The Lowly Gate's Guard

Ch. 15: To Waterloo Station (5)

It had been a long time since Sam had used Dean and Tabby as bait; it must have worked, because there were no signs of any centipedes chasing them.

Mary was sobbing on the floor, it was more for Tabby than Dean, but she was still sad for abandoning him. Though she had seen a lot of death since the world's gone to ruin, a friend and family's death were still hard on her, and how it went by in this manner made her heart ache.

Tabby was like a child to her. Mary and her husband were never able to conceive children, they were alone, no pets and no children.

One time when Mary and her husband went on a short holiday in France, they met a stray cat in the streets of Paris.

The cat was old and toughened by the life of a stray. It took some time for the stray to warm up to the two, but after the cat gave them a chance, they loved each other to bits. It seemed to be the start of a new happy family, but sadly the cat passed away shortly after they met. However, there was still hope; the cat ended up having a litter with another stray.

Tabby was the only kitten that survived.

A cute, little ginger thing who was cold and barely breathing. They took her to their hotel room and warmed her up. That's how they ended up adopting Tabby.

Mary's connection with the cat was much stronger than a normal pet and human relationship; she loved her like a daughter. After her husband died at the hands of a Gate monster during the flood, Tabby was the only family she had left.

"You killed them; you killed my baby!" Mary sobbed. Sam didn't react and chose not to respond to her cries. He was focused.

Sam squinted, looking back down the tunnel they just came from. Except from Mary's sob, the underground railway was in complete silence.

"I did it so we could both live."

Sam's eyes were unmoving, focused on the tunnel. He had to be sure that they weren't followed.

Mary continued to cry. Her eyes were sore and stained red, her hands damp with tears. It was all she could do for the loss of her child and a friend.

"Come on Mary, we have to go."

Sam went over to pick her up, but Mary pushed him away. She wanted to stay and grieve, but her protest was ineffective and fell on deaf ears.

Sam put Mary over his shoulder, she squirmed trying to get off. However, Sam easily kept her in place and continued down the tunnel. He knew she would come around soon.

...

Dean was stood in front of hundreds of burnt centipedes. The large blue tiger that was once defending him now turned back into the form of a fat ginger cat. Tabby was licking her paw, tired from using her energy to transform and handle the bugs. She gave Dean a look as if she wanted to be paid for defending him.

"I don't have any food on me except these."

Dean brought an energy ball from the Contestant Store and held it out for the cat. Tabby turned her head away; she was clearly displeased with what he offered.

"Sorry..."

Dean shrugged and threw the brown ball into his mouth. He thought he would never get used to the unpleasant taste as it went down his throat. His body felt warm and full from the magic ball.

The corpses of the Gate monster centipedes littered the underground railway. The monsters didn't disappear like they did in the Gates. A reward didn't drop either, the points that were rewarded for the kills all went to Tabby. Dean got nothing. She must be drowning in points, but does a cat even know how to spend them?