Part 8
I woke up with a jolt. Coming to the realisation that I was still locked within the small cage. With all my heart, I wanted to tell myself that I was not far from being released from my second cell, I wanted to say that I counted everyday the sun had risen and fallen, but I had completely lost track of time. I had forgotten everytime I had seen the morning beams come through the holes in the shed, I had forgotten how many times Donna took me out of the cage to relieve myself and I've lost count of the amount of times I had fallen asleep. I blamed the pet brain, focusing on the here and now was mentally draining, I did not want to think about anything else but what was happening to me at that moment as I knew I would panic the moment I began to think.
I did not want to realise what I had forgotten, being a pet all the time was a tough task on its own and everyday I had forgotten little details about my life. I dreaded to think what five days within this cell had done to my memory… who would I forget next? Would I even remember that I was human once?
I looked up at the top of my cage… something was there, something that wasn't there when I had fallen asleep. I slowly pulled myself up, blinking my eyes over and over again to focus. I knew I was looking at something new, but I could not tell what it was in the half dark. It looked like fur, as if someone placed a small coat on the top of my cell, but…
It moved!
I fell back down again as I noticed the slightest hint of movement that came from what I guessed was the back of the thing I was looking at. It was moving but remained stationary on the top of the cage. As my eyes focused on what was moving, I soon realised what I was seeing was a tail…
It was a cat!
A real, actual ginger cat was lying down on top of my cage, its fur peeking through the bars above me, its tail whipped backwards and forwards as it took in the sight of the area around it. At first, I felt like I was still dreaming, or atleast seeing things. There was no way an actual animal was above me right now.
I lifted my paw up and pressed it lightly into a patch of fur that came down through the bars. Immediately, the cat looked around it before looking underneath itself, staring directly at my bound form. It was curious, staring at me with wide eyes as if trying to understand what I was and why I was in this situation.
However, it did not stay for long. It picked itself up, stretching its body in a similar way that I did before leaping off the cage and onto a high shelf. I immediately tried to lift myself up, to see the cat before it leapt into a rather large hole in the ceiling and disappeared out of my life as fast as it entered it.
It was gone. I was left alone once more, waiting for the time I could leave this cage and return back to my friends. I soon realised I was envious of that cat. We were both the same, the world saw us as equals. I was no longer a young, free woman, but a caged animal. I had forfeited my freedom a long time ago and was sentenced to spend a long time in a state similar to the creature that was above me. However, it was worse in some ways, as that creature had the freedom to leave, it was probably off the property already, spending its morning away from the bars that held me in place.
Wow… I really have sunk to a new low… I was jealous of a cat.
I curled back up in a ball and tried to fall asleep once more.
"Morning, sunshine!" Donna yelled as she slammed the shed door open.
I groaned, turning myself around to face the wall and covered my ears with my paws. I had a few hours of sleep since the cat jumped out of the shed, the sun was now up and a golden glow saw around Donna's figure as she stood in the doorway, but I was not in the mood to be as cheerful as she was.
"Oh! Is someone blue?" She pretty much jumped towards the cage, "C'mon Nala! Guess what day it is today?"
I moaned softly in my mask, but did not move.
"C'mon, guess!"
I moaned again.
"C'mon, guess!"
I didn't moan this time, just wishing for another few minutes of peace for a cat nap.
"C'mon, guess!"
She was really perky this morning and far more annoying than usual, what could have today been that she was so excited about? Surely, I was not getting out today. It felt like I had ages yet before I was going to be free of these bars.
"C'mon, guess!"
I turned around, clearly she was not going to stop being irritating until I showed some signs of movement. My body pulled itself onto its hands and knees, the urge to stretch was huge; something that was impossible within the confines of the cage.
She put on a huge grin the moment our eyes met, "It… is… your…"
Then she paused, as if I was the one who was supposed to answer. Even if I was not bound in the suit and able to speak, I was far too tired to answer the energetic lady. Strange, as I slept so much since being locked up and yet it did nothing to help me feel energised.
"It's the day you get out of here and come back inside, silly!" She stuck out her tongue as soon as she said this.
Was she actually expecting me to answer in some way? However, it was nice to finally hear those words come out of her mouth. I had been in the cage so long that it felt like I was never getting out of this rotten shed. It was like a burst of energy came out from underneath me, I shook off all the feelings of exhaustion and sleep, placing my bound paws against the bars of the cage and almost begging to be released from this horrid cell.
"Just give me a moment to undo the lock and we can have you back in with the others in no time."
"Come on in," Donna told me as she opened the back door to the house.
It felt unreal, like I was receiving a reward despite not feeling like I had earned it. The door itself opened so slowly and I felt my head begin to rush. I was free from that horrific cage, I was allowed back into the warmth of the house and the arms of my fellow pets. It hit me in an emotional way, the comforting feeling of what the building held was overwhelming, tears began to flow down my face and down the synthetic mask that was attached to my face.
"Well, go on… come in!" my owner said in a further state of glee, happy herself to see me back within the walls she owned.
However, I did not need to step in to feel the loving embrace of Poppy and Cleo, the two girls made their way outside instead. The first thing I saw was the silhouettes of the two girls and they charged out of the living room and towards me, before I knew it, I was pushed onto my back as they both held me in a tight embrace, with Poppy resting her head on my chest and Cleo nuzzling the top of my head.
"Oh, girls! I only got those outfits cleaned a few days ago!" Donna scoffed, placing her hands on her hips.
It didn't take long for all of our outfits to get caked in mud, but none of us cared as the trio were back together. I relished the moment, it had been five days in the making. Since being locked in the cage in the shed, it was the one thing I was looking forward to, the one thing that kept me going for those long days. It was the comfort of being in the company of the other two pets. The two people who knew exactly how I felt and cared for me more than anything else.
"Now, as part of the arrangement, you will have to wear this blindfold for the next seven days," Donna said, standing before me.
After a long time of being in the arms of both pets, Donna finally managed to drag us all inside. She placed me in front of her with both Poppy and Cleo at both my sides. It felt like some kind of ritual was about to happen, as everything seemed rather formal. Sadly, Donna wasn't bluffing and brought out a blindfold from one of her dress pockets. It was much thicker than any other blindfold I had seen before, with a wide, elasticated strap behind it. I could tell just by looking at it that there was no way I could remove it with my bound hands.
I knew it was going to happen, I still remembered the exact words the man said when he told Donna about my punishments. It felt too soon though, I had only been released from my prison and now I had to have the luxury of sight taken away from me. I was in such shock last time it was placed on me that I didn't think about trying to take it off; that and Donna would have easily seen me try and remove the external restraint. I had a lot of time to think about things whilst in the cage. I imagined that I would hopefully be able to somehow lift the blindfold if Donna wasn't in the same room as me, there was no way I could spend an entire week with my vision gone.
Luckily, the man did not say anything about putting in the ear plugs, so this time I would at least be able to hear the outside world.
"Just hold still so this is as painless as possible," Donna giggled as she walked up to me.
I didn't want this. I closed my eyes as hard as possible, just wanting it to go as quickly as possible. I knew I should have kept my eyes open and enjoyed the sight of the house, Poppy and Cleo for as long as possible. Yet, the moment I closed my eyes, I did not want to open them back up, just in case I saw the action of the blindfold being placed on my head. That was something that would have pushed me into a full-blown panic.
Shortly after, I began feeling Donna's hard push and pull around my head. I could feel my heart beating through my body, breathing as carefully as I could so I didn't freak out. It was okay… it was okay… Donna would not let anything bad happen to me.
It was okay…
It was okay…
It was okay…
"There, done!" Donna squealed as if she had accomplished something.
Okay, breathe… open your eyes in three… two… one…
I opened them. And I could see Donna standing in front of me, hands on hips in her usual pose with a bemused look on her face.
W-What? I placed my paw on my head, trying to feel between my ears. I could tell something was there but due to the thickness of the mitten, I could not tell what it was.
"What's the matter? You look confused?" My owner asked, as if she actually expected an answer from her mute pet.
She then laughed, a loud, hearty laugh at my expense. I was so confused, I knew what to expect and to have nothing happen at all was almost painful, as if she was teasing me before the real punishment came.
"I've done exactly what I've been told to do to you," she continued, "I've placed the blindfold on your head and I've done exactly that. The blindfold is on your head!"
Once again, I patted the top of my head, feeling the foreign object rest just above my forehead. Curiously, the two other pets came in close to inspect the blindfold, patting it with their own paws as if to confirm that it was not going to move from its spot and come down to blind me.
"See, I'm only doing what I'm told," Donna almost repeated herself, shrugging as if it is no big deal that she was deliberately disobeying the people who hired her.
I wasn't going to spend the next week completely blinded… I was not going to be blind. I had to repeat that sentence in my head over and over until the realisation had sunk in. A whimper escaped my lips, I was still confused but it was such a relief… I did not have to understand the woman's mindset, I was benefiting from her kindness.
I crawled over to Donna, putting my arms out and wrapping her legs in a tight hug. I was so relieved and wanted to show her how happy I was. She was being so kind to me, to all of us, much more kind than she had to be. She placed her hands around my head, as if giving me a hug in return.
"I'm glad you are happy," Donna squealed.
Soon, both Cleo and Poppy joined us for a group hug. All us being glad that we were together again, a family of sorts. Whilst I was happy with this, I had two reasons to celebrate as I did not have to go ahead with the punishment that was set out for me.
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
We all stopped. Still with our arms around each other, we stayed still for a few moments. It was as if we were all trying to understand what we all just heard, despite every single one of us hearing the same thing. A couple of knocks on the front door, behind the security gate that surrounded the property.
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
There it was again. It was definitely someone at the front door. The sound of the knocking made my stomach turn as if it directly attacked my nervous system, making my feet turn to jelly and making my hands shake.
"I'll go see who is at the door," Donna stated, she had no emotion in her voice.
She finally let go and moved her body away from mine. The last thing I wanted to do was for her to remove herself away from me, I wanted protection from whoever was standing on the other side of the front door. The last time someone knocked, who was already behind the security gate was a representative of 'Pet Correction', which led me to spending five whole days within the small cage.
It felt like I watched Donna walk up to the front door in slow motion, whoever was on the other side was not here with good intentions. I could feel it in my gut that something between all of us would change the moment that person was let into this house. Undoubtedly, it would be something that involved me… it always involved me.
I tried my best to be a good girl. Ever since I was initially charged for my crime and brought to this place, I wanted to be on my best behaviour and try my hardest to get out of here as soon as possible. Little did I know that I would be the troublemaker of the group, getting myself and Donna into issues that I didn't even know about. If it wasn't for my outburst, Donna would not have been visited and she would not have been told about her house being overcrowded by pets. Then she would not have had to leave this place behind, a building that meant so much to the kind woman.
I almost winced as she opened the main door.
"Ms Armstrong!" Donna almost yelped, "How is everything?"
It felt like my suspicions were true. Behind that door was one of the people who came here the other day, one of the people who sentenced me to my punishment and who made Donna aware she had to choose between letting go of a pet or the property.
Donna placed one of her arms behind her back, trying to point at me without seeing who she was pointing at. In a panic, I looked at Poppy and Cleo, not knowing what this meant, however, the two other pets seemed to know exactly what the human was trying to convey without actually talking to us.
In unison, the two girls nodded at each other. I had no time to understand what was going on, but before I knew it, the two girls pounced on top of me. I was so scared, I was so confused, a flurry of paws grabbed my head and pushed downward. It felt like I was being attacked by my two close friends, whilst their swipes did not hurt me, it still was a frightening moment.
I heard a quiet noise coming from behind Poppy's mask, if I was mistaken; it sounded like a happy noise. What the hell were they doing? I reopened my eyes to see one of them was partially covered by something, it was the blindfold Donna placed on me just moments earlier… How did I forget about that? I was not being attacked by Poppy and Cleo, they were doing their best to pull the blindfold down over my eyes so Donna did not get into any trouble.
A few more swipes from their rubber paws later and the blindfold completely covered my vision. Everything went dark and I was back to being the same pet that I was when I was first punished, at least this time we weren't out in public.
I pretty much crashed into Cleo the moment the lights went out. Having my vision taken from me left me in a much more vulnerable state and I felt the need to have physical contact with someone and Cleo was the first pet I thought of. In a way, I felt exhausted as soon as it was all over. Since leaving the cage this morning, it was a rollercoaster of emotions before I got to this point. Luckily, Cleo accepted me and allowed my body to rest against hers, even going as far as placing her head on top of mine to allow for some form of comfort.
"You remember the girls, don't you?" I heard Donna state as she closed the door.
I heard two sets of footprints walk towards us, stopping only about a foot or two away from where we lay. The room went completely silent, I imagined the woman staring at each and every one of us with a glare, but that was just because my brain was trying to make something out of the awkward silence.
I heard a loud scoff come from the visitor, "I see this one is in the second part of her punishment."
"Yes, she is," Donna's much lighter voice came from behind her.
"How did she take being in the cage?"
"She did okay, she hated it as much as anyone would."
The woman laughed, her voice echoing throughout the whole building, "That's good. They aren't here for a good time, are they?"
Luckily, Donna didn't answer that. The young woman knew we were all criminals, but she always saw us in a different light compared to all those who were in charge. It was a stark contrast between what she thought and the people who made the program in the first place.
"Anyway…" The older woman continued, "I'm not here to talk about her, I'm here to see prisoner 1923"
1923? That was Poppy, wasn't it?
"No problem, Poppy? Come with us, we can talk in the visitor room."
A huge weight was taken off my shoulders, although I suddenly felt anxious for the loving, kind hearted pet, it was kinda nice for me not to be called this time. However, this feeling did not last too long as I started to try and understand why she was being called? The white pet did absolutely nothing wrong.
"Poppy, come!" Our owner clicked her finger as if treating her as an actual pet.
Even blindfolded, I could tell that this was unusual behaviour for Donna, she must have been nervous in front of Ms Armstrong. I heard the latex on Poppy's suit stretch as she picked herself up, then I heard the two women walking out of the room along with the light patting of Poppy's paws as she followed them.
After that, the door closed, leaving me and the large black cat in total silence. The emptiness of the room was almost deafening. All I had in that moment was the sensation of the black cat's warm body against mine, there was no light and no sound to take my attention away from my situation. I snuggled up to the large girl's body even further, placing my head between her large breasts, I… I just needed some form of comfort to take my mind off things.
I hoped Poppy was okay. I hoped she wasn't in as much trouble as I was. Maybe Donna told the company about when Poppy and Cleo helped hide me away from Donna. I still did not know if the two girls were punished for their actions and this could be it. I really, really hoped that was not the case. Despite it not being my idea in the first place, I did not want them to be punished for something that was my doing.
Oh god… what if both Poppy and Cleo had to spend time in those cages. I don't think I could go on any longer without the comfort of those two next to me, I did not want to be left in the house alone, blindfolded and scared.
Please… I would do anything, just not that.
I felt myself cuddling up to Cleo a little tighter, I did not want to let the black cat go. I wanted to spend the rest of my sentence in their company. It was one of the only comforts I had now, it felt as if everything else was taken away from me.
All I could do was relax and wait for them to return. There was nothing else I could do.
"Okay then, it was nice chatting with you," I heard the voice of Ms Armstrong echo from the hallway.
Donna responded, "It was nice to see you too."
"I'll keep you in the loop, but it's looking like things are looking good for… Polly? Is it?"
"Poppy. Thank you once again for coming and sharing the good news with us."
"My pleasure. Take care."
The front door closed, waking me up fully. I must have dozed off at some point as it felt as if the three women had only just left the room. I pushed out all my limbs, trying my hardest to stretch them all out and wake my body further.
Hang on… that sound of the door closing meant that Ms Armstrong was leaving. I quickly jumped up and felt around for the body of the large cat. If my fears were true, both her and Poppy would have been placed into the cages. Luckily, the soft skin that belonged to Cleo came into contact with my paw. She was here! She was here! I was not alone.
Better than that, both Poppy and Donna entered the room once more. I could tell by the footsteps of both the girls. We are all here, we are all safe and that is all that I cared for at that moment.
"Here, Nala," Donna said as she walked up to me, "Let me put that back up for you."
Light entered my vision, causing me to go blind once more, this time in a different way. I squinted my eyes as much as I could, but still the room looked much brighter than it ever did before. Despite this, I made sure to look around at the other pets, confirming that they all were here with me and Ms Armstrong did not lock them away in the cages. Cleo was lying next to me, waking up slowly from her own nap and Poppy was on her hands and knees on the other side of the room, she looked a little glum.
For a moment, I did not care… we were all together, we were all here and I was extremely happy. I nearly jumped up, wanting to hug every single person in that room. Cleo joined me in getting up, however she moved much more slowly… she must have been in deep sleep compared to how I was.
Donna let out a huge sigh of relief. Having that woman here must have been mentally exhausting for the young woman. I did not know what was said in that room, however the end result seemed to be much better than last time. Our owner collapsed on the sofa, letting out one more big sigh. Poppy wasted no time and pretty much jumped on the poor girl, flying into her arms and almost shrinking her body down to appear smaller.
It was a strange sight to see. Poppy was easily the most emotional and caring out of all of us pets, but she seemed extremely saddened by whatever news Ms Armstrong had given her. However, the position that Poppy put herself in wasn't a typical position for a pet, it was more one of a person who needed to be held. She placed her butt on Donna's lap with her head on her shoulder and her feet dangling over the rest of the sofa. It was clear the information that she received today wasn't one she was particularly fond of.
Donna placed her arm around Poppy's back and began whispering in her ear, "Don't worry, don't worry… it will be okay, I promise."
What happened? I wanted to know, I wanted to help Poppy in any way that I could. It was painful seeing the cute pet in such a bad mood. Cleo followed me as we crawled up to the two girls, trying to show our intent of wanting to help in any way we could. However, Poppy just shrivelled up even further, turning away from us and making it perfectly obvious that she did not want company at that moment, she only wanted Donna.
"It's okay, Poppy," Donna continued to soothe her, "They only want to help, do you want me to tell them what has happened?"
She stayed still for a moment, only shrugging slightly to convey the message that she did not know what she wanted at that time.
"I'll tell them, I think it would help… don't you?"
She shrugged again. Our owner held her in a tighter grip, nuzzling her face into Poppy's before turning back to us. I didn't want to know if it would cause her any more pain, but Donna was right in the fact that we would know how to react if we had the full story. Cleo and I kept our distance from the two women, standing a good foot away on our hands and knees.
"It looks like Poppy had really good news today," Donna started.
The white pet turned fully away from us before our owner continued, "She's been told that new evidence has been turned in regarding her case and it looks like her sentence might be significantly reduced. Instead of being here for a whole year, she might only be here for a few months."
An audible whimper came from the bound girl on her lap.
"Poppy! That is good news, there is a very good chance you'll be going home very soon."
The girl held on a little tighter to her owner. It was good news, but I could see why Poppy was so sad. I felt like I would be in the same shoes by the time my sentence is up. Whilst I hated the idea of being torn away from my family, my home and my friends. Donna made this place so comfortable, I felt as if the young woman truly loved me as the pet I was. It was true that Poppy would have her freedom, she would have the ability to go back to normal life, but in return she would have to leave her pet life behind and all the comforts that came with it.
I did not know what else to do. I crawled up to the white pet and placed my paw on her back, rubbing it up and down in any way to soothe her.
The night sky was so beautiful this evening. Not a single cloud in the sky to obscure the beauty of the stars looking down on us. Donna was much more relaxed with her rules today, probably as a sort of celebration regarding the good news that Poppy received earlier. She left the back door to the building wide open, allowing her pets to move between the outside world and the comfort of her home.
There was where I saw Poppy. Staring up at the night sky as the warm glow from the inside of the house echoed over where she sat outside. The girl was torn and had been silent all day, it was understandable as it had been a big day for her. Sadly, there was nothing she could do. The new trial would go on without her and the evidence would be added to the overall case. She did not have to go, she did not have to speak about it, she just had to live life as a pet as the outside world determined her fate. That was one rule 'Pet Correction' had in place. When you were a pet, you were a pet for good until your time was up. You did not see cats or dogs in a courtroom, so why would you see one of us?
The young pet looked lost, it was understandable as I would have been too. I miss Mama, I miss my father, but the feeling of going back into the outside world was so scary at this point. It was a comfort to know that Donna was here to take care of us, but the moment we left these walls; we would be leaving her behind also.
It was only this morning when we were all reunited. It didn't feel like we had any time together before we got the news that we might be losing someone else. It hurt, it was actually painful to think that our group would go from being four to three. In a lot of ways, I was happy for the young pet. Once she separated herself away from this place, I was sure that she would thrive in the outside world, getting her life back to normal and starting fresh in many ways. It was the actual act of tearing herself away from the comfort this place brought her that would be the most painful thing.
I joined her, laying down on the floor next to her as both of our bodies leant up against each other. If I had the ability, I would have spoken to her, telling her that it wasn't going to be all bad and she had a bright future in front of her. There were many times when I wished I had the ability to talk, but that just wasn't a thing that was possible as a pet. I had to make do with how I could act physically to bring her some form of comfort.
She briefly looked at me before returning her sight to the sky above us. To give her some credit, it was a beautiful sight, being able to see all the stars in the night sky without any clouds being in the way. It was a simple reminder of how beautiful the natural world was. With everything taken away from you, you notice how spectacular the world is, you understand to appreciate the simple things in life.
As Poppy and I laid there, I realised we were two women who had everything taken from us. Our lives, our homes, our family… everything we took for granted as humans and it was the small things we appreciated as pets. As a human, I looked forward to spending time with my friends, to watch the latest films as soon as they were out, to go to concerts and keep up to date with our favourite celebrities. As a pet, all I wanted was to wake up next to Cleo and Poppy. To have a hug from Donna was something I had seen as a reward. Admittedly, I did not appreciate my parents as a human, seeing them as boring and buzzkills… but what I would do now to be sat at home, listening to my dad tell his stories as Mama did her knitting on the sofa.
I promised myself that I would be a better daughter when I left this place. I hoped Poppy would find some ways to become a better person once she has her freedom. If she thought the same way I did, it would have constantly plagued her mind. I wished for her to be thinking about her family. That entire group of people that filled up the reception room when she had her day of freedom. She might be leaving us behind, but she had every single one of those people to come home to. I hoped that brought her some form of peace.
I nuzzled up to her, placing the front of my mask into her neck. As the weeks went on, we found that this was a way to show some form of affection. We were pets, in our eyes, Donna's and the eyes of the law, we were no different to any cat you would see in person and we developed similar forms of interactions with each other.
The neck nuzzle worked, Poppy brought her head down to meet mine and began rubbing her cheek alongside my mask. It was my only way of telling her that she would be okay, it was my only way of telling her that I cared for her, that I would miss her when she left. In that simple moment of affection, I was telling her everything that was on my mind. Most of all, I wanted her to be happy. I did not want her to drop a single tear on us but be happy for herself, be happy for what the future would bring and the freedom she would experience much sooner than she had thought. All that information, all that emotion, set in a single nuzzling between two pet girls.
It was the simple interactions I missed during my time in the cage. I felt as if I was on the correct wavelength with both Poppy and Cleo, I hoped that they understood what I meant, how my actions spoke for my words. I hoped Poppy knew that I really cared for her, that I appreciated how she cared for me and that I would miss her if she was let go early, but I was proud of her either way.
I hoped all of that was clear to her. I loved her. I loved both her and Cleo. I loved Donna. I loved everyone in this tiny house of ours and I wanted the best for everyone close to me.
I believed Poppy understood what I was trying to say. Her body language seemed rather more relaxed now than when I first came over to sit next to her, but I could still see her mind was struggling with conflicting thoughts. However, I was not leaving her side. I was going to be next to her for as long as I could be.
She returned her gaze back to the stars above her head and I joined her. Her day of freedom might have been close, but at that time, in this place, we were just two cats looking up at the night sky.
Dear Ms Odette.
I'm sorry for not writing to you sooner, but things have been rather hectic here and today was the first time I have had the chance to write to you. I hope you accept my deepest apologies.
As you know, your daughter had accidentally destroyed some equipment that belonged to Pet Correction and despite the fact that I had disciplined her, my superiors decided to extend her punishment. As you know, the meeting with you next has been cancelled, along with that your daughter had to spend the last five days in solitary confinement. Since then, she has been let out and is doing really well, her health is still great and she is still getting on with the other pets as well as before.
Since we last spoke, we have had news that we would be moving properties. Unfortunately, the bungalow your daughter is currently in is too small for all of us and we will be moved to a new location sometime soon. Obviously, the address for this new location will be sent to you as soon as we know where we will be moving to.
Like always, please feel free to contact me about anything, I am more than happy to give you any information you need. I hope both you and your husband are doing well.
Best wishes,
Donna X