Thanatou

'What a cute little cat!! So white and fluffy', exclaimed a high pitched female voice.It was this high pitched voice that first broke through my unconscious state. The first thing I became aware of was a throbbing pain somewhere around the top of my head.

'I wonder how it ended up on the road. It doesn't look much like a stray cat.' said a man's deep voice.

'May be it ran off from home and lost its way', suggested the loud voiced female.

'But there is no collar around its throat and no collar mark either.'

'The poor thing!! If not for the doc being there,those unruly kids would have killed it.' said the female declaring, 'If no one comes for it i am going to keep it.'

Opening my eyes i found myself inside a cage. Two people, a man and a woman sat talking a few feet away around a table opposite to me. A full length mirror behind them reflected the part of the room where I lay.I thought,"So, I am currently in a cat form" letting out a soft sigh. At the same time a loud gurgling sound came from my stomach.I could not remember the last time I ate. The thought of food presented a fresh new dilemma. My head injury had caused me to lose the most important memory. My original form.

You see i am a shape shifter. A major flaw in my shape shifting abilities is the food i intake. Whatever form i may take only the food type of my original form can fulfill my appetite.The loss of memory of my original form meant I have no idea of what type of food i usually ate. The pain in my head also effectively put out any effort on my part to remember.

"I need to eat something ASAP", I thought. Getting back my strength was the first priority. I could later try to regain my memory at leisure.A cursory inspection told me there was no cat food inside the cage. I had no other choice but to get the attention of the talking pair. I let out a few soft and pitiful meow's. It worked.

The woman stood up and came towards me exclaiming joyfully, "She has woken up". The woman was dressed in pink and a white badge gleamed in her chest.'I think it's hungry', said the man.The woman hunted around and found a bag of cat food. She emptied some in a bowl, opened the cage and placed it before me. The man also came and stood beside her. I turned my attention to the food in the bowl. Lowering my head I sniffed the contents cautiously. It smelt neither good or bad.

"Well, here goes nothing", I thought and tasted it. It was bearable and soon I emptied the bowl - mostly out of hunger. The food failed to fulfill my hunger. I wasn't surprised. Infact i had expected this outcome. There was no way this tiny weak cat was my original form.Seeing that I had finished my food, the man opened the cage,stretched out a cautious hand and stroked me.The moment his hand came in contact with my fur something unpredictable happened. The man dropped down like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

For a moment both the woman and I felt nonplussed, not knowing what had occurred. Seeing that the man did not rise, the woman dropped to her knees and shook the man's shoulders calling out his name. But the man did not move or respond.

Even as i watched the bizarre event unfolding in-front of me, I became aware of a curious feeling inside. I felt like a thirsty traveler who had tasted water after a long time.But curiosity won over hunger and I trotted out of the open cage to investigate the situation. I made my way towards the prostrated man. The woman had already left the room in a state of panic. I lifted a paw tentatively and slightly nudged the guy ready to bolt if he woke up.There was no response. He looked dead to me.

"I better get out of here", I thought and suited it with the respective action. But my path was blocked by the woman who had by then returned but this time accompanied by another man in a white coat. Both quickly made their way towards the dead man, the woman in tears and looking flustered.The man in white who i guessed to be a doctor was more calm and collected. He knelt down beside the dead man and grabbed his hand for a moment, before letting it fall. I watched all this forgetting about my initial haste to get out.

As i stood watching a gust of hot air blowed down my neck accompanied by a panting sound. I turned my head and saw a huge hairy dog. My feline instinct kicked in and i started hastily backing away. I bumped into something soft. With my nerves already on edge I let out a hiss and ran away hiding under the only table available in the room.From my hideout i had a clear view of the room while i myself lay in semi darkness. I became aware that the woman was lying face first on top of the dead man on the floor in a curiously lifeless form.

But my immediate concern was the dog. I turned my attention to it. A confusing sight met my eyes.The dog was straining against it's leash but not in my direction. I had expected barking and threatening growls but instead low continuous whines issued from it's mouth.

It was afraid.

"Afraid of what?" I thought. "Is it the dead people? Surely it can't be afraid of me." Either way it was totally unbelievable.Even as I thought, the sudden realization came upon me. Both the man and the woman died when they came into contact with me. "What type of creature was I that I could kill by just a simple touch." It was no use thinking.I still could not remember my original form.

"The dog must have sensed something dangerous in me." Among my various transformations I myself preferred animal forms as they were more sensitive to danger.

While all these thoughts and realizations were going on in my mind, I subconsciously noted that the doctor was whispering something in a low voice to the man who held the reluctant dog. Nodding, the man then left with the dog. I was hoping the doctor chap would also leave but to my intense disappointment he didn't.

Instead he picked some cat food and proceeded to lay it in a line on the floor starting from in front of the table were I lay hidden. I remained without moving from my position. The thought "May be if I did not come out he would leave" crossed my mind but I decided against it. I needed to escape this place right now.

I decided to act like he had successfully lured me out with the food. It would definitely make him lower his defence and I could make a run for it. Slowly and putting on a little reluctance in my walk to mask my true intentions i edged out all the while keeping a close watch on the doctor.I could clearly see his intentions. He wanted me to enter the cage. Halfway to the centre of the room I saw a slight relaxation in his expression.

"NOW!!", I thought. With a sudden 90 degree turn I broke into a fast gallop. The sudden burst of speed took me to the exit.I mentally cheered but it only lasted a moment as I ran into a pair of outstretched hands clad in white.Unable to brake myself I ran full tilt into them. I knew what was gonna happen even before it happened. The arms that caught me slackened and fell from me. I did not need to look to know that doc had joined his comrades in the afterlife.

Not pausing to think,I quickly ran out encountering no further obstacles and safely made it out of the hospital building and onto a quiet narrow street.There were no passerby's but my sensitive ears cocked up as a clip clop sound broke the silence. As the sound approached closer, the street lights went out one by one until I stood in complete darkness.

But it did not bother me as I could see clearly in the darkness. Opposite to me stood a pale green horse and upon it sat a dark hooded figure. The rider felt familiar to me and i could not understand the sense of relief I felt as if I have returned home.The rider held out pale bony fingers towards me and commanded,'Come'. My whole body shivered violently like a leaf caught in a gale and I transformed into a...SCYTHE!!.

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