The Hemingway Kittens and Other Feline Fancies and Fantasies by A. R. Morlan

Author:A. R. Morlan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cats, kittens, fantasy, science fiction, horror
ISBN: 9781434443250
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2013-09-11T00:00:00+00:00

A LITTLE PINCH IS ALL YOU NEED

A sudden and unaccustomed coolness on the top of his head woke Eric, and for a second, he imagined that his feet were cold, too, much colder than they ought to be, before he shook off the last of the groggies.

Sufficiently awake now, eyes accustomed to the murky semi-darkness of his bedroom, Eric looked around him and discovered that the troops had deserted their posts; no cats stationed at his head, sides and feet, keeping their commander warm. Hearing the thump of tails against the walls, Eric looked at the windows above the dresser and desk, and saw them—heads and shoulders hidden behind the shades, rear ends exposed and twitching—watching the Rabbit Race out near the backyard compost heap.

“Yo, cats, front and center,” Eric mumbled half into his pillow. “The rabbits will be on the lawn tomorrow night. C’mon, guys, I’m cold.” He made mousies under the covers, drumming the bottom of the bed under the spread and blankets, hoping that the troops would be conned by the delicious rustle of fabric and feetsies. No dice. Not that Eric really blamed the cats; for some reason, the mousies weren’t in fine form tonight. They weren’t very loud, for one thing; maybe his feet had fallen asleep and weren’t responding. Like the rest of you, his subconscious whispered.

But that’s weird, Eric’s mind argued, cuz they never doze off on me unless the cats are curled up on top of them.

Eric decided to try flexing his feet, get Old Man Circulation going. The hollow sound of the cat’s tails thumping against the wall and flat surfaces of the dresser and desk made the fine hairs on Eric’s arms and legs stand on end. Feebly trying to drown out the monotonous pounding, Eric pleaded, “C’mon, fellas, keep Poppa warm. Yo! Cats! The mousies are gonna escape if you don’t stop them from crawling away. Guys, the rabbits will be th—”

His stubbed toe made Eric wince. Felt like a keg of hot nails driven right up under the nail, and the cold floor didn’t make the pain any less—

Eric lay still, unable to move, not daring to make so much as a tiny, infantile squealing noise, lest it make what he had left anything more than the horrid nightmare it was. His big toe was stubbed; it was throbbing now, and so cold, the chill seeping up from the bare floor into the tender sole of his—

Foot, which had no reason to feel cold; it was still in bed, in his bed, oh please still be in bed. Not outside the covers and on the clammy floor by the dresser across the room…which was exactly where it felt like it was right now. Leave it to good ole dream logic—We Make The Illogical Real…like some sort of crazy commercial. He could now make out his legs in the eldritch light of his room; here the twin outlines of his thighs, there the twin peaks of his knees, and

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