2019-09-19 - Pushy Roommates

The nightmare had only just started when Alexander felt the weight land heavily on his chest. He gasped, sat bolt upright in the bed as the weight dug needle-like claws into his chest and launched itself away, scrabbling under the bed.

He managed not to scream, barely. It’s the cat. The fucking cat. His heart hammered in his chest. Carefully, so as to not wake up Isolde in the other room, he rolled out of bed, crouched down. A pair of ghostly blue eyes reflected the faintest light from the window. He stared at the cat. The cat stared back.

Then, miaaaow.

“Shh,” Alexander said, raising a finger to his lips. “You’re going to wake someone. Just go to sleep. I made you a bed.” He gestured towards the pile of old clothing that had been shaped into a roughly bed like shape in a corner, next to two shallow bowls that had been repurposed for cat food and water. “It’s time to sleep.”

Miaaaaow.

Alexander frowned, then crawled back onto the bed. “Fine. Sleep under the bed. See if I care.” He pulled the sheet back up over his body, and closed his eyes. He was tired, so it wasn’t long before his mind began to drift. Tangled, twisted bodies in various states of decay. Hymns in the background as he worked with bloodstained hands. The drip-drip-drip of some lukewarm fluid on the side of his face and a low, raspy purr in the background…

Wait, what? He jerked awake again. The cat was on the pillow beside him like a fluffy white spectre, standing over him, drooling on his face and purring. When she realized his eyes were open, the purring seemed to rise in intensity. Miaaaaaow.

“You can’t be hungry,” Alexander mumbled. The cat, in return, looked skeptical and meowed again. “Well, you can wait until dawn like everyone else.” She stared at him, unblinking. “What. What is it? What do you want?”

With all the delicate grace of a princess, she stepped onto his chest, needle-claws digging in as she looked down at his face, then lowered herself to sprawl across him. Purring. Her front claws started going in and out, just below his collarbone, penetrating the thin cloth of his t-shirt with no resistance at all.

Gingerly, he reached down and slid his fingers through her silky fur, stroking from just behind her ears to the base of her tail. She laid her chin down, her eyes half-closing but still watching him. “I don’t usually sleep on my back, you know. This won’t work for long.” Her tail flicked once, from left to right. Apparently, that was an Alexander problem, not a cat problem.

It was soothing, really. The weight on his chest. The fluffy, warm fur under his fingers. The steady rumble of the purr that sunk down into his bones. Even the steadily widening patch of damp from the cat’s drool was sort of nice, in a weird way. Alexander felt his eyes begin to close.

He was uncertain when he fell asleep again, only remembering later that the dream was a pleasant one.