Hunter not only heard them approach, he felt them. The footfalls on the ground sent vibrations through the soil. There were humans up top—more than one. His instinctual response was to stay in the den, away from prying eyes and human harm, but he couldn’t. Mittens and the kittens were above ground.
Quickly, but carefully, he went to the mouth of their burrow. There was no point in giving away its location. If the humans knew where it was, it would be dangerous for the kittens.
The smell of the humans was strong, even before he reached the entrance. He peeked out. There was no sign of anyone, and their voices weren’t too close. He exited and dashed in the opposite direction of the voices. They seemed to be coming from the clearing.
Moving with speed, stealth and silence, he snaked through the wrecks until he reached the edge of the clearing. He was careful to stay within the shadows of an overhanging car piled on top of another. He didn’t have to search to find the humans. There were several of them. He counted eight altogether.
Humans all looked pretty much the same, but he recognized the boy and the man with the cloth on his head. Seeing them there was reassuring. They had never harmed the cats. But what did the others want? Why were they here? The boy stood near Hunter. Was it Hunter’s imagination or did the boy come closer to the center of the clearing each time he visited? The other humans hung back, standing at the edge of the clearing. They seemed fearful. Were they afraid of the cats or of the boy? Was the boy powerful?
The boy pulled out some food and made a high-pitched sound that stung Hunter’s ears but got the attention of all the cats. The smell was strong and unmistakable. It was a bird…chicken. Yes, it was chicken! It was strangely reassuring to know humans liked to eat birds too. Hunter thought any animal that liked to eat birds might have some good qualities. He wondered how they felt about rats and mice. Did they eat those too?
The smell filled the entire colony. Hunter felt himself drool, like some sort of stupid dog. The scent was so strong he felt like it could have pulled him out of his hiding spot. It did pull other cats closer. King, who had been sitting on the hood of a car, jumped onto the ground and approached the boy. Other cats were drawn in too. Seven or eight cats gathered around the boy.
Was this part of his plan? Had he been feeding the cats so that they’d become trusting of humans, so they’d come so close that the other humans could pounce on them? No, the others stood too far back.
Hunter saw Mittens and their kittens among the feeding cats. The kittens stayed close to their mother, but she was very close to the boy, separated only by King and a few cat lengths. He wanted to tell them to leave, warn them, drive them away, but there was nothing he could do now.
The boy tossed the first piece of chicken directly at King, who dove at it.
Then the boy tossed food around the clearing. It was as if a spark had been thrown on a bonfire. The whole space ignited with cats scrambling for the scraps. Mittens and the kittens were among them. There was a frenzy of feeding, but there was so much food there was no fighting. There seemed to be enough for everybody.
Hunter startled as the other humans moved forward quickly. Were they going to pounce on the cats now that they were distracted? No, they pulled out more food and tossed it to the cats. The boy had brought several other boys and a girl, and they all had food for the cats.
The humans seemed happy. Their voices were high and they showed their teeth. Hunter still didn’t think that it was a good sign. But as they stood around tossing food, not rocks, and feeding the cats instead of hurting them, Hunter decided Mittens must be right.
Part of Hunter wanted to join the other cats as he watched them eat. But he was a hunter. He didn’t have to depend on handouts from humans.
King charged at three teenage cats. Two of them scrambled out of his way, but a third didn’t move fast enough. King cuffed him on the side of the head, and the small cat tumbled over, rolling and then getting up and running away. That was one lesson the small cat would probably never need to be taught again. He should have kept his senses about him, been aware of King’s approach. King had the right to do whatever he wanted because he was the king.
Hunter thought about battling King. Sooner or later it would happen. But as long as the boy kept bringing food to the colony, it would happen later, much later.
Hunter looked up and was shocked to find the boy looking directly at him. Cat and human locked eyes. Hunter wanted to stare him down, but he didn’t. The boy’s eyes were soft, gentle and caring. He looked directly into the boy’s eyes. It was true: the boy wasn’t going to hurt the cats.