Coalescence Book I - Chapter 36 - Come Out And Play
Chapter 36 - Come Out And Play
-H-
So.. somehow I fucked up almost immediately on our mission. Spectacularly so. I could probably accept a reward and give a speech on having the worst luck around. I couldn't keep my wolf hidden, couldn't keep him secret on our hunt. My friends found out immediately.
Part of me was relieved.
I wasn't alone in this anymore. Someone else knew about my situation and for better or worse they wanted to help.
"Listen guys.. I don't want either of you getting hurt. If you are going to help it is just going to be looking around for the cat. That's it. You aren't going to put yourselves any more at risk, got it? Good, okay.. If we split up we can cover some more ground. My wolf was tracking his scent, but he climbed a building and is up on a roof somewhere, most likely. We are hoping to catch him on the move, keep your eyes to the skies and maybe we can spit him."
"We could use a drone to look over the buildings." Yes James, that would be perfect.
"Do you have a drone?"
"No.."
"Well then we're probably not going to be using drones for this particular operation.. Any other bright ideas?"
"Alright, alright, don't be a dick, I'm just trying to help, trying to think of how we could do this."
"Well, what about putting food out? You know, open a can of tuna and cats come running most of the time.." Joelle offered softly as she clung to my wolf like a burr in his fur.
"He ate some tuna at my house but I am guessing there are probably plenty of other food smells in the city" I looked to the wolf and he gave a reaffirming nod, sniffing at the air a few times, "I doubt opening a can is gonna bring all the boys to the yard."
"I was thinking bigger than a little tuna can you dork, but fine.. if food's not an option then what else can we do? The city is kinda big if you hadn't noticed" She looked between James and I, hoping one of us would have a better idea.
I didn't. I was tired and cranky and not a single good idea was coming to me. The task seemed hopeless, even with twice the amount of eyes looking for the cat creature now.
A loud thud and crash sounded out next to us, making James and I leap and stumble back. My wolf snarled and yanked Joelle off the ground, away from the danger. Something had fallen from the sky and crashed into some metal trash cans. As one of the cans rolled aside we saw a large, split open bag with a gruesome sight. Joelle gasped out, covering her mouth.
Bones. Blood. Fur and viscera. Most of the bones had been picked clean, but some still had meat clinging to them, fur tufts clung to anywhere that still had flesh and blood. There were so many bones of different sizes, mostly small but some concerningly bigger.
My wolf was already looking to the sky, snarling out and setting poor Joelle back on her feet. James and my gaze followed my wolf's glare.. and we saw him. Far up on the roof of the building above. The cat. He was lazily leaning over the ledge, swaying a paw and staring down at us. He was too far away to make out his face, but I knew he was grinning down at us.
"That fucking cat.. He's been watching us from the roof this whole time hasn't he?..." I clenched my jaw and fists alike.
Joelle was trying to calm my wolf, holding his arm and patting at him as he growled and snarled, tossing the big blanket aside, he was ready for a fight. The cat was the opposite. He had the high ground, he was relaxed as could be, we couldn't reach him.
"That's him, I take it.. Did he just throw a bag of bones at us?" James looked at the broken bag spilled across the concrete.
Yeah that's him alright.. he's taunting me. Taunting us. This is all some big game to him, but if he doesn't come back inside me worse things could get out"
"If he doesn't.. what?"
"Nacho boat! Get your ass down here!" I shouted up at him angrily.
"It is Nacayotl, human~" He replied calmly, his voice barely carrying down to us.
"He talks?" Joelle tilted her head, looking up at the roof's ledge.
"He talks way too much. How do we get up there? Think we can get inside and find a door up to the roof?"
James was already looking around the building, "I'm not sure.. maybe, it's an apartment building.. What if someone sees the wolf? You going to sneak him up ten flights of stairs? What if the cat just runs off while we are all inside?"
I glared up at the cat, huffing a bit, "We have phones.. maybe you two stay out here, and my wolf and I go in? If he makes a run for it, call me and we'll rush back down."
"He talks though.. Have you tried just talking to him? Convince him to come to us?" Oh sweet, naive Joelle.. that cat is Satan.
"Last time I tried that he mugged me and ran off with my chicken"
"There's a chicken now too?.. A were-chicken?"
"What? No, shut up. There's no were-chicken, it was dinner for him. Then that wrinkly bitch stole it and filled his belly."
"Guess he didn't fill it enough.. he ate a buncha other stuff" James pointed at the bag of bones and gore. "Well.. what's the plan then? We playing reconnaissance for you? You going in there?"
"Yeah, we gotta move quickly. Keep your phone out, if you call me I'm turning right back around, maybe we can follow him. If he stays put and we can corner him up there.. then we might need you guys to keep a look out for us so we can carry the cat back without anyone seeing us. Got it?"
James nodded and pulled his phone out, looking up at the lounging cat creature and not letting it out of his sight. Joelle hugged me, concern plastered across her face. She did the same to my wolf, "You be careful okay? And you, keep Connor safe. We'll be right down here."
We wasted no more time, if the cat was going to reveal himself to taunt us, we weren't going to give him time to get away. We made our way to a side door, hoping it was unlocked. I jiggled the handle.. It wouldn't budge. Shit. I didn't want to have to go through the front door with my wolf..
He gently pushed me aside, a large paw wrapping around the little door handle.. giving a rough, sharp and sudden tug. The door handle tore out of the door itself with the sound of snapping metal,the latch that had been holding the door locked was dangling inside the hold he'd left.
"Dude!.. That made so much noise.. shh. But.. good boy."
I patted at his back as he stopped the ruined door handle to the ground, reaching into the door hole and pulling it open. We crept inside what looked to be a back maintenance and storage room for the building. Both of us listened around, hearing nothing. Maybe we could slip up to the roof without anyone seeing if we got lucky. I pressed my ear to the door out of the maintenance room, listening and hearing someone walking.. then opening a door. Then silence. Maybe it was someone heading out the front door?
Cautiously I stepped out into the lobby, looking around a bit. I didn't see anyone, I didn't even see a front desk.. just a bunch of mailboxes, the elevator and a staircase. Maybe the front desk was around the corner. Perfect. I quickly ushered my wolf out and towards the stairwell, gesturing for him to be quiet as I led the way. I peeked ahead at each floor as we climbed, making sure no one was there before my wolf followed.
We only had to stop once, for someone walking by and heading for their apartment. I held my breath and pushed my wolf back out of sight until they disappeared through their door, leaving us home free to bolt up the last stairwell. The roof access was a deadbolted metal door in a narrow passage at the top of the last set of stairs. Bingo. My wolf filled the entire space behind me as he followed up the stairs.
My phone rang.
No no no, we are right here.. he can't be making a run for it! I didn't even answer my phone, we burst through the door and onto the roof, frantically looking around and trying to see if the cat was roof hopping or making a break for it.. but he was gone. We stepped out further, looking towards where he had been perched as I answered my phone.
"He moved off the ledg.."
James spoke in my ear, but I stopped listening as I looked behind us to see the cat crouched atop the roof access door, grinning wide at us as my wolf turned and tore towards him.
Nacayotl slipped down and through the door, pulling it closed in one fluid motion with the metallic clunk of the deadbolt being slid into place.
Shit.
My wolf was on the door before I could say a word to him or James on the phone, grabbing at the metal and tearing gouges in it.
"Hey, hey! You're going to hurt yourself! Your shoulder! James, the cat just blew past us and down the stairwell.."
My jaw dropped a little as my wolf's claws caught under the door, filling the air with the sound of creaking, shrieking metal as he lifted and bent the whole bottom corner of the door open like he was opening a tin can. It was too small an opening for him to go in, but I could fit. I didn't hesitate, we didn't have time. I skipped through the opening and darted down the stairs. The cat was a floor below me.. But the elevator was right there. Was it going to be faster than the stairs?
I made the call, praying for the doors to open quickly.. they did. Immediately. It was already on my floor. I could have kissed the elevator if it wasn't filthy and that wasn't weird. I hammered the ground floor button, fidgeting as I stood there and watched the doors closed. Watched the floors pass one by one. It felt like it was taking hours. I pulled some duct tape from my bag, getting it ready. For what? What exactly did I think I was going to do? Run at him with tape and wrap him in a sticky bear hug? Run around him really fast and wrap him in tape? Stick some to his balls and blackmail him into coming back with us or else I yank it off like a Brazilian band-aid?
The doors slid open and I stepped out, coming face to face with Nacayotl as he came down the last set of stairs. He was as surprised as I was, looking over his shoulder at the stairs.. then back at me inexplicably standing before him.
"Sorcerer" He accused.
I gripped my tape tighter as we stared each other down, catching him by surprise was a first.. I didn't know how to capitalize on my advantage. I kept my voice low, not knowing if there was someone around the other side of the mailroom wall.
"Just come quietly and no one needs to get hurt. We've got you surrounded" Sure, okay Officer Duct Tape.
That amused him, his telltale grin wrinkling his cheeks.