Whichever Thing had the bag whacked it one last time, probably against the door of the car. Merilee was certain her entire side was one solid bruise. The bag had little air or light. She found herself panting in the darkness.
Where were they taking her?
Though she hurt, she could easily push away her pain, ignore it. Huh. She’d never been able to do that as a human. Was that another cat thing?
She closed her eyes. She’d tear her way out of the bag as soon as they left her somewhere.
To her surprise, she found that she slept. Quite comfortably, actually.
She only woke when someone picked up the bag again. She complained, loudly.
And regretted it an instant later when she was whacked against the hood of the car.
She shook her head, feeling lightheaded and dizzy. Where were they? Somewhere outdoors. Cold night wind blew through the rough burlap.
She smelled fish.
And water.
Before she could voice her displeasure once more, she found herself flying through the air. The time seemed endless.
Then she hit the water.
Cold. Dark. Wet.
Merilee froze.
Just like in her nightmares.
Frantically, Merilee scratched at the bag. She couldn’t see anything, but she felt herself making progress. She tore a small hole in the bag, followed by a larger tear.
She couldn’t breathe.
She drifted down into the bottomless lake. No current to take her away.
She was going to die. She couldn’t swim. She couldn’t even float, not with her heavy fur dragging her down.
She tore at the bag, finally freeing herself.
She needed to create a portal. Something. Now.
She waved her paws, churning them rapidly in the water. Her lungs ached with the lack of air. The cold wrapped firmly around her, freezing her limbs, slowing her down. It smelled of rotten seaweed—lake weed—and death.
A small oval of light appeared to her left.
That didn’t look right. It wasn’t similar to the cat portals she’d created before.
Those had been a small circle of blue light.
This was gray, like lighted clouds, and the center was the blackest night.
Merilee propelled herself toward the oval.
It was a portal, all right.
Not one that she’d created, however.
She reached out one paw.
The portal told her several things.
This was the doorway to the afterlife.
She would lose her life if she went through it.
Or rather, a life.
As a cat, she’d only lose one of her nine lives. She’d have eight remaining.
As a human, she’d lose the only life she had.
The consequences quickly became clear to her.
If she floated through the portal, she could never go back to being a human.
The portal would take one of her lives. As a human, she only had one to give.
If she remained a cat, she would have eight remaining lives.
Merilee paused briefly, but she didn’t really have a choice.
She wanted to live, no matter what form she might take.
She bunched herself together, then pushed out, gliding easily toward the opening. Crossing it felt like passing through a window of ice. Cold instantly pierced her, all the way to her core. Jagged edges combed through her fur, snagging pieces of it and keeping them. It took all her will to push herself forward, through the freezing endless hoop, until she finally reached the far side.
Light surrounded her as she reached the other side, tugging her upward.
No! she tried to scream, twisting around. She felt the pull of the light, lifting her higher.
She knew that she just had to turn her face toward it, and the light would carry her off and away. Out of the darkness.
Was there a cat heaven? She wasn’t sure. There was certain to be a blissful resting place.
However, Merilee wanted to live too much. Besides, she had to get back to her sister Angelina, warn her of the stupid thugs who were gunning for her, for both of them.
The light paused, then gave her a solid push.
Suddenly, Merilee felt slimy wet mud under her paws. It was gross and disgusting and how long would it take to clean her feet now? But it was also marvelous and wonderful, filling her with a purr inducing joy.
She was alive. She had lost a life, but she had eight more.
Hopefully she wouldn’t need all of them before this was done…
Merilee shook herself. She stood on a dark shore. Full night had come. She was soaking wet, cold, starving, and more than a little angry.
Whoever those men were, they had better watch out now. She might be just a cat, but she was a cat hell bent on vengeance.