Granting the Cats
She looked around the party at the empty faces. So many people were strung out on drugs, white powder lining the sniffling noses of beer guzzling young souls, oblivious to the fact that werewolves surrounded them. Such intoxicants would do nothing for her, and though she was usually up for a full moon slaughter, she could not bring herself to feel the pang of hunger.
Gazing into the dark eyes of the party host, she sighed, “didn’t you say the Masonic Cemetery was in walking distance of here?” Tony, the dark-haired host smiled at her in response, pointing a finger, and directing her to walk around the corner. “I’ve always wanted to check out that cemetery, and it seems that night is the perfect time to visit it, seeing how so many of your guests are soon to be put into a cemetery and all.”
Musing slightly, he nodded with the honest emotion, “I’m sorry to hear that your cat has been missing. You seem to be taking it very hard,” he smiled sheepishly, apologetically. “The cemetery is a comfort area for me sometimes.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for actually, just some alone time for meditation in a calm place of peace.” She tried to express with her eyes what her mouth could not say. “It’s right around the corner?”
“Yeah, you should be safe walking there, but just keep an eye out.” He glanced to the moon and waved her off, half feeling her pain, then turned back around to join the party. People swarmed around him muttering ramblings as she turned to walk away.
The streets were barren at 3 a.m. in New Orleans. Strolling past unlit porches, she gazed at the iron detailing of the older houses, guiding her way to the intersection across from the Masonic Cemetery Number One. A cold breeze blew past her as her cell phone rang.
It was her brother, chastising her about walking alone. She tried to object to his paranoia, but he insisted on staying on the phone with her as she walked, his form of protection. “At least if anything happens, I’ll hear it, not that I can do anything about it.”
“You should see the iron fence going around the cemetery. It’s about waist high, and it has these little spikes on the top. I think I can climb over it.”
“Don’t go in that muther fucker,” her brother ordered. “They put up those fences to keep people like you out, as the souls want to rest in peace. Haven’t you heard the story of that lady getting impaled on fence trying to get out of the cemetery?”
“That’s just meant to scare people,” she rolled her eyes and stepped closer to the fence, eyeing up a place to make a foothold. A few feet down, she spied an above ground grave close enough to the edge that she could step on. “I’m gunna do it.”
“Don’t you dare! I’m warning you; they sent me to warn you. You’ll get impaled on it.”
“Your just paranoid.” She grabbed the top of the fence and set her foot the bottom rail, ready to pull herself over, then she stopped. “Holy shit, you should see this.”
Mere inches from her right hand, there was something caught on the fence. When she moved closer to examine it, she realized it was a tiny figurine, a doll wearing a dress. “There’s a doll impaled on the fence.”
“I told you,” he screeched. “That was put there for you. I’m telling you and somebody else is telling you, stay out!”
“Okay,” she resigned, “I won’t go in the cemetery. I can still walk around it though. What’s the harm in that?”
“Why do you like to hang out with all the dead people? I think you should get your ass out of there. Go back to the party where there are live people; you’re safer with werewolves.”
“I’ve been wanting to check this place out for a while now, so I’m not going anywhere until I at least walk around the cemetery. Chill out. If anything happens, you’ll know about it.”
He continued to try to dissuade her, but she continued walking to the back corner, turning parallel with the main road. As she did so, glowing eyes caught her attention, startling her momentarily. “There’s a kitten sitting on a grave!”
“That’s not a kitten, that’s a familiar. It’s the dead watching you through the eyes of an animal. Don’t you know that?”
“It makes me miss my baby kitten. She’s been gone for three days now. I’m scared for her.”
“She’s hardly a kitten,” her brother teased. “She’s a grown cat; she’s so well fed, nobody would call her a kitten. She’s half the size of a jungle cat.”
A second pair of eyes glowed at her from atop a grave. “There’s another cat.” A third cat jumped onto a grave; “no, three!”
“Those are not cats; I’m telling you. They’re watching you, so you better get out of there. How many times do I have to tell you?”
A meow from behind made her inhale sharply by surprise. Turning around, two cats greeted her. They sat, tails slightly twitching.
“There’s more kittens, two more! Wait…” Another cat walked up from behind a bush and sat in line with the other two, simply watching her. Finally, a seventh pair of eyes glowed in the dark.
The eyes approached her, slowly ambling. The seventh cat crossed the road, strutting up to her feet. The cat begged for her hand to stroke its fur.
“There’s seven cats total now, and the one is pregnant. You should see her! She’s a big orange cat, and she’s pregnant, very full of babies!”
“Don’t touch any of them! They’ll give you cat scratch fever! You don’t know where they’ve been.”
“Listen, this is too cool. I’ll call you in a minute.” He tried to object, but she hung up the phone.
Bending over, she petted the head of the mostly orange and faintly white striped cat. Eager for attention, the cat flopped down, as if asking for her belly to be rubbed. Black Widow gingerly rubbed the protruding skin and fur, easing the pain of the cat’s belly.
The six other cats stood still a moment, simply watching the situation, making sure Black Widow meant no harm to the pregnant mother. When they saw the affection being passed out, one by one inched slowly closer, cautiously. Some were more eager to be pet than others; three cats crossed the road to be pet while the three in the cemetery stood post on their graves.
She thought of the secret seven conspiracies, finding it odd that there were seven cats around her. Having nothing to lose, she confessed aloud, “I miss my black cat. Kittens, if there’s anything you can do, please help guide my kitten home to me; she’s the closest thing I have to a child.”
Cats figure-eighted around her legs, and Black Widow tired to give pats to all of them equally. Still the three in the cemetery stood by watching, seemingly un-moving. It was like the cats in the cemetery were trapped.
Like the souls of people. She thought of the cemeteries trapping dead souls while the live souls roamed about freely. A voodoo doll impaled on a fence and seven cats surrounding her in “Voodoo Country” New Orleans, she questioned the reality of popular beliefs. Perhaps the veil between the living and dead was not so far as people liked to imagine.
The moment almost seemed fake, the town seeming too quiet for reality. The line between living and dead could be as thin as the iron fence of the cemetery, thick in places and barely connected in others, having gaps were animals like cats could climb through. If the cats were familiars, perhaps four live souls were actively reaching out to her while three dead souls watched from afar.
A breeze made her stand up. It was obvious that the big orange Momma Cat would take lovings for as long as she would hand them out, and she did not want to have the other cats playing in the road. “Kitten, it was nice petting you, but I must venture on my way.”
Stepping to leave, she had to be careful of the cats underfoot. Trying to walk, the cats followed after her, making her feel like the Pied Piper. Even the cats in the cemetery began to follow, hoping grave to grave along side of her.
Momma Cat tried to keep up, belly nearly touching the ground. It was obvious that it took great strength for her to move, that kittens would be born any day. Younger cats hopped playfully, keeping step ahead of the Momma Cat.
By the time she reached the corner, Momma Cat had given up, and one of the other cats had crossed through the fence of the cemetery. Four cats inside the iron fence watched her now. One cat trailed behind her still, but another cat had stayed behind with Momma Cat.
“Bye kittens,” she muttered as she turned the corner, heading back in the direction of the main road. Walking between Masonic Cemetery Number One and Number Two, her focus remained on the cats, trying to be mindful of the glowing eyes watching her every move. Distracted, she did not notice the approaching man.
“You’re trying to see the dead, are you?” The deep voice of the black man in dark clothes startled her. Glowing white teeth illuminated a quick smile, highlighting a deep laugh.
“I didn’t see you.” She stopped momentarily. “You scared me.”
“You’re in the right place for it. Have a good night. Watch out for those spirits.”
“Have a good one…” Her voice trailed off as she noticed the figure had disappeared out of sight. Hair on her arms stood on end, as she looked down an empty street lined with iron fences, no room for escape.
Looking into the cemetery, her eyes were drawn to a grave. The birth date noted the deceased had been a Scorpio. A triangle seemed to shine from the grave with a 32 in the middle.
Dizzy, her hand fumbled for her cell phone, as she felt too alone for comfort. Dialing her brother without thought, he was waiting for her. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“You should have seen all the kittens! I asked them to send my cat home, and they’re still following me, peeking out from behind graves. This dude just appeared out of nowhere and disappeared into the mist, too.”
“You just think you seen a guy,” he insisted. “That was really just a wandering soul saying hello to you. Are you getting out of there yet?”
“I’m on my way back now, but you should see these graves. There’s pentagrams on them and compasses. It’s just like the cemetery in Key West.”
“Who cares? Go play fetch with your werewolves. Just get back to where there are living people, and don’t walk down any more dark streets.”
“Well, I kind of have to in order to get back, but it’s all good. I have my big brother on the phone with me. He’ll protect me.”
“Lots of good I can do from a far away land, but I guess it’s better than nothing. Now, step up the pace, Grandma. Stop lingering around the death.”
Their conversation changed to light chatter as Black Widow walked back to the party. Porch lights from random houses barely gave enough light to see the street and sidewalk. Close enough to the party, she felt comfortable enough to hang up with her brother and try to blend with the group as the only vampire.
The host seemed to be waiting for her as she walked up. “Did you enjoy your stroll? Did you find anything interesting?”
“Very much so, including seven kittens. I asked them to help my cat find her way home; I figure, what could it hurt? The cemetery was awesome, very calming.”
“I’m glad you found it so. Too bad it wasn’t daylight, because there are some older smaller cemeteries out here, too, also very cool. You’ll have to come back again sometime though, because I think your roommate was wanting to leave.”
The tall lanky brown-haired guy walked up, wiping blood from the tangled hair around his mouth. “You ready to go? I’m done here.”
“Sure, Granthrax, let’s go.” Making a quick round to say farewell to everyone, Black Widow paused to look at eerie family pictures of her host, old Welsh decent. The eyes of the paintings seemed to be watching her.
Granthrax was silent on the drive back home, but he seemed to notice her sorrow. Back inside the house, they both got changed for bed without saying a word to each other. Just as she crawled into bed, he approached her with puppy dog eyes, “I’m sorry.”
She nodded and stroked back his long hair, then they parted ways. Crawling into bed, she curled up with her white cat and her comforter. Rubbing the white cat’s tummy, she drifted asleep.
Meowing woke her up within an hour. Bolting upright, she ran to the door as she had many times in the previous three days. Unlocking the three deadbolts, she flung the door open.
The black cat waltzed inside, rubbing up against her leg. Black Widow broke out in tears she thought she no longer had inside her. The white cat also came to the door, greeting the black cat with a nuzzling kiss.
The two had been parted for the longest time since they had been together, and both cats seemed genuinely happy to see each other, each taking turns licking the other’s heads. Black Widow sobbed merrily, waking up her roommate. Granthrax stumbled into the room and stopped at the sight of the black cat.
“I asked the kittens tonight to send her back to me, and they did, Granthrax! I didn’t think it would work, but it did! They sent her back home to me…”
Tears streaking down her face, Granthrax gathered her up in his arms, guiding her to the sofa. “I’m so sorry I let her out; I had no idea how much she meant to you. Watching your face right now, I’m so sorry I put you through so much pain.”
Black Widow curled up with Granthrax, allowing him to gingerly rub her arm. As they watched, the cats continued to groom and sniff each other, trying to tell the tales of their travels without words. Reuniting with a lost lover cannot be described in words.
The black cat approached Black Widow, jumping on her lap. Black Widow stroked her black cat, rubbing her soft fur along her face. They pressed their foreheads together, trying to touch third eyes.
GRANTHRAX
In the thick crowd of a Superjoint Ritual concert, a lanky man appeared next to her, hair sandy brown, straight, to the length of his shoulders. At first, she did not pay too much attention to him, but then she felt his eyes upon her. When she moved to the beat of the music, his eyes moved with her body.
It was almost unnerving, but she was used to it and shrugged it off. He made his move by sparking a one-hitter and offering it to her. Innocently enough, she accepted the offering.
Standing close, as if such an action laid claims upon her, she could feel his body heat. She passed the pipe back to him to be re-packed. Slowly, almost tauntingly, he handed the pipe back to her, “I’m Granthrax.”
Exchanging pleasantries with the nod of the head, her eyes fixed upon the lead singer, Phil Anselmo. It seemed as if he noticed her gaze when the song ended, as he smiled at her, pointed at Granthrax and chucked. “I’ve still got the biggest cock in this muther fucker.”
“What a narcissistic little rich boy;” Granthrax seemed to be offended. “I think he was talking to you when he said that. Do you know him?”
“We’ve met in passing,” Black Widow smiled at Granthrax’s defense. “I’ve never been with him sexually, if that’s what you’re asking. He always likes to say how big his cock is; don’t take it personally.”
Smiling with a slight flirt, Black Widow rolled her eyes playfully, then directed her attention back to the music. Head nodding to the beat, she tried to fully immerse herself into the song, attempting to become one with the music. The only thing stopping her was Granthrax’s stare.
When the music ended, Black Widow made her way to the restroom with a nod of her intended direction. She heard a snort when she entered the door, followed by overly deep inhalation. Pushing past a crowd of girls playing with themselves in the mirror, she headed into the third stall against the wall.
Urine drained from her easily, flowing fast at first, and easing down into a trickle. She blew her nose, then wiped with the same piece of toilet paper. With a wipe of the hand, she made sure nothing extra stayed behind.
Pulling her skirt back down, the chain by her waist jingled, reminding her of the man who had bought her the outfit. She had not heard from Mikey, and she missed him. Sorrow passed when she opened the door, putting on a fake smile to the girls in front of her as she pushed her way to the sink.
The girl in the stall next to her exited without washing her hands. Another girl walked up, lifter her nose in the air and asked, “am I cool?” White powder ringed beneath her nostril.
“Nah, you might wanna do the water trick real quick.” Black Widow watched the girl wet her fingers, lift them to her nose and snort, inhaling the water into her nose. Pinching her nose closed with her fingers, she snorted again, then wiped beneath.
As Black Widow walked out the door, the girl muttered, “thanks for lookin’ out.” The door closed behind her, and she sauntered down the short hallway that lead to the pool tables of the Howlin’ Wolf. A familiar face greeted her with a smile.
Glasses and long black dreds, Kevin Bond dripped with a glisten of sweat, “hey, Sweetheart.” She reached her arms up to hug him. “I’ll warn you, I’m all sweaty.”
“That’s okay, I like my men sweaty,” she teased as they embraced. “Nice job on up stage. How have you been?”
“Yeah, I saw you out there bopping around. I’ve not been too bad, just finishing up tour. It’s been a while, what brings you down to my neck of the woods?”
“Oh, just doing some traveling. After Key West, I decided to come her for a bit, but I’m thinking about leaving at the end of the month, not sure yet. I guess I haven’t seen you since Toledo.”
“Yeah,” Kevin chuckled, “that’s when you let me do that video thing, huh? I remember that. Go figure, just when I get into town, you’re thinking about leaving.”
“I’m not one hundred percent that I’m leaving yet,” Black Widow stalled. “I’m still figuring out what I want to do, but my lease is up in just two weeks. You never know, I might stay.”
“You should,” Kevin said firmly, in a motion that made his sleeved tattoos show. “I think you still might find some interesting times in this city. It takes a while for it to really sink in, and it’s challenging for the newcomers, I know that all too well.”
“Yeah,” she sighed, “my house got broken into just before my birthday, less than two weeks ago. I kind of have a sour taste in my mouth from it all. I’m just seeing what happens in the course of the next couple weeks, that’ll make my decision for me.”
“Well, you should come hang before you leave, whenever you decide to leave. You’ll stay at least for a while more still, I know it. I was just going to head back to my house in Metairie tonight; you’re more than welcome to tag along if you’d like, nothing too exciting, just a few friends hanging out and drinking beer.”
DOES BLACK WIDOW…
Go with Kevin
Get a ride home with Granthrax
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