Kitty Hero Chronicles

Chapter 8

With only two weeks left until the annual Kittyville Fall Festival, the town was buzzing with anticipation and excitement. It would promise to be the biggest and best festival of all, with newly remodeled streets and several newly remodeled businesses sure to attract the attention of newcomers from all over the region.

But with any remodeling project comes the aggravation of construction, delays, and bad weather. Normally, the festival would have occurred in early October, but knowing they needed the extra time to complete renovations, the town council had to push it back until the beginning of November.

The Catnip Cafe was one of the only business that had opted out of participating in the remodeling procedures. Java's motive in declining was to keep the cafe in the same original layout she initially created when she remodeled it from her father's workshop into the cafe it now was. She wanted to remember it the way it first was, so close to her father's passing that she could still hold onto the precious memories they shared together in his workshop.

During her initial remodel, Java had to reorganize everything from the ground up. All the tools and gadgets he had left behind were too many to be inventoried, so Java ended up boxing them up and putting them away in her newly finished cafe's attic. Though he had held a public office, Henry Gray was an inventor by trade; and even though the many contraptions he came up with were mostly useless, every once in a while he did create something practical.

One such thing was an original handcrafted gyroscope that now lay atop Trusty Basset's desk. He picked it up from time to time and tinkered with it, a reminder of his friendship with Java's father and the past lives they had led together. They were quite a team and were able to accomplish much in Kittyville. It was too bad he had to suffer such a tragic death at the hands of despicable rodents.

Trusty was tinkering with the gyroscope, as he usually did when he was lost in thought, when a knock rapped on his office door.

"Come in," he said. The door opened and Java stepped inside, closing the door gently behind her.

"Hi, Trusty," she said.

"Ah, Java. Tell me, what brings the daughter I never had here today to my office?"

"Trusty, there's something important I have to tell you. I want you to hear me out, even though it may sound ridiculous, okay?" she said, sitting down opposite the desk.

"Ridiculous? How could you think I would ever suggest anything you had to say to me was ridiculous? Please, go on; I'm all ears."

"Something's going to happen in Kittyville, something bad. I don't know what it is or where or when it will happen, but I've been informed by a reliable source that the town is in imminent danger, and I wanted you to know what you're up against."

Trusty put down the gyroscope and leaned forward, listening intently. "This is the first I'm hearing of such a plot, Java. It's hard to believe that, being the town's mayor, I haven't heard of this until now."

"That's my point exactly," Java said. "Whoever's plotting this...this...atrocious act is highly sophisticated and intelligent; enough so to make sure that even you wouldn't know."

"Forgive me, my dear," Trusty said. "But if I couldn't have known such a thing, how do you have such information?"

"Listen, Trusty, I'm going to have to ask you to trust me on this one. I can't explain how I know; I just do. Just be on the lookout for anything suspicious. There's no telling how dangerous this person is, whoever he is."

"You said you had a reliable source; just how well do you know this person and how reliable they really are?" he asked.

Java hadn't expected his question and she was caught off guard, but only for a moment. "Let's just say he's become a good friend recently and that I trust him enough to believe he's telling me the truth about all of this."