The Apocalypse Contract

CHAPTER 7 - SYDNEY

Sydney peered through the door's peephole at the distorted image of a scruffy, bearded man. It was her landlord, Howard.

"What do you want?" she shouted through the door.

"Miss Rossiter, is this your cat?"

Sydney's eyes swept the apartment. Zoe was on the reading chair where she'd left her, but Pixel was nowhere to be seen, which wasn't all that unusual for him. Leaving the chain on, she cracked the door a few inches and peeked out. Cradled in the man's arms was a large orange tabby cat.

"Pixel you fuzzy bastard, what are doing out there?" She started to unchain the door, then hesitated. Wouldn't this be the perfect way to lure someone out of their apartment. Maybe it wasn't really Pixel. She squinted at the orange tabby in his arms.

"Do you want your cat or not?"

"Um, yes, of course." She unchained the door and reached to take Pixel. The cat promptly bit her landlord's hand, then squirmed free and ran down the hall.

"Damn it, he keeps doing that," Howard exclaimed.

Sydney ignored him and ran after her cat. Pixel stopped at the stairwell door, then turned and meowed, demanding help with his escape attempt. Sydney instead scooped him up and headed back toward her apartment but froze before entering. Howard still stood near the door. She would have to pass uncomfortably close to get in.

An awkward silence grew as they stood looking at each other. Howard finally broke the silence. "He just ran in my apartment while I was going out. Crammed himself under my sofa and wouldn't come out."

"He must have snuck out when the cable installer was here," Sydney explained.

"I had to lure him out with a turkey pot pie." His face filled with a momentary look of regret. "I didn't have any tuna."

"Pixel doesn't like tuna."

Howard nodded as if that made perfect sense. Any sane mammal would choose turkey pot pies over tuna. "Well, just make sure he doesn't get out again. I don't want him doing his business in the hallway."

"He wouldn't do that," she assured him.

Howard just grunted and walked away. Sydney flattened herself against the wall as he passed, then ran back in her apartment and locked the door behind her.

"Don't do that to me," she admonished her cat. "What would I do if I lost you?" She imagined walking around the apartment complex, knocking on doors. Hanging up posters. Talking to total strangers. It was her worst nightmare.

She deposited Pixel on the sofa. He curled up into a furry orange ball and promptly went to sleep.

"Yeah, this has me all tuckered out too," Sydney laid down on the sofa, her head snuggled up against the Pixel. She was asleep within minutes.