OREO
I’ve never owned a cat before. Walking into Marbury Animal Shelter–hoping to find you a forever friend. I didn’t know what cat I’d be choosing that day. My mother mentioned how cats help reduce stress. They are great pets that take care of their basic necessities, granted I’ll still have to feed it and clean up the litter box. That doesn’t bother me, what’s more important is that I find the right cat.
His paw reached out to me in a gentle manner, his mix of black and white fur coat, a tuxedo cat. Purrs echoed from his cage and his head rubbed against the back of my hand. I petted the soft creature and warmth flourished over me. Our eyes locked, green hazel met my wavy browns and I felt a connection with this furry friend.
On our way home the car ride was silent besides the deafening hum of the car running. I’ve always thought animals become uneasy during car rides. My childhood friends had pets before and every time their cats or dogs would take a ride to the vet they’d cried out a lot. Yet, that wasn’t the case for Oreo. Despite his timid and anxious state when put into the carrier, he was an angel during our trip home. It wasn’t until we pulled into my driveway that I heard a faint whisper, and then a voice. A deep voice groaned from my new furry friend, “You will die on the third day.” What the f-
Holy crap, am I going crazy? For the past four hours, every time I’ve tried to get my cat to talk, he’s been saying I’ll die on the third day. I’m freaking out right now and have been shaking since we’ve gotten home. After hearing him speak the first time I had bolted into the house. Dropped his crate on the couch and threw his papers next to my empty bottles of medication. Every time I’ve tried to record Oreo speaking it never shows up on my phone, the audio is silent. I’ve even spoken with my sister and she wasn’t able to hear the eerie voice coming from my new cat. I thought about contacting the animal shelter I adopted Oreo from. Against my better judgment, I decided not to press the dial button on my phone. They’d think I’m some lunatic if I asked them about that. Anyways, my sister suggested I take some time to settle in with Oreo and rest, since I’ve been working a lot. I’m exhausted. There’s no way cats can talk.
DAY ONE
He spoke…again… “It’s day one, you will die on the third day.” What’s wrong with me, why does he keep talking? I woke up to Oreo sleeping at the edge of my bed. Relief washed over me, when I believed it was all in my head. But, now I’m terrified and I’m unsure of what to do. His words startled me and I fell back into a panicked state.
I can protect myself.
It’s taken the whole day but I think I’ve boarded all my doors and windows. The bright lights in each room illuminated every shadow. I’m not scared, it’s not true. I’m going to be fine. My house was secure and nothing could come in. I hoped…
DAY TWO
It’s day two now, and no matter what I do I can’t find Oreo. I hear him but I can’t see him. My phone has gone missing within the wreck I created. I’ve flipped over every piece of furniture trying to search for this dumb cat. My heart beats grow louder with every second and I can hear it in my ears. It’s pulsating, like loud drums. I need to find this cat. I need to stop this. My mentally notability is the only thing keeping me sane.
DAY THREE
It’s day three…I’m trapped in my bathroom. Something is after me. I’ve been up for more than 48 hours now. As soon as I was about to doze off an hour ago I saw shadows in the peripherals of my sight. Panicked, I rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a large steak knife locking myself in the bathroom. Had I remembered to replace my light bulb, it wouldn’t have broken and left me in the dark when I rushed in here.
Every five minutes, large glooming shadows cover the light leaking into the bathroom. The shadows keep lurking underneath the door frame. After a few moments I hear a knock, and then another. I can fight this thing. Don’t be afraid. Kill the monster. Stabilizing myself against the bathroom sink I rose tall, knife in hand, doorknob in the other. With a quick twist and pull I plunged the sharp jagged edge into the monster.
The sound of my knife entering my sister’s heart awoke me.
I held my sister’s limp body, clutching her. My sight was blinded by the tears that flowed. She’s not supposed to be here. Wha- What is she doing here? What have I done? Dings chime and I hold onto my sister for as long as I can, ignoring the sounds coming from my sister’s phone.
We lay on the floor, my sister sleeping peacefully on my lap. “There there, I’ve got you. You can continue sleeping.” My sister is tired, she’s been sleeping in my lap for a while now. I wonder where she got all this juice from? Its staining my floor, but it’s okay. I’ll clean it up later. A ding chimes from her phone. I wrap my damp hands around the case and open her recent messages. Her last contact was… me…
WEDNESDAY 12:55 PM
“Hey, Mom and I are worried, you haven’t answered your phone and the pharmacist says you haven’t picked up your medications. You know your schizophrenia worsens quickly if you don’t take your medications. Anyways, I’ll be stopping by later this evening, don’t do anything stupid until I get there. <3 Sis.”
More tears flooded my face, and a cool breeze brushed my cheek. The broken window illuminating the moonlight into my hallway. “H- Ha- Haha HAHAHA.” Laughs expel from my exhausted body. This isn’t real. This isn’t actually happening. It’s all that stupid cat’s fault. He put me in this nightmare. Maybe I can wake up if I-
I hold the blood-soaked steak knife to my throat, dribbles of red splash my dirty clothes. I will wake up. When I wake up everything will be fine. The cold sharp edge meets at the edge of my neck, pressed into the middle. Closing my eyes I sucked in a few deep breaths. As if time slowed by, I heard a faint meow coming from in front of me. My eyes jolted awake and locked with those demonic green hazels. “COME HERE!” I screamed chasing the cat. We ran through each hallway until I finally trapped the bastard into a corner. “I’ve got you now.” I lunged towards the creature and in a split-second it dodged my attack and my head collided with the wall.
He’s Awake…
Groaning from a pounding headache, my blurred vision exposed a bright light coming from above me. Wha- What’s going on. I hear murmurs surrounding me, whispers echoing behind my ears. I tried to move my legs and arms, tugging at whatever was keeping me stuck but to no avail I lay trapped.
“Oh good, he’s awake.” A deep voice directed to me, “ Mr. James, can you please tell us where you are right now.”
“Uh- I-” I couldn’t see from the bright light. I made out what seemed to be the figure speaking to me.
“I can’t see, I don’t know.”
“Maybe this will help.” The figure loomed over and pushed the light aside.
“NO! GET ME OUT OF HERE! GET AWAY FROM ME! YOU KILLED MY SISTER YOU STUPID CAT” I flailed, swaying whatever thing I was strapped to. “I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” My hands start to loosen from the grasps. Suddenly, heavy hands grabbed my legs and arms holding me down.
“STOP! LET ME GO!” My head whipped back and forth. That cat was keeping me here. Trapped. I saw him. He’s pretending to be a doctor.
“Raymond, administer the tranquilizer,” A sharp prick prodded into the side of my neck. “looks like we’re going to have to put him back on medicational therapy again. He won’t remember a thing. It’s for the best.”
“No, I wo- w-“ Faint croaks were all I could let out as my vision began to dwindle.
It’s not all in my head. I’m not crazy. I won’t let this cat win. I’ll… I’l-