’s still acclimating to the wilds, that Tiger fellow is on her beck and call.” The queen spider notes.

  “Her unknowingness is the only advantage we have with her lack of experience and not knowing her full potential. Tiger, we definitely can’t go against.” I feel a little snug hearing that, as I was feared and powerful. While having the want to go after that and rip them apart, even suggesting touching a hair on her head. I shoot a glare, so they know I heard.