Trying to find home

20

I breathed deeply in the cool night air. It felt nice to get out of the building and away from all of the chaos. Bruce said that he would have the cure done in like ten minutes, so I took my chance to leave before I was guilt tripped into staying any longer. I just wanted to lay down and listen to some music before I fell asleep again.

I wandered around the dark streets, ignoring the few people trying to talk to me. I didn't worry about them, they couldn't do anything to me. I recognized a few people and we exchanged slight smiles before continuing on our own ways. Nothing had really happened until I was about two blocks from the apartment.

I heard a group of teenage boys shouting and stomping around in an alley way. I didn't think much of it until I heard the yowl of a cat.

I snapped my head around and looked closer at them. They were all gathered around a cat, slamming their feet around trying to stomp on the poor thing.

"Hey!" I screamed, rushing forward and grabbing one of the kids shoulders. "What the fuck are you doing?" The boy pushed me away, glaring.

"Get out of here bitch!" One growled at me. Oh hell no.

I grabbed the kids shoulder again, but, this time, I yanked him around and punched him in the face. I heard the loud snap as his nose broke and blood began to pour. 

"You bitch!" He shrieked, clutching his face and doubling over. The rest of the boys turned away from the cat and towards me. I kicked the legs out from underneath another before charging head first into the boy across from me, sending him into the wall with a smack. The last one froze then turned and ran out of the alley. 

"We'll get you for this, bitch!" He screamed as he disappeared around the corner. I rolled my eyes. Sure, buddy, sure. The other three boys slinked away, glaring at me as the stumbled out into the light. 

I smiled at the cat as it hissed and struggled to move backwards. It's black fur was matted with blood that seemed to be coming from its back leg.

"It's okay," I whispered and moved closer, "I'm not going to hurt you." It hissed again as I swooped it up in my arms. I laid my hand on its leg, causing it to dig its claws into me. I ignored it in favor of healing its leg. Healing wounds took so much concentration and energy, it was rare for me to even attempt it at all, but I was willing to make an exception.

The cat screeched, then relaxed after its leg was snapped back into place. It stared up at me with confused green eyes, clearly uncertain of what was happening. I smiled before setting it back down.

"Go ahead," I urged. "You can go now. They won't bother you again." It didn't move. I sighed, but then continued on my way. After a block, I turned around to see the cat following me. I smiled at it, then leaned down and picked it up again. 

"Fine," I laughed, scratching behind its ear. "You can come with me if you want." It purred, its tail swinging around.

"We need to find a good name for you," I told it before opening my apartment door and setting it down. It meowed before rolled on it back. I scratched it's belly before dropping onto the couch. "Well, now I know you're a girl, so that helps." She curled up on my lap, closing her eyes as I began to try out names. "Ruby?" Nothing. "Terra?" Nope. "Pele? Pizza? Sardine?" Okay, those last ones might have been a joke.

"Salem?" She opened her eyes and meowed at that. "You like that, huh Salem?" She purred, her tail swishing around. I smiled at my new friend before we both fell asleep right there.

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