J.H. White's Puss in Boots: Book I

Chapter Six

One of Puss' mantras was "trust no one." He had broken it the night before. He had put his trust in Kitty; there was nothing suspect about her. Now, he blamed himself for being tricked so easily. He had wanted to fall in love again, to feel like he had with Dulcinea. She was working for the egg; how could he have not seen the deception coming? The next thing he saw after the word "knife" left Humpty's lips was a boot colliding with the side of his face. He slammed into a wall, and he saw Kitty standing there, her teeth bared. She picked up Humpty's gun and aimed it at Puss' head.

"Kitty," he whispered, his eyes welling up with tears. "No." Kitty looked into his eyes, and she saw her true love, cowering at her feet in fear and sadness. She started to weep herself; how could she be doing this?

"DO IT!" Humpty shrieked. "DO IT!"

"Kitty," Puss said, gulping through his crying. "Look at me." She obeyed and more of her own tears came. "I won't fight you. Just end it." She couldn't. She started to put the gun down when Humpty grabbed her neck and began to strangle her from behind.

"NO!" Puss shouted. He was too weak to get up.

Kitty fought Humpty off and shoved him away. She tightly gripped the gun, and pointed the gun at Puss, then at Humpty, then at herself. She didn't know what to do.

Puss closed his eyes, knowing that one of them was about to die. The tears resumed. For a moment, there was silence. Sweet, beautiful silence. Then...KRRAK!