An Average Day at Laminax

Chapter 7

As I drove through the streets, I couldn't help but feel a rush of adrenaline mixed with fear coursing through my veins. I didn't know what to do or where to go. My mind was filled with questions and doubts. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to navigate through the unfamiliar city of Denver. I kept my eyes on the road, doing my best to avoid drawing attention to myself. Every passing pedestrian or car made me paranoid. My heightened senses, which were both a blessing and a curse, made me aware of every movement, every sound, every scent.

My new body felt extremely foreign, a constant reminder of what I had become. The memories of my previous life flooded my mind, intertwining with my current fears and uncertainties. I thought about my family, my co-workers, and my old job, the normalcy of my life, before I was turned into... a Cate, just mere hours ago.

I didn't even know what the speed limit was, but I didn't care. I was going fast along the road, whizzing by other cars, managing to get through traffic lights before they turned red. My tail was squished against the seat of the car, and it was very painful, given the amount of nerves within a cats tail, but that was the least of my concerns right now. I didn't know where I was going, what I was going to do. If anyone had told me in the past that one day, I would be driving at dangerous speeds, avoiding people who would stop at nothing to find me and not be able to stay anywhere public due to my appearance, I would've dismissed it. I was avoiding the main road where the traffic lights were as much as I could. Eventually, I found myself in a quiet neighborhood outside of the city. I slowed down a bit as I went through it. Looking behind me, all I saw was the city lights sparkling in the distance. I completing stopped the car on the side of the road and turned off the car. As I closed my eyes, I heard a loud wailing noise. Jerking awake, I turned and looked at the car's rear mirror. I saw blue and red lights in distance. Oh my God, the police? Are they after me? They are... Oh no what do I do? I ducked down underneath the window, on the floor. My face landed on an empty fast food wrapper, and I closed my eyes, and could feel my ears flatten against my head again in fear.

The sirens got closer, and closer, and closer. I covered my ears to stop the noise that was now severely amplified in my new, sensitive feline ears, but it barely muffled the blaring siren as it quickly approached. To my surprise (and relief), I could hear the car drove right past me. Quickly getting up, with the wrapper still attached to my face, I saw that it wasn't a police car. It was an ambulance. I watched as it turned a corner, speeding away. I took a grateful exhale as my body relaxed from its formerly tense form. Maybe I wasn't in as much immediate danger as I thought.

I shifted to a sitting position, starting the car again. I drove onto the main road, was driving west, towards the mountains. I wasn't planning on going anywhere, yet. Where could I go, anyway? I drove through small towns in the mountains, signs telling me what the town name was. Conifer, Bailey, Grant, Jefferson were just some of the towns that I drove through. Once I had went past a town named Como, I realised that I was now driving south, through plains and backwater towns outside Denver. 

Soon, I found myself driving near another small town, trying to maintain my focus, but I could feel fatigue starting to get to me. As I slowly turned a corner and sped down an empty, dirt road, I could feel my eyes get heavier. It got worse and worse the further I drove. Eventually, I did something that no person driving a vehicle wants to do; fall asleep at the wheel. I dozed off, getting one of my paws off the accelerator. The car got slower, turning off the road and into a muddy ditch. I was awoken by being lurched forward, my seatbelt saving me from going any further than the steering wheel. I rubbed my head and stumbled out of the car. As I landed onto the ground, I hadn't noticed that the car was directly parked over a large, muddy area. The mud splattered onto me, covering some parts of my fur. I stepped out of the mud with some difficulty, and walked to the front of the car to inspect the damage. There were some dents here and there, a crack in the windshield, and not much else. And so, I went inside the car again and tried to accelerate out of the mud, which did not work. In fact, the more I accelerated, the more the wheels sunk into the mud. No, no no... please don't be stuck... I thought to myself. With one final acceleration, the wheels came to a complete stop.

I slammed the wheel in frustration and caused the car to honk. I was getting a strange amount of deju vu from when I was late to work, back when my life wasn't turned upside down for me. I leaned back in the seat, waiting for something to happen. Someone would be coming down to the ditch any second now and see an anthropomorphic cat driving the car. What could happen after that would be anyone's guess. But then, I I turned around, reaching into the back seat of the car, getting the bucket and placing it on my head again. I exited the car and trudged through the mud before reaching the nearby grassy fields that went up to my knees. Grass brushed against my fur. The cold breeze went against me. I didn't know where I was going. I just hoped that by sunrise I would be long gone.