Bennett comes awake in the dark, her mouth dry and sticky. She swings her legs around and sits up, her clothes clinging to her with a fine sweaty film. She stumbles in the direction of the kitchen, wishing she’d thought to grab a glass of water before she fell asleep. Her foot suddenly makes contact with a warm soft fuzz and a bowel-loosing yowl rends the silence.

The yowl is followed by a loud hiss and a searing pain across her ankle. Bennett makes a garbled gak sound through her dessicated vocal chords and crashes into the table.

“Son of a beach!”

Another swipe to her good ankle and Bennett plops down in a chair, yanking both feet up. She can’t see the cat but she can hear her padding feet. She rubs her ankle with one hand and wipes her streaming eyes. For...

Please subscribe to keep reading.