Savage Mate

2. Escape

Ava

I'm a little afraid, but I do as the boy tells me, and find that the grate is indeed loose. I shift back to my cat form and go into the vents. I hate that he can't come with me. I saw him when he first arrived and he was hurt, he also needs help, but I'm too afraid to stay and try to help him. Right now all I can think of is getting out. The people who caught me are mean and scary, and I want to get away.

It's easier to move in animal form, and it is also easier to find the way out, since all my senses are sharper. I can hear them yelling and cursing that they are out of power, but it also helps me gather information. It seems the higher ups went away once power was off, leaving just the thugs to fix the problem. I follow their voices through the vents, and find a garage.

"This sucks, I can get the generators working, but we will run out of gas fairly quickly," one of them says, as he kicks something.

"Well, if you can get the generators working, I can get one of the cars out and get more gas," another replies.

"Shouldn't we be fixing the main line and not the backup generators?" a third offers.

"And how do you suggest we do that without lights to see, moron?" the first one yells.

"Hey, it was just a suggestion!" 

They keep fighting and insulting each other, but I see one of them getting one of the cars ready. It's not ideal, but if I can get out and in that car, then maybe I can get out of here. It's still dark, and the flashlights they are using are all pointing in the same direction, so it should be easy to get out and hide in the car, but I need to do it fast, before they fix whatever they are working on and the lights come back.

I try to do as my parent's taught me and be patient, look for the right moment. I didn't before, and that was what got me in this situation to start with. One of them starts banging on something, so I use the noise to mask me opening the vent, and then I ran to the car. Once I get under it, I start looking for a place to hide. It's easier with older cars, but new compact ones have less places to grab, luckily, I'm small, and I manage to hold to something. I just need to hold on for a few minutes once the car starts, only long enough to get out.

I'm getting tired and sleepy when the lights suddenly come back, it's good that I'm hiding under the car, or the lights would have blinded me. I hear some cursing and I guess some of them were taken by surprise. Soon, one of them gets in the car and we start moving. It takes all of my concentration to keep holding on. I'm not sure what's the name of the part I'm holding onto, but it starts heating as we move and soon it's really hard to hold on, my paws are getting burnt and I want to let go, but I'm not sure it's safe yet.

I hold on as long as I can, and just as the heat is getting unbearable, I smell forest all around us, and I no longer hear human noises. I fall, landing in the middle of a country road, and immediately run to the cover of plants. I follow the car's advance, and when it doesn't stop, I decide that he didn't see me and that I'm safe.

I have no idea where I am, but at least I'm outside. I really regret not listening to my parents, they told me that I needed to stay close, but I wanted to explore and believed I was grown enough to be on my own in what I believed was a safe environment.

Now that I'm alone, my mind keeps going to the problems I have to face. I have no idea where I am, I can't go ask for help since I don't know who to trust, and my parents must be mad at me for disobeying them. I hate that I had to leave the boy behind, but he told me to leave, so I'm just doing what he asked, even if the excuse sounds bad even to my own ears.

I follow the road from the cover of the bushes and trees. We are in a pretty isolated place, and soon I can't hear the car, nor any other sounds. I'm pretty sure there's no one around. I try every trick I remember on how to find my way home, but this is not my territory, and I don't recognize anything. I hate it, and I feel useless, but that's what it is, I just have to keep going.

I have no idea how late it was when got out of that place, but I see light coming back, and I decide it would be best to find a place to hide during the day, so I can rest. I did manage to get some of the food they left me when I shifted back to my human form, but it wasn't much, and I'm sure I will get hungry soon. I want my mommy and my daddy. I go to find shelter and soon find a hollow tree that would be perfect. I get inside and try to find a comfortable position and go to sleep.

I wake up a couple of times, but there's still light outside, and I don't want to risk someone seeing me. I don't know if the area has animals of my kind, so maybe I will stand out if someone sees me, something I can't risk. By the time night falls, I'm hungry and thirsty and more afraid than before. I start moving, but my priorities have changed, I need to drink something. I use my senses to find water, and eventually I find a shallow brook. Once I get my fill of water, I remember that someone once told me that the best way to find people, is to follow the water. A brook will eventually lead to a creek, then to a stream, eventually to a river, and at some point I will find a town. So that's what I do, I follow the water.

I get to a bigger stream and find some fish to eat. Eating raw meat is not so yucky when I'm in animal form, and I can't really get picky knowing that it might be a while for me to find some human food. I eat my food and keep going until the sky starts to lighten. I know that I need to stop again, and eventually I find a fallen log where I can hide. I go there and soon after I hear humans coming my way. One of the voices sounds older than the other, and from his talk I guess they are a grandfather and his grandson, and it seems the grandson is not happy to be here so early. 

At first, I was scared that there were people nearby, but it soon becomes obvious that they are not part of the bad guys, and when the kid complains that he had to leave his cell phone in the car, I feel like I'm finally getting a break, if I can get the phone, I can call my parents!

Getting out of my hiding spot without alerting the humans is easy, they are too focused on the fishing, and finding my way back to their car is not that difficult, their trail is still fresh, so following the scent is a piece of cake. I manage to get to their pickup truck, and I risk shifting to try and open the doors, but they are locked. I walk around and see that the back window is slightly open. I go and after a while I manage to open it wide enough for my animal form to slip in. I find two cellphones and I quickly shift to try them. The newer one is blocked, but the older one is not, and I can easily make a call with it, but I need to get out to do that, it would be troublesome if they come back and find me in their car, naked, and holding their cell phones. Holding on to the phone it's tricky as a cat and it takes longer than I wanted to get back out, and then I have to find a hidden place to make the call. It takes me a while to find the perfect spot and finally be able to shift again and dial my parent's number. I'm exhausted from shifting so much, and it takes me a few tries before I dial the correct number. I'm holding my breath as it rings.

"Hello? Who is this?" I hear my mom's voice.

"Mommy?" I ask, my voice breaking.

"Ava? Is that you, sweetheart? Where are you?" 

My mom keeps asking me questions, but just hearing her voice broke me and I'm openly crying right now, unable to speak and answer her questions.