The Rift Walker

Hide And Seek

Chapter 14

It was dark by the time they returned to their home; the winter days were short and cold. James and Andrea were sat in the kitchen discussing the events which had happened a few hours earlier.

"None of the trials are fair! Remember the one which happened a few months ago? Well, I swear the only reason they suspected her of witchcraft was because her neighbour accused her of being a witch. . . And why? Because she owned a fucking cat. Well that was her proof anyway, she probably reported her because she didn't like her. You see, they just want to see people burn. They're sickening." Her face twisted in absolute disgust.

"I know Andrea, but what can we do? The last time someone spoke against them, they burnt him alive but only after ripping his tongue out because he was a 'filthy liar'. I don't want that to happen to you."
"We can't just keep letting these things happen either! You know others would agree with us and join us if we spoke against them."

"Yes, but how many? You don't think that they're afraid too?" he was trying to reason with her.

She placed her head in her hands, frustrated.
"Andrea. . . Just please don't get yourself into trouble." He pleaded after a few minutes of silence. He knew her well.

"Right." She walked out of the kitchen without looking at him.

He sighed. Knowing his sister, she would try to do something and those things more often than not, got her into trouble. He just hoped she wouldn't do anything too drastic. Actually, he hoped she wouldn't do anything; he knew they were looking for any excuse to burn people.
It was entertainment for them.

He knew that if Andrea gained support from others- and James had no doubt that she would, despite the fact that many were afraid, many were still wanting to rebel against them. They just needed the right push from the right person, and his sister was definitely persuasive enough. He knew she would cause big trouble and for once, he wasn't entirely sure he would be able to get her out of it, although of course he would try his best.

But sometimes his sister was too difficult to reason with.
He stood up and exited the kitchen. He considered finding his sister and trying to talk some sense into her but quickly changed his mind. He would give her a chance to calm down and reflect and talk to her later at a better time.

He swore when he tripped over something soft and fluffy outside of the door and realised he had almost trodden on his cat. The cat meowed slightly, stretching and James thought it would actually get up and move for once, but that hope was quickly dashed when the cat curled itself back into a fat little ball and continued sleeping. It had already slept for almost four hours and would probably continue sleeping for another two.

The cat had actually been a stray. His mother had fed it once, taking pity on it one rainy night when it had been crying outside their door for hours. From then, it came every night begging for food. It had then taken to entering their house whenever it thought nobody was looking. No matter how often they kicked it out of the house again, it would return, trying to squeeze through the shutters or hiding until someone opened the door and dashing through their feet quickly. 

Eventually they had been forced to let it stay. It never seemed to respond to them- aside from when it wanted its ears to be scratched and it was hungry. But it never scratched or bit them either. They named the cat Ocelot.