Chapter 3-Stray

The Supermarket On A Rainy Night Was A Serene And Calming Experience. The Rain Was Coming Down Steadily, And The Sound Of The Rain Trickling Down The Window Was Both Peaceful And Relaxing. Inside The Supermarket, The Warm Lighting And Soft Music Were Combined With The Smell Of Fresh Produce, Making Everything Feel Cozy And Inviting.

The Raindrops On The Windows Added To The Atmosphere, And People Were Walking Slowly And Quietly Through The Rows Of Shelves, Making Their Selections From The Many Options. It Was A Tranquil And Relaxing Environment, And It Was The Perfect Place To Escape From The Stress Of The Outside World. Travis Meanwhile Was Loading Stuff Into The Trucks In The Loading Bay, He Had Worked Here For A Long Time.

This Job Did Make Him Money But Just Enough To Support Himself After His Parents Died He Lost Everything And Figured To Live Alone In Isolation As He Couldn't Overcome The Trauma. "Damn It... Why Does It Always To Rain!" He Sighs As Rain Hit His Face As The Sound Of Forklits Carrying Entire Packages Of Food Echoed Through The Back Of The Store.

"Just An Average Day At Work Ey? Hahaha" His Boss Patted His Back, Travis Scowled, "Yeah Whatever" He Sighed. "Well You Can Pack It Up Shifts Over For Tonight Everyone's Left And The Supplies Have Been Delivered So Go Home Back To You're Family Or Something" He Nodded Before Walking Off. Travis Was In Deep Though After He Mentioned The Word "Family" He Had Lost His Family Not Long Ago. He Wished Everyday That He Could Go Back To Those Warm And Fuzzy Days.

As He Packed Up His Bag And Clocked Out He Left The Supermarket The Rain Falling Heavily On His Cheek. He Sat On The Bus Stop Waiting For His Transport To Come Unfortunately He Never Had A Car Due To Not Being Able To Buy Necessities Such As A Car Due To His Bare Minimum Wage Job.

As He Entered The Bus, It Was Empty Which Wasn't A Surprise Since Many Did Not Work A Demanding Job Like He Did As He Sat Down He Watched Outside The Rain Falling Against The Windows As He Contemplated His Life And The Road He Took. "I Wish I Could Go Back But Nothing Will Change Not Even God Can Fix My Miserable Life" He Sighed After About A 10 Minutes He Arrived Back Home.

His Home Was A Simple Flat It Seemed Dilapidated And Almost Battered Because Of The Old Age Even The Door Looked Like It Was Falling Apart. As He Entered There Was A Couch A Sleeping Bag And Just A Table In The Kitchen. Upstairs Was The Bathroom With A Shower (That Didn't Work) And Another Spare Room. It Was A Big Standard House In Summary. Most Food Was Microwaved Or Toasted If It Was Bread.

As He Layed Down His Bag He Sat Down Stretching, "At Least Tomorrow Is A Break... Maybe I Can Do Something Productive Even If My Life Is Nothing But Shit" He Sighs. He Took Out A Simple Boxed Macaroni Meal And Began Devouring It, It's Probably The Most Delicious Food He'll Ever Eat. After He Finished He Threw The Box In The Bin Ans Layed Into His Sleeping Bag.

Staring At The Ceiling He Kept Thinking What If Life Turned Out Different But The Answer... Probably Nobody Knew Not Even Him. He Tucked Himself In And Closed His Eyes, Hoping Tomorrow Will Be A Better Day.

The Morning Was Beautiful. The Sun Was Shining Brightly, And The Sky Was A Clear And Pleasant Blue. The Air Was Fresh And Clean. The Day Was Just Starting, And The Possibilities Of A New Day Lay Ahead. It Was A Wonderful And Serene Time Of Peace, And It Was The Perfect Opportunity To Take A Moment And Appreciate The Beauty Of Nature And The World Around.

It Was A Peaceful And Relaxing Time To Reflect On Life, And To Take A Moment To Breath And Take In The Beauty Of The Morning. As Travis Woke Up He Felt Refreshed Like Today Was Gonna Be A Better Day Than Usual As He Leaped Out Of Bed Getting Changed Into His Usual Shirt And Joggers Not Wearing Too Much Due To The Blazing Heat.

"Mmm Finally Today Is The Day That I Can Do Something That Will Make Me Happy For Once In A While" He Breathed In The Fresh Air. As He Walked Outside The Warm Heat Blowing Against His Face He Decided To Head To The Town Centre And See What He Could Do.

As He Walked In Deep Thought Still Deciding On What To Do, His Mind Full Of Ideas However Many Were Rejected Due To His Low Income, He Stumbled Upon A Cat Adoption Centre. "Hmm I Think I Know What I Need... A Companion To Look After Me, Bingo!" He Nodded Before Entering. The Inside Was Bright, Colourful And Cheery It Seemed That Cats And Kittens Were Kept Under Good Condition Judging By The Beautiful Smell And How Everything Looked.

An Old Woman Walked Up To Him A Minute Later, "Oh Young Lad You Seem To Be Looking For Something... A Companion I Presume?" The Lady Asked With Her Smile Her Wrinkly Old Face Which Made It Seem Almost Innocent. "Uh Sure I'd Like To Take A Look At Some" He Nods, The Old Lady Was In Deep Thought As She Looked Him Up And Down "I Think I Know The Perfect One For You, Follow Me" She Requested.

"Uh Sure" He Follows Her As He Saw Many Cats In Colourful And Bright Large Cages Some Were Even Able To Roam Around Freely. The Old Lady Stopped Before Pointing To A Small Bright Green Cage As She Opened It Travis Could See A Tabby Cat However He Seemed Scared And Almost Anxious Shaking Repeatedly.

"This Is Otis... He Seems To Isolate Himself A lot And Fears Humans No One Has Ever Adopted Him Which Breaks My Heart If Only Someone Would Give Him A Home.. " She Sighed Travis Looked At It In Deep Thought, In A Way A Cat Almost Reflected Him And How He Was Always Isolating Himself Because Of Trauma He Thought Maybe They Could Help Each other And Fix Both Their Problems Together.

"I'll Take Him" Travis Smiled Before Nodding "You Will?!" The Lady Seemed Shocked Almost Like She Just Saw A Ghost As Travis Bent Down He Lent His Hand Out, Otis Was Still In A Corner Shaking However Later It Stopped As The First Time In Forever He Actually Moved A Brushed Himself Up Against Travis's Hand Purring Sweetly, It Was A Beautiful Sight.

"Well Thanks You Are A Real Help" She Nodded She Then Handed Him A Clipboard With A Paper Titled "Buddy Form" "This Is To Register You To Our Sister Along With You're Buddy So You Can Be Notified When He Needs Vaccinations And All That Stuff" She Smiled. Travis Quickly Signed It While Holding His New Buddy Tightly.

"Well Thank You I Hope To See You And You're Buddy Get On Well" She Waved As Travis Left Cradling The Cat In His Arm Like A Baby, The Animal Purred In Delight It Seemingly Already Grew Attached Instantly.

"Hmm You'll Need Some Toys And Food" He Thought As He Looked On His Phone For The Closest Pet Store, "Hmm There's One Down The Block" He Nodded As He Still Clutched The Cat In His Arms Like It Was Already A Prized Possession To Him. Later He Entered The Store Browsing The Different Necessities He Needed For Otis.

After About 45 Minutes, He Came Out The Store His Hands Holding Two Large Bags Otis Was Curled Up Around His Neck Sleeping Peacefully. "Huh The Little Critter Is Asleep? That's Surprising Especially In This Burning Heat" He Yawned As He Made His Way Home Sweat Dripping From Him At A Quick Pace, His Skin Becoming Almost Slimy Feeling.

As He Arrived Home, He Layed Down The Cats "Bed" Next To His Sleeping Bag And Also Placed Down Two Bowls One For Drinking And One For Eating. The Cat Sat Patiently As He Poured The Water And Poured Down The Cat Food, It Gave Off A Smelly Aroma But He Had To Feed Him Somehow.

Just Before He Was Heading To Bed His Phone Rang Causing It Vibrate Rapidly As Travis Picked It Up The Caller ID Was His Boss As He Answered The Bosses Voice Came On With A Tired Tone. "Oh... Uh You There Travis?" He Asked Clearly Not Awake Properly "Oh Yeah I'm Here What Do You Need?" He Asked Interested. "Well I Need You To Work Longer Sorry But Tons Of People Have Quit So You're One Of My Best Men" He Yawned.

"Wait But You Promised That I'd Get More Breaks!" Travis Argued But His Boss Already Hung. Otis Was Listening As He Dug Into His Cat Food And Almost Looked Disgusted When He Heard The News. "Well Bud I Guess You'll Be Alone Longer" He Sighed Crouching And Stroking The Cat As The Cat Smiled And Purred In Delight.

"Anyway Goodnight Otis" He Layed Down Into His Sleeping Bag Staring At Otis Making Sure He Was Ok, Otis Was His Top Priority Now As He Was His Only Companion. Travis Soon Closed His Eyes As He Drifted Off Into Deep Sleep His Mind Wandering To A Perfect Dream As Usual A Dream Which Let's Him Escape This Current World.

The Next Day, He Was Already Heading To Work He Decided To Leave Otis It Wasn't A Good Idea But He Had To Make Money Somehow When He Arrived His Manager Was Already Waiting On Him. "Oh I'm Glad You Made It... Well I Knew You Come Anyway Because Then I'd Dock You're Pay" He Chuckled.

"We Just Need Some Boxes Being Put Up On The Shelves" He Looked At His Clipboard Travis Nodding With A Tired Expression Due To Hearing Metal Scraping All Night. "Right Get To It Boy We Ain't Got All Day" He Sighed Pointing To The Forklift As Travis Got To Work.

As Travis Was Busy Putting Up Boxes And Pallets On Shelves, The Manager Went To His Office Taking Out A Cigarette. "This Idiot Will Do Anything For A Dime" He Chuckled Taking A Puff. "He Doesn't Even Know That He's Nothing But A Slave To Me" He Chuckled. However Suddenly His Vase Fell Over In The Corner Of His Eye. "Huh Who's There?" He Got Up From His Seat Instantly.

As He Went To Examine It He Heard Hissing As He Turned Around He Saw A Cat, It Was Otis In A Defensive Position With His Fangs Out Hissing. "Oh Who Let A Fucking Cat Inside?" He Sighs, As He Tried To Pick It Up. "Stop Resisting Pathetic Feline, Come Here!" He Yelled But The Cat Clawed His Finger Causing Him To Bleed Leaving A Stinging Feeling.

The Manager Was Pissed At This Point And Picked Up A Broom And Started Hitting The Cat With It, The Cats Hisses Grew Louder As He Leaped Onto The Managers Face Clawing At His Eyes As The Manager Screamed In Pain His Vision Blank He Tried To Pry The Cat Off As It's Claws Dug Into His Eyelids.

After A Minute Of Struggle He Threw The Cat Off Sending Him Flying Into A Filing Cabinet. "Crazy Fucking Cat" He Sighed As He Tried To Navigate His Office To Reach His Phone "Damn It Where Is It!" He Yelled In Anger Desperately Searching For His Phone. However Unknowingly To Him The Cat Got Up And Was Preparing To Jump Again.

As The Cat Poised To Strike In Leaped In After A Second Latching Onto The Back Of His Head Sending Him Stumbling Into A Large Shelf Knocking Him Out However As He Tried To Get Up The Shelf Collapsed Onto Him Crushing His Head And Killing Him In The Process.

The Cat Licked Its Fur Cleaning Itself From The Bloodshed As It Ripped The Managers Right Eye Out As Trophy As Ran Off From The Murder Scene.

Travis Found Out About The Murder And Was Laid Off Due To The Company Not Being Able To Find A Replacement So He Headed Home. "Damn I Can't Believe The Manager Was Assaulted, Whoever Did This Must've Been A Sick Freak" He Sighed As He Entered House Sitting Down Thinking Of What To Do Now That He Was Laid Off.

"I Wonder Where Otis Is?" He Looked Around The Living Room With Concern, However He Then Heard Little Footsteps. "Oh Otis There You Are How Are You Do-" Before He Could Finish He Saw Otis Clutching An Eye ball In His Mouth And His Jaws Covered In Blood.

Travis Then Remembered That One Of The Managers Eyes At The Scene Of The Crime Were Ripped Out. "Otis... You Did This!? Bad Kitty!" He Yelled With A Shocked Expression His Eyes Widening. "I Think I'm Gonna Be Sick... " He Gagged The Cat Saw This As A Sign Of Disrespect And Leaped Into The Air Trying To Latch Onto His Face.

To Which Travis Responded By Kicking It To The Side Into His Portable Stove Which Was Already Lit Burning Apart The Cat As Screamed In Pain But To His Shock, As The Skin Burnt Off From Cat It Revealed A Metal Exoskeleton. "What The Hell Are You? Some Animatronic Cat!" She Shrieked In Shock.

Otis Then Walked Out The Flames With An Angered Expression His Eyes Glowing Red Like Blood. The Cat Chased Him Out The House At A Fast Pace As Travis Ran In Horror And Shock. "Stay Away You Demon Cat!" He Screamed As He Ran A Few Blocks.

However Suddenly The Cat Just Stopped And Sat Down. "Huh? Tired Already! You Piece Of Demon Shit!" He Yelled. "You're A No Good Monster!" As He Yelled Again He Couldn't Hear A Truck Coming. Before He Could Realize The Truck Slammed Into Him Killing Him Instantly As His Body Was Mushed Into The Ground, The Cat Walked Over Licking The Corpse Innocently. Even At Death The Cat Was Always Close To His Owner.