Cyclops

part three

I spent the prolonged drive to the pound ruminating about what lay ahead, about memories of the last time I was there. I remembered the endless noises of dogs howling and barking and the stuffiness of the building. The food was always dry and old. Nothing fresh was ever served. I was extremely lucky to escape the first time, but I doubted I would be able to do so again.

Remembering Russell, I glanced over at his cage. He collapsed on the floor with his head underneath his paws, moaning. A twinge of guilt overtook me. It was my fault he was caught. I leaned over to the bars of my cage. "Russell... Russell!" I called. He lifted his head to me. "Look, I'm so sorry." Russell nodded in forgiveness and laid his head back down. I knew he forgave me, but there was no apology great enough to repair this.

Just as I was about to call out again, the van halted to a stop, which knocked me over. I heard footsteps walking around, then stop in front of the doors. After a few clinking sounds came from the doors, light filled the van. I squinted my eyes from the brightness. I could decipher the outlines of the woman and man climbing in with a portable kennel. Our captors started opening the cages and pulling their prisoners out one by one. When the woman came to my cage, I gave a foul hiss and backed into the corner. She smiled, to my surprise, and grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. I was gently placed into a small kennel and handed to another woman standing outside the van.

I swayed side to side as I was carried inside a small, white building. The hallway, decorated with posters of animals, was silent. But, as we came closer to the entrance, I could hear the melody of barking dogs. An anxious feeling grew in the pit of my stomach. Please, no! The woman turned into another hallway where the barking sounds died down. She carried me into a small room with stacks of cages. Their prisoners started meowing loudly and pacing back and forth.

"Here you go, sweetie." the woman said softly. She placed me into a cage on the second to top row, closed the gate, and left.

Panting from stress, I scanned my new cell. A bowl of water and dry food sat next to me, a litter box was set in the corner, and a blue blanket folded into a bed was in the opposite corner. "Welcome home," I tried to mutter sarcastically. There was no use in trying to escape or shout for help, so I curled up on my makeshift bed and slept for who knows how long.

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I awoke the next morning to the sounds of footsteps and voices. "Aw, poor things. If my wife were here, she would probably take them all home." A man's voice laughed jokingly. I turned my head to see what the commotion was about. It turned out to be the woman employee and a man in a brown leather jacket that I had never seen before.

"Well, they say you can never have too many." the woman giggled. "So our younger ones are over here," she explained as she pointed to the cages left of me. "And here we have our young adults..." She pointed to my area. "And these are our seniors," she concluded, pointing to ones left of me.

The man slowly strolled down the cages, examining the cats, who were by now meowing non-stop. When he came to my cage, the man stopped and studied me. He then turned to the woman. "This one doesn't have an eye?"

"No. There's no sign of trauma in the area, though. The vet believes he was born without one," she replied.

"I'll take this one," the man said pointing to me.

My eye widened. Part of me was grateful, but part of me was despaired. Now I would never see Russell again.

The woman joyfully nodded and pulled me out from my cage. The man held a pet carrier as she placed me inside. I made no noise as they carried me to the front desk. While the man made payments, a family of four walked up to the desk with a dog on a leash. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was Russell! Russell turned his head and noticed me. He smiled and began wagging his stubby tail. We smiled at each other until the man had finished filling out my adoption paperwork.

"Have a nice day!" the woman waved as the man carried me outside. I nodded a goodbye to Russell one last time, knowing that he would be alright.

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The man and I began traveling through the city's bustling streets. On the way, I thought about what would happen now that I was adopted. Knowing that Russell was alright comforted me, so should I be happy for myself? I would never get to roam Central Park again or chase squirrels. I would have to wait and see.

After a few minutes, we walked through sliding glass doors into a tall white brick building. A sign hanging from the ceiling read Saint Mary's Children Hospital. Whatever that meant. The smell of strange chemicals hit my nose immediately after entering. "Eh!" I winced my nose. Who would live in such a place?

The man walked towards two silver doors and pressed a button, which started to glow. What was he doing? I asked myself. A few moments later, a ding sounded, startling me. The doors opened to reveal a small room with no windows. After stepping inside, the man pressed a set of more buttons inside the box room, and the doors closed. We stood there for a minute or so, waiting for something. I was about to meow when the doors opened again to reveal a different floor! We stepped out into a long corridor with doors lining up on each side.

As we proceeded down the hall, I noticed two women in oversized pink pajamas approaching us. "I see you got one. Oh, she will be so excited!" one of the women exclaimed as she bent to look at me.

"I hope so!" the man replied. "Has she finished today's treatments yet?"

The other woman spoke, "Yes. You came just in time. She's in her room."

The man nodded and continued down the corridor. After winding through the several hallways, we stopped at one of the doors. He knocked gently. "Come in," a woman answered. The man turned the handle and entered.

The white room was dim, with only the light from a tv brightening it. A woman sitting in a recliner stood up and smiled at the man. "You got one?" she mouthed.

The man nodded. Together they walked over to a large bed at the back of the small room. "Emma, we have something special for you!" the woman said. They set my carrier down on the bed and opened it. Slowly I crawled out and tried to examine my surroundings, but the small person in front of me caught my attention.

As I looked up, I saw the smiling expression of a little girl. Her head had no hair, but what truly caught my one eye was her own single blue eye.

The man spoke up. "He's just like you, Emma. He's special, too."

The young girl, Emma, swiftly scooped me up and embraced me tightly. I normally would have squirmed away, but this was the most perfect moment of my life. I peacefully slept in her arms, softly purring.

The End.