The Secret of the Whiskers

Epilogue

AUTHORS NOTE- in case you were wondering, this too was part of the original fan fic. I thought it ended nicely in the other one, but when submitting the assignment my teacher wanted more of a closure.

Louise banged at the door of the apartment, her face red with fury. "DAN! PHIL! OPEN THE DOOR RIGHT THIS SECOND!" She wanted to grab her makeup remover and leave quickly, before her almost five year old daughter, Darcy, began throwing a fit. She was about to call the two despicable friends when she heard what sounded like purring coming through the door. "Did Phil get a cat?" she wondered aloud. She knew he had always wanted a pet, but their landlord had never allowed it. Something was up. So, using her detective skills, and Phil and Dan's ignorance to her advantage, she slipped her hand under the doormat and felt for the key. Bingo! Louise put the key in the lock and twisted. Gently she pushed the door open, beckoning Darcy after her.

When she walked into the room she was taken aback. Though the room was a mess, that wasn't what startled her. What startled her wasn't the dollops of feces on the urine stained carpet. It wasn't the messy couch, or the dirty clothes strewn across the floor. She wasn't so surprised by the broken video game discs, or the open fridge filled with rotting meats and fruit. Not even the two black cats with yellow eyes that could pierce into her soul. None of that affected her in the least.

At least not nearly as much as the smell.

She had never smelled anything worse. It was so grotesque, she was on the verge of passing out. There was a mix of poop and urine in the air, reminding her of when Darcy was a little baby, pooping in her diaper and throwing up on her best sweaters. Not only that, but the scent of the spoiled food in the fridge wafted through the apartment. As if that wasn't enough, the two cats clearly hadn't been cleaned for weeks. A slight hint of Dan's favorite cologne was barely present, as if it too was covered with the thin layer of dust that appeared to have settled onto most of the furniture. In no way did it resemble the once lively home of the strangely charismatic pair that was Dan and Phil. The place was desolate and dismal. But even that description couldn't do justice to the eerie aura that surrounded the apartment with its presence.

No, Louise thought, This can't be their house. It's in such wretched condition. Dan was a neat freak. There is no way he could feel okay with staying in a place like this. And Phil would have a heart attack if he knew all his houseplants were dead! Without Dan and Phil the house didn't just feel empty. The house feels... she thought, abandoned. Louise slowly stalked through the house, trying not to trip on the piles of trash scattered on the ground. The breakfast bar was a mess. The colorful chairs lay on the floor, one of the plastic seats no longer attached to the steel legs. Whipping out her phone, she dialed Dan's cellphone. After ten seconds, a soft ringing echoed through the desolate apartment. Dan had left his phone. She tried again with Phil's number only to find that his was left there as well.

"Awwww," cried Darcy, "they're so cute can we keep them?"

Louise replied, "No Darcy, we don't have time to take care of a cat."

"But look Mum! It's fur is so soft! Feel it!" argued Darcy.

Darcy looked straight at Louise with her puppy dog eyes and lifted the cat she was holding too close to Louise's face for her to be comfortable.

Louise rubbed her eyes in disbelief. In the eyes of the cat were dried out contact lenses. Contact lenses? Louise thought. Louise then had an idea. It was an outlandish, crazy, ridiculous idea, but an idea nonetheless. Louise rushed to the bathroom. Phil's contact containers were empty, his glasses on the sink. Phil would be completely blind without them.

She ran back to the cats, and she removed the contacts from the one cats eyes. Sure enough, once she removed them, the cat could barely walk. Could that cat, thought Louise, could it possibly be.... Phil? Once again she went to the bathroom. Holding up the contact to her eyes, she compared the glasses and the contact. As far as she could tell, they appeared to be the same prescription.

Louise thought about it for a moment. Neither Dan and Phil were in the house, but it looks as if it hasn't been used for years. There are two cats in the living room, there are Dan and Phil's clothes on the floor. One of the cats is wearing Phil's contacts. Dan and Phil left all their belongings including their phone in the house. They hadn't moved -- there stuff was still in the house. They weren't on vacation -- they would have told both her and their five million fans on YouTube. They were definitely not out on an errand. So where were they?

After much pondering, Louise ruled out these and many more possibilities. If their none of those all that's left is that they died. Or... Or nothing. Absolutely no way on earth, that it could be that. But the imaginative part of Louise's mind began to wander. After a few moments, Darcy said aloud what Louise had feared.

"Maybe Uncle Dan and Uncle Phil turned into these cats!" she said. She then continued to talk about how they had to take care of them now or something, but Louise's mind wasn't focusing. Her eyes darted around the room, finally landed on a hairball, barely smaller than a tennis ball, it was too big to have come from one of the cats.

Louise thought for a moment. How could she prove this theory wrong? When an idea came to her. "Phil!" she called. For a moment nothing happened, and Louise didn't know whether to be relieved or scared, but then, the cat that once had contacts in its eyes leaped towards her. The cat looked up at her with its big yellow eyes, too intelligent to be that of your everyday cat. To test her theory Louise called out again, her voice almost cracking on the short syllable, "Dan!"

The second cat came running.

Louise let out the breath she hadn't even noticed she had been holding. She was beginning to feel as if these cats were actually Dan and Phil. She went down to rub the Dan-in-question cat's neck in sympathy. But when Louise's fingers made contact with the fur, cat bared its teeth and purred violently in a low voice. And then she was sure.

These cats were Dan and Phil.

Phil, who was always bright and cheerful. She would always remember his bad puns, and his strangely charming obsession for house plants. And Dan. Dan who would always get into the most awkward situations. Dan who constantly complained about his existential crises. He was one of her best friends, one of the few that understood her. Both of them now reduced to house pets.

"Mummy," said Darcy, now pouting, "can we please keep them? Pretty pretty please?"

Louise thought for a moment. She had never had a pet before, but cats or not these were two of her greatest friends. If they could no longer take care of themselves, then she would. "Okay," she told Darcy, "We can keep them."

Darcy squealed with joy as Louise got up to get her make up wipes from the bathroom. She then called Darcy to tell her it was time to go. Louise picked up both Dan and Phil and left the apartment, Darcy trailing behind.

The sun had begun to set by the time Louise reached her own home. Opening the door wide open Louise exclaimed, "Dan. Phil. Welcome to your new home!"