Free Morte by Robert Repino

human.”
    A stunned silence descended on the group. The cats looked at one another. It made him feel as though he had the power somehow, despite being a prisoner.
    “That’s impossible,” one of them said.
    “Where did you see the human?” Culdesac asked.
    “He flew in on some kind of … triangle.”
    “I told you,” Luna said, laughing. “We need to put this animal down. Before it spreads.”
    It was a line Sebastian had read somewhere among the books he had found. Put him down . She had stolen it from a human.
    Luna seemed pleased with herself until she noticed Culdesac glaring at her. “ ‘This animal’ is one of us,” he said.
    “There are no humans left here,” Culdesac said to Sebastian. “The ants chased them away. We were about to rendezvous with the rest of the army on the other side of the river. Then we found you.”
    “I am not stopping you,” Sebastian said.
    Culdesac and Luna exchanged glances.
    “Wait,” a voice said. It was Tiberius, forcing his way past the others to get to Culdesac. “I know what you’re thinking. We can’t leave him here.”
    “You’re right,” Luna said. “That’s why we’re going to put him down. It’s the only way to be sure.”
    “Sir,” Tiberius said to Culdesac. “We can’t do that, either.”
    “Yes, listen to Tiberius,” Sebastian said.
    Tiberius winced at this. The others, meanwhile, burst into laughter.
    “What did you say?” Culdesac asked.
    “I said listen to him,” Sebastian said.
    “No, what did you call him?”
    “Tiberius?”
    They laughed again.
    “Tell them your real name,” Culdesac ordered.
    Shamed, Tiberius steadied himself. “Socks,” he mumbled. This provoked more jeers and catcalls.
    “You see,” Culdesac said to Sebastian, “you have to earn your new name to be a part of the Red Sphinx.”
    “What is a Red Sphinx?” Sebastian asked.
    “We are the Red Sphinx,” Culdesac said, pointing to his armband. “We’re stray cats using our skills to fight for the Queen. We love killing humans.”
    There were chuckles at this, along with a few approving nods.
    “But Socks here thinks he doesn’t deserve to be called by his slave name anymore,” Culdesac said.
    “I do not care about your Red Sphinx,” Sebastian said. “Are any of you listening to me? I said there were humans out there.”
    “I believe him,” Tiberius said.
    “Shut up,” Luna said. Then, turning to Culdesac, she said, “Sir, we have to make a decision here. We’re already late meeting up with the rest of the—”
    “We’re staying here,” Culdesac said. Before Luna could reply, he added, “Orders have changed. We’re expected to report unusual activity.”
    “But there’s nothing here.”
    Culdesac responded by gazing up at Sebastian.
    “Him?” she asked.
    “Monitor his progress,” Culdesac said. “Socks wanted to take notes on EMSAH. Let him do it.”
    Tiberius perked up.
    “We’re on the front lines of this EMSAH outbreak,” Culdesac said. “We need to know what it can do. I expect reports on his condition every six hours.”
    “Do you think there are humans out there?” Luna asked.
    “I hope so,” Culdesac said as he began to walk toward the building. “I haven’t had a decent meal in a while.”
    “Sir, may I ask where you’re going?”
    “If it’s been as quiet as you say it has, then I’d like to get some sleep for once.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    The members of the Red Sphinx were left waiting at the foot of the pole. “We can’t feed you while you’re up there, you know,” Luna said.
    “I did not ask you to,” Sebastian replied.
    Annoyed, Luna went back to the stone building. The others marched behind her, with Tiberius bringing up the rear. He took one last glimpse at Sebastian before disappearing through the doorway.
    FOR THE NEXT twelve hours, Sebastian rocked the telephone pole back and forth. At first it was out of sheer boredom and frustration. From the top, he had the leverage to shift the pole only a