Cyberkatz 1999

Going Home

                                                        EPISODE FOURTEEN

Kurt stepped gingerly into the ditch beside the highway at the T-junction. He had to get away from the scene of the battle before someone started asking awkward questions, but how far would he get with no shirt or shoes?

His hockey bag looked unscathed. Despite the broken zipper, nothing had fallen out. He grabbed the warm fleece bunnyhug lying on top and pulled it over his head.

"Mrrr."

Kurt froze in mid-movement.

Don't be crazy. I just saw her die.

He yanked the bunnyhug down, freeing his head. A bedraggled cat was sitting on the hockey bag.

"Mel!" he breathed, picking her up. She was dirty and part of one ear was missing, but her aura of love was just as he remembered it.

"The other Mel was a decoy! I should have twigged ... she wasn't you, never could have been. ..."

The cat mrrred and butted against his chin.

"That's why the other Mel wanted to wear your collar! If we had been disintegrated, you would have been officially dead, and they would stop looking for you."

No wonder Mel had insisted on being so obviously visible. She was using herself as bait.

"Stupid Parker and Cynthia!" he said, hugging Mel close. "They almost got you blown up!"

Mel mrrred again and rubbed the side of her face along his upper arm. He stroked her, letting her warmth soak through him. Yes, this was the real one, the one who understood him. He carefully put her down beside his bag and sat down.

"Just let me get some shoes on, Your Highness, and we'll get you home."

Now that he had seen the cybercats in action, he knew that he could never keep her safe. She had to be returned to the ocean, where she belonged.

"Oww!" His left sock had gone on easily, but his right foot hurt was still oozing from the laser burn and scraped raw from its encounter with the pavement.

"How am I supposed to pull a high-top on over that?" Kurt asked the universe, surveying the damage. This was going to hurt.

Melissa moved closer to his damaged foot.

"No!" Kurt yelped, jerking his foot away. Mel had begun licking the scraped area. That was all he needed -- a cat's rough tongue to make the pain even worse.

"Mrrr?" Mel said.

"I know you want to help, Mel, but just stay back. Please."

"Mrrr." Melissa closed in and started licking again.

Kurt reached out to pull her away, then stopped. The pain was much better.

"Okay -- why not?" he said, relaxing. If Melissa's saliva contained an analgesic, he was all for it.

Ten minutes later, his foot felt as good as new. Except for a pink patch on his skin, all signs of damage had disappeared.

"Wow," he said, pulling on his right sock. "I didn't realize you carry a medical kit."

While he was lacing his runners, he fantasized about how wonderful it would be to have Mel with him forever.

"You'd better get into the bag again," he told her. "Just in case somebody's watching."

Melissa crawled into the bag. He covered her with a T-shirt. Before he picked up the bag, he hesitated. Which would it be? The highway or the beach? 

 Ajax would never find them in Saskatchewan. Or would he?

With a sigh, Kurt picked up his load and started hiking towards the beach. Melissa was too important to become a household pet.

He was sweating by the time he reached the sand. He set the bag beside a driftwood log and sat down. Melissa emerged from the bag and jumped up beside him.

"This is it, Mel," he said, scratching her chin. "You are the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me."

She rubbed her jaw against his fingers.

"You get down there and straighten those Expansionist guys out," he instructed. "There must be a way for all of you to work together."

He stroked her back. "I wouldn't mind having your people on the surface, you know. Just as long as you're not in the middle of a civil war."

She was silent.

"Well -- if you do come to the surface, come and visit me, okay? Look for me in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, two provinces east of here."

"Mrrr."

He picked her up and put her on the sand facing the ocean. "This is it. Go home."

Melissa didn't move.

"Go!" he said, more insistently, pushing her gently with his foot. If this went on any longer, he was going to cry, just like some sappy Disney movie.

Melissa jumped onto the log again.

"No -- you have to go," Kurt said, grabbing her around the chest. Her claw was caught in the side pocket of his jeans. While he was trying to extricate it, her other paw, claws out, hooked into the material.

"What's the matter with you?" Kurt asked. Her nose was straining to get into his pocket. "What do you want?"

"Mrrr!" Melissa said vigorously, biting his wrist.

Finally, Kurt understood.

"Your collar! You need your collar to get home, don't you?"

Melissa pushed her nose into his pocket.

"Just a minute," Kurt said, pushing her back gently. "I'll get it."

She sat perfectly still while he fastened the jeweled collar around her neck. He gave the top of her forehead a final scratch.

"Good-bye, your Highness."

Melissa bolted for the water. Before Kurt could speculate about whether she would swim or walk along the bottom, a wave broke over her and she was gone.

"That's it," Kurt said out loud. The game had played itself out, and there was no evidence that any of it had ever happened. Except. . . .

Kurt pulled out the garnet collar. It looked like an ordinary collar, but who knew what hi-tech secrets it held?

"Melissa." He spoke into the jewels. "Melissa, can you hear me?"

He imagined that he heard an ever-so-faint Mrrr.

Poor Kurt!  Will he ever see Melisssa again?  Show your sympathy by voting for this part.