A Stroke of Luck
1981 Words
Chapter 5
The car had gotten her into one of the outer middle lanes, so she couldn’t see much, but its map showed when she left Louisville. Tanya turned off the map with the red dots. It didn’t go past the city limits. Just outside the city, there was a huge traffic jam. Everyone had to figure out where they wanted to go. George had left by the northwest exit, and she followed. The hovercar wiggled and swerved through the slowly lightening traffic. After dipping slightly over the Ohio River, they continued on over the dark plains, barely lit even with an almost-full moon.
“We have now entered Indiana,” the car told her.
How has the world changed so quickly? she wondered. Just two days ago, she had been innocent and excited for the meteor shower, promised to be the best in a hundred years because of its size. And here she was, following a man she barely knew through the deserted parts of southeastern Indiana, hoping he knew somewhere to hide from the giant rats that had hatched out of fake meteors. The world had gone insane, that was it. The world had just gone insane, and they were hiding, waiting for it to come to its senses. Even the sky knew it. The moon hung like a single tear, as if the night were crying for the Earth’s terror.
Oh, stop it, she told herself. "As if the night were crying for the Earth's terror"? What am I, a melodramatic poet? Think about normal things. Happy things.
At least she had her cat, although Handful clearly thought Tanya was in charge of all the world-flipping going on. She was pointedly ignoring her, washing her tail in long, neat strokes. Cat grudges were oddly adorable, and Tanya smiled at the sight.
Eventually, the hovercar picked up the orange beacon of an open base and turned towards it, government protocols overriding her commands. Not like it mattered. George was going there, too. Tanya’s car followed his maneuvers as two cars came up from the base. One approached him, but the other one came to her.
“Name and occupation, please,” the other driver said.
“Tanya Kerrigan. I work with computer voices in Louisville.”
“How did you find us?” he asked, sounding suspicious.
“I’m a friend of George Whitfield’s,” she said, hoping it was the truth.
“All right. He’s just arrived. I’ll take you down. Seraphina can show the two of you around the base itself.” After a hair-raising descent, all four cars slipped down a tunnel and into what could best be described as the biggest single-story parking garage Tanya had ever seen. She followed George and the woman who had been driving the other car, shortening Handful’s leash to five feet in the restricted space. The cat pushed against the force field for a few seconds, then gave up. Her striped tail waved gracefully as she sauntered back to Tanya like the whole thing was entirely her idea.
They wandered through the entire base, backwards and forwards, left and right. It's a maze, Tanya decided. Like the ones for mice, only bigger. Finally, they arrived at a metal door marked only with a DNA scanner. George and the woman, who must be Seraphina, talked for a while, then turned around, heading back towards her. She barely had time to tug Handful along into a dark open room before they passed. It would be humiliating if they found her. She didn’t want to look like a crazy stalker lady. The woman headed in what Tanya was pretty sure was the direction of the garage, while George headed back the way they had come. With a sigh of relief, Tanya stepped out of hiding. Another crisis temporarily averted.
“May I see your cat?” a man asked from behind her. Tanya jumped as she spun around. Handful, of course, made the turn look graceful and dignified.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He seemed to be in his fifties, with blond hair almost as pale as hers.
“It’s all right. I guess I’m just a bit jumpy tonight.”
“Aren’t we all?” He smiled, and Tanya relaxed. “May I see your cat?” he asked again.
“Of course, if she’ll let you.” Handful looked at the stranger cautiously, then slowly advanced towards him.
“That’s a nice kitty, that’s a sweet thing.” He slowly extended a hand for her to sniff, and Tanya relaxed further. The man clearly understood how to treat animals. Handful examined his hand thoroughly, then let him pet her.
“What’s her name?” he asked.
“Handful.”
“Nice name.” Handful retreated, and he let her. “And yours?” he asked, standing.
“Tanya Kerrigan.”
“Dr. Robert Daniels. Pleased to meet you.” They shook hands.
“I’m happy to see this fine girl here, and in such good condition.”
“Yeah, she’s probably a bit spoiled,” Tanya said with a small smile.
“But not too much, I can tell. You take good care of her.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you be willing to help us with a study?” he asked.
“What kind of study?”
“A study to determine if we can use cats to fight these giant rats.” Tanya laughed.
“You guys are fast,” she said. “The rats have been around for what, an hour? Two? And you already have plans to stop them?”
“The idea has been around for a while. We just couldn’t get anyone to agree with it. But we think they’ll allow it now. Come this way.” Dr. Daniels led them to the door the woman and George had looked at and tapped the scanner. The door slid open silently, and they stepped inside. Tanya’s jaw dropped.
“Wow.” There were cats everywhere. Solid colors, bicolors, tabbies, tortoiseshells and calicoes rose gracefully to their feet. She could see at least one example of every cat color she’d ever heard of. Kittens came bounding up to the edges of their cages to examine the new cat, while the full-grown ones looked suspiciously at the strange human. Each cage had a name, age, description, and a letter and number sequence. Tanya had no idea where to look first.
“I have never seen so many cats together in my life,” she finally said. The adoption fees alone must have been thousands of dollars, much less the upkeep.
“I can tell.” Dr. Daniels smiled, pleased by her reaction. “We need people who know how to take care of cats, and you seem to qualify. However, anyone in the study is sworn to secrecy. We can’t let word get out about what we’re doing. If you agree, you will help take care of the cats, and you can use our supplies for Handful.” He pulled out a tiny screen. “Here are the details.”
Tanya scanned it, excited. She would be cleaning the cages and making sure the cats were fed and taken care of properly. She would also keep an eye on them to see if they started acting strangely. If they did, she was to report it immediately to the research director, him. If they wanted Handful for the study, she would be informed of the situation and allowed to decide one way or the other.
“All right. What do I need to do to accept this?”
“Put your finger over the sensor, and it’s done.” She did, wincing slightly. She’d never quite gotten used to the sensation of peeling her finger off the DNA/fingerprint collecting pad.
“There we are. The door ought to accept your fingerprint now. Come back at 7:00 tomorrow morning and you can get started.” She turned to go, but a call stopped her.
“Ms. Kerrigan? I’m Felicia Hernandez. I have the shift after yours, and I’d be pleased to take care of your cat while you’re working. We have a little room, nice and out of the way, where she can run around as much as she wants.” Handful’s ears perked up at the description of the room, and Tanya turned to face the speaker. She looked to be about thirty-five, with beautiful dark brown hair and eyes, and skin the gorgeous color of the pseudoak table behind her. Beside her, Tanya felt even more washed out than she usually did.
“Could I see it?” she asked.
“Of course. Right this way.” Felicia led them to a room, small but out of the way. Its main feature was a scratching post that must have been six feet tall, with perches and platforms everywhere. All four walls projected images of birds and small rodents hopping and skittering around. There were even hidden speakers matching sounds to the animals’ movements. It was kitty paradise. Handful purred loudly, straining against the leash’s force field.
“Wow. Wow. This is perfect.” Tanya said. Felicia beamed.
“I’m glad you think so. Dr. Daniels has already approved the arrangement, so I’ll see you in the morning, then?”
“Yes. Come on, girl.” Tanya had to drag Handful out of the room almost by brute force. These people certainly knew how to make cats happy. I am so lucky I followed George, she thought. I'll get to take care of all these kitties, and it can even be my job!
Her first day working with the cats was incredible. In six hours, she got to know almost half of the seventy-three cats. She learned which ones absolutely adored being held and which ones would turn into balls of teeth and claws if she even considered the possibility. She got to play with the excited ones and brush the calm ones and make sure all the cages were nice and clean. She left at one o’clock, almost dragging Handful behind her, and wasn’t sure which one of them had enjoyed her shift more.
She headed to the mess hall for a late lunch. It was almost deserted, and she welcomed the quiet until she heard a familiar voice.
“Tanya? What are you doing here?” George demanded. She’d hoped this wouldn’t happen quite so quickly. It was still early enough in the evacuation process that he could get her kicked out.
“I, um, I, I followed you,” she admitted.
“You did what?” he screeched.
“I followed you. I don’t have many friends. Most people don’t want anything to do with me, because they don’t want to be in the boat when I tip it over. You were the first person I thought of who might have some idea where to go.”
“Seriously? You couldn’t think of anyone else? Anyone at all? Not even your family?”
“My family and I aren’t really on speaking terms,” she answered coolly. George looked away. His shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep breath.
“Well, you’re here now,” he said, resigned, and that was the end of the matter.
- Writer
