Solutions

Chapter 4: Where did that come from?

"Closing time, gents," Boylan's softly accented voice drifted across the bar.

Barnabas placed his terra on the table and pushed the drink over to the barmaid, who gave him a fetching smile. It lit up her oval face and he returned her smile before taking the stairs out into the damp night air. In the distance howler cries echoed and behind him the soldiers trudged out.

Turning toward his home, he enjoyed the walk. The stars overhead sparkly clearly and he remembered evenings spent at the old house staring up at them, marveling, both as a child and later as an adult. He wished he'd known then they would be his only view for longer than anyone should live.

He glanced at his cousin's and stopped, when he realized Laura sat on the porch. She wasn't due back for a few more days and her early return concerned him. His silver headed cane in hand he approached and realized she held something.

"You're home early." He sat in an empty chair beside her.

"Feeding time," she informed him, indicating the small furred body in her lap.

"What is that?"

"Sabre cat and no, it shouldn't be here." Expertly she shifted the angle of the bottle. Two small paws kneaded against the plastic.

"Any idea why it might be?"

"From some of the discussions I attended, I'd say this is the first evidence we've seen of possible leakage."

"Leakage?" His understanding of science was shaky at best.

"The scientists who invented the time travel tech and the portal we used, discussed this possibility. That it might puncture," she frowned, "well, let's say put holes in other dimensions and the possibility of things slipping through."

"Have you discussed this with the commander?"

"Not yet. When I got back this little one was close to death. I had to get to the infirmary."

"Seems lively enough."

She laughed. "Yeah, amazing what a few meals can do."

"Did you have time for hunting?" He wasn't low on blood yet. He just liked to keep a steady supply.

"Not to worry, Barnabas. Give me a few days and I'll go out again."

"What are you going to do with this cub?"

"Raise and train it as a hunting companion."

"They get fairly good sized don't they?"

"They do," she confirmed. "Sheba has no mother to teach her to hunt and she wouldn't survive very long out there if I were to set her loose. Sabre cats are not designed to live in this era and catch prey."

What she said made sense, still he had concerns. "Sheba?"

"Doc Shannon let me know the cub is female. I named her Sheba."

The bottle was empty. Laura set it down and grabbed a damp cloth. "Mom would clean the baby afterwards and stimulate its bowels." She got up and headed inside. "Garden is the best place."

He followed her through her colorful home out to her garden. His cousin washed the baby, who obediently did its business, and she finished cleaning it. Going back inside, she put the kitten in a fluffy bed in her second bedroom and closed a half gate.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, indicating the gate.

"Had it for a while in the event I brought something back." Laura yawned. "I need to get some rest."