A thin layer of snow veiled the ground. The brisk winter air sent a chill up my spine. I wasn’t used to the cold. I had lived my whole life in the comfort of my home. The home, which I was now locked out of. I pawed desperately at the door, in the hope someone, anyone, would open it. But they were gone. They had gathered their belongings and driven away, leaving me behind. Had they forgotten me? They must have, because why else would they leave me here? Where was I supposed to go? I waited for them, but before long, I gave up. I had to, they weren’t coming back.
I journeyed along busy streets sides. Skyscrapers and leafless trees decorate my path. My paws left prints in the snow as I walked. I’d never seen anything like it; never seen anything beyond the scene outside my window. Given different circumstances, I would have been awestruck. My legs had begun to grow tired when I spotted a lone bench standing at the edge of the sidewalk. It was decayed, and termite bit. The wood had rotted, causing it to bend beneath my weight. Nevertheless, thankful for a place to rest my paws, I made myself at home.
I had to wonder; what had I done to deserve this? Had I done something so awful that they couldn’t love me anymore? Because why else would they have done this? My owners may not have been the kindest people, but they were people, nonetheless. And people weren’t heartless, were they? These questions loomed over my mind as I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep. I dreamt they still loved me. That I was curled up in front of a warm fireplace, at home, where I was wanted.
When I woke, reality hit me like a bullet to the chest. I was not warm, I was freezing. No one wanted me, I was left here all alone. No one loved me. I had been forgotten. A shadow from the past. A whisper heard in passing, only to be obliterated moments later. They may have forgotten me, but I had not forgotten them. This whisper, this shadow, would come back to haunt them. And it would not be merciful.
My stomach growled, pulling me from my thoughts. I had to get up, I had to find food. Slowly, I raised my head, a sharp pain igniting in my neck. I winced. It felt like my skin was on fire. Was this the end? Was this how I died? Frozen to death on this pitiful excuse for a bench. I attempted to stand, but my limbs were numb, and I fell to the ground. I’d never felt so defeated. All I could do was lie down and wait for death. Until a miracle happened. The radiant sun shone through the clouds, basking the world in its glory. Blinding light in unimaginable darkness. A ray of hope, when all was thought to be lost forever. Maybe this wasn’t the end; perhaps I was destined for more than this pathetic life.
Basking in the sun’s warmth, my body began to thaw and soon enough, I could stretch my aching legs. I sat up slowly, putting weight on my weak limbs. They wobbled under the pressure but stood resilient. My stomach growled, reminding me of my current condition: I was starving. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could survive without food. Days? Hours? Minutes? I stretched my stiff muscles and began my trek. I didn’t know where I was, or where I was going. But where ever it was, I never wanted to see that loathsome bench again.
It was strange, wandering; having no idea where I was going. Hopefully, towards my next meal. Most likely towards my untimely death. My nose was on high alert, desperate to catch a whiff of my next meal.
Nightfall was approaching, and with it, the moon rising. The sun no longer warmed the air, an icy wind taking its place. My skin prickled from the chill, sending my fur standing on edge. I would die tonight. That, I knew for certain. Any remnant of warmth was gone, and I wouldn’t survive the cold. My only thought was of the pain. It was unbearable. I was back where I started, lying on the ground, unable to move. This was the end. My last dying wish was that the humans, the ones who did this to me, they would pay. I felt myself slipping out of consciousness, darkness clouding my vision. My last sight was of a human. A hallucination, perhaps. Not that it mattered anymore. I was gone. I had closed my eyes for the last time. Finally, my suffering was over.
My eyes fluttered open. Around me were beige walls, a battered green couch, and not much else; unless you count the garbage and clothes dumped in heaps around the room. Where was I? Was this heaven? It didn’t look like it.
“Hey buddy, you’re awake.” A man walked toward me and patted my head. I hissed, backing away from him. Did he want that hand amputated from his body? Because I could make that happen.
Without warning, I reared my head back and sunk my teeth into his finger.
“Ouch.” he pulled his arm away, “What was that for? I was just trying to pet you.” The human leaned towards me, his dark curly hair falling over his forehead.
We looked at each other for a moment before I lunged forward and bit his nose.
“Oh crap, that hurt!” He screamed holding his hand to his face.
Ugh, humans. Not very intelligent creatures, were they?
He knelt at my eye level. Did he want his nose bitten again?
“Hey, little fella. I’m Jamie. I’m a pretty nice guy, I’d say, and I’d really appreciate if you’d stop biting me, okay?” He said it as if he were talking to a young kitten. This irritated me, so claws outstretched, I swiped at his face with my paw, missing his cheek by a hair, before he swooped out of the way.
“Woah there, little kitty. I suggest you start being nice to me, ‘cause I did just save your life, y’know.”
I glared at him. How might I do away with this nuance?
“Hey, don’t look at me like you’re plotting my murder. I’m trying to help you,” he said, walking back towards the kitchen, pointing a finger at me. Once there, he grabbed something off the shelf.
“Here, I got this for you.” He held up a can of cat food.
I heard him peel the lid off and out wafted the most delicious scent my nose had ever encountered. Jamie sauntered into the living room and placed the open can in front of me. I devoured it in seconds, barely pausing for breath.
“Done already? I’ll get you some more.”
More? Maybe this human wasn’t a complete waste of space.
Jamie arrived with another portion, which I consumed just as quickly. For the first time in days, I felt full.
“See, I’m not so bad, am I?” Jamie offered his hand for me to sniff. I did. It smelled of the food I had just engulfed. He reached out to pat my head, and I allowed him.
“Good boy,” Jamie said.” What should we call you? Hmm…” He continued to stroke me, “How about Gulliver? Yeah, I like that. What do you think, Gulliver?”
I looked up at Jamie. Had he just given me a name? I’d lived with my previous family for two years and they had called me nothing but Cat. Perhaps, that was my first clue…The fact that this human had given me a name after knowing me less than a day, well, it was enough to bring a tear to one’s eye.
“I’ll take your silence for a, ‘Yes, Jamie. I love that name!’ ” He said as if interpreting my voice. I sounded nothing like that. It was almost enough to make me scratch him again. Almost.
As time passed, I grew to love Jamie, and he I. I finally had a real home and a human who loved me. I was still wary of other people, though. The rest of them might as well die for all I cared, but Jamie was different. His friends ridiculed him for having a scrawny, frostbitten excuse for a feline, yet, Jamie loved me, all the same.
A few days after finding me he bought me a toy mouse. At first, I ignored it. Pretended I didn’t care. But that mouse meant the world to me. Jamie nicknamed the mouse Daisy, due to the flower embellished above her ear, and Daisy had become my favourite possession. He had bought me other toys, but I hardly played with them. They were nothing to me compared to Daisy.
Jamie idly stroked my fur as I lay in his lap, Daisy beside me. He was fixated on the television, watching a movie. A cat, in the film, was determined to wipe out the human race. Not a bad idea, I might add. Jamie, however, would have to be spared. I wouldn’t allow any harm to come to him.
Picking up Daisy in my mouth I hopped off Jamie’s lap, landing on the carpet with a soft thud, and sauntered down the hall. The more I thought about it, the more I liked that cat’s idea of destroying humanity. Humans sucked, they’ve had it coming. But how would one go about such a thing? In the movie, the cat used mice to spread disease throughout the world, but I didn’t happen to have an army of mice laying around. Perhaps, I could utilize the other screen Jamie spent hours staring at – the computer. Jamie mentioned being able to talk to other humans on it, so perhaps I could communicate with other cats.
I veered into Jamie’s office and bounded onto the mobile chair. Laying Daisy next to me, I looked at her and imagined a new life. Just Jamie, Daisy, and I. No other humans ridicule or harm us. They, of course, would be dead.
I placed my paw on the computer mouse, not to be confused with a real mouse, and moved it to the side, igniting the screen from its dark slumber. I steered the mouse towards a symbol appearing like a fiery animal devouring the planet- it looked promising. Up popped a bright white screen with colourful letters in the center spelling out ‘Google’. Below the word was a search box. I had seen Jamie utilize it many times. Moving my cursor to the box, I pressed down creating that satisfying click.
I placed my paws diligently on the keyboard and typed, “cats looking to overthrow the world”. At first, all that came up were articles on, “Signs your cat is plotting to kill you” and, “How cats are planning world domination”. Humans really should pay more attention to those. After searching page upon page, I found what I was looking for: a forum full of cats talking about world domination.
I scrolled through, reading the conversation. It was brilliant. Cats from all over the world were involved, and if we all worked together we could overthrow the humans. There was a disease. A feline-carried disease. I’d never heard of it- they must have purposely kept it hidden. Those fools, thinking they could outsmart us. The cats were discussing the disease, which was carried in our feces. It was so easy. Simply, subject the humans to the sickness, and they would get parasites, eventually killing them. We decided, during the night, to take our feces, and rub it on the face of every human in our area.
I immediately typed into the forum, “When do we begin?”
Moments later I got my response, “Midnight.”
Perfect. The only challenge would be keeping other cats away from Jamie. I supposed I’d tell them that I had already dealt with him. He was my owner, it would be believable.
Walking into the laundry room that night, I found the litter box empty. I hadn’t perceived this occurrence. Jaimie must have cleaned it. I couldn’t believe it. He never cleaned that thing. It was his only downfall. But of course, the one time I needed him not to clean it, what does he do? Clean it! I honestly don’t understand how one human could be so insipid.
I paced around the room, tail whipping vigorously back and forth. It was fine. Everything was fine. I stopped pacing and sat on the cool tile floor. My tail slowed to a soft swaying motion. I could just make more. I had time. Racing to the kitchen, I skid to a stop at my food bowl, engulfing the entire contents, before jumping on top of the counter in search of more food. Jamie had left a loaf of bread sitting up there. I tore into the plastic with my teeth, pulling out the bread. It tasted pretty good at first, however, after six or seven slices I struggled to get the rest down.
I glanced at the clock: 11:57. I would be late, but I could still make it. I trudged my way to the laundry room and into the litter box. Anytime now; I waited. And a moment later, it happened.
Instinctively, I covered the waste with litter, using my back legs to kick up the crystals. I then realized I would need to find it and stopped immediately. Rummaging through a box of your crap was unpleasant and I made a mental note never to find myself doing so again. I grabbed a piece in my mouth, distasteful as it was, and left through the kitty door that Jamie had installed.
Outside, I was greeted by a neighboring cat, also delivering feces door to door.
“You got that one covered?” the cat asked of my own house.
I dropped the poop on the ground. “Yeah, it’s done.”
“Great, we’re almost finished, other than those last couple of houses.” He nodded towards the end of the street. “I’ll take one, you take the other.”
“Sounds good.” I retrieved the poo from the asphalt.
I walked up to a small house with a blue exterior. They didn’t have a cat door installed, so I circled the building, discovering a window they had left perched open. It was quite high up, and I wasn’t sure I could leap, but with a running start, I managed to grab hold of the windowsill, and shimmy inside. I snuck around dark hallways until I found a door that had been left ajar, slipping inside I found two people asleep in bed.
Soundlessly, I jumped onto the mattress and crept carefully towards the first person, and rubbed the feces around their mouth and nose, repeating so with the next person. Then, I retreated from the bed, running down the hall, and through the window. The rest of the cats had finished the entire block and returned to their homes. I followed suit returning to my spot, curled up next to Jamie with Daisy by my side, and fell asleep.
The next morning, I immediately went to the computer and checked the forum. Cats all over the world had participated and we had reason to believe we’d gotten just about everyone. It was stated that it would take five days for the effects of the disease to appear. By then people would be falling ill and it would be impossible for them all to be treated. And soon, all of humankind would pass away.
Within the week, news stations were covering the outbreak. Thousands of people had caught the disease. They warned people to be cautious of their felines and to clean their litter boxes frequently. I eyed Jamie.
“Wow, can you believe that, Gulliver? Cats are making everyone sick. You better not make me sick,” Jamie said, as he scratched behind my ear. I leaned into his hand. I wouldn’t dream of it, Jamie.
Humans had begun to die. The news was rampant. People everywhere were advised to get rid of their felines. Cats were overflowing shelters and being dumped on the streets in staggering numbers. None of us meant for this to happen. We thought the world be better off without humans. Now, more of us were homeless than ever. We messed up, and there was nothing we could do. We had made our bed, now we had to lie in it.
Jamie spoke softly on the phone, head in his hands. His sister was in the hospital and she wasn’t doing well. It hurt me to see him upset. I wished there was something I could do, but he had been ignoring me. I think he blamed me. And he was right too.
I brought Daisy over to him, hoping to cheer him up. Hoping he would just- look at me. But, without a glance, he picked up the mouse and chucked it across the room. It hit the ground hard and slid under the couch. I went to retrieve her; however, she was too far out of reach, my paw just barely skimming her. Returning to Jamie, I meowed trying to get his attention. But he yelled at me and told me to go away. So, I did.
The next week, Jamie’s sister died. He didn’t look at me that day. I sat and watched him from afar. He wasn’t himself. I ached to crawl up onto his lap and comfort him, but I was the last thing he wanted right now. So, I gave him space.
I had been taking a nap when, being picked up into Jamie’s arms, I awoke. Purring, I rubbed my face up against his, grateful for his attention once again. Then, he carried me outside, and I knew what he was going to do. And I didn’t blame him. He put me in the car and we drove in silence. He didn’t have to explain.
I watched the trees pass by my window. The sun was out, and every trace of winter gone. Tulips had begun to bloom, making the earth livelier. It seemed a different planet than the one I’d endured before. We stopped at a park. Jamie got out of the car and picked me up. He walked me onto an open field and set me down. I looked up from the grass to see tears in his eyes.
“I love you, Gulliver,” he said before he walked away, and left me behind.
I was alone. But this time, I deserved it.
I love you too, Jamie.
By Morgan Peters
