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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Bubbles erupted from Vesper's mouth as he tried to swim back to the surface. It all happened so fast and so sudden. His memories were blurry, but he was sure that something had attacked them.
He let out a horrible-sounding gasp as he emerged from the water. He saw Fibi flailing nearby, helplessly trying to keep his head afloat, but it only seemed to make him go down quicker. A decaying lump of driftwood floated towards the rat. Vesper would have almost told him to climb onto it, and then he would do the same—
If it didn't suddenly reveal eyes as red as dripping blood that stared right at them.
"Fibi, swim away!" yelled Vesper, but the rat was far too slow. The creature opened its mouth wide, ready to whelm him into its stomach, but Vesper whipped his tail out and told him to grab it tightly. With a strong pull, he whisked the rat out the creature's jaws just in time before it shut with a piercing snap.
"Keep swimming!" yelled Fibi. Vesper felt his tail being squeezed.
"I am swimming!"
"Well swim faster! Swim like my life depends on it, which it does!"
Vesper paddled his forelimbs and backlimbs in a desperate attempt to keep himself from being the creature's midnight snack. He didn't have a lot of experience with swimming. He loathed water, even more than he loathed Miss Cordelia. But right now, he needed the water to be his friend. He was in its hands now, and he needed it to be on his side.
"Over there, a tree! You can climb one of those, right?" said Fibi.
Vesper kicked the water as hard as he could. The tree was only a few strokes away, but the creature didn't seem to be the forgiving kind. It zoomed towards them like a surfboard on a high wave.
"Do something! I can't outswim it!" yelled Vesper.
"I'll try to spit at its eyes. I'm a very good spitter."
Vesper heard the rat make strange slurping noises as the creature grew dangerously close. Lurching forward, Fibi spewed a mouthful of saliva into the air and landed directly at the creature's eyes. Strong, violent waves swept the lake as it began to thrash wildly.
Vesper jabbed his claws onto the tree's trunk as soon as he got near. He had never climbed a tree before, and he didn't know what spots he should be grabbing. He wished he had more to pick from. Moss was growing out of the trunk, making it slippery to climb, and the outer skin was starting to peel off.
He tried to do it as quickly as possible, but as he reached for a branch, his other paw slipped, and he fell. There was a loud splash as creature emerged from the water and opened its mouth. Vesper pulled his tail upwards just as the jaws snapped inches away from the rat. He reached for the branch again, this time with a better grip, and climbed onto it.
