Outside the Fence

Chapter 6

            I awake to darkness with a jolt. Something scratches against the door and I freeze. Noah groans softly in his sleep and I realize I am holding his hand tightly in fear. I loosen my grip and stand without making a sound. There is another scratch at the door but this time it is accompanied by a very familiar meow. I walk to the door and open just enough for the small kitten to walk through. It looks up at me with shiny red eyes and meows. I smile and scoop it up into my arms. “Hey sweetie, I thought you were gone forever.” I whisper softly while I scratch behind its ears. It purrs back at me and nuzzles my hand. I walk back over to my chair next where Noah lies.

As I plop down with the kitten in my lap I hear a rough coughing come from Noah. He shifts around a bit before speaking. “Even after… what happened… you let that…” He coughs again. “That thing… back in here?” He tries to sit up but I put my hand in front of his chest. “You need to lay back and rest. You wound is sever.” He waves my hand away and sits up while holding his side and wincing in pain. “That thing… is a… monster, Fay. It shouldn’t be… here.” His labored breathing makes it hard for him to speak to me. “Noah you need to refrain from talking. It’s causing you pain. Anyway I don’t see why you hate this sweet little thing.” He sighs. “It’s because you are… naive. You can ignore the… facts as much as you want, but… I will always see… it as a little… monster.” He lies back down and closes his eyes. For a few minutes I watch his sleeping face. Then I relax back in the chair, close my eyes, and pet the cat softly until I fall asleep again.

            In the morning I send the kids out to gather nuts and berries to keep them busy. Their worry was so obvious I couldn’t just let them be stuck in the house all day. While the kids where off gathering I grab an extra sheet to cover the body of the giant cat until I could figure out what to do with it. When I come back inside Noah and the little cat are having a stare down. I walk up next to Noah. “If your close mindedness wasn’t clouding your mind you wouldn’t see it as a ‘little monster’.” Noah looks up at me with a glare, but doesn’t say anything. I reach down and pick up the kitten. “If you need anything I’ll be outside.” I go out the door with the kitten and Grayson comes running up to me with a big smile. “Look what I found!” He holds up a plethora of blueberries out to me. “Look at all those berries! You did a good job.” I notice that his hands are purple from holding the berries too tight. “Uh oh, looks like you bruised some of the berries. Next time, be gentler with them, ok?” I ruffle his hair and me runs off with a smile to get more.

            As I sit down in the grass Mandy walks up to me with a weepy look on her face. “What’s wrong sweetie?” She sits down next to me and looks at the grass. “I’m scared for Noah.” She picks at the grass in front of her. I rub her back soothingly. “He will be okay sweetie.” She sniffles. “I know, but I know that it hurts a lot.” I nod in agreement. “Yeah but Noah is big and strong so he can handle it. If you want you can talk to him about it. Maybe that would make you feel better?” She shakes her head. “It hurts him to talk.” I stand up with the kitten cradled in one arm and a hand out to Mandy. “He can handle it sweetie. Come on, I’ll go with you.” She looks up at me and takes my hand. “Okay.”

            As I walk with Mandy back to the house I squeeze her hand in comfort. To my surprise she squeezes back and looks up at me and says, “Thank you for saving him, Fay.”