Two is Better than One

Autumn

I always thought that living alone would save my fur. I thought it was easier to live on your own, especially in a time like this. I thought that maybe living alone you could get out of attacks easier, and it is one less mouth to feed; therefor, less trouble, right? Wrong. I was saved by somebody. Somebody I thought was weak, and unable. Wrong; again. I was so wrong about everything, and I took everything for granted. How foolish of me.

I padded through the empty cities, my tail swaying behind me as I hung my head. My tail brushed against the blood-dripped ground, and my paws ached terribly. But I felt as if I could't stop. It wasn't safe. Not safe enough. I was so exhausted; I could barely put one paw in front of the other. I heard a soft noise. A quite peculiar noise, indeed. It sounded of eating; but who, and what? My ears twitched at my whiskers shifted. More trouble; just what I need! I huffed and sniffed the air. It smelled of; a cat? And... And a... One of those cannibal-human things.

I stepped the direction of the scent, reluctantly and cautiously. Alarmed, my tail hung low and my ears cropped back against my head. I peered over the edge of a dilapidated building's corner, and spotted a black cat, eating a....a...a Lurker, as I called it.... It was all I could think of; if I knew their proper name....It didn't matter, anyway. I looked at the small, black kitten. I watched as it ate the Lurker. How could it?.... I gaged, disgusted. I watched a tear drip from the small cat's eye as it ate.

She was a rather small cat, probably still a kitten. She was black with orange, gray, white, and brown splotches scattered around her fur. Her eyes were halfway open, but they were almost glowing with how blue they were. I shifted uncomfortably where I was at.

Sympathy pulled at my fur. 'Go talk to her,' a voice in my head said. 'No way! What if she attacks? That would be the last thing I need! It could-' I argued with myself, but was interrupted when the kitten noticed me. "D-don't hurt me!" The small kitten pleaded, dropping to her paws, beginning to sob. "I...won't hurt you... If you don't hurt me..." I said quietly. The kitten was very skinny... It looked up at me. The poor thing had a huge scratch across one of its bright blue eyes.

"H-how did you get that scratch?" I asked softly. "A... A cat attacked me... Stole my food, where I lived...." She mewed. "Sorry," I said, "I shouldn't have asked. What's your name?..." I asked quietly. "Um, my name?... Autumn... And you?..." She meowed. "My name... Is Toby," I responded. "How have you survived this long? Are you with anybody?" I asked roughly. "A... A dog took care of me... His name was Carlos. He... Was... Killed..." Autumn looked down. That feeling of sadness for the cat felt to rip off my fur and hang it up to rot in the sun.

"I'm... So sorry..." I muttered. She looked up at me. "C-can... Can I stay with you, Toby?" Autumn asked, her brilliant blue eyes shining with tears. I stepped back. "No!... I mean... I can't..." I said. Her ears flattened remarkably low. I felt like I just murdered a tiny little newborn kitten! It was the worst feeling ever. Next moment I found myself walking through the streets not enjoying conversations with myself, but hearing the loud screeching of exited mews from the joyous kitten. Perhaps this wasn't so bad. I was stuck with her, so I might as well lift up to the thought of no longer being alone, and think positive, right? Two is better than one, I guess.