Bubbles Knows
Here kitty kitty…
I’ve had a blast finding these old gems and sprucing them up for you. Here’s a Sci-Fi flash fiction with a special connection.
Enjoy,
~ Fiona
Everyday I’d been on this planet, I tried to convince myself I was getting used to being alone. I glanced over at the Mockery Cat sitting beside me. Well, semi-alone. We were nestled among unfamiliar underbrush and guarded by tall ominous trees behind us. That’s how everything was here – as weird as a Hemingway Kettle-fish. The night would make it impossible for us to be seen. Bubbles bumped her massive head against my shoulder in an affectionate rub and just about knocked me over.
When she sniffed the men I’d already spotted in my forensic night scanning goggles, she crouched down on her front paws. For a baby, she acted very territorial. That made sense, she was already one-hundred fifty pounds at four months old. Mockery Cats were considered fully grown at seven months. So technically, she was closer to a teenager than a baby. No other person on the planet had been able to bond so closely with a Mockery Cat. Probably because there were few people here. I thought all the speculation on Mockery Cats was myth and superstition. But even stories I’d heard about the connections people had were nothing like what I’d experienced in such a short time.
I gazed into her silver eyes. The bond between us became a physical connection. We mimicked our movements. Knew each other’s thoughts. Hell, a Mockery Cat’s thoughts scared the holy astral gate out of me and something I never expected when she adopted me. I should have listened to those tamer stories and took them to heart. Especially, before crash landing on this unholy wild planet.
Cat was probably a misnomer, but really there wasn't a word for what Bubbles would grow into. A low growl emerged from her. I took a mindful breath and waited patiently for the others below to make their move. The nocturnal clock on my wrist read 3:05 a.m. The dense forest was pitch black, but the soft glowing in Bubbles's eyes cast a faint circle of light around us then blipped out. It was better this way. No point in alerting the intruders. The camp was clueless we were here. Although, I knew they were searching for me. I wanted to monitor them to figure out which way they traveled and if they’d detected my equipment.
I couldn't see my cat's striped fur in the semi-darkness, but the brush of softness against my side alerted me to every movement she made. The bonding process was so entirely creepy. Yet, at the same time I don't know if I would've survived out here alone. Without her my senses were piss poor. My star rover vehicle or SRV, MH-5, was an empty shell and abandoned days after I emergency landed. When I crossed paths with this bundle of fur I thought I was lunch. My only consolation was the intruders following me would meet the same fate.
I asked Bubbles, once she reached adulthood, if I could ride on her back. She said she’d think about it. A trick like that would certainly come in handy for a quick get-away. Mockery Cats run damn fast! But I'm teaching her to be cautious. I don't need the intruders launching all their firepower because the sight of my cat had them pissing their pants.
The intruders had been searching for me for a long time. I thought a few months back that I had lost them for good and they had given up. Here they are again, messing up my life. The deeper I traveled into the woods the more Bubbles and I relied on each other. How are those ass munches surviving out here? A light flickered at the camp. Bubbles growled again. An intruder sat guard as the other went to sleep. Damn. We will have to wait until morning to find out their intensions. I narrowed my eyes at the sight of him. The guard. I hated him. I loved him. He was the cause of my exile. How did Bubbles know that particular intruder was supposed to have been my future husband? But she knew. She knew everything. I'm telling ya. This bond is creepier than finding dog shit on Planet Foren.
