Wings by Talmos Anonymous (good ebook reader .txt) 📕

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh Sulfur! Will you just tell me yes or no? I'm dying from hunger over here!"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, but only this once and as thanks for the squirrel." He padded halfway out of the car before shooting her a serious look, "and you still owe me."

Daisy purred and jumped after him.

Soon after leaving the vehicle Sulfur and Daisy found themselves traveling through a dense set of shrubbery that bordered a nearby highway. Senses alert and tails low, they knew that at any point in time a dog or a kitnapper could come after them so they had to be cautious. As a result the air between them had become deadly quiet and neither cat spoke to one another. Daisy fell into a hunter's crawl and followed Sulfur to the edge of the ditch to wait for the cars to pass, the reeking scent of oil and burnt rubber sending shivers down her spine. She took a quick glance at Wing's brother and was surprised to see that he didn't seem bothered by it all. Instead his gaze was fixed squarely on the other side, his fear scent unnoticeable. Was he used to this?

"Now!" Sulfur yowled, and Daisy, momentarily struggling against the steep incline, bolted onto the road.

As they raced across Daisy did her best to stay calm while moving her paws as fast they could, focusing straight ahead on a thin line of trees coming closer and closer into view. She passed Sulfur along the way and didn't look back.

"Wait Daisy," he shouted, his voice drowned out by the roaring highway as other cars passed by in other lanes. She was nearly to the other side when she felt the ground shake, and heard the roar of an engine growing louder. She winced.

"Stay still!" This time Sulfur's panicked voice reached her ears, prompting her to freeze in the middle of the street. In that split second a white convertible sped by, pelting her body with loose stones and ruffling her fur with a powerful wind. When it was gone she opened her eyes again and saw the trees, then a black shape materialize on the other side.  Sulfur was waiting for her. She followed soon after, her body shaking from the near impact, her heart racing in disbelief. Once she had caught her breath she gave him an angry stare.

"What?" The tom asked.

"This isn't the way to the pond Sulfur, we never had to cross a highway!"

He nodded, acknowledging her concern. "This way is faster though."

"Yeah, but you never said we were going to go this way."

"Well I'm telling you now, aren't I," he snapped. "Don't you want to bring back some fresh fish for the others? We can't keep them waiting."

Daisy, watching him go, narrowed her eyes. She couldn't fathom why he would be taking this shortcut now and right after taking them the long way yesterday. But whatever the reason may be, she guessed that there must be some small detail she was misunderstanding and followed him anyway. Maybe she was just being paranoid. But why would he know about a shortcut when he's only been there twice? She shook the thought from her head. She knew that Sulfur was smarter than he looks. He probably knew about this place all along and just decided to show them now, sneaky Sulfur.

"We'll be there soon," he reassured her, as they stepped through the trees and into a parking lot. Daisy followed closely behind, keeping her gaze up towards the sky, in awe at the sight. High above her, rising towards the clouds, were several concrete structures covered in shiny blue windows. Colorful advertisements decorated every corner of the streets, and people from all forms of life littered the sidewalks, dressed in black business suits or in casual jeans. Many of them were too busy on their cellphones to notice as two small felines padded past, hugging the store fronts, trying to remain unseen.

This was actually the first time she had ever been in the heart of the city and she couldn't believe that Sulfur hadn't taken them here before.

"Hurry up, the traffic's getting thick!"

She turned to see that Sulfur was already half way up the street and heading towards an alleyway. She sped up, trying to keep up with his fast strides. Soon they were in another part of town, completely unrecognizable from the first. Trash, dumpsters, and the acrid scent of rotting food and rats hung heavy in the air and she couldn't help but scrunch up her nose in displeasure. This part of the city was completely different from the first. The buildings were smaller here, made from faded brick and broken windows greeted them as they passed by. Daisy took this all in inconspicuously. After all, Sulfur did say this was a short cut.

"If we climb over the fence and cross through that abandoned lot over there we'll be very close to the house." Sulfur said, pointing to a rusted wire fence with his tail.

Daisy kneaded the rough concrete beneath her paws pads, glancing uneasily at what awaited them  from behind the fence. It reminded her of her near fatal accident with the white convertible. "An abandoned car lot seems like the perfect place for snakes and spiders and dogs to live."

Sulfur shook his head. "No, come on. We have to get going before our siblings find out."

She nodded and followed him over the fence and into the lot, where cracked concrete and patches of weeds and grass greeted her paws. Several worn down, abandoned cars dotted the area and pieces of metal screws, nuts, and bolts littered the ground.  This was no place for a human to live, especially a cat. Did they take a wrong turn? She followed Sulfur to the center of the lot until he suddenly stops. Confused, she narrowed her eyes, giving him a questioning glare before he whips around and attacks her, pushing her to the ground with both paws on her chest.

Daisy winced, his claws digging into her fur. "Ouch, okay you got me," she mewed playfully, batting him with one paw. However Sulfur didn't budge, his expression remained serious, and soon her eyes widened in shock. This wasn't a game.

"Get off!" She cried, kicking her hind legs and unsheathing her claws in a violent attempt to break free.  She swiped at his fur, but the pain hardly deterred him. He was much older than her, by three months, and while they were nearly the same size she was the weakest out of all five of them.

Sulfur's ears twitched as he heard paw steps approach them from behind. Quickly, he dragged Daisy by the nape of her neck towards them. "You said you wanted another prey hunter right?"

A skinny orange tabby stood before them, staring down at her with a disapproving glare. His swirled tabby pelt contained many scars and was flanked by another tom, this one much shorter. He spoke with a rough voice, "is that the best you can do?"

"She is really good at catching squirrels, and she's fast too." He said with a tinge of nervousness, speaking rapidly and with his tail between his legs. This was the first time Daisy had ever seen him like this.

She let out a squeak of protest. "Sulfur I-"

"Quiet you!" He slammed her face to ground with his paw, silencing her instantly.

"Sounds like a whiny brat," another cat chimed in as she approached. The gray tabby stood next to the two, a white flea collar hung loosely from her neck.

"Oh, shut up Stella," the black tom retorted, slashing his tail. "Do we have any other choice?"

"What do you say? Do you want to let me in?"

The orange tabby narrowed his eyes and gave them both a long, hard look. After a minute he mumbled "fine" under his breath and then turned around and stalked off, leaving the two alone without saying another word.

As the cats dispersed, Sulfur looked down at Daisy. His eyes were so cold she thought they would freeze her to death.

With a small defeated voice she whispered, "why?"

He leaned down, and without speaking a single word he mouthed, "you owe me."

Publication Date: 07-14-2016

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