I exited through the hole in the fence quickly. I’d lost track of time, but I knew it was getting late, so I didn’t even stop to say goodbye to Mr. Singh at the front gate. Simon was in after-school math classes. I was by myself, and I didn’t want to be in the junkyard alone after dark.
I also wanted to get home before my mother arrived. Even though she was working longer hours, I often didn’t get home much earlier than she did. If I wasn’t there when she arrived, she would worry. She was starting to become concerned about how much time I was spending with the cats. She hadn’t exactly told me that, but her comments and expressions gave away what she was really feeling.
The other thing that made me want to hurry was the setting sun. I was still nervous being out alone at night. Not that it was ever completely dark in the city.
The fastest way home was through the back alleys. There was no way I’d go that way after dark, especially alone, but it wasn’t dark yet. If I moved fast enough, I’d be home before it got officially dark. That made the decision for me. I cut into the alley.
On one side were the back fences of houses. On the other side were the backs of stores and restaurants. I walked down the center of the alley.
I could hear voices coming from both sides, radios and tvs playing, and the sound of machinery operating in small shops. The bakery was really noisy. The Italian Bakery had its doors open, and I could see rows and rows of trays holding goodies. There was a strong smell of curry from the Indian restaurant. The aroma of the French fries from a fast-food restaurant was coming out through the exhaust fan. My mouth almost started to water.
But all of the wonderful smells mixed with the pungent odor of the garbage bins, which weren’t as mouthwatering. Some of the bins were open, but most of them were sealed up. As I walked, I alternated between my mouth watering and my stomach feeling like it might want to heave.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark shape moving in the shadows at the side of a building. It was large—some sort of animal. It leaped up onto a garbage can. It was Hunter! His back was to me, and the noise from the store’s big exhaust fan blocked out any chance he’d hear me.
I stopped and backed into the bushes and weeds on the far side of the alley. I wanted to see what he was up to. Maybe I would even see his hunting skills in action.
It was cool to be the one doing the observing for a change. I wondered how long it would take for him to notice me.
I knew cats have better eyesight than people, but they don’t see details as much as they see movement. If I didn’t move, there was a good chance I would be invisible to Hunter. My new superpowers were coming in handy after all!
Hunter walked along a row of sealed garbage cans. Was he looking for a rodent or a missing lid? He spun around, and his eyes glowed like two little green laser beams straight at me. I thought he heard me, but his head kept turning to the left, and a dog came out of the shadows. No, not a dog—its movements were different, more waddling than walking. It was a raccoon! All I could see was its big backside as it moved toward Hunter.
Hunter leaped up onto a ledge above the garbage cans. There was no way the big fat raccoon could get up there. Hunter sat on his perch. His tail swished back and forth, and his eyes burned. He didn’t look happy.
The raccoon approached the garbage can where Hunter had been. It stretched up, standing on its back legs. It was gigantic, as tall as the can and nearly as wide!
It pushed against the can, gripping the top with its hands and wobbling the can back and forth until it finally tumbled over, hitting the pavement with a tremendous crash.
I’d thought the lid would pop open, but it didn’t. The raccoon fumbled with the lid, and the can rocked and rolled back and forth on the pavement. It looked like it was sealed too tightly for the raccoon’s small hands to open, but then it popped off. A pile of garbage poured onto the pavement. The raccoon sat on its haunches and began to pick through the garbage.
Hunter stood up. He walked along the ledge, looking down at the raccoon. Was he going to pounce on it? It wasn’t a mouse or a rat. It was an animal almost as large as a small bear.
I tried to remember what I knew about raccoons. They were clever and had hands like monkeys. They liked to wash their food before they ate it. But unless there was a bottle of water in the garbage can, that wasn’t going to happen. What I couldn’t remember was if they ate plants or meat or both. And if they ate meat, was cat part of their regular diet?
Hunter jumped down from the ledge onto one of the cans. If he’d made any sound, I couldn’t hear it over the exhaust fan. Could the raccoon hear him? It seemed too busy with its dinner to notice anything.
Hunter moved stealthily, low, ears back, tail flat. He was stalking the raccoon. He was going to attack it, even though the raccoon was three times as big as him!
The raccoon looked up, and the two animals locked eyes. The raccoon opened its mouth and let out a cry. For a second I saw a set of shiny, sharp teeth.
Hunter jumped to the ground and crept forward until the two animals were no more than a few feet apart. He crouched down and looked like he was about to pounce. They were now so close, Hunter was partially hidden from my view by the bulk of the raccoon. This was crazy. He could be hurt or even killed!
The raccoon leaned into the garbage can, pulled something out and tossed it to Hunter. Hunter smelled it, sat down and started to eat. I was stunned. What had just happened?
The raccoon began eating again. The two of them weren’t going to fight. They were having dinner together!
I chuckled and the two of them turned in my direction. I felt as if I’d been caught doing something wrong. I expected them to run away, but they just sat there, staring. They looked at each other, then at me, and then back at each other. I got the feeling they were having a conversation about what to do about me. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the raccoon reached into the garbage and threw a tidbit my way.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m just going to leave now.”
The raccoon tilted its head to one side as if it understood what I was saying but was trying to figure out why I would leave. Then the two of them turned back to their meal.
I wanted to watch, but it was getting late. I took off, hoping to get home before both the darkness and my mother.