Cat's Out - Book 2

Chapter 16 - Jacknapping

It takes me a moment to remember that I am not just a panther. I'm a shifter. Which means I retain a few human traits. Like standing on my hind legs and holding a girl who is not likely to follow me voluntarily.

With Jack wrapped in my furry arms and my bat in my mouth, I probably present the most ridiculous monster ever to roam the streets of Bloomfield Hills. And I have little doubt that more than a few people are peeking through curtains with cell phones aimed at my large feline body.

YouTube here I come. Heck, I'm probably on Periscope right now. Maybe I should just wave a paw for my adoring fans.

With a couple dozen zombiefied druggies in warm pursuit, I have little trouble, even with my awkward and squirming load, evading capture. Not that I'd allow that, but I have little desire to start swatting a bunch of people while cell phones record the event.

So we run. And keep running. I'm fast, though not as fast as I am on all fours. I keep expecting to hear sirens, but none ever reach my ears. It occurs to me that ol' Simon doesn't want a lot of police attention. And anyone else reporting a large, upright panther racing down the street with a baseball bat and a girl in a hospital gown probably isn't getting a good reception from police dispatchers. Though I'm confident that, after four or five such calls, someone will start to take the reports seriously.

We slip between houses and out of the neighborhood, finding more sheltered spots along the side streets and closed businesses.

"Let me go!" Jack is out of her stupor. And pissed.

"Just calm down," I say, which, of course, sounds like a growl. Not helping.

For a little thing, Jack's got a pretty solid kick. Her toes land in my gut a few times. I don't know what panther puke looks like, but Jack might find out soon if she doesn't get it under control. I wonder how much she saw.

"Darla! You put me down!"

Okay, that much. I shake my head and keep moving, though at a slower, more stealthy pace. Finally, we reach the hospital parking lot. Nothing moves as I watch from the outer row of parking spaces.

I streak across the lot to my car and set Jack down, keeping a paw on her shoulder. I nod at the car door.

She looks at me defiantly. "What? So you can have a snack for the drive home?"

I growl. Then hiss. I'm pretty sure that translates into "Don't be a dumbass, if I wanted to eat you I wouldn't have carried you all this way first."

Finally, Jack rips open the car door. "There."

I gesture toward it.

"Fine." She climbs into the passenger seat. "I've lived a good life. If you're gonna go down, you might as well go down as Kibbles 'n Bits."

I roll my eyes, which must look pretty cool. With the car door open and shielding me from the front doors to the hospital, I calm my breathing. My heart slows. Muscles relax. Then comes the pain.

I grunt through it as my body trembles and pulses. Jack watches, eyes wide. She could run now, but either she doesn't know it or wants to see how this show ends.

It ends with a naked Darla, that's how it ends.

"Whoa," Jack says. "And I thought I was hallucinating when I saw you at the warehouse."

After a few seconds, I've caught my breath. "You could have told me. Saved me the trouble of hiding. And, by the way, why aren't you screaming your head off?"

"Guess all those demons were more interesting than you."

No doubt. She'd seen so much over the last couple days that one shifter wasn't about to push her into hysterics. Tough girl. Hope I can keep her alive.

She hops out and takes my arm. "Get in before someone sees you."

I do and slide over to the driver's seat. For the record, shifters still feel embarrassment over public displays of nudity. I cross my arms over my chest, bumping this humiliating moment of my life to a PG-13 rating. "There's a bag in back."

Jack grabs the duffel bag I'd stashed back there and unzips it. "You got enough clothes in here for a week long vacation."

"Five shiftings, to be exact." I reach in and grab another hoodie. Hey, they were cheap and quite practical. After pulling it over my head, I take the pair of sweatpants Jack holds out to me. I'm beginning to see why Jacques didn't do a lot of driving. It's hard to get dressed in here.

Jack stares across the parking lot. "So...where was I?"

"You don't remember?"

"No. I remember falling asleep in there." She nods toward the building. "Then it was like my body was floating through the halls and outside. I followed some people."

"Yeah. I met 'em." But why? "You were at a house. I found you there, upstairs, and grabbed you."

"I don't remember that, either. All I remember is looking up and seeing my new friend turning into one big-ass feline."

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Don't sweat it. At least that explains why you believed my demons really exist."

I chuckle at that. "I can smell 'em."

"Rotten eggs?"

I nod. Apparently, seeing the demons isn't the only thing Jack can do. But why her? It all comes back to The Dark. Something about that drug changes people. Changes them a lot. To the point where they herd up and go lurching off to the next place where they can get a fix.

And, if the supermarket is my final clue, the last fix is permanent. Which, of course, only leaves me with more questions. Why kill a bunch of drug addicts? I glance at Jack. The newest drug addict.

"Jack? Do you feel like you need to go wandering off anywhere?"

She shakes her head. "No. I'm tired. There's a couple demons wandering around outside your car. Other than that, everything's cool with me."

Only a couple of demons. Well, heck, let's invite 'em to a game of euchre. "Okay, I think we need to get you back inside. I'm going to drop you at the door and get out of here."

"Probably best that way."

I fish my keys out from under the floor mat. Yes, another precaution I've learned as a shifter. We drive to the covered front door.

Jack hops out and turns back to me. "Hurry! Get out of here!"

I nod, then say, "Jack..."

"Yeah?"

"Try to sleep during the day." I don't know why I say it, but something tells me that Jack needs to be wide awake when the sun goes down. A fragile precaution, but it's all I've got. Well, that and a large panther.

She raises her eyebrows. "Oh...sure. Now go." She slams the door.

As my little Focus hums off into the night, I know that whatever is pulling at Jack will never give up.