Free Morte by Robert Repino Page B

The man must have been hiding.
    “I see …” Sebastian said.
    “See what?”
    “I see a human.”
    “Captain,” Luna said.
    “Where?” Culdesac asked.
    “He’s watching us,” Sebastian said.
    Now there was an audible creak of the wood, loud enough to make a few of the cats flinch. It was then that Sebastian made out Tiberius, standing behind the others.
    “Captain, we can’t let this go on any further,” Luna said. “I’m begging you—”
    Culdesac’s paw shot out and grabbed Luna’s snout, holding her mouth shut. “Shut up,” he said. “Listen.”
    The cats were uneasy now. A second later, Sebastian figured out why. There was a buzzing noise in the distance, growing louder, echoing off the buildings. Something was approaching through the air.
    “The human pointed a light at your headquarters, Captain ,” Sebastian said. “See it?”
    Culdesac let go of Luna and gazed at the building. Suddenly his entire body stiffened, his tail standing up. “Sergeant!” he screamed. “ Ser geant!”
    A cat peered over the side of the building.
    “Get your people out of there now!” Culdesac said. “Incoming!”
    The cat and his companions ran to the stairway. Meanwhile, the ones surrounding Culdesac tensed up, awaiting his next order.
    “Move!” he said. “Take cover behind that building!”
    “Incoming!” someone screamed. Several others repeated it.
    “Come on!”
    “Run!”
    “Leave it, let’s go!”
    The bobcat looked up to Sebastian. “I’m sorry,” Culdesac said. And then he ran with the others.
    The buzzing was getting louder, growing into a full roar, a thunderstorm.
    Sebastian rocked the pole forward. Then the momentum reversed. Sebastian put all his strength into it, letting out a scream, lifting his shoulders into the wood. The sky scrolled through his field of vision before stopping at the horizon behind him, the pole bending as far as it could go. It remained there, the wood splintering. And then, like bones shattering, the pole broke, rattling his skeleton. The wood cracked, creaked, groaned, until Sebastian felt himself in free fall. The wires popped free from the top, snapping upward with a loud thwoop . He landed on his back, feeling his teeth clack together with the impact. Upside down at a forty-five-degree angle, Sebastian worked his way to the top of the pole, now partially implanted into a patch of grass. Once he pulled the first loop over the top, the entire knot fell apart like a shedding cocoon. He freed his legs, his arms, his tail, feeling the blood again and the air through his fur.
    The buzzing sound was deafening now. Stiffly, Sebastian ran toward the building where the human had camped out. An object streaked across the sky. The municipal building erupted in a ball of flame and smoke. Windows of the nearby buildings burst open like a million discordant bells. The shock of the blast sent the sidewalk leaping up at Sebastian. Broken glass landed on the pavement around him, tinkling on the street like tiny diamonds.
    Shouting echoed throughout the street. Amidst the rubble, Culdesac called out to his people to see who was still alive. The fire lit up a snowfall of ash.
    Sebastian heard footsteps. Not padded cats’ feet, but human boots. Lifting his head from the cement, he saw the human running through the intersection. Sebastian got to his feet and sprintedafter him. The human had a walkie-talkie held to his ear and was frantically shouting code words. He did not hear Sebastian pursuing him until it was too late. Sebastian tackled him, slamming him to the ground so that the man’s body skidded across the concrete. Sebastian gripped the man’s oily hair and pulled his head up.
    “Who are you?” Sebastian said.
    “Lord,” the man said.
    “What?”
    “Lord, forgive these wretched creatures,” the man said in a sobbing voice. “They know not what they do.”
    Sebastian could not get enough of the man’s smell. It was so much like Daniel. Even though this man