Hurricane Cats

I wrote this during lunch. If you are familiar with Galveston, Texas, before Hurricane Ike, then this story takes place off of 61st street, behind the old Popeye's Chicken near the old HEB. Hope you enjoy.

Don't worry, the Dragons are still flying around in my head! They haven't gone anywhere. In the meantime, enjoy a bit of a story about Big Boy and Baby Girl, titled "Hurricane Cats."

The big, old Tom meowed loudly as he sniffed around the back of the building.  He could usually find something to eat where the humans dumped things. Despite the danger, this was one of their better spots for food. The humans were lazy and sometimes just dropped the bags on the ground, saving them trouble of climbing into the big, metal box.

He glanced back at a pair of big grey eyes, that watched him carefully from the deep grass beyond the edge of the pavement. She wouldn’t come out until he told her it was safe, and he had managed to find something for them to eat. He poked around among the bags, analyzing the many smells. After a few tries, he found one that seemed promising, promptly ripping it open with his front claws. He was immediately rewarded by a large number of chicken parts that tumbled out onto the ground. He turned back to signal his mate, but she had been watching him, and was already half way across the pavement from her hiding spot. He returned his attention to the chicken, sniffing them appraisingly to find a suitable piece as the little female helped herself to a drumstick.

A cool wind, blowing in off the gulf, sent a chill over them as they ate their dinner. They paused again to look around, sniffing the air, knowing that the wind meant a storm was coming. They would need to return to their home soon, before the weather turned worse and it started to rain. They paused from their feast, cautiously glancing around, knowing that the humans could interrupt them at any time. The little female paused, her teeth still hurting from their last run-in with the humans, abandoned the drumstick in search of something softer. She found another piece that suited her tender mouth and dug in.

A strong gust of wind startled them from their meal, sending the trash and debris skittering around them. The sudden, loud screeching of the rusty metal door on the back of the building was all of the warning they had, as two of the humans stepped out of the building. The little cat quickly abandoned her meal, darting back into the tall grass. The big cat quickly followed her, but not before grabbing another large hunk of chicken from the ripped bag. The humans shouted, but the two cats were gone before they could react. He quickly joined her on the far side of the grassy yard, where she had taken shelter under the edge of a woodpile, alongside of a old garage. She watched as he dropped the food in front of her, turning his attention to the two humans, who were still yelling at them. 

Suddenly something thumped against the wall above them. They froze, not sure if the humans had discovered their hiding spot. Much to their surprise, a piece of chicken landed on the ground in front of their hiding place. The big Tom didn’t hesitate, darting quickly out to secure the piece, and drag it back into the safety of their hide. By the time he returned, the female was tentatively licking the piece he had carried over. He meowed approvingly at her, settling down in the deep grass and the safety of their hide to enjoy the piece that had fallen out of the sky. 

The wind continued to blow, as the rain began to fall. They continued to feed, knowing they would eat as long as they could before retreating to their den. They could tell it was going to be a big storm, but they were not worried. Their den was strong, and had protected them from the humans and storms for a long time.