Clumsy Cat
He looked at me and stopped, a complete stop you only see when someone is startled and in shock over what they saw. My body froze as I realized why he was staring at me with such a look. I must have moved on instinct. How. How did I not realize I stood up?
What is wrong with me.
Why am I standing?
Why is Catnap sending food with one of the smaller critters down a pipe?
Why am I still alive?
Why are my friends still alive?
Where's DogDay and Hoppy?
Where is this place?
Why are the smaller critters working with him?
Who is Catnap sending that food to?
Why.. Is he the one backing up?
"Cat—"
"How areyou awake."
I stepped back. It wasn't a question. Not like the normal ones he'd used to ask. It was a demand. A demand in a tone that sounded too much like how the Prototype demanded one from us when we went against him. Yet it felt like the opposite. I was afraid yes, but Catnap has always made his emotions clear as day through his body language— although DogDay was only reason I noticed that in the first place..—.
"I don't know how you do it DogDay!" Hoppy sighed dramatically, biting into her sandwich Ms. Delight had packed for her.
DogDay gave her a confused smile, his tail wagging back and forth softly.
"You know.." She gestured in Catnaps direction, who seemed fairly occupied with his nap under the big oak tree.
His smile faltered a bit, tilting his head to the side as he gripped the red ball in his hands.
Hoppy sighed loudly again, her paw placed on her face, "Catnap. How do you handle Catnap." She finally said, her paw dragging down her face as she did.
He perked up immediately and made an O shape with his mouth, "I— I'm not sure! I was just kinda able to tell what he was feeling by his actions." He exclaimed proudly, a prominent smile stretched across his face, his tail picked up speed behind him as he feigned ignorance.
'He says that yet look at his tail..' I thought, debating if I should call him out or not.
"He's kinda creepy sometimes.." Crafty said, her voice barely above a whisper.
As much as I thought it was rude to say that about our fellow critter, I couldn't say she was entirely wrong.. Catnap was always on the more quieter side. Before he wouldn't talk at all and only used sign language to communicate.
"His smoke isn't controlled at the moment, so for now you all will be taking lessons on the basics of sign so he can communicate."
The man, 'Leith Pierre' had just told us one day. It was completely out of the blue, from what we knew Catnap had perfect control of his smoke before. Yet maybe it was because they added something, since from that day on he was in charge of putting us to sleep every night.
He didn't act any differently, other than his quietness, so I never thought of it much. Although he did refrain from being touched for awhile, but we were all like that after we would return from the experimenting room.
Hoppy nodded in agreement, while DogDay looked shocked, "That's just how he is! Believe me he wouldn't hurt a fly!"
Oh the irony.
I guess my memory is choosing now to give me insignificant information. Like DogDays unrelenting trust in this traitor.
"Let me try and talk to him. He's being manipulated by that.. THING and we all know it, the best thing we can do is try and get him out of it. If it doesn't work.. then we'll go with your plan Bubba."
The plan. The plan that we could never put into action because the Prototype acted first. Why, why did we never check if there were cameras in that room.
I snapped out of my daze and looked him up and down, trying to see if I could find any malice in his body, yet.. my eyes softened as I sighed. I couldn't find any, if anything he looked more scared than I felt.
His tail had poofed up and retreated to wrap around his bony leg, his ears flattened against his head, he was slightly and slowly moving back towards the wall, and his eyes wouldn't— or couldn't— even look at me. It was like he deflated into himself, a very unexpected sight from someone who gingerly participated in The Hour of Joy, who tried confidently talking us into trusting the Prototype, someone who looked us all in the eye as he used his red smoke against us.
The anger, although was dormant for a second, came rushing back as I looked at his sorry st—.
Huh.
I stared at the spot that once stood my old friend, who, somehow disappeared into thin air. I didn't even hear any footsteps.
"Did— did.. he just– run away..?" I whispered, my voice came out hoarse and broken, like I haven't talked in a long time.
I should have known I've been asleep for a long time, Catnap has lost significant weight that honestly concerns me, and he seems more worn out, like a toy that's been thrown around for years. Well knowing the Prototype, he might have actually been thrown around more than once.
I sighed with relief as my tense shoulders relaxed. I don't know what Catnaps thinking, what he's feeling, or what this even is, but if he's going to run away at the mere sight of me standing.. than that means he isn't hostile. I felt my eyes burn, threatening tears to flow down. I hate him, I hate him for chosing his 'saviours' sweet lies over us, but I'm so relieved he didn't actually kill us. That we actually mattered enough to him— that we mattered more than his so called saviour— for him to do the one thing that he considered taboo.
He went behind the Prototypes back.
The Prototype doesn't change his mind, he never goes back on his word. That was one of things Catnap admired about him. And after that day we showed him weren't going to listen, there was no way he would keep us alive.
"He always stays true to his word, he reminds me of DogDay in that way.."
I blinked at the memory. I remember giving him a look and a smirk when he told me that. He only glared at me but I could see it in his face. The way he tilted away from me when I was teasing poking him about his crush, and how his cheeks would always tint to a darker shade of purple when DogDay was mentioned.
I wanted to laugh, I did laugh, I was the critter that resembled love for crying out loud. My smile deteriorated once reality hit me. It doesn't matter what he felt towards DogDay, he still betrayed us. He still betrayed DogDay. I guess my role from the critters is still lingering with me, the memories still linger, it hurts.
I need to stop thinking and look around. I need to know my position—
My thoughts were interrupted by a small Thump from above me. A quiet whine came soon after, one that was allllll too familiar..
I smiled, not a happy smile, but one I knew always scared my fellow critters. I needed to know my position and what was going on, what better way of knowing that than from a kitty who was bad at hiding in this small space?