Musings From A Demented Mind Page 15

  “Sir, we have a visual,” Marcus reported.

  Above the tree line across the street, they could see the tips of the cat’s ears. Several frightened deer ran across the highway as the trees behind them crashed forward. The cat stopped as it reached the highway and stared at the several reporters and spectators who ran away. It chased after the deer toward the steel mill parking lot where the tanks were waiting.

  “Fire!” Sergeant Alvarez shouted.

  The missile launcher fired several missiles toward the cat that swatted them away with its paws sending the missiles into several directions. Several of the police cars exploded as the missiles collided with them. The tanks fired their projectiles doing minimum damage to the cat’s body. The cat stared at the tanks angrily and rushed forward. As it collided with the lead tank, several soldiers fired at it from behind. The cat turned around and hissed at them. As its attention was focused on the soldiers, the tanks fired at it from close range. Wounded, the cat jumped over the soldiers and was forced to ground in midair by Mecha Cat.

  The cat slowly stood up and hissed at Mecha Cat. It pounced onto it and Mecha Cat bit into its neck with its mechanical teeth. The cat used its momentum to roll sideways causing Mecha Cat and it to roll down the highway. The cat pulled itself away from Mecha Cat’s grip and rammed it sending it backward a few feet. Mecha Cat ripped the cat’s chest open with its left claw, causing it to spray blood all over the highway.

  The cat quickly turned around, jumped over the soldiers and the tanks, and ran toward Lake Michigan. Mecha Cat chased after it as it jumped into the lake and swam north.

  Benton’s phone rang as Lucille called him from inside Mecha Cat.

  “How are you holding up?” Benton asked.

  “Would you call that a successful field test?” Lucille asked.

  “You kicked its ass.”

  “You know it. Does Alvarez have any orders?”

  Benton handed his phone over to the sergeant.

  “That was impressive. Are you tracking it?” the sergeant asked.

  “It’s heading for Canada.”

  “Follow it back to its home. Kill it and any others. We need you to bring its body back.”

  “Understood.”

  He handed the phone back to Benton.

  “Lucille, be careful.”

  “Benton, I will.”

  Lucille looked over at Slater who was sitting next to her. “Follow it.”

  “Following its course now.”

  As it entered Lake Michigan, it transformed into a submarine. It traveled in the same direction that the cat was swimming. As they moved forward, Slater spotted something huge swimming in the lake.

  “What is that?” Lucille asked.

  “I believe it’s a shark,” Slater answered.

  They stared at it in shock. The shark was bigger than they had ever seen making a great white look minuscule. The shark began to glow bright yellow and vanished.

  “Where did it go?” Lucille asked, amazed.

  “It looked like it was transported like in the Star Trek movies,” Slater pointed out.

  “According to the readout, we are approaching Canada. Prepare to transform.”

  “Lucille, it’s surfacing.”

  “Slater, follow it.”

  Mecha Cat climbed out of the lake and followed the trail of blood pouring from the cat’s wound. They followed it down a hill toward a group of trees. Up ahead in a clearing were three other cats: a white one, a grey one and a calico. The black cat crashed to the ground near the other three and died.

  “There’s three more of them. What should we do?” Slater asked.

  “Arm all our weapons and kill them all.”

  As the last of the three cats were killed, Mecha Cat walked over to them and picked the calico one up with its mouth to take back to Chesterton.

  “I can’t wait to get out of this thing. It’s too cramped in here,” Slater said, smiling.

  “We did well.”

  Mecha Cat shook violently.

  “I’m picking up something massive heading in our direction,” Slater reported.

  A large calico cat twice the size of the other four walked through the trees and stared at Mecha Cat angrily.

  “That would be the mother,” Lucille said in shock.

  The cat ran forward slamming Mecha Cat into the ground. The cat ran behind a large tree and pushed it forward causing it to crash onto Mecha Cat’s torso. Lucille messed with the controls trying to unpin it from the tree. Mecha Cat slowly pulled itself out from under the tree and was instantly slammed into another one by the angry feline.

  “I think we are losing!” Slater shouted.

  “Really!”

  “I would suggest ramming it with all our might.”

  “It’s worth a shot.”

  Mecha Cat ran forward and slammed the cat into a tree. The cat hissed exposing all its large teeth. Mecha Cat shot a missile toward it. The missile collided with its teeth shattering them. Mecha Cat rammed it again and ripped its neck open with its right claw. The cat stared at them and tried to lift its right paw, but it fell down limp as it died.

  “Who’s the boss? That’s right us!” Slater chanted.

  “Something’s happening.”

  The cat glowed as its spirit left its body. The cat’s ghost looked at them and floated forward.

  “What the hell?” Slater screamed as the inside of Mecha Cat glowed bright red.

  Mecha Cat screamed and spun around in a circle violently.

  “What’s going on?” Slater shouted holding on to his seat for dear life.

  “I think its spirit has possessed Mecha Cat!”

  Mecha Cat continued to scream and then ran toward Lake Michigan. It jumped into the lake and swam back toward Chesterton.

  “Slater, I can’t access its computer.”

  “It has complete control of navigation.”

  “If it has control of navigation, then it has control of the weapons systems. We need to disable them before it gets back to the States.”

  “On it.”

  Slater walked over to its computer core. As he opened the hatch, he was hit with a bolt of electricity sending his body violently backward. He hit his head against the panel next to Lucille knocking him unconscious. The panel adjacent to Lucille exploded, knocking her to the ground. As she was about to stand up, she was hit with a bolt of electricity knocking her unconscious, as well.

  Benton and Sergeant Alvarez watched as Mecha Cat emerged from Lake Michigan. Benton sensed something was wrong when he noticed that Mecha Cat was mutated. Its eyes were no longer red, but looked more like real cat’s eyes, the left one blue and the right one gold. It had fur growing out of its joints.

  It hissed at them and then fired a missile.

  “Take cover!” the sergeant shouted.

  One of the tanks exploded on impact.

  It walked toward them as it continued to hiss.

  “What the hell is going on?” the sergeant asked.

  “I think it’s possessed,” Benton answered.

  “We need to destroy it.”

  “Lucille is inside.”

  “Do you have any suggestions?” the sergeant asked as Mecha Cat fired another missile destroying another tank.

  “Keep it distracted. I’ll climb the steps up its leg and enter through the hatch. I’ll rescue Lucille and Slater and then drop a grenade into its computer core.”

  “Sounds dangerous and stupid,” the sergeant said.

  “That describes my personality perfectly.”

  “Good luck.”

  The sergeant handed him a grenade. He ran over to his troops and ordered them to attack. Benton ran toward Mecha Cat hoping his plan would succeed.

  A chopper flew past Mecha Cat and fired a missile toward it. It deflected it with one of its paw and then pounced upward and caught the chopper in its mouth. It shook it violently and then flung the chopper into Lake Michigan.

  Mecha Cat continued to deflect the mis
siles from the tanks as Benton began to climb up its left leg. As he reached its hatch, he grabbed onto the handle and was hit with an electrical shock. He quickly grabbed it again and turned the handle and opened the hatch. He jumped in and rolled out of the way of an electrical bolt. He rushed over to Lucille and tried to shake her awake. She moaned painfully as she regained consciousness. He turned his attention to Slater and shook him awake.

  “Don’t open the hatch to the computer core,” he warned. “Electric shock.”

  “Take off your jacket. When I throw this grenade in the computer core, I need you two to jump out the hatch. It’s a long jump, but a couple of broken bones is better than being blown to shreds,” Benton said. “Can you guys stand?”

  “I’ll try,” Lucille said as she slowly stood up.

  “Get ready.”

  Benton wrapped his left hand with Slater’s jacket and lifted the hatch to the computer core. He pulled the pin and dropped the grenade into the computer core as Slater and Lucille jumped out. He turned around and quickly jumped out of Mecha Cat as the grenade went off.

  Mecha Cat screamed loudly as its internal systems exploded. A few seconds later, its head exploded sending fire and debris into every direction.

  As Lucille was standing up from the jump, a small piece of debris landed on her right arm. Her arm glowed a bright white for a few seconds. She felt dizzy and passed out.

  Her eyes opened and she was lying on a bed at Porter Memorial Hospital. She looked over at Benton, Slater, and Ajit who were discussing the events of the past couple of days.

  “Pay no attention to me,” she said with a smile. “Do I look as bad as I feel?”

  “You have a concussion and a few fractured bones. Otherwise, as beautiful as ever,” Benton answered.

  “Thanks, I think. Is it over?”

  “Yes, there is no more feline threats,” Slater answered.

  “That we know of,” Ajit added.

  “Promise me we are done with this. I want to have a normal life,” Lucille said.

  “Benton, you better tell her,” Ajit said.

  “Tell me what?”

  “The government wants us to begin construction of another Mecha Cat right away,” Benton answered and all three of them began laughing. “Believe me, I think the last thing they will want is for us to build another one.”

  “I hope so for all our sakes,” she said with a smile.

  Chapter Six

  “Arris, it is this way,” the man in the black uniform said as he led him down the corridor leading to the large hangar outside the secret government base in Nevada.

  As they entered the corridor, Arris stood in amazement at the sight before him. Inside a large electrified steel cage was a twenty foot white cat with dark green eyes. It stared at him as he approached the cage.

  “Hello, my feline friend.”

  “This is the father. We found the bodies of the mother and the four kittens in Canada.”

  “Will you provide me with the mother’s skeleton as promised?” Arris asked.

  “Do you have what we requested?”

  “It took a lot of effort to secure them. As I promised you over the phone, here’s the blueprints for Mecha Cat.” Arris answered and handed him a thumb drive with the plans.

  “You need to keep this a secret.”

  “Trust me; as long as I get the skeleton, you get my silence.”

  “I will have the skeleton transported to wherever you want.”

  “Thanks.”

  Arris stared at the cat. It hissed at him and rammed into the cage violently and jumped backward as it was shocked by the electric cage. It sat down, stared at him for a few seconds, then closed its eyes and went to sleep.

  Chapter Seven

  Lucille climbed out of bed. She was burning up and she knew if she didn’t get to the bathroom soon, she would be throwing up all over the floor. She rushed into the bathroom and began to throw up. She held onto the sink to avoid losing balance since she felt dizzy.

  As her body temperature cooled down, she began to feel like her whole body was itchy. She looked down and her whole body was covered in black fur. She tried to scream as she looked in the mirror, but no sound would come out. Standing before her was not the beautiful tanned brunette woman that she knew, but a feline humanoid with black fur and glowing yellow eyes. She looked at her hands and her fingernails were eight inches long.

  She hissed at her reflection and ran out of the bathroom toward the bedroom. She rushed over to her bed to wake Benton up. She slowly walked backward in horror. In the middle of the bed lay Benton covered in blood. His body was ripped apart and in the middle of his chest lay three kittens asleep. She felt something rubbing against her legs and looked down to see a calico cat. She picked it up and it purred as she held it in her arms.

  Rastus, A Warrior’s Quest

  Rastus stared at the skeletons littering the forest floor. Beside each bleached-bone body lay their swords; all damaged from exposure to the elements. These were the fallen men of his tribe, Klytrinx of the Forest. They had failed to succeed in their spiritual passage from adolescence to manhood. Rastus, himself on the brink of manhood, blinked back his tears when he recognized the sword next to one of the skeletons. It belonged to Dashiell, his best friend, and the last tribesman to leave the village and go on the great spiritual journey. Only half of the tribesman who ventured out ever returned. Those who came home, never spoke of the journey. It was a rite of passage for the men of the woods. He had watched the boys leave every year, and knew the ‘ritual to manhood’ was a death sentence only the strongest could survive. This was why he constantly trained in the physical arts. His large muscular physique was the result.

  He picked up Dashiell’s sword and compared it to his own. It was a fine sword: the hilt had symbols etched into it and the blade was still sharp. The sword of Rastus was adorned with three shiny, red rubies he’d found some time ago. He respectfully replaced Dashiell’s sword next to his skeleton. The bones along his friend’s rib cage, around his heart, were crushed. Something large had penetrated Dashiell’s chest. Rastus would have to be very cautious. Whatever evil had happened; it had taken the lives of his tribesmen.

  The forest emitted no sound, as if the animals and insects suspected danger. Rastus surveyed the area around him, but didn’t see anything of immediate threat. As he checked the ground, he recalled his last meeting with his grandfather, Kotori.

  They were sitting by the fire admiring the moonlight from the clear night sky. Kotori was preparing him for the spiritual journey.

  “You must become one with nature. You must not fear nature, but rather, embrace it with all its good and bad.”

  “What should I expect?”

  “Rastus, the spirits will test your worthiness. If they deem you unworthy for this world, you will not survive the journey. I cannot tell you any more.”

  Rastus had long contemplated why his people had to prove their merit to the spirits. So many of his tribesmen tried and failed. He didn’t want to be the next one who couldn’t succeed. He valued life, not only his own but all around him.

  He froze, craning his neck toward the sudden sound that sent a chill down his spine. At first, the sound was faint but as it drew closer, he could hear loud pounding. The ground shook as the sound drew near. Whatever it was, it was huge. A tree in front of him fell, snapping at its base. An enormous grey creature with long tusks stood before him. His grandfather had once described such a creature. A mammoth.

  He gripped his sword tightly, anticipating an attack. The giant stared at him; anger in its body language.

  The bushes shook as a large black bear walked through. It stood next to the mammoth, staring straight at Rastus. Despite all his physical training, Rastus knew he was no match against the animals.

  He heard a roar, and seconds later a huge saber-toothed tiger appeared. The three beasts stepped forward, threateningly.

  It was obvious that any move against these creatures would be a death
sentence. All he could do was drop his sword. He raised his hands in surrender.

  “My name is Rastus and I mean you no harm.”

  The mammoth lowered its head.

  The other two beasts vanished.

  The mammoth glowed a fire bright orange and transformed into a tall, beautiful woman in a vibrant yellow garb with flowing auburn hair. Rastus had never seen anyone so beautiful before. She was not part of his tribe; nor did she look like anyone from any neighboring tribes.

  “My name is Alzina. I welcome you to my forest. As you can tell from the ground around you, most men choose to attack. You chose to drop your sword.”

  “There is no sense in fighting a losing battle.”

  “Wise.”

  She walked over to him and ran her hand across his muscular physique and stopped over his heart. Her hand felt cold against his chest. She smiled as she slowly walked away. “Follow.”

  He stared at her as she disappeared into the deep forest.

  “Follow.”

  He heard her voice echo. He walked forward through the thick trees. She was nowhere in sight, but he could hear the sound of her voice echoing in the forest, urging him forward. He came upon a clearing that opened onto a large waterfall. Alzina sat atop a large moss covered stone. She played a silver harp. She motioned for him to sit on the ground in front of the stone. A fox jumped onto the stone and stretched out next to her.

  “This place is peaceful,” Rastus said as a rainbow colored butterfly landed on his shoulder.

  “This is a place of magic.”

  She placed the harp on her lap and snapped her fingers. The waterfall disappeared, exposing a large cave.

  “You have two choices. You can turn back, return to your village and claim your spiritual journey complete; or you can venture into the cave to prove your worthiness.”

  “Worthiness for what?”

  “To be the protector of life. To be the protector of this sacred forest.”

  “Protector from what?”

  “The biggest threat to my animals and to my forest.”

  “Which is?”