The Swamp Cat (5)

By Shuke Wang

Chapter 5

“Wake up sleepyhead!” Jakes’ mother yipped sarcastically knocking his head with her fist gently. Jake pushed her hand away and pulled on the covers. Finally, his mother left after a silent moment and he jumped out of bed changing into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. The whole family was there when he came and they were eating French toast and drinking milk. His stepfather was reading newspapers and his dad was talking to his step mom and shelly. Shari was cooking more toast for the family and Neige was sitting there silently reading his batman comic. Jake chose a seat with Neige.

“Neige! Talk to me?” Jake Begged. Neige looked up at him.

“Hi.” He said simply and went on reading his book. Jake stood up unconfidently and walked over to the kitchen counter to get toast. All the events raced through his head. He knew that someone was trying to talk to him and give him a signal but he couldn’t understand. Well’ he shouldn’t have been thinking of that. Without looking, he tripped over a chair and his plate flew out of his hands. Before Jake could get back up, he put his hand on to the stove and his hand was sizzled.

“Ahhhhhh!” He cried tumbling backwards. The plate hit the floor with a loud crack as Jake fell to the floor. Unfortunately, there was a telephone table behind him and he accidentally shoved a vase onto the floor. It hit the marbled surface with a loud crash before breaking into pieces. Jake was still falling backwards as he tumbled out the back door with a huge splash as his robe soaked into the water. Bubbles started forming around his sizzled hand and he felt heavier by every second. Using all his might, he lifted his head out of the water but then after catching a breath, he drifted back in, a loss from all the energy that he had. But he was still conscious. IT WAS PEACEFUL IN THE WATER AND HE CLOSED HIS EYES, HOPING THAT HE COULD KEEP HIS BREATH FOR LONGER. It felt like hours before he was pulled out of the pool. He immediately felt cold and started shivering.

“You okay?” asked his stepfather. Jake nodded. From the corner of his eyes he could see a kitten licking its paw, staring at him with a soft look.

“Look!” Jake shouted as he pointed his finger towards the kitty. But with a blink of an eye, the kitten was gone and all that was left of it was a puddle of water and a few hairs of a cat.

“I think we need to check your eyesight!” joked Jakes’ step dad. He handed Jake a towel and led him out of the pool. Suddenly, Jake stopped in his tracks. He knew it. The cat was trying to tell him about some secret with his real father. His father was doing something wrong and the cats wanted the truth revealed. After the necklace, the picture frame, and the note, he knew that something had to be done.

(To be continued)