The Cat's Lady

The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. The window was large and streaked with grime on the exterior; the glass looked very thick. Beyond the window was lush and green—like a jungle—although Katie could not see much beyond the thick vegetation. She had seen stealthy movement in those green recesses before, shadows moving within shadows, though whatever lurked there unseen, chose to remain so. Aside from the tangle outside of his window, she had only seen the jungles of Earth in books. Also its mountains, deserts, oceans, cities…and the creatures that had inhabited those places, including humans. Her kind had dominated the earth—before The Demise. He had told her that humankind was the cause of its own downfall. They had chosen greed and gluttony over a harmonious existence with the natural world. Eventually nature had retaliated.

The library was her favorite room. It wasn’t large, more of a sitting room, but its walls were lined with shelves. Those shelves were stuffed with books of all shapes, sizes and subjects. Children’s books to classics to scientific fare and everything between. Aside from the dirty window, Katie only saw the world through these books, and she had read all of them. Most, multiple times. There was also a large, circular sofa in the center of the room. It was brown and worn well, with soft pillows scattered about. The thread was hemp like, but very soft on her bare skin. Katie thought it was probably the most comfortable spot in the world. She would stretch out on it naked—Katie never bothered with clothes—with one of her selections from the surrounding shelves. It would be added to the several books strewn across the sofa. She would read a bit of one and then move to another and another and so on…until she had read her way back to the first. Then she would start the cycle over again. And so she would while away the hours of her days. She loved to read…he called her his little bookworm.

After the library, she was also fond of the pantry. He kept it stocked with fresh meats and delicious foraged greens, grains and fruits. But there were also many sweets, fruit leathers, canned goods and dried goods; Katie guessed that some of these were gathered and preserved from before. There was an open fire cooking area with a large chimney, and he kept it stocked with wood. She thought the house looked like it had been built by Mother Nature herself, from the mud brick walls, to the stone and wood throughout. The wood trim looked as if fallen limbs had been gathered and then perfectly sized and placed. Same with the stones— gathered and placed. Harmonious.

Like reading, cooking was another skill that Katie possessed, without knowing how she had come by it. She was very well fed and very fat; she didn’t get much exercise either. But that was okay, she was happy with her life. If she wasn’t eating, then she was reading or napping on her couch…or snuggling with him. That was her favorite—her happiest, safest place.

She had never ventured out of this building, that she could remember. He had told her it was too dangerous, that she would be killed and eaten. A tender, juicy morsel for the creatures that now roamed the Earth outside of these walls. She found this odd, because he roamed outside of these walls. Almost daily. She feels anxious when he’s gone, that maybe he would end up as a snack, that she would be alone. She would not survive long without him.

Katie was napping on her couch when a roar echoed from his room, he had crept in while she slept. She rolled off clumsily and went scurrying as fast as her chubby body would allow, still half in sleep. Upon reaching his room, she poked her head around the door frame, smiling happily. There was the dirty window into the jungle. Next to it, hung on the wall, was a very long staff. It was crafted from an exotic looking wood and there was a large, wicked blade on the end. The blade was stained dark. Hung next to it was a giant bow and quiver. And on a table below, there was an enormous, silver helmet with a black feather plume. And in an extravagant sofa chair next to the table, there sat a very large, beautiful tiger, but he had the body of a man. An enormous, muscular, fur coated man. Beautiful black and orange stripes streaked his body. He had hands and feet instead of paws, with claws like curved daggers. Here he was, in all his glory, her master, Tyrone. Katie knew from Tyrone that large cats had mutated due to radiation, and were now a cross between human and big cat. Many of the earths creatures had mutated, both wild and domesticated, and they had rebelled against the self proclaimed lords of the earth—man. Katie had woke here, in this place, on her couch, with no memory of the world before. At times she dreamt of snow and mountains and happy times with others like her, sometimes she woke with tears streaming down her cheeks. But those were just dreams. She was well fed, she had her books, and she had her big cat. Katie was happy.

He looked towards her and grins, all gleaming white fangs. She goes shyly to the foot of his chair and whimpers with her arms out, looking pleadingly up at the giant cat. Tyrone says, “There’s my little bookworm,” and reaches down to pick her up gently. She curls into his lap as he pets her, claws retracted. She rubs his soft fur and snuggles up into it. Sometimes he runs his rough tongue over her naked body; she loves that so much. It makes her tingle all over. Katie doesn’t have a tongue, only a scarred nubbin, so she can’t talk. She doesn’t remember why, but it doesn’t matter. She gives a satisfied purr deep in her throat. She loves being close to her cat and does her best to be a good pet.