Rescue

'I can't do it anymore. I'm too tired, too cold, too uncaring. I'll just find some place out of the way to die. Wow, that's a depressing thought.' Alice curls up under a cardboard box in a trash-filled alley. Her ears lay forward and her tail curls around her bare feet. Her clothes, which are the wrong size and falling apart, barely hold in the heat against the November chill. Alice falls asleep shivering.

The feel of her world tilting wakes her. Her cat instincts urge her to jump away from the impending danger; however, they abandon her upon landing. She tumbles from the cardboard and lands in a crumpled heap on the cold ground. Alice cries out in pain as her leg gives out beneath her.

The man operating the trash truck watches the body fall from the pile of cardboard and turns his truck off to investigate. He carefully walks over to Alice, noticing how homeless she looks, and then he sees the cat ears and tail.

"Are you okay?" Christopher reaches out a hand towards her.

Alice hisses, showing her small pointed teeth, her ears press flat against her skull. Christopher hastily snatches his hand back. She tries to stand and run off, but with a yelp of pain, she falls back to the ground and holds her leg close to her chest.

"Can I help you?"

Her cat instinct demand for continued independence, but the logically thinking human side of her knows that without help she would die cold, alone, in pain and soon. She slowly nods her head, ears still pressed flat against her head. As Christopher reaches towards her again, her eyes flicker between his hands and his face. Her tail twitches nervously behind her.

He carefully lifts her, somewhat shocked at how light she is. Alice wraps an arm around his neck, holding on tightly in case he decides to drop her. He carries her over to the cab of the trash truck.

He settles her on the passenger seat, and she releases her death grip around his neck. After seconds of indecision, he also takes his grey knit cap off his head and places it on hers. He turns the heat up and points the blowers towards her. She presses her hands against them, her tail settles on the seat next to her. Christopher shuts the door and goes around to the driver's side.

They drive in silence, finishing the last few stops of trash pickup and then driving to the landfill. Christopher checks his car into the lot, telling her to stay inside while he clocks out. He carefully carries her to his car, gentle around her leg. He puts her in the back seat, telling her to buckle herself in and prop her leg up along the seat next to her.

He starts the car and seeing that she is still shivering turns the heat on high and points the blowers towards her. He starts driving home, angling his rearview mirror so he can see her.

Alice settles into the soft worn fabric of the seat. Her leg is swollen and painful, but she pushes it from her mind. The car smells. The layer of fast food wrappers coating the floor, mixed with the air fresheners, mixed with the lingering trash odor bend into an almost pleasant aroma. She blinks a few times, then a few more, before closing them and falling asleep. Christopher smiles to himself as her tail continues to twitch slightly, hoping she fell asleep because she felt safe and not just because of pain and exhaustion.

He stops at the store on the way home. He needs dinner for himself and decides to pick up a few things he thinks the girl in the car would like. He leaves the car running with Alice still sleeping warm with the heat blasting on her. At checkout, he has a half gallon of milk, a few cans of soup, and a box of pizza rolls.

When he gets back in his car, the sound of the door shutting wakes Alice who blinks her eyes wide and then goes back to sleep seeing that everything is fine. He keeps the radio turned off and continues to drive home.

When Christopher turns the car off in his garage, Alice immediately wakes up. He turns around in his seat and looks at her. "Let's go inside. Do you want me to carry you again?"

Alice quickly shakes her head no, and then slowly nods yes.

Christopher walks around to her door, and lifts her out of the car. He's surprised again by how small and light she is. He carries her over to the couch and puts her down, she releases her hold on him and he walks back to get the groceries.

She looks around the rooms she's in. Two worn fabric couches, a bookcase with more knickknacks than books on it. The walls are a rusty red color, and the carpet looks soft to lie on. The fireplace below the TV, is currently dead, but shows signs of frequent use.

Christopher comes back into the house with the groceries. Alice watches him walk past the rooms she's in, to the kitchen. A few minutes of near silence later, he comes into the room. He sits on the couch across the table from her.

"Hello."

She just looks at him. Her tail lazily flicks back and forth.

Realizing that she hasn't spoken a single word since he met her, he asks, "Can you speak?"

Alice nods her head yes.

"Can I ask you some questions?"

She nods again.

"Do you have a name?"

She glares at him, insulted, and nods.

"You're not making this easy." Christopher sighs in exasperation. "What's your name?"

"Alice." Her voice is soft and sweet, higher pitched and much younger than he expected.

"Alice?"

She nods.

"Do you have a last name?"

She shakes her head no. "Why would I need one of those?"

"Most people have one. It shows that you belong to someone."

"I don't belong to anyone. I am my own person." She snaps at him.

"Alright. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to offend you. How old are you?"

Alice shrugs and refuses to meet his eyes.

"Do you know how old you are?"

She shakes her head.

"Do you know how long you've been on the streets?"

"I don't know. Awhile, but I had a home once. I think so anyway."

"Alright. Why don't you go get washed up, and I'll make us some dinner."

Alice slowly gets up off the couch. She pulls the hat off her head, putting it on the table between them. "Where's the…"

"Second door on the left is the bathroom. Towels are in the closet in there. Take as long as you need."

She nods in acknowledgement, and limps into the room he told her to go. Her tail sways behind her for balance.

As she goes into the bathroom, Christopher goes into the kitchen to start dinner.

It's a simple meal of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, but Alice eats it as if it's the best meal in the world. Christopher watches over her, telling her to slow down so she wouldn't get sick. He looks at her, taking note of her appearance now that it's not covered in street filth.

She wears one of his old button-down shirts, and even though she's buttoned it all the way up, it still hangs off one shoulder. She's rolled the sleeves up to reveal her small, pale hands. Her hair, which falls to the middle of her back, is a strawberry blond color that is lighter than her ears and tail, which have some black in them. Her bright blue-green eyes peered at him from a pale face with slight freckling. She bites on her bottom lip under his scrutiny, her tiny fangs piercing it.

Noticing the tangled, almost matted look of her hair, Christopher asks, "Have you brushed your hair?"


She looks at him with her head cocked to the side.

"Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Alice nods her head yes.

"Would you like me to brush it for you after dinner?"

She fingers her hair, wincing as her hand is caught in a tangle. She quickly nods yes.

Christopher gives up trying to carry a conversation with her, and they finish the meal to sound of spoons scraping the bowls.

After dinner he helps her walk back into the living room, then goes to his room and gets his hairbrush.

"You'll have to sit with your back to me."

Alice looks at him warily, and then turns her back to him.

Christopher lifts her hair off her neck, placing it all behind her shoulders so he has access to it. He starts at the bottom and slowly works his way up; being gentle around the knots.

Halfway through he notices that Alice is purring. A soft continuous croon from deep in her throat. Her eyes are half closed and most of the tension leaves her body. He continues to brush her hair even after all the knots and tangles are gone, just to keep hearing the purr.

She's almost asleep, and leaning against the back of the couch. She rubs her cheek against it, very catlike.

Christopher quietly asks, "You ready to go to sleep?"

"Mmhmm. Seepy." She mumbles, already half-asleep.

Christopher puts the brush on the table and gets a blanket.

She lies down on the couch and he covers her with the blanket. "Good night. Sweet dreams." Alice is already asleep.

He goes into his room, and set his alarm for work tomorrow before going to sleep himself.