A Feline's Fury

Hi everyone! Sportster here. So glad you came by to give me a pat on the head. I've been so busy living full time in the RV,  it is just that  -- a full-time  job.
Here is a chapter from my latest book, ACTIVATE LION MODE.
If you are intrigued, twitch your tail and pounce on the link below to take you to  Judy's Amazon Author page and check out my book and all of Judy's.

Judy Howard's Amazon Author Page

CHAPTER SIX

The moon was high. The starlight, dimmed from the city’s lights, had lost its sparkle. For the amount of bodies strewn across the asphalt, the makeshift campground surprised me. The bustle had toned down to murmurs, occasional spurts of low laughter, and the sporadic bark of a dog.  A good time to move out.  I studied my foster family one last time. Jawbreaker sensed something was astir and lifted his head. I ignored his watchful eye, and headed out. When I looked back, he padded behind me, probably thinking I was taking a bathroom break. I stopped, jerked around, and hissed.  Jawbreaker’s eyes widened, heeded my warning, and sat down. His big mouth drooped as I spun around and sprinted off into the night.

I jogged along the road we had come in on. The city offered drainage ditches, underpasses, and an occasional abandoned building for hiding.  Only two trucks passed. 

Maintaining a steady pace, I made time.  No sign of bears or elk. No woodpeckers or hawks, but I jerked to a halt. I caught scent of an odor I had never experienced, but instinct told me it was the smell of death.  I froze and began to tremble. I wanted to run, return to my Green Berets and Jawbreaker, but chilling fear held me in place.

 I recalled Judy pointing out the dead furry bodies along the roadside. “Do you see that, Sportster? Bad things can happen if you aren’t careful.” She would shake her finger at me and say, “You have to stay close to home.”

 Well, I wasn’t close to home, thanks to her, but I would be careful.  I gathered my courage and followed the scent. On the edge of the road lay the ghastly carcass of a kitten.  I belted out a yowl that pierced the night and hightailed it. I didn’t stop until my lungs begged for air and my legs screamed for relief. With a last burst of energy, I dove into a   large pipe leading under the freeway.  Rancid water splashed in my face as I sprinted toward the dim moonlight at the end of the tunnel.  My stomach hurled, and I gagged from the offending stench but kept going.  The passageway opened into a concrete ditch enclosed by cyclone fencing.  Without slowing, I rushed the line of chain link. With my momentum, I scrambled over the top, spurred by the ear piercing rattle of the metal, and leaped down on the other side. With the barrier between me and the crime scene, I stopped and caught my breath.

 I had landed in another parking lot. A large Elk, his head held high, sporting a wide rack of horns stood in front of a building.  I balked again, my hair on end. Wait. It was a statue. This was an Elks Lodge. Judy and I had camped at many of these facilities. They were fraternities of sort, their symbol, the Elk, usually guarded its entrance.  I scanned the parking area. Several RVs nestled in the rear of the property. One looked like our motorhome.

My chest pounded in anticipation, but I crept along the brick wall that met the fencing.   It was a long, but safe way around to the vehicle.  I must be cautious. Like most campgrounds at night, all was quiet. My heart raced as I neared the motorhome. Judy had not made it easy for me to find her.  She would be happy to see me.  I imagined her reaction after six nights without me. She would feed me my favorite treats and kiss my face while I pretended to hate her gushing. Judy mentioned perhaps she might be prone to believe, as the Buddhists do, in reincarnation.  They believe that pieces of the soul of a deceased loved one can be reborn into an animal’s soul, thus taking on the passed loved one’s personality characteristics.  “You are so like my Jack.” She would say to me. “He, too, acted like he hated my sweet talking, but I think deep down he loved it, just like you do Sportster.” I purred remembering her words and climbed onto the motorhome’s porch.

My heart sank when my paw touched the first step. This was not our home. Strangers’ scents coated the porch and the door. My tail drooped.  My heavy spirit weighed me down, accenting my exhaustion.  I crawled onto the porch.  Too tired to be careful, I curled up, tucked my nose under my flank and closed my eyes.

                                                ****

  The warm morning sun and the motorhome’s rocking movement woke me. I moved to a more covert position under the vehicle. Voices inside only mumbled until the door’s lock made a familiar click and a man spoke clearly.  “There you go, Annabelle. Why can’t you let us sleep late just once?”

The door slammed shut as a soft ball of fur glided down the steps. Grey paws reached out from Annabelle’s plush body and carried her to the ground. She performed her own yoga stretch, her elbows flat on the asphalt, and her butt in the air.  She must have seen me because her tail gyrated, then kinked into a small hook at the tip, as if calling me.

I sprang to my feet and approached like a peep on twitter, chirping my intentions, my exhaustion forgotten.  She turned, acted startled, her icy blue eyes grew large. I chirped again, more of an alluring trill this time. She stood her ground. Her tail flagged back and forth.

I presented myself, nose to nose, and suddenly   became aware of my unkempt condition. My cologne was the rancid tunnel water from yesterday. My tail, erect and vibrating, exhibited a glaring bald spot from Jawbreaker’s attack.  I quickly lowered it before she noticed. I rolled over, showed her my soft underbelly … and the burrs embedded in my coat.  I had been too fatigued last night to groom myself. Shame spurred me to jump up. I dashed away into the bushes.

Take One Minute to Remember

Take One Minute To Remember

Today, as I do almost every day, I became quiet. I took a minute. Only a minute in which I thought about who has helped me become who I am. We all have someone who has loved us, cared about us and wanted what was best for us. We all have someone in our life who has loved us into being.

Because it was Father’s Day my thoughts turned to my mother who sheltered me and fed me when I was a kitten.  I never knew my father, but my mom made it work for me and my litter-mates   She swelled up twice her size and roared at intruders. She taught us to hide from strangers in the beginning when we were too young to judge between friend and foe.  She killed for us and we learned when to draw the line between play and the hunt.  I would like to believe my father was cut from the same pelt as my mom and that I carry his heroic and moral genes as well.

My mom taught me to help others because we are all in this game of life together, like the waves and the wind here on the Oregon coast.

For that one minute, as I do every day, I thought about my mom who nursed me and brought me into being who I am today. What ever happened to her I don’t know, but I hope she would be pleased to know the difference she made for me. 

Through her grace and strength, during the hardships of raising me, she taught me that I did not have to be king of a faraway jungle. She taught me that all I had to be was the kitten I was. She assured me that she loved and cared about me, and that she sheltered and fed because it was me she liked.  She allowed me to become the best kitten and cat I could be.

I learned that life is not about the treats, the prizes or the catnip toys that fueled the light inside me. Mom showed me that life is far more than all the trees I see, the scents I   smell, the soft, thick grass I walk upon or the bird songs I hear.

 Because of her I know in the deepest part of me that I can stand up for those invisible things, without which   animal and human kind cannot survive.

 
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Because of her, I believe that love can conquer hatred, that peace can rise up over war, and that justice can prove more powerful than greed.

The platform of life and living she built for me is made of very good stuff.  It is the foundation from which I make my choices.

Take one minute and thank whoever helped you to become the best you are. You will sleep like a kitten.

 

Please check out my first book, ACTIVATE LION MODE, book one in The Feline Fury Series. Help me to carry the life saving message of this powerful book. 

Besides, my treats are running low.

ACTIVATE LION MODE

Book One of the Feline Fury Series

Click on link  for 

Other books by Judy Howard Available on Amazon