Catboy - Eric Walters [28]
One of the dogs grabbed a kitten, throwing it up into the air. The kitten hit the ground, rolling and tumbling, and the dogs chased after it as it raced away for its life.
A black blur came shooting out of nowhere. It was Hunter, and he landed on the back of the larger dog. The dog howled as Hunter dug in his claws, hanging on to the dog, riding him like a horse. The dog jumped and leaped and roared, desperate to shake Hunter loose. He reached back, tried to grab Hunter with his teeth, but the cat struck him in the face and the dog howled again. The dog tripped and rolled over, and Hunter leaped off, landing against one of the wrecked cars.
Before Hunter could scramble to his feet, the second dog came forward and charged toward him. Hunter crouched, puffed out his fur, hissed and snarled. The dog stopped in his tracks. The first dog, blood dripping down its side, flanked the second. Together the dogs growled and inched forward. Why wasn’t Hunter running away? Why wasn’t he trying to escape? He couldn’t fight both of them.
Behind Hunter was a solid mass of metal. There was no place for him to retreat to. He was trapped. They were going to kill him, if they could.
The whole incident unfolded as if it was in slow motion. I was too shocked to move, but I had to do something.
“Hey, go away!” I screamed and stumbled to my feet.
Both dogs turned to look at me. If I could distract them for a few seconds, maybe Hunter could get away.
I reached down and picked up a rock. Without hesitation I whipped it at the dogs. It hit the ground, short and wide. The smaller of the two dogs startled and turned away from Hunter toward me. It growled, and the big dog started barking.
The dogs’ eyes glowered. Their teeth were bared, and they growled ominously. Suddenly it wasn’t only Hunter I was scared for. I looked around. There had to be some place for me to go if they charged.
If I climbed on top of a wreck or inside one of the cars, they wouldn’t be able to get me. I could probably get away before they could reach me, but I wasn’t going to abandon Hunter.
I quickly looked around for something I could use to defend myself. On the ground was a hubcap, and beside it was a long metal pipe. I grabbed both, holding one in front of me like a shield and the other like a sword. I was like a knight, but a knight without armor, or a horse. Worse, I was a knight who was scared to death. So much for being Catboy. Where was that potato peeler when I needed it?
I slammed the pipe against the ground with a thud. The dogs spun around, more interested in me than in Hunter.
“Get away, Hunter!” I screamed. “Run, you stupid cat!”
He didn’t run. He stood his ground, and I got the feeling he didn’t want to abandon me. If he ran, the dogs would focus all their attention on me. Who was saving who here?
I slammed the pole against the ground again. The dogs turned away from Hunter and shied away, ever so slightly, from me. They started backing up. They were more afraid of me than I was of them. Hunter wasn’t going anywhere.
I took another step forward and the dogs retreated a little more. Unfortunately they were retreating toward Hunter. There was only one thing to do.
I took a deep breath and charged at the dogs, swinging the pole, clanging it against the hubcap and screaming at the top of my lungs! The dogs jumped, one yelped, and they both ran off with their tails between their legs.
I skidded to a stop and dropped the pole and hubcap. They were gone. I bent over, exhausted, and tried to get my breath back. I realized I was shaking. I looked up at Hunter. He was still there. He hadn’t run. He lowered his head slightly, as if he was nodding at me, acknowledging what I’d done. Then he turned, limped