Secrets of the Enslaved

The next morning, Ash awoke with the sun as he always did. There’d never been a morning in his life that he’d slept past dawn, and even Nikki could vouch for that. He’d always said that was the one thing he hated about raising the kitten as his own, that he’d had to get up at dawn to change a diaper or feed him when he wanted to sleep in.

After crawling from his warm, comfortable bed and stretching as he always did, he headed downstairs to watch the sunrise from the back deck. It was a routine he’d had since he was old enough to get out of his crib on his own, which was at around eighteen months old. He’d often crawl out of his crib and, due to the goings-on of the night before, find the back door unlocked. With minimal trouble, due only to his short stature at the time, he’d get the back door open and go sit in one of the lawn chairs on the patio, where he’d keep his ears tucked in his hair and his tail in his pajamas and watch the sun rise.

He chuckled softly as he reminisced on all the mornings Nikki’d wake up from whatever drugs and alcohol he’d consumed the night before, go to his room to wake him, and flip shit because he wasn’t in his crib. They were memories that, while bitter because of Nikki’s past as a drug-addict, were still warm just because he had someone who cared in his life. This morning was no different because, once he got up to start getting the others out of bed, he’d keep that routine.

“Morning, Ashley.”

Startled by someone talking to him, he jumped badly, his tail puffing up like a typical domestic housecat’s. “Jesus, Andy! You scared the hell outta me!”

“Sorry,” the new Neko chuckled, taking a seat in the lawn chair beside him. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I guess I’m not the only one who likes watching the sun rise anymore,” he sighed.

“It was something I enjoyed before Nikki found me,” Andy told him. “Kinda hard not to when I had to stay awake all night to keep thieves and junkies at bay.”

“Damn. If I ever thought I had a hard life, I was nuts,” Ashley said. “I’m pretty sheltered in comparison to you.”

“I didn’t mind growing up that way,” his companion insisted. “It’s not like my mom had a choice in her death, although my dad certainly did have a choice as to whether he was in my life or not.”

Although curious, he refused to ask about such a personal detail of his life.

“My dad was looking for a fling and nothing more. My mom laid down her life for me when a junkie tried abducting me to take back to his girlfriend, who was an abusive Mistress, when he realized that I was a Neko.” He grimaced and shrugged. “I know she didn’t wanna die, but at least Mama died protecting the thing she loved most: me.”

“That’s definitely a noble way to go,” he agreed sadly. “I guess you could say my mom laid down her life for me, too, seeing as how she died making sure I was born.”

“Yeah, because if you hadn’t been already been born when she died, you likely would’ve, too.”

“Exactly. At least I was outside her body, and in the hands of a caring Master, when she drew her last breath.”

The two sat there talking for a while longer as they watched the sun rise, not realizing when their tails curled together as if they were holding hands. Being around another Neko who was just as friendly as they were was a change for them both, but not an unwelcome one. It was only when Nikki came out to check on and startled them that they realized their tails were intertwined, which drew a laugh from all three of them. Shaking his head at his pets, the older man headed back into the house to play drill sergeant until his progeny were up and ready for school.

Once the sun had risen over the horizon, the pair vacated their lawn chairs and headed back into the house as well. Andy was somewhat surprised to see his favorite food, homemade tuna salad, already in a bowl and waiting for him at the kitchen table. Ashley wasn’t surprised to find his own, which was a hickory-smoked turkey sandwich, laying on a plate in wait since it was typical of his Master.

Nikki chuckled when he saw his new pet’s reaction, telling him that it was habit to have his pet’s favorite food waiting on them when they came back in, although his kids found it strange. They were more into pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast and thought something like that was just weird. But since Nekos were part cat, it was no surprise to the older man that their food choices, regardless of the time of day, were a bit strange in comparison to a typical human’s.

“Thanks, Nikki,” the new Neko said, grabbing his fork.

“Don’t worry about it, Andy,” he answered, still chuckling. “Like I said, it’s a routine I got into years ago. Before Ashley was born, actually.”

Having already known this, Ashley kept silent as he stuffed his face.

“Oh, really? I’m guessing you did the same thing for his parents?” he asked curiously.

“Mmm hmm. Although it was chicken salad for Amara, beef jerky for Dillon,” Nikki chuckled. “I’ve never heard of a typical housecat that liked beef jerky, much less a Neko.”

“Might’ve been one of the things an old Master or Mistress gave him,” he said. “The only reason I figured out I like tuna salad is because I had to scavange all my life. Beef jerky was one of the few things I had, but refused to eat unless I had nothing else.”

“True enough, Andy. Go ahead and eat up so we can start lessons for today,” their Master said.

Since his mouth was full, he cocked a brow at him.

“I’ve homeschooled Ashley since he was old enough for school,” he told him. “It’s not that I thought him too strange or shy for a public school, but because I didn’t want another Master or Mistress making off with him before I could get to the school to pick him up for the day.”

“Ah, I see,” Andy said, nodding. “Better safe than sorry.”

“Course, he might not be at the same level as me, Dad,” Ashley interjected. “For all we know, he could be at a kindergarten level in everything.”

“Hey! I might’ve had to raise myself, but I’m not stupid!” the new Neko said, his tail twitching testily.

“That’s not what I meant. I meant that, because you had to raise yourself, you might not’ve been to school a day in your life, for all we know,” he said. “Because of that, while you might be far from stupid, you might not understand the same things I do right now.”

“He’s got a point, Andy,” Nikki agreed, nodding as he took a sip of coffee.

“And I’m sorry if I offended you; that wasn’t my intent,” he told him.

Grumbling under his breath, Andy turned his attention back to his breakfast as Nikki’s kids walked into the kitchen, knowing it was better to keep quiet if he had nothing nice to say.

After breakfast had been eaten and dishes cleared away, the older man ran his kids off to the bus stop so they wouldn’t miss the bus that morning. Even though he was perfectly capable of taking them to school, he wanted to teach them responsibility by making them catch the bus. Besides, he didn’t like leaving Ashley, and now Andy, alone for too long, and even though the older Neko had his license, he didn’t want him out by himself for too long, either.

With the kids gone and the house quiet, Ashley went upstairs to his room to start on his schoolwork for the day while Nikki ran out to get the supplies needed for Andy. This left the younger Neko to explore his surroundings a bit more for a while, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. He’d always listened to his sixth sense in that respect, and it’d saved his skin numerous times.

Only about half an hour after his new Master left, he heard the sound of shattering glass and his companion’s startled cry. Quicker than a bolt of lightning, he ran upstairs to the older Neko’s bedroom, only to find him cornered by what was obviously a vicious Neko that’d not only jumped the fence surrounding the house, but had managed to break in, as well. With a ferocious growl he’d never heard come out of his throat before, Andy pounced on the attacking Neko, shredding it with his claws while biting it pretty hard with sharp teeth that’d just emerged from his gums for that purpose.

Terrified, Ashley managed to sneak out of his room as the two were fighting and hide in a safe place. He was terrified that his new companion was going to get himself killed trying to protect him, and after losing his parents for more or less the same reason, he couldn’t bear the thought. Gathering up every ounce of courage he could muster, he slowly crept back down the hall, peeking in his doorway and waiting for a chance to strike. When Andy managed to push their attacker toward the doorway, he let one claw slide out and drew it quickly across the vicious Neko’s throat. He heard it begin to gurgle as blood welled up and started choking it, knowing that its miserable life had swiftly been ended by his act of bravery.

“Damn, Ash. I didn’t know you had it in you,” Andy panted, retracting his claws and, for lack of a better term, fangs.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” He shrugged. “I’ve lost enough people I care about in my life; I couldn’t let you get added to that list.”

Before his companion could even say anything, as if right on cue, their sensitive hearing heard footsteps outside the front door. Moments later, after keys jingled and the dead bolt was drawn back, they heard, “Boys! I’m back!”

“Upstairs, Dad!” Ash answered.

“He’s not gonna reprimand us for killing one of our own?” the new Neko asked, shocked.

“No. He’s always taught me to stand up for myself, but I’ve never had a reason to.” He shrugged again. “Besides, I wasn’t just standing up for myself this time.”

“Andy, I’ve— Whoa, what the fuck happened in here?” Nikki asked, cutting himself off.

“Attacking vicious Neko,” Andy answered grimly. “Shockingly enough, I wasn’t the one who killed it.”

“You killed it, Ashley?” He nodded shyly, as if fearing reprimanding or a beating, anyway. “Good for you, son. I’m glad to see you stood up for yourself and Andy.”

Shocked, the younger Neko stood there with his jaw on the ground.

“See, I told ya he wouldn’t be pissed about it,” Ash chuckled, returning the hug their Master gave him.

“Well, you’re so shy that most feel the need to protect you,” Nikki said. “As much as I love you, to the point of being willing to lay my life down for you the way I would the rest of my kids, I want you to be able to protect yourself if no one’s around to help you.”

A soft purr rumbled up from the depths of his throat and reverberated through his chest as their Master scratched him behind the ears.

“Now, after we take care of the disposal of this Neko,” he said, looking at the corpse at his feet with disgust, “you get back to work while I start with Andy to see what level he’s educated himself to.”

“I’ll come down and help you once I’m done,” the older Neko promised. “You know it doesn’t take me long to finish my work.”

“That I do, Ash,” he agreed, ruffling his hair. “Go on down and get the shovels out of the shed. Andy, you help me carry this bastard down.”

Nodding, the two Nekos did exactly as he’d instructed them to. Ash all but tucked and rolled once he got to the top of the stairs, gracefully landing on his feet at the bottom before jogging through the house to the back door. Upstairs in his room, Nikki hefted the torso of their attacker into his arms, its head resting against his chest, while the younger Neko grabbed its legs by the ankles.

Walking backwards, he led the way to the stairs, where they took their time so he wouldn’t fall and hurt himself. Andy kept his grip on the ankles of their attacker, warning him when he was about to run into something before he did so. They spun around at the archway leading into the kitchen so that his new pet was the one walking backwards, which allowed him to reach behind himself and open the back door easier than his Master would’ve been able to. Just a few steps away from the back porch, they dumped the body they carried on the ground in a none-too-kind manner.

They looked up to see that Ash had grabbed three shovels, two of which were stabbed into the ground. The third was in his hands, swinging gracefully as he slung a shovelful of dirt over his shoulder. He then stabbed the tip into the ground once again and jumped onto it, using his weight to make it sink deeper into the dirt. Without waiting for him to notice them, they walked over and grabbed the other two shovels, the grave being dug quickly with all of them working together.

“Whew,” Nikki breathed, wiping his hand across his brow when they finished. He left a streak of brown from some of the dirt he’d gotten on his hand while digging.

“And to think we’ve still gotta fill it back in,” the younger Neko grumbled.

“Thankfully this is only the second time I’ve had to bury a dead Neko on this property,” he said. “Well, unless you count…”

“I’m assuming the attacking Nekos’ graves aren’t marked?” Andy asked curiously.

“Hell no. They don’t deserve such recognition,” he spat.

“My parents were different, though,” Ash said sadly. “They were good people, good pets. They didn’t deserve to die when they did, especially without getting to meet me.”

“I won’t tell you the location of their graves,” their Master said, addressing his new pet. “That’s something known only to Ash and I. My kids don’t even know where their graves are, even though I had tombstones made for them. If he wants you to know where they’re buried, Ash’ll take you to their graves on his own, and only when he’s damn good and ready.”

“I never would’ve asked to know where the Purdys’ final resting places are.” He gave them a slightly reprimanding look. “That’s a sacred place to the two of you, especially Ash. If you want me to know their location, you’ll tell me, and I’ve got sense and class enough to respect that.”

Nodding their agreement, Nikki and Ash turned to head for the body, which all three of them worked together to get into its grave. Once it’d been dumped into the six-foot-deep hole, they grabbed their shovels again and started filling the grave in. They’d decided to dig a grave that, while six feet deep, was only two or three in diameter so the corpse was standing upright after it was buried. If the neighbors saw the disturbed dirt, they could claim it was a pet’s grave easier that way.

After filling the grave in and tamping the loose dirt down, the trio returned their shovels to the hooks Ash’d gotten them from in the shed. They glanced at one another before allowed broad grins to grace their lips as they headed back into the house. Nikki and Andy both were proud of the older Neko for standing up for himself, as well as his companion, by slitting their attacker’s throat without a second’s thought.

With a grin on his face and a glass of water in his hand, the older Neko headed back upstairs to his room. Although he knew it would only mean more work later, he decided to clean up the mess the attacking Neko had left later that day, after he’d finished his schoolwork. The moment he got his bedroom door shut, Ash grabbed the remote to his stereo and turned it on, grinning as he grabbed his iPod. It was connected to the stereo by an auxiliary cable, that way he could play whatever he wanted without having to spend a fortune on CDs that would eventually get tossed aside and forgotten. His music of choice today was actually the album his “dad” had released with Mötley the year after he was born, 1989’s Dr. Feelgood.

Unlike most days when he’d blast the music loud enough to wake the dead, he kept the volume at a lower level. Nikki knew that he liked listening to music, especially that released by Mötley, while doing his schoolwork and that it helped him think, but that didn’t mean Andy did. And even if the younger Neko also enjoyed listening to music while doing something like schoolwork didn’t mean he could tolerate the volume level that Ash typically enjoyed. With his books still on the desk and his music on full-blast, he plopped down in his office chair and got back to the grindstone so he could get done quicker.

Notes