I let the cat nuzzle at my fingertips and then rub its cheek down the length of my fingers. It had been far too long since I had a cat. When I moved out of my parents house, I hadn't had the time or money to take care of one and cats aren't even much of a…

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Story is marked as mature

The hallway wasn't long enough to break into a full run and Lenn barely registered the pictures of strangers that lined both walls as he went by. Guided by the only light coming out of one of the three doorways at the end of the hall, he felt like the cap…

“Come on, man. Just move. I'm not leaving the cat out here in the storm.” Lenn said. “There's no food, it's wet, and it has nowhere else to go.”

Ruger hunched down. “I told you, I'm not letting you bring your damned cat inside.”

Lenn didn't move any clo…

“My names Lennart Larsson. I'm looking for the occupant of 163 C.”

“Goddamnit, Lenny.” A disgusted voice said.

Lenn's gut twisted. The voice belonged to Liv's brother, Ruger. What was he doing here? He didn't even live in Japan. Still, he rallied gamely…

Lenn struggled against currents of howling wind and driving rain so strong they felt like the spirits of speeding buses. Keeping the cat protected was almost too much for him. He tucked the arm cradling the cat further back like an American football playe…

“Goddamned cat, you're like a living jump scare.” Lenn muttered.

The cat meowed plaintively, tail up in the air. Matted fur clung flatly to its body outlining a starved frame.

“Yeah, I don't like this weather much either.”

Cautiously, the cat padded fo…

The house was silent and dark. It was the dead of night after all. Something woke me, but I knew it wasn't a sound, nor a smell. Something deep inside me told me it was time. Time to arise.

I felt it in my bones just as clearly as I felt the soft carpet…

The blank page stares at me. I have to write something. Anything! I promised myself that I would do it. Maybe someday the things I write will be coherent again. For now, they're just something to make sure I hold myself to my promise to write again.

…

Strong's cat roamed their rented studio office space like he owned the place. Sarah found the matted fur ball curled on top of her desk, arrogant tail thwacking the keyboard of her laptop hard and steady, like a Sousa march.

"What, are you composing the…

Story is marked as mature

Story is marked as mature