Эндрю Маккей: Star Cat: War Mage

“Just do it. Full throttle.”

Jelly huffed and puffed. Her belly glowed a hot pink through her exo-suit top. She strained her stomach muscles and kicking her boots against the ground, “Oh, God … it’s coming, it’s coming…”

Tripp, Jaycee, and Alex looked at the holograph footage of Saturn as per the view from the back of the ship.

“If you believe in God, now’s the time to pray…” Tripp said, quietly.

The kitten shuffled around in his arms and meowed its first.

The sun had set.

The only light provided on the road came from the occasional street lamp and the full moon.

An engine from a 4x4 rumbled beside one of many trees by the road.

Grace held her flashlight against the trees in a hunt for the escaped felines, “Here kitty-kitty-kitty. Where are you?”

A rectangular geo-scan hung above her flashlight. Several purple dots beeped as a blue radar swirled around. She held her finger to her ear and spoke into her mouthpiece.

“Siyam, they’re here somewhere,” she clocked a similar flashlight a few feet away.

“I know, I’m getting the same reading,” Siyam responded through her headgear, “Two clicks further.”

“I hope they’re willing to come with us. I don’t get it, they usually respond.”

“It’s unlike them to stay in packs. Usually they’re—”

A rustling coming from a bush by the road stopped him talking. Grace grew nervous, “What was that noise?”

Siyam waved his flashlight around, “By the road. Highway thirty-seven. Move.”

The trees seem to come to life as the pair turned around and made their way to the road.

A giant gale rustled the branches and blew Grace’s hair back across her neck, “Hey, what’s that noise?”

WHUDDA-WHUDDA-WHUDDA.

A deafening noise pushed the gale across their faces.

“Chopper. It’s one of USARIC’s,” Siyam kept an eye on the purple blips on the his geo-scan as he ran over to Grace, “Look. Up there.”

A fierce-looking black helicopter with tandem rotors hovered over the freeway and blasted its lights onto the road, “This is the United States and Russian Intergalactic Confederation,” a male voice announced through its speakers, “Make yourselves know immediately.”

Grace turned to Siyam and exhaled, “That’s it. We’re busted.”

He clutched her arm and held her back, “No, wait. I don’t think they’re talking to us.”

The helicopter lowered. The blades of grass and dust kicked across the ground.

“I repeat, come out now and await rescue.”

Grace tapped Siyam on the shoulder. She’d seen something crawl out of the bush by the stores.

“Look, over there.”

“Oh, wow,” Siyam gasped as he watch the Egyptian Mau bolt into the middle of the freeway.

Two cars blared their horns and screeched to a halt, narrowly avoiding contact with the cat.

She made herself comfortable in the middle of the road and looked up at the blinding light coming from the helicopter, “Meow.”

“Good. Stay where you are,” said a USARIC mercenary sitting at the opened door to the helicopter, “Where are the others?”

“Meow,” Mau growled and looked at the floor.

“What is she doing?” Grace lowered her flashlight and stepped forward, “I’m going to take her—”

“—Christ’s sake, no . They’ll open fire on us. On her .”

“We can’t just leave her there,” Grace whispered. “They’ll take her back.”

A chorus of ‘meows’ snaked through the trees. Several cats emerged and joined their leader on the road.

“That’s right, you fluffy idiots,” the USARIC mercenary said through his megaphone, “Out you come. Nice and slow.”

Another merc pushed forward as the helicopter hovered to the liquor store’s parking lot. He produced a mini gun and attached it to the frame of the hatch, “Just tell me when.”

“Drivers,” The merc said, “Exit your vehicles and make your way to the parking lot, please.”

The drivers in each car jumped out and ran under a giant vertical billboard advertising Rollneck Kojak beer. A neon image of a bald-headed man blinked underneath its logo.

“Meow,” The Egyptian Mau stood up and walked around in a circle, forcing her twenty-nine peers to stop moving. They sat on their haunches, randomly dotted all over the road.

Grace reached into her belt and retrieved her handgun, “They’re not taking those cats and abusing them.”

“Grace, don’t. Look at them, we’re outnumbered. We’re too late. They beat us to it.”

“I’ll take as many of those bastards out as I can,” Grace bit her lip to prevent herself from crying, “I don’t c-care if I die.”

Siyam grabbed her shoulder and sidled into her, “Well I do. You’re no use to any of us dead , are you?”

Grace lowered her gun, resigned to defeat.

“You wanna end up like Handax? Like Denny, Moses, and Leif? Then go out there and go down in a blaze of glory. Just know that you don’t have our blessing.”

She swiped his hand away from her shoulder and fell to her knees, “Let go of me.”

The helicopter’s landing gear hit the ground, kicking up a giant whirlwind of dust. The armed Mercenary jumped out and swung his machine gun at the Egyptian Mau, “There you are. Stay right there.”

He waved his colleague out of the vehicle.

“Get the net. Tell base we’ve located the rest of them.”

SNAAARRRLLLLL!

The Egyptian Mau looked up at the full moon along with her peers.

“Hey, you,” the merc shouted over the noise of helicopter’s rotors, “Stay where you are.”

His colleague hopped out of the helicopter with a giant net in his hands. He unraveled the ends and yanked them taut, “Ready to capture.”

The Egyptian Mau wasn’t impressed. She stood on all fours and showed the men her ass, and faced her peers. A tiny white spark erupted a few inches to the left of the moon, a billion miles away from Earth.

“Meow,” she cried.

All the cats howled with her. They turned to the mercenary as he aimed his gun at the Egyptian Mau.

“What are you doing?” he said with a heart full of fear, “It’s weird.”

“Meeeeooowww,” the Mau growled and scraped her paws on the gravel.

“Oh no… no-no-no…” Siyam eyes widened, “They’re not going to—”

“— Jesus Christ ,” Grace held her breath.

A standoff occurred between the two men and the thirty cats, “Don’t anybody move or I’ll blow her damned head off,” he shouted, hoping the cats understood English.

They didn’t comprehend the instruction but knew a threat when they saw it. Now was the time to act.

“MEEEOOOOOOOOWWW,” All thirty cats shrieked and launched toward the armed mercenary.

“No, get back!” He opened fire on the stampede of felines. A flurry of them trampled over the parked cars and cracked the windscreen as they bounded toward him.

The Egyptian Mau nodded the two white bobtails ahead.

BLAM-BLAM-BLAM!

The mercenary fired at the cats. The ones who didn’t get hit bolted towards him.

“Get back you vicious, little shi—”

ROOOWWAAAAARRRR!

“Look! They’re gonna kill him.”

“There’s nothing we can do,” Siyam spluttered in amazement, “Keep back.”

The Egyptian Mau jumped into the air claws-first and punctured the mercenary’s visor. A jut of blood splattered up the inside. She dug her hind legs into his chest and ravaged his face, “Meow!”