Everybody knows that when humans kick the bucket, they go to somewhere very far away called Paradise. But what about animals? Where do they go when their time is up? Where is their Paradise? That is what Vesper, an orphaned Calico cat, discovered a...
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Chapter Three Of Being a Ghost
In every city there is a Stray, animals that drift aimlessly around the corners of an alleyway, rummaging inside dumpsters, hoping to find even the tiniest scraps thrown away to rot in the shadows. They were different from Pets, those who are sheltered, this who are fed, and those who are loved.
And in every Stray there is fear. Fear of hunger and starvation. Fear of homelessness. Fear of the rain and the winter.
Fear of being unloved and left to die.
There was one in the city of New Jersey.
Like there is in every city.
An Alaskan Malamute of eye-catching size—with fur rugged and intertwined and smeared with brown filth like an unwashed woolly carpet—was lying inside a cold, cramped compartment with a sad look on his face. After years and years of hiding and evading, he was finally uprooted from his life living freely on the streets. And it was all thanks to the Good Paws Animal Shelter, with their leash poles and their rabies gloves. It was all thanks to them.
It came so sudden. His instincts couldn't kick in on time. Maybe if they did, he would probably be sitting in front of his favorite seafood restaurant by now, waiting for shrimp heads and lobster shells to be thrown at his way.
If only they did.
The steel bars that covered the small opening clanged loudly as the compartment rocked about inside the truck. He wondered if there were other Strays in there with him, trapped and desperately wanting to be let out. Numbness had already sunk on his muscles when the truck came to a halt. The abruptness sent his head crashing against the wall. Heavy footsteps trudged outside. A large black figure appeared in front as a jangling of keys were heard. The door made a clunk and swung open smoothly without a single creak.
A hand leaped at the dog and grabbed his scruff. "Come here," an Animal Snatcher with a husky voice said. He let a short whimper escape as he was pulled forcefully outside. The dog fought against the man's efforts to pull him, but his strength was not enough.
Animal Snatchers were humans who roamed the roads and walked the streets, looking for animals without their leashes and snatched them in their nets. They weren't anything like human Owners, who fed animals and kept their fur soft and clean and flealess. They were cruel, and they were told to young pups and kits when they misbehaved.
And now, the dog was in the hands of one of them.
The Animal Snatcher strapped a muzzle over his snout, rendering his only means to fight back completely and utterly useless. He was lead into an expansive building with crumbling, water-stained walls. Some of its paint had already been peeled off, and some were desperately trying to cling on.
"Back so soon, Allen?" greeted a female voice over the counter, sounding almost robotic. She was typing something in a computer. She didn't look like an Animal Snatcher, but she was acquainted with them, and that still counted.
"Morning Lydia," said the man.
"You've reeled in a big one today."
"Yup," replied the Animal Snatcher, tugging the dog's nape harder."This one's been strolling out in the streets for as long as I could remember. About time his luck run out." The man looked at the dog with insulting eyes, then laughed haughtily. "With this fella, I'll finally get me the added bonus I need on this week's pay."
"If you find somewhere to keep him, that is," said the woman. "All of the dog cages are occupied already. Hard to find someone to adopt them. Customers hightail right out of there as soon as they step in."
"Then I'll just put him where those dang cats are."
"You must be joking, right?" the woman sounded mildly shocked that he would even suggest that. "That dog could cause a riot."
"They're in cages, and as long as they stay in there we won't have any problem."
"Actually, we have a problem right now. It's called a cat cage for a reason, you know. How are you supposed to fit that big guy inside?"
"I'll," the man trailed off. "think of something."
The Animal Snatcher pulled the dog's neck hard. "Come on."
He was brought to a dimly-lit room that reeked of rotten fish and sour milk. The man flicked the light's switch, and the contents of the room were revealed. Rows and rows of rusted cages overflowed the shelves. As soon as the room was lit, wild meowings echoed back and forth endlessly across the walls. Cats stuck their paws out from their cages, swinging and flailing them ferociously, as if to reach for the man. Their pupils transformed from circular eclipses to long, narrow marks. Angry and desirous.
"Let us out!"
"Freedom, give us our freedom!"
"Oh shut up, you darn cats!" yelled the Animal Snatcher, hitting one of the cages to shush them. The dog winced at the horrible clanging sound it made.
The man dragged him towards the end of the room and stuffed him inside a much cramped space than before. His limbs and joints were pressed together. He couldn't move them. Not even a slight budge. The Animal Snatcher bent down to meet his eyes. The dog stared at him with much misery and sorrow.
"Don't feel too down, it's not so bad in here. A little tight for you, sure. Still, it beats spending the night outside," said the man, attempting to sound sincere. If the dog could only disagree, he would've done so already.
"I hope you get along with your new furry little friends. You're going to be here for a while. And when I say a while... " the Animal Snatcher broke out a chuckle, a terse one, but resonating in the dog's ears. He turned the lights off and the room was consumed by the darkness once again.
The cats' roaring cries eventually faded, and the room grew silently dead.
He couldn't remember the last time he had a roof over his head, and yet, like always, he still didn't sleep well that night.
