myriad bad smells inside Missy’s house were so potent, not even a broken, blood clogged nose could lessen them.
Dani was grateful for Keith’s offering. As she wiped off the squirming spoilage on her hand, she marveled that she hadn’t even noticed it. She hated any kind of worm or wet, slithery thing on her. She was alarmed at how many changes this dreary situation was bringing about in her, and how fast they were coming.
“We’re not leaving until every cat is free,” Dani stated.
There was not one dissenting voice among the guys. They all looked at each other and saw they shared Dani’s conviction.
Keith understood this change to their original mission increased the danger that they could be caught, but he knew that his well laid plan no longer fit their situation. Denying Dani was simply not an option. Plus, he had seen the squalor and cruelty firsthand. Denying these sad and hurting cats their freedom was not something his heart could condone, or live with.
“Let’s do it,” Keith encouraged them all.
“It’s the great escape, for cats,” Ian joked, although he wasn’t really joking. He expected Will was right about the cats being Missy’s only friends, and he couldn’t wait to see Missy friendless.
Dani led Keith, Will, and Ian through the culvert that served as their path. They passed from the kitchen into the dining room, although there was little to differentiate one room from the next. They were all hoard rooms, receptacles for every kind of junk imaginable, and unimaginable.
Dani was the first to reach the dining room table, which was stacked nearly to the ceiling and over its edges with everything from food and plates to boxes, appliances, books, and decorations, everything but the kitchen sink it seemed. Then Dani reconsidered; the sink could be hidden under the mountain of junk, since she hadn’t seen it in the kitchen. There was some space left underneath, and Dani marveled that the table could stand with a ton of overbalanced weight on top. Gravity was a fragile and extremely threatening force within these walls.
Underneath the table, which was never used for dining, Dani spotted an askew cage with a lethargic cat inside. She stopped to get under the table, and the others had to stop, unable to pass around her. When Dani’s hand landed on the cage door, she saw the reason for the cat’s lethargy. The lazy cat’s hair was a squirming fur of maggots. The maggots had a lot of life while the cat had none.
Dani rose without a word. She was past the stage of shock, but every new case of cat abuse she encountered added another notch to the belt of fury that was tightening around her. She knew there were more cages with living cargo to be found. Dani couldn’t let her rage slow her down.
The guys followed Dani past the towering table, and then they stopped behind her when she reached the next blockade. The next room was raised a couple of feet higher than the one they were in. The floor was not elevated; it was the hoard that was higher. There were no paths through anymore. The hoard was a rocky landscape, and they were about to traverse Planet Detritus.
Now that they were right upon the room, the sound of a television reached them.
“Think anyone’s watching the TV?” Dani asked.
“No, they would have heard us by now,” Keith replied. Ian felt uncertainty at Keith’s answer. Ian knew that the hoard absorbed heat. Perhaps it did the same with sound. He considered voicing his doubt, but he was too late.
Dani stepped up nearly three feet onto the next unstable surface. Will stood behind her, ready to help if she needed it. She didn’t, and Will wasn’t surprised. Ian thought he would go last, which was his permanent place, but Keith stepped aside and let Ian go third. Keith’s reason for standing back was the same as Will’s. He wanted to be in a more helpful spot in case his brother needed assistance, which of course he didn’t.
Keith followed Ian up, and thought it was
Dani was grateful for Keith’s offering. As she wiped off the squirming spoilage on her hand, she marveled that she hadn’t even noticed it. She hated any kind of worm or wet, slithery thing on her. She was alarmed at how many changes this dreary situation was bringing about in her, and how fast they were coming.
“We’re not leaving until every cat is free,” Dani stated.
There was not one dissenting voice among the guys. They all looked at each other and saw they shared Dani’s conviction.
Keith understood this change to their original mission increased the danger that they could be caught, but he knew that his well laid plan no longer fit their situation. Denying Dani was simply not an option. Plus, he had seen the squalor and cruelty firsthand. Denying these sad and hurting cats their freedom was not something his heart could condone, or live with.
“Let’s do it,” Keith encouraged them all.
“It’s the great escape, for cats,” Ian joked, although he wasn’t really joking. He expected Will was right about the cats being Missy’s only friends, and he couldn’t wait to see Missy friendless.
Dani led Keith, Will, and Ian through the culvert that served as their path. They passed from the kitchen into the dining room, although there was little to differentiate one room from the next. They were all hoard rooms, receptacles for every kind of junk imaginable, and unimaginable.
Dani was the first to reach the dining room table, which was stacked nearly to the ceiling and over its edges with everything from food and plates to boxes, appliances, books, and decorations, everything but the kitchen sink it seemed. Then Dani reconsidered; the sink could be hidden under the mountain of junk, since she hadn’t seen it in the kitchen. There was some space left underneath, and Dani marveled that the table could stand with a ton of overbalanced weight on top. Gravity was a fragile and extremely threatening force within these walls.
Underneath the table, which was never used for dining, Dani spotted an askew cage with a lethargic cat inside. She stopped to get under the table, and the others had to stop, unable to pass around her. When Dani’s hand landed on the cage door, she saw the reason for the cat’s lethargy. The lazy cat’s hair was a squirming fur of maggots. The maggots had a lot of life while the cat had none.
Dani rose without a word. She was past the stage of shock, but every new case of cat abuse she encountered added another notch to the belt of fury that was tightening around her. She knew there were more cages with living cargo to be found. Dani couldn’t let her rage slow her down.
The guys followed Dani past the towering table, and then they stopped behind her when she reached the next blockade. The next room was raised a couple of feet higher than the one they were in. The floor was not elevated; it was the hoard that was higher. There were no paths through anymore. The hoard was a rocky landscape, and they were about to traverse Planet Detritus.
Now that they were right upon the room, the sound of a television reached them.
“Think anyone’s watching the TV?” Dani asked.
“No, they would have heard us by now,” Keith replied. Ian felt uncertainty at Keith’s answer. Ian knew that the hoard absorbed heat. Perhaps it did the same with sound. He considered voicing his doubt, but he was too late.
Dani stepped up nearly three feet onto the next unstable surface. Will stood behind her, ready to help if she needed it. She didn’t, and Will wasn’t surprised. Ian thought he would go last, which was his permanent place, but Keith stepped aside and let Ian go third. Keith’s reason for standing back was the same as Will’s. He wanted to be in a more helpful spot in case his brother needed assistance, which of course he didn’t.
Keith followed Ian up, and thought it was
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