26 It had been fortunate that years of precautionary instinct had me drawing my knife well before I had approached the run-down house. Still unused to the ambient noise, I was taken off guard when a man rushed me from behind. He had the advantage of surprise, but that was nothing compared to my centuries of well-honed survival instincts. I easily dodged the heavy rock he swung at my head, and in one swift motion, I extracted my knife and sunk the blade deep into his shoulder. The man doubled over in what I thought was pain but instead had cleverly used the motion to scoop up a handful of dirt that he then flung at my face. Blinded for some minutes, I was unable to prevent him from fleeing, but I knew he would not go far. His attack verified that I had finally found where Cat had been taken
