Like flipping a switch, her eyes turn as dark as tar, and an ethereal glow surrounds her as she leans into me. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I lean back as she growls. “A little advice,Sentina. If a prince tells you to do something, you do it. Don’t question it or hesitate.” Leaning towards my neck, her warm breath flutters across my skin as she inhales deeply.
Gross. Why is she smelling me?
“By the smell and look of you, you’re nothing, not even a blip on the radar. What are you? Human? I doubt you would even survive their punishments.” Her words have the desired effect when she stands to her full height as she takes me in with a smile, eyes shifting back to normal, and she’s no longer glowing like a lightbulb.
What the fuck?I shove my hands into my pockets to hide their shaking and manage a nonchalant look on my face.
Maybe this wasn’t a joke after all?
My friends are big pranksters, but they were never downright hostile, or special effects artists.
Emer looks down at her wrist where an elegant bracelet chimes, and her smile melts off her delicate face. Mumbling something about being late, she turns her attention back to me.
“You need to go to room H-3, that’s in the golden hallway. Again, welcome to Purgatory.” Her sarcastic tone says otherwise. Turning on her heel, she gives her hair one last parting flip and walks to the door, pausing to cast me a look of contempt. “By the way, you missed the last orientation this morning,” she says with a smirk and slams the door behind her.
I need a breather. Collapsing into the armchair next to me, I lean my head back and close my eyes.What the hell just happened?I feel like I was thrown into a meat grinder and tossed up in a tornado.
‘Well, she has a great body, but damn, she’s a total B to the itch. I wonder if she’s that nasty in bed. Could you imagine? Growling, claws out, spitting venom. Wait. Nah. She’s probably the type of girl that just lays on her back and barely moves, thinking she’s too good to put in her half of the work.’A familiar voice speaks into my mind, startling me. Confusion has me pulling myself up in the chair and looking around.
“Hello?”
No answer. I let out a sigh and rub the back of my head, wincing when I find a tender spot. “I swear I’m losing my damn mind,” I mumble, pulling myself out of the chair and heading towards the door.
‘You lost your poor fragile mind years ago, Rezzi-Bear, but that’s not your issue now,’the voice purrs, and my heart stops.
‘Lynx? Is that you?’I turn back and catch sight of a large white and gray cat with the brightest turquoise eyes I’ve ever seen running around the chair before sitting at my feet.
I release the breath that caught in my throat at Lynx’s appearance, my shoulders dropping in relief from realizing that my best friend is here. He is a work of art. I know most people think their pets are gorgeous, but my Lynx truly is. He looks like any standard Lynx-Pointed Siamese, but he's as big as a Canadian Lynx, coming up to mid-thigh on me. Lynx is something you wouldn’t want to run into in a dark alley, and we have been inseparable since the first moment we met.
Terrified of the massive storm system which had been raging all day, being only six, I didn’t want to sleep alone that night. Mom and dad refused to let me sleep in their room, so I hid under my covers and tried to focus on the radio playing. A tornado warning was issued. The sky was dark with a greenish yellow tint, and the wind was pounding against the house, shaking the windows. Petrified, I just couldn’t hide in my room anymore. Slipping out into the hall, I noticed the light on in the living room and crept that way. Mom was sitting on the couch, watching the weather report on TV.
Cutting through the sound of the violent wind, Mom heard a meowing sound, and after getting up to check out the front window, she hesitantly opened the front door. Standing on the other side was Lynx, a small puff of white fur and the biggest, brightest turquoise eyes you could imagine. Ignoring her, he ran inside and straight into my arms. Dad came into the living room at that moment and shared a look with my mom as we bonded. She gave Lynx a funny look while kneeling down to my level. “Sweetie, let me see the kitty,” she said, not really asking.
“No! He’s mine. I want to keep him.” I whined and snuggled into his fluffy fur. Mom let out a sigh and watched me for a few minutes before she nodded and went to the kitchen with my dad as I sat there petting Lynx. A few moments later, mom called me into the kitchen.
“Let’s give your new kitty some milk, huh?” she suggested. Liking that idea, I sat Lynx down and she gave him warm milk while we used a kitchen towel to wipe down the stray droplets from his mouth and she traced the patterns in his fur with her finger.
“Now, he will be your responsibility to take care of, okay?”
I nodded and greedily picked him up, running back to my room with my new best friend. He stayed curled up in my bed all night, giving me comfort the rest of the evening. He couldn’t have come at a better time in my life and was the only bright light I had when I woke up the next morning to find out my father was missing.
I couldn’t believe he was here with me now. I left him sleeping on my bed before I went to the party. How did he die if I’m in Purgatory? In fact, how did I die if that’s the case?‘Lynx! What are you doing here? Are we really dead?’I ask, bending down to squeeze him and rub under his chin, eliciting purrs.
‘Dead? Psst. No! What B to the Itch said is true, but Purgatory isn’t the place for the dead,’he scoffs.
Then how the hell did we get here? I just can’t fathom how I ended up here—which isn’t a sorting place for the dead that I've been led to believe. This is too much to think of right now.
‘Okay, I’ll accept that, for now. But I want to know everything later after we go find this H-3 place,’I huff out.
‘Mmm, that feels... fantastic. Will you rub my belly and drift a little lower this time? You always rub too high. I’ve been good, I promise, honeybuns.’He winks at me and rolls onto his back.
I scoff as I stand up and head for the door.Of course, I have the one and only horny talking cat in the world, I think as I roll my eyes.
Although, if my psychologist was here, she would say I’m still exhibiting my psychotic disorders and haven’t healed from my past trauma. Dr. Fisk would often look at me sternly and say, “Lynx doesn’t talk or change forms, Nerezza. That ability is just another figment of your imagination you have created to shelter yourself.”
‘Aww, come on, Rezzi-Bear. I tagged along so you wouldn’t be alone. You have no idea what I went through to get here. There was a severed head, week-old blood of a chicken, and I even had to do some crazy and unmentionable stuff with a hula-hoop. I deserve a belly rub!’ he whines. ‘Look at the good news, with me being here, I can finally start shifting into my other animal forms after your mother’s…’he trails off. No doubt, his thoughts are spiraling in the same direction as mine.
Pain hits me like a tsunami as I freeze in my tracks and squeeze my eyes tight to hold back the tears. Even after all this time, that day still haunts me. I shake my head and let out another breath to chase away the past. Focusing on his words, I look back at him with hope.‘Really? You can shift here?’ I ask, all sorts of emotions riding me hard. He hasn’t shifted in years. It’s been so long that we thought he lost his ability.
