Damian

by Olivia Berrier

Damian had never liked people. That much he was sure of. Beyond that, he didn’t know what he wanted out of life. He just knew that he didn’t like people. It wasn’t, he supposed, each individual person that he disliked, it was the simple format of the human that seemed so distasteful to him. Man’s best friend? I think not.

He was a Labrador retriever, the only one in his litter that had not been adopted by tiny squealing girls. It had come as a surprise to no one, him least of all, that no one wanted him. He hid in the corner, his back to the people. He snarled at any hand that got too close. Damian’s parents could never figure out where this came from. It was so unprecedented on their farm. Both his mom and dad were very loveable dogs, and very loving to their humans.

He would have been content to live on the farm without the humans. Damian didn’t realize that this was impossible, so that didn’t stop him from dreaming. He dreamed of a place where the people were gone. There were no two legged, tall, noisy, cumbersome people around. In this daydream, he was happy.

When the rain moved in that night, he didn’t want to go inside with his parents. Inside. It was an evil place. Evil because he knew no one wanted him there. He didn’t even want him there. He bowed his tiny dark head against the rain and tried to find some place on the farm to be alone.

Hissss!

Damian didn’t see the scruffy cat until he walked right in front of her. “Sorry! Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Don’t you know it’s bad luck to let a black cat cross your path?” The creature growled. It had a low scratchy voice that nonetheless sounded undoubtedly female.

Damian couldn’t see the cat due to the heavy rain, and the fact that it was hidden under a bush. “Well, technically, I crossed your path, not the other way around.”

“Is that so?” The cat said smoothly, and slowly emerged from her hiding place, stalked in front of Damian, and then whipped around so Damian could see her yellow eyes. Her appearance was a miserable as her voice. Once, she may have been a calico cat, but her fur was so matted and dirty now that it was hard to tell. One of her ears was ripped, she had several scars, and a vicious looking smile complete with fangs.

“Your…not an entirely black cat.” It wasn’t a very smart observation, but it was all Damian could think of to say.

“I can be unlucky, just the same.” She hissed.

Damian sensed that he wasn’t going anywhere any time soon, so he sat down. “I haven’t seen you on the farm before.”

“I don’t live at your stupid farm.”

“Where do you live?”

Her yellow eyes narrowed and she smiled wickedly. “Everywhere.”

Damian was becoming increasingly nervous around this animal. Something about her felt off balanced.

She slowly walked in a circle around him. “Where do you live?”

“Um…here. On this farm. I live here.” Damian twisted his head around, trying not to loose sight of the cat.

“How very boring.” She had completed her circle, and brought one paw up to her mouth to groom it, in the typical cat-like fashion. Then without warning, she made as if to strike at him.

Damian flinched back, to realize that the cat remained with her paw in the air, apparently never intending to touch him.

“Oh, I am going to like you.” She put her paw back on the ground. “You scare so easily!”

Damian tried to figure out if he would be faster than the cat if he started running now.

The cat strolled over to the fence post and climbed it. When she was perched on the top she looked back down at Damian. “So, how do you like your life here on the farm? Do you enjoy having the humans cater to you?”

Damian made a face. Now she had done it. “No. I hate the people.”

The cat’s smile deepened. “Really? And why is that?”

“I just…don’t like people. That’s all.”

“Despite your pathetic nature we do have something in common. Tell me more.”

Damian shuddered and looked down at the ground. He didn’t feel like looking at the yellow eyes anymore. “Well…they bother me. I don’t like the way they try to order me around, and act all important, even though they have no right to act like that. I would be happier if they would just go away.”

The cat laughed a rough, evil laugh. “My, my. You are even more naïve than you look. You wouldn’t last a minute without the people.”

“Sure I would! I don’t need them.”

“Don’t you?” She looked at him for a long time and then jumped down. “Prove it, then.”

“What do you mean, prove it?”

“There’s nothing keeping you here. If you think you can survive without the humans, prove it. Leave this place.”

Damian considered it for a moment. He turned and looked back at the house, at the barn and the stables. When he turned around again, the cat had vanished. “Hey! Wait! Come back!” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing himself say. Come back? He didn’t want to see this cat again.

“Silent as the night, and quick as a shadow.” The cat jumped out from behind him. “The beauties of the feline.”

Damian looked around, trying to see where the cat could have hid.

“You wouldn’t stand a chance out there. Not with your delicate nature. You dogs are all the same. You act tough, but when it comes to real danger.” She laughed deep in her throat. “…danger like me. You all run away scared.”

The cat turned and climbed up and over the fence and began walking away. Damian watched her go, and suddenly realized the decision before him that he had only a couple seconds to make. Did he want to leave? Maybe this cat could help him find a place without humans. Damian took one last look behind him and pushed his way under the fence and then ran to catch up with the cat.

He bounded across the wet grass and then leaped in front of her. She stopped, and her scruffy tail twitched as she looked up at him with big yellow eyes.

“I’m coming.” Damian gasped; the sudden sprint had left him out of breath.

“Oh, are you? Because if you are, you need to make up your mind now, because when you get scared, I’m not taking you home.”

“I’m positive. I’m coming.”

She smiled, revealing the shape yellow teeth. “All right. Let’s go, then.” She took off again, walking quickly across the grass, but never making a sound.

Damian took a few bounds and then adopted a fast trot to keep up with her. “My name’s Damian, by the way.”

The cat didn’t turn around. “I’m Marilyn.”

* * *

Marilyn led him deep into the forest that bordered the farm. Damian had often looked at this forest, but had never set a paw in it. Once or twice, he thought he lost sight of the cat, but he found her again fairly quickly. If he asked her to, she would always make her presence known. She would also always laugh at him for being lost, but such was the way with this cat.

She kept moving for most of the night before she finally stopped. Damian flopped over on the ground, panting. “Where are we going that we need to walk this fast?”

Marilyn sighed. “We’re not going anywhere. That’s how I live everywhere: by living no where.”

“Then why are you making me walk this far, if we aren’t even going anywhere?”

“I just wanted to see how strong you were.”

“And?”

Marilyn smirked. “You’re even worse than I figured you’d be.”

Damian pulled himself up and shook the water off himself in typical dog fashion. Marilyn didn’t snap at him for getting water on everything. That’s what the people always did. But she did seem angry again.

“That jingling is ridiculous! Don’t you know how to make it stop?”

Damian stopped shaking, “What jingling?”

“Don’t play smart with me!” She snapped. “You’re too stupid to play that game. You jingle whenever you move.”

“Do I?” Damian got up and walked a few steps, then stopped, then walked again. “Oh, you mean my collar!” He said triumphantly. He was so used to the jingling of his metal licenses that he barely noticed it anymore.

“Yes I do. Take it off. It irks me.”

“Okay.” Damian spoke before he though about it. “Wait, I don’t know how. The people were always the one to take my collar off.”

Marilyn sighed impatiently. “You haven’t even been gone one day, and already we’ve found something you need to humans to do for you. Why, oh why did I ask you to come along?”

Damian shrugged. He was, by now, very used to the cat’s sarcasm.

“Well, come here, let me see if I can bite it off for you. My teeth can be very persuasive at times.”

Damian took a step backward. “No, wait. I don’t think I want to do this.”

“Did I ask you what you wanted?”

“Well, no, but…I’ve never not worn my collar. I don’t want you to take it off just yet. I will, eventually, just not right now.” He didn’t mention that the idea of Marilyn’s teeth near his neck make him nervous.

Marilyn glared at him. “Don’t let it jingle so much.” She warned and started walking again.

One of Damian’s ears had an itch, so he shook his head before he followed her.

“Hey! I said no jingling!”

“Sorry.”

* * *

Marilyn proved to be an excellent hunter. Damian, alas, was slightly less skilled in this area. He had always appeared fearsome to the people, but only because he hated them so much. Marilyn teased him about this, but at the same time, she gave him pointers, so gradually he did get better. But if ever Damian tried to thank her for helping him, she would become angry.

“How dare you call me that!”

“All I said was that you’re nice…”

“Well, don’t say that! I only put up with you because you inferiority makes me feel good.”

Damian nodded. He was used to these conversations. “Hey, Marilyn, I have a question.”

Marilyn rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you have many. That normally happens with ignorant creatures.”

“How come you never purr? Isn’t that what cats are supposed to do?”

She smiled. “I’m not that type of kitty. We’re not all the purring type. How come you don’t like people? Isn’t that what dogs are supposed to do?”

“I don’t know. They just bother me. They think the world belongs to them.”

“And who does the world belong to, if not them?”

“Well…everyone, I assumed.”

She laughed at him. “You fool.”

This didn’t normally bother Damian, but this was a serious topic, and he didn’t like being laughed at.

“The world belongs to whoever is strong enough to control it. That, currently, is the humans, and as far as I’m concerned, they can have it! The world is just one big mess of problems. But just because they control the world doesn’t mean they need to control you or me or anyone in it. The people can only control things as long as we keep listening to them.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“Of course it is! I said it.”

There was a sudden rustling in the bush behind them, and Marilyn whipped around, claws and teeth bared. Damian watched as another cat, with gray striped fur just as scruffy as Marilyn’s, jumped out.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Marilyn the magnificent. Still looking as awful as ever!”

“Asher! You haven’t changed at bit in three years.”

“Some things never change.” He growled. His voice had the same rough tone as Marilyn’s. “Who’s this pampered looking creature?” He stalked towards Damian. “Is he lost? I would be happy to point him in the wrong direction.”

“No, he’s with me. I’m trying to roughen him up a little bit.”

Asher gave her a wicked smile and held a paw up, claws out. “I could give him some nice scars. That would help.”

“I’m sure Damian will get his own scars eventually.”

“If he lasts that long.” Asher snorted. “So, Damian, eh? You don’t look the wild type, what with those shiny medals you’re wearing. What are you doing out here?”

“I…I don’t like people.”

“Ahhh. I see now.” He looked back to Marilyn. “It’s always fun to find another animal who can’t stand people.” He shuddered. “If I could, I would make them sorry they ever showed up on this planet.”

“What are you doing in this leg of the forest, Asher?”

Asher laughed dryly. “Moving on! Those humans moved into my part of the woods, so I’m searching for another.”

Marilyn growled. “They did what?”

“They just moved in, cut down the trees, and built houses; like there was no one else already living there.” He arched his back, and the stretched forward, making his gray fur bristle. “But then again, we are a versatile species. We’ll just keep moving somewhere else.”

“The forests are getting smaller.” Marilyn narrowed her eyes. “Where are they?”

“One of the houses is just about three days that way.” He gestured in the direction he had come from. “But I’m not going back there again.” Asher’s long tail twitched angrily as he turned to go.

“Take care of yourself, Asher.” Marilyn called after him.

“Oh!” Asher turned around again. “I almost forgot to tell you: they got Micah. That house I told you about, three days from here, they were screaming about rabies or something, so they shot her.” Asher glared at the ground. “Filthy rotten humans.”

With that, the gray-stripped tabby seemed to vanish into the forest. Damian didn’t know what to say. He looked at Marilyn. The cat looked angrier than he had ever seen her. Well, she was angry all the time, but now it seemed real. He was a little frightened.

“Damian…” She said after a long time. Her broken whiskers twitched in fury as she spoke. “We have some work to do.” She started a fast silent walk, and Damian trotted after her, trying to keep the jingling to a minimum.

“Where are we going?”

“The house. I have a score to settle with those humans.”

* * *

They crouched outside the little wooden house two and a half days later. They had apparently been traveling faster than Asher had when he came this way. Marilyn hadn’t said much the whole time, and so Damian also had been quiet.

Marilyn crouched just on the edge of the woods glaring relentlessly at the house, as if that would make a difference.

“Who was Micah?” Damian asked.

Marilyn didn’t answer. She tensed a little. Damian could see that her claws were out and digging into the dirt.

“Was she another cat?”

She growled at the house, and then whispered. “Yes.”

“Marilyn, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Damian swiveled his head around to better see the house.

“Stop jingling.” She hissed.

“Sorry.” Damian tried to hold his head very still. “Marilyn?”

“What.”

“I think I’m ready to have my collar off now.”

Marilyn looked at him for a moment, and he thought he saw her eyes soften, but only for a second, then she was back. “Hold still.” She ordered. She placed one paw on his back and the other of his head and began gnawing at the leather collar. In a few minutes, it dropped to the ground with a chink!

Damian sat up and shook his head, making his ears flap. It was quiet. Only the sound of his flapping ears. He looked down at the collar on the ground. He smiled. It didn’t feel weird, like he thought it would. It felt good. It felt…free.

The door to the house opened and a man walked out. He began strolling around the lawn, examining the bushing that grew on the edge of his property. Marilyn’s gaze grew colder. She leaped up onto the truck of a tree and began climbing it with the speed unique to cats.

“Marilyn! What do I do?” Damian whispered urgently.

She pulled herself onto a branch and looked down at him. “Do what you want. If there’s one thing you should learn, it’s that you have to choose your battles. Fighting without cause is a good way to get yourself killed. This is my fight. You don’t have to be a part of it.”

Damian looked down, confused.

Marilyn walked along the branch. “Damian!” She waited for the dog to look up. “Micah was my sister.” With that, she scurried along the remainder of the branch and dropped, screeching, onto the man below.

There was screaming and flailing as the man tried to drag the mangy cat off his head, and the mangy cat scratched and bit him with furry that seemed almost Satanic. And all the while, the black dog watched in shock.

The fight was quickly began, and quickly over. It began when Marilyn leaped from the tree, and it ended when the man threw her to the ground and reached for the gun at his waist.

Damian didn’t think before he ran. He just bounded up to the man as fast as his short furry legs would carry him, and he bit him on the shin. The man screamed again, and kicked his leg, sending Damian flying away from him into one of the bushes. It took less than 4 seconds, but it was enough for both the cat and the dog to get up and disappear into the woods, leaving the man, scratched and yelling curses after them.

* * *

“Stop, Damian!” Marilyn said after a minute of solid running.

Damian allowed himself to slow down.

“He’s not following us anymore.” Marilyn laid on the ground, and Damian, suddenly realizing how exhausted he was, did the same. For a few minutes, there was no sound except Damian’s whimpering.

“Are…you…okay?” Damian whispered after a long time.

Marilyn arched her back and stood up. Her yellow eyes glinted in the setting sun as she smirked at him. “Of course. Cats always land on their feet.”

Damian was suddenly aware that his forehead stung. He clumsily rubbed a paw along it, and saw blood on his paw when he looked at it again. He must have cut himself when he was thrown into the thorn bush.

“That’s pretty.” Marilyn looked at it closer for a moment. “Yep, that’ll give you a nice looking scar.”

“My first scar.” Damian smirked. “Am I supposed to be excited about that?”

Marilyn laughed wickedly, but her eyes were bright. “I think you may turn out all right…for a dog.”

Damian stood up. “Was that a compliment?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t give complements.”