Cat City

Chapter 5: Cat City

Susan stumbled often as she followed her cat guards and Tucker's family down the long, winding street to the center of the City. She was hardly aware of the four large cats surrounding her, guards sent by the Council to keep her in line. They were waiting for her at Tucker's front door, but they needn't have bothered. The beauty and wonder of Cat City kept her so enthralled most of the way that the thought of escaping never really crossed her mind.

The first thing she noticed was the architecture. Not that she knew anything about that kind of stuff. No, it was more the fact that everything was built human sized. From the houses to the sidewalks and benches to the sculptures and artwork scattered throughout her route to Center Square, the entire City was built for co-habitation between cats and humans.

If that's the case, Susan wondered, where are they? She was pretty sure from their reaction to her there hadn't been any humans in Cat City for a very long time.

The houses were large and beautiful, with lots of plants and bright colors, wide, low steps and perfectly fitted cobblestone walkways. The deeper into the City they went, the grander the houses became, each more amazing than the next. By the time they reached the edge of the ring of homes lining the City, Susan had to look way up to three and four floors as the houses towered above them.

The cat guards, burly, short haired quadruplets with matching dull beige eyes and flat, wide heads, kept their distance. Susan guessed they all had to be from the same litter, as each of them were the same drab brownie-orange color. Susan caught the eye of one of them for a moment and looked away quickly. She loved cats, but these ones wouldn't hesitate to hurt her if she tried to get away, she was sure. Something in the guard's eyes made her even more afraid than she already was.It was almost easy though for Susan to forget her fears walking those streets. Cat City was a miracle, she thought. She wondered at everything, from the sky (a darkish blue, not like underground at all) to the warm glow of light that almost felt like the sun (though she couldn't see the source of the light anywhere above her.) There were lights in house windows and, now that she thought about it, Tucker's house was lit up as well.

Where does the electricity come from? Susan wondered.

She almost asked Tucker but held her tongue. She was in enough trouble as it was.

Instead, she decided to direct her questions to Cynthia.

"Excuse me," Susan said as politely as she could. "Where did this city come from?" Cynthia shot her a flat look over her furry white shoulder.

"Mind your business," the Persian said.

How rude, thought Susan. Tucker must have read her mind, because he rolled his eyes at her. Susan actually felt a giggle rise and wondered how she could be so calm.

Because I really still think this is all a dream, she decided.

Just past the ring of homes began another of shops and restaurants. Susan shook her head and wondered what need cats had for eating out and buying stuff, unable to grasp it. So, instead, she simply enjoyed the view, especially when they passed through the elaborate parks and gardens filling the great spaces and smelling like summer.

At Susan's best guess of about halfway to the center of the City, as she continued to be amazed by what she saw, she started to notice other cats. Just flashes at first, here and there, between shops and down alleyways. She glanced at Tucker who nodded a little.

"Everyone has been called," he reminded her in a whisper.

"No talking!" One of the guards finally spoke, his deep, gruff voice startling Susan and making Tucker's tail droop.

"And why not?" A new voice asked. Susan halted abruptly at the sight of the addition, unable to stop staring.

"Finally," Tucker said.

"Sorry I'm late, folks," the biggest cat Susan had ever seen wound his way past the guards and Tucker's parents to stand in front of her. "Got detained. Hiya, Sue. Welcome to Cat City."Susan bent and took the offered paw, amazed at the size of it, easily twice the width of Tucker's. She looked down into a pair of warm golden eyes and smiled.

He was a classic dark tabby with a full white chest and four white paws, his fur so thick and long Susan wondered if he was really as big as he looked. His tail was massive and so fluffy she thought she could use it as a pillow. His wide, handsome face was framed by a thick mane and his upright ears had tall tufts at the ends.

"Vinnie, at your service," he said. "Show off." Tucker rolled his eyes.

"Sucker for a pretty face." Vinnie winked one eye slowly.

"We were assigned to bring the human," one of the guards, the evil-eyed cat who had given Susan the shivers, approached Vinnie, ears flattening.

"Consider yourself reassigned, Harold, old boy," Vinnie said with a flip of his huge tail. The guard didn't move. Vinnie turned slowly and faced him, his broad white chest filling, tail starting to thrash as a low growl started somewhere deep inside him.

"You're still here?" Vinnie said softly.

The four guards slunk off, the one named Harold shooting Susan a dirty look as they went.

Vinnie shook himself, now softly purring, eyes half-lidded in pleasure. "Thank you," Susan said, knowing somehow she had a powerful ally now. "My pleasure," Vinnie said. "Any friend of Tucker's."

"If you boys are quite done playing," Cynthia's tone was less than pleased, "we have an appointment to keep."

Vinnie hopped sideways, making Susan giggle at his kitten-like behavior. He made it to Cynthia's side and gave her a massive head rub.

"Oh, Mamma," he said, batting his eyes, "you know you love me." Cynthia, much to Susan's shock, actually laughed.

"Honestly, Vincent," she batted at him. "You are a pest. Be off." Susan bent down to Tucker. "He's your brother?"

"No," Tucker told her as Vinnie joined them as they moved on, "just my best friend." Vinnie fell in with Tucker and Susan as Cynthia and George led the way."Much better, I reckon," Vinnie said, "without those sour pusses making you nervous."

"Where have you been?" Tucker hissed at him. "I thought you were going to meet us at the house?"

"Sorry, Tuck," Vinnie said. "I barely got away as it was."

"I know, sorry, thanks, Vinnie," Tucker said. "I'm just worried."

"Vinnie?" Susan asked. "Why did the guards leave when you told them to?" "Because he's their superior," Tucker answered for him.

"Aw, shucks," Vinnie flashed a cat-smile at Susan, "he's just being nice." "Honestly," Susan said.

"Honestly," Vinnie replied.

Tucker rolled his eyes again. "Vinnie is a guard lieutenant," Tucker said. "They had to listen to him."

"May I ask you a question?" She was feeling a little strange about the whole thing. "Anything," Vinnie said cheerfully.

"What kind of cat are you?" Susan tried to keep the awe from her voice but she was still overwhelmed by his huge size.

"Maine Coon," he answered. "I know, I knowÉ big, huh?" She nodded.

"Just the way I'm made, Sue," Vinnie said.

"I think you're beautiful," Susan said without thinking, not caring that he called her Sue and that she hated that nickname.

Tucker sneezed his laugh and Vinnie did his best not to look offended, although Susan felt the weight of that huge tail hit the back of her leg as it thrashed a couple of times.

"Oh!" She said. "I'm sorry! Did I hurt your feelings?" Tucker's sneezing laughter faded to snorts.

"It's okay," Vinnie said. "Beeeautiful," Tucker snickered. "Oh, shut it," Vinnie snapped back. "Handsome?" Susan tried."Just let it go," Vinnie said.

Susan, wanting to keep this huge cat as her friend, did just that.

Instead, she went back to studying the City. The had just entered a lovely garden full of huge, blooming roses. She didn't dare touch them, they were so beautiful, but the scent was all around her. Suddenly, she stopped. She couldn't help herself. Right at the edge of the path was one of the most amazing statues she had ever seen, although if she had been asked later why she thought it was so amazing, she wouldn't have been able to answer.

The statue was of polished white marble and was of a girl holding a cat. The girl smiled down at the cat who had his tail wrapped around her wrist, his paws resting, one on her shoulder, the other gently against her cheek. Susan couldn't help herself. She reached out and ran her fingertips down the shining stone. She felt a thrill pass through her, from the statue to her heart, almost like a shock but much nicer. She left her fingers there as the thrill grew and grewÉ

"Are you tired?" Vinnie asked. "We can take a break."

"What?" Susan stuttered, looking down at him. She dropped her hand, startled. She realized they were all staring at her, waiting. "Sorry, no," she said, deciding to move on after Cynthia shot her another glare. "Thank you. Your city is just so amazing and I have so many questions." Susan looked back over her shoulder at the statue as they left the park, her heart a little lighter and feeling peculiar as the thrill bounced around inside her a while before fading away.

"What do you want to know?" Vinnie said.

It was Vinnie's turn to be the target of Cynthia's displeasure, but he ignored her. "Honestly, you're here, aren't you? Not like we can deny you've seen us or Cat City." Cynthia's heavy sigh was answer enough.

"We've been here a long time," Vinnie told her. "Centuries. But Cat City wasn't always here."

"You can bypass that part, please, Vincent," Cynthia said crisply, and Vinnie shrugged his wide shoulders.

"Anyway, like I said, centuries. We chose here long before you humans came. The house Above came later. In fact, we were almost forced to leave when it was built. But we managed to avoid being seen or caught and decided to use the house as protection.""How?" Susan asked, fascinated.

"Magic, of course," Vinnie said. "We closed up all other entrances to the City but the one in the glade and used the house as a magical ward to keep the Gate sealed."

"But what if something happens to my house?" Susan asked, realizing as she did that she had stumbled on something important.

"Cat City would be without protection," was all Vinnie said, although Susan guessed there was way more to it than that.

Instead, she went on with her questions. "Who built it?" "Cats, with magic," Tucker answered this time.

"Then why is everything human sized?" Susan asked.

Cynthia actually stopped in her tracks and turned to Susan. Her eyes were slitted and ears flat against her head.

"Enough questions," Cynthia said.

Even Vinnie cringed a little. Susan nodded. "Okay," Susan said. "Sorry."

Cynthia flipped her tail, resuming her march.

Susan did a lot of thinking on that walk as more and more questions came to her. She was sure if she could get the two boys alone, they would tell her everything. The problem was getting them alone, she knew. Cynthia would be watching her like a hawk from now on and her chances of getting any more answers were slim to none.

She broke free of her thoughts when she caught sight of more cats. This time, a larger group ran nimbly through the streets past them. She watched the pack pass, the wide assortment of colors and sizes making them almost a blur. The closer they got to Center Square, the more cats they saw until Susan was shuffling her feet carefully so as not to accidentally step on a passing paw or tail.

With the increasing numbers, the noise grew as well. At first she barely noticed it, but as they got closer, the sounds of purrs, snarls, hums, hisses, squeaks and yowls got louder and louder. Susan resisted the urge to cover her ears, worried she might offend someone again.She felt Tucker's body press against her legs on the left side and Vinnie on her right.

She looked down at both cats who were staring up at her with what she guessed was sympathy.

"Almost there," Tucker said.

"Don't be afraid," Vinnie told her. "I'll be right there with you."

Susan nodded and took a deep breath as they rounded the last corner and entered Center Square.