Musings From A Demented Mind (17 page)

                        Chapter Two

“Try it again,” Benton shouted from the top of the thirty foot high robotic black cat.  For the past year, his research team worked diligently to finish the Mecha Cat project.  With the funding from the United States government and help from his team consisting of some of the brightest engineers in the field, Mecha Cat was going to be the top of the line defense against an enemy threat.  Especially, if they were attacked by an over grown feline which his girlfriend, Lucille, and he encountered while they were lifeguarding at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore over two years ago.

“His head still won’t move,” Ajit Bahri, the lead engineer on the project, informed him.  “There has to be something still not attached somewhere.”

“Or it could be a software problem,” Slater Malcrens, their computer software specialist, answered in disagreement.

“Whatever the problem is, we need to solve it,” Benton stated as he climbed down the attached steps leading from its belly to its front left leg. 

“Its front and rear paws are functional,” Ajit said.

They watched as it moved forward a few feet.  The room shook slightly with each step.

“Now that’s impressive,” Lucille said, walking into the lab.  Her raven black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she wore cutoff blue jeans and a tank top displaying her perfectly tanned body.  “Aren’t we supposed to be somewhere?”

“The party.  I forgot.” 

Benton briefly looked over at her and then back at the schematic on his computer screen.  His beach tanned body was gone since he quit being a lifeguard after the incident and locked himself in the lab designing and building Mecha Cat.

“Can we pass on it tonight?”

“Benton, the party was your idea.  We haven’t told any of our family about our engagement yet.”

“Guys, you need to see the news,” Lana Coast said as she ran into the lab.  “There was an attack on the South Shore Line near the steel mill.”  She looked straight at Lucille.  “A twenty foot black cat.”

Slater turned on the large screen television, and they watched the horrific footage from the train wreckage.

Benton looked over at his team.  “We need this thing fully operational, ASAP.”

“We’ll spend the whole night working out the remaining kinks,” Ajit assured him.

“I’ll contact Sergeant Alvarez and have his team rendezvous with me in Chesterton.  Lucille, I’m sorry about the party.”

“I know,” she said sadly.  “Be careful.”

“I will.  Notify me when Mecha Cat is operational.”  He quickly gave her a kiss and rushed out of the lab.

Benton passed the entrance of the steel mill and pulled over to the side of the road where the police had the area barricaded off.  The other side of the road was lined with vans from every news station in the area with reporters waiting for any new tidbit about the train accident.

“Let him through,” Sergeant Alvarez said to one of the police officers as he saw Benton through the crowd of spectators.

“Did anybody see where it went?”  Benton asked as he walked past the barricade.

Sergeant Alvarez was wearing a bluish camouflage uniform covered in fresh blood.  “Witnesses saw it run into Lake Michigan and swim north.  It left no survivors.  The whole train is covered in blood.  Be careful the ground is slippery.”

Benton surveyed the wreckage and listened to the coroner describe the scene while the CSIs continued to collect evidence.  Judging by the impressions on the ground, the cat had to be over twenty feet tall.  He looked over at the sergeant.

“I don’t like that look on your face,” the sergeant said.

“We are dealing with a kitten.”

“You’re suggesting there may be more than just one.”

“Unfortunately.”

“What’s the progress on Mecha?”

“Tomorrow hopefully.”  Benton didn’t look convinced.  He stared at the wreckage.  “Unbelievable.”

“My troops are mobilizing.  The tanks and rocket launchers should be here within the hour.”

“We are going to need them.”

                         Chapter Three

Patti parked her car in one of the handicap spots in front of the Kmart in Chesterton.  Rusty, her tiny Pug, looked at her with inquisitive eyes.

“Yes, I will bring you back a treat.”

She got out of the car and with the help of her cane, walked toward the entrance.  She could hear the “It’s A Small World” theme coming from the mini ride to the left of the front door as a little kid enjoyed rocking back and forth on it.  She walked in, grabbed a cart, and then headed to the back of the store where all of the romance novels were.

As she was inside Kmart shopping, Rusty was in the car trying to stay on the front seat as the ground shook violently.  The sound of multiple car alarms going off was too much for Rusty’s ears.   The shaking stopped.  Looking straight at Rusty through the window was an overgrown black cat.  It licked its lips as it stared at him. 

Rusty peed all over the seat in fear.  The cat picked up the car and shook it violently causing Rusty to bounce around the car like he was a ball in a pinball machine.  The cat, losing interest in the Pug, threw the car into the air.

Meanwhile, Patti looked at all of the chew toys in the pet food aisle.  The little toy shaped like a duck amused her.

“I wonder if Rusty will like this one.”

As she walked out of the pet food aisle, her car crashed through the ceiling and onto the floor behind her.  The driver side door popped open and Rusty’s carcass rolled out. 

                         Chapter Four

Arris Wright sat at the head of the conference table watching Neil Lewis present his design for the new shopping mall they were planning. 

Arris recently purchased some swampland near the new subdivision the city was developing outside of Chesterton, Indiana.   He was warned about the dangers of building a shopping mall on swampland, but he was willing to take the risk since he was able to purchase the land cheap, because people were afraid to develop there due to the incident at the Indiana Dunes two years prior.

As Neil finished his presentation, Arris motioned to him to sit down. 

“I believe everyone here is impressed with the design.”

He looked toward the board members who were all nodding their heads in approval.

“I hope everybody understands the significance of this project.  Chesterton has been reluctant to allow additional discount outlets built since the rich folks and I quote, ‘don’t want the riffraff that these stores attract.’  Imagine a new Chesterton with a Goodwill, Target, Kohl’s, Golden Corral and it’s being developed by an African American,” he explained with a big smile.

“Sir, what about the incident today?”  Tammy Lemstrom asked.

“I’ve been assured that the cat menace will be taken care of immediately.  Besides, this will cause Chesterton’s real estate prices to drop even further.  We will be able to purchase additional land at a cheaper rate.”

“Sir, won’t this cause people to shy away from the area.”

“Trust me; this will cause Chesterton to become a tourist attraction.  If we can acquire the carcass of one of these overgrown felines, we can display its skeleton on a monument in the parking lot of the shopping center.  People will come far and wide to have a picture taken with it.  In the process, they will shop at our stores.  Trust me; this is a financial opportunity,” Arris explained.

“How are we going to acquire one of these carcasses?”  Tammy asked.

“The government spent a lot of money this past year developing a robotic defense system, Mecha Cat, to battle further feline threats.  In return for an opportunity to acquire a feline carcass, I shared in the financial burdens of the project.  Mecha Cat is en route to Chesterton as we speak.”

                        Chapter Five

Benton was talking to Lucille on his smart phone as five tanks including a missile launcher pulled into the parking lot of the steel mill.

“The cavalry just arrived.  What’s the ETA on Mecha Cat?”  Benton asked.  “Good.  I’ll see you soon.”

Sergeant Alvarez walked over to him followed by Lt. Marcus Moztem.

“Mecha Cat will be here within the hour,” Benton reported.

“Our feline friend has been spotted down by Kmart,” Marcus stated.

“We have multiple drones in the area.  We should be able to track its movements.  Once we have a location, we will strike,” Sergeant Alvarez said.

“We will finally get a chance to test Mecha Cat in the field,” Benton added.  “I hope all my team’s hard work pays off.”

They almost lost their balance as the ground shook violently.

“Sir, we have a visual,” Marcus reported.

Above the tree line across the street, they could see the tips of the cat’s ears.  Several frightened deer ran across the highway as the trees behind them crashed forward.  The cat stopped as it reached the highway and stared at the several reporters and spectators who ran away.  It chased after the deer toward the steel mill parking lot where the tanks were waiting. 

“Fire!”  Sergeant Alvarez shouted.

The missile launcher fired several missiles toward the cat that swatted them away with its paws sending the missiles into several directions.  Several of the police cars exploded as the missiles collided with them.  The tanks fired their projectiles doing minimum damage to the cat’s body.  The cat stared at the tanks angrily and rushed forward.  As it collided with the lead tank, several soldiers fired at it from behind.  The cat turned around and hissed at them.  As its attention was focused on the soldiers, the tanks fired at it from close range.  Wounded, the cat jumped over the soldiers and was forced to ground in midair by Mecha Cat.

The cat slowly stood up and hissed at Mecha Cat.  It pounced onto it and Mecha Cat bit into its neck with its mechanical teeth.  The cat used its momentum to roll sideways causing Mecha Cat and it to roll down the highway.  The cat pulled itself away from Mecha Cat’s grip and rammed it sending it backward a few feet.  Mecha Cat ripped the cat’s chest open with its left claw, causing it to spray blood all over the highway.

The cat quickly turned around, jumped over the soldiers and the tanks, and ran toward Lake Michigan.  Mecha Cat chased after it as it jumped into the lake and swam north.

Benton’s phone rang as Lucille called him from inside Mecha Cat.

“How are you holding up?”  Benton asked.

“Would you call that a successful field test?”  Lucille asked.

“You kicked its ass.”

“You know it.  Does Alvarez have any orders?”

Benton handed his phone over to the sergeant.

“That was impressive.  Are you tracking it?”  the sergeant asked.

“It’s heading for Canada.”

“Follow it back to its home.  Kill it and any others.  We need you to bring its body back.”

“Understood.”

He handed the phone back to Benton.

“Lucille, be careful.”

“Benton, I will.”

Lucille looked over at Slater who was sitting next to her.  “Follow it.”

“Following its course now.” 

As it entered Lake Michigan, it transformed into a submarine.  It traveled in the same direction that the cat was swimming.  As they moved forward, Slater spotted something huge swimming in the lake.

“What is that?”  Lucille asked.

“I believe it’s a shark,” Slater answered.

They stared at it in shock.  The shark was bigger than they had ever seen making a great white look minuscule. The shark began to glow bright yellow and vanished.

“Where did it go?”  Lucille asked, amazed.

“It looked like it was transported like in the Star Trek movies,” Slater pointed out.

“According to the readout, we are approaching Canada.  Prepare to transform.”

“Lucille, it’s surfacing.”

“Slater, follow it.”

Mecha Cat climbed out of the lake and followed the trail of blood pouring from the cat’s wound.  They followed it down a hill toward a group of trees.  Up ahead in a clearing were three other cats: a white one, a grey one and a calico.  The black cat crashed to the ground near the other three and died.

“There’s three more of them.  What should we do?”  Slater asked.

“Arm all our weapons and kill them all.”

As the last of the three cats were killed, Mecha Cat walked over to them and picked the calico one up with its mouth to take back to Chesterton.

“I can’t wait to get out of this thing.  It’s too cramped in here,” Slater said, smiling.

“We did well.”

Mecha Cat shook violently.

“I’m picking up something massive heading in our direction,” Slater reported.

A large calico cat twice the size of the other four walked through the trees and stared at Mecha Cat angrily.

“That would be the mother,” Lucille said in shock.

The cat ran forward slamming Mecha Cat into the ground.  The cat ran behind a large tree and pushed it forward causing it to crash onto Mecha Cat’s torso.  Lucille messed with the controls trying to unpin it from the tree.  Mecha Cat slowly pulled itself out from under the tree and was instantly slammed into another one by the angry feline.

“I think we are losing!”  Slater shouted.

“Really!”

“I would suggest ramming it with all our might.”

“It’s worth a shot.”

Mecha Cat ran forward and slammed the cat into a tree.  The cat hissed exposing all its large teeth.  Mecha Cat shot a missile toward it.  The missile collided with its teeth shattering them.  Mecha Cat rammed it again and ripped its neck open with its right claw.  The cat stared at them and tried to lift its right paw, but it fell down limp as it died.

“Who’s the boss?  That’s right us!”  Slater chanted.

“Something’s happening.”

The cat glowed as its spirit left its body.  The cat’s ghost looked at them and floated forward.

“What the hell?”  Slater screamed as the inside of Mecha Cat glowed bright red.

Mecha Cat screamed and spun around in a circle violently.

“What’s going on?”  Slater shouted holding on to his seat for dear life.

“I think its spirit has possessed Mecha Cat!”

Mecha Cat continued to scream and then ran toward Lake Michigan.  It jumped into the lake and swam back toward Chesterton.

“Slater, I can’t access its computer.”

“It has complete control of navigation.”

“If it has control of navigation, then it has control of the weapons systems.  We need to disable them before it gets back to the States.”

“On it.” 

Slater walked over to its computer core.  As he opened the hatch, he was hit with a bolt of electricity sending his body violently backward.  He hit his head against the panel next to Lucille knocking him unconscious.  The panel adjacent to Lucille exploded, knocking her to the ground.  As she was about to stand up, she was hit with a bolt of electricity knocking her unconscious, as well.

Benton and Sergeant Alvarez watched as Mecha Cat emerged from Lake Michigan.  Benton sensed something was wrong when he noticed that Mecha Cat was mutated.  Its eyes were no longer red, but looked more like real cat’s eyes, the left one blue and the right one gold.  It had fur growing out of its joints. 

It hissed at them and then fired a missile.

“Take cover!”  the sergeant shouted.

One of the tanks exploded on impact.

It walked toward them as it continued to hiss.

“What the hell is going on?” the sergeant asked.

“I think it’s possessed,” Benton answered.

“We need to destroy it.”

“Lucille is inside.”

“Do you have any suggestions?”  the sergeant asked as Mecha Cat fired another missile destroying another tank.

“Keep it distracted.  I’ll climb the steps up its leg and enter through the hatch.  I’ll rescue Lucille and Slater and then drop a grenade into its computer core.”

“Sounds dangerous and stupid,” the sergeant said.

“That describes my personality perfectly.”

“Good luck.” 

The sergeant handed him a grenade.  He ran over to his troops and ordered them to attack.  Benton ran toward Mecha Cat hoping his plan would succeed.

A chopper flew past Mecha Cat and fired a missile toward it.  It deflected it with one of its paw and then pounced upward and caught the chopper in its mouth.  It shook it violently and then flung the chopper into Lake Michigan. 

Mecha Cat continued to deflect the missiles from the tanks as Benton began to climb up its left leg.  As he reached its hatch, he grabbed onto the handle and was hit with an electrical shock.  He quickly grabbed it again and turned the handle and opened the hatch.  He jumped in and rolled out of the way of an electrical bolt.  He rushed over to Lucille and tried to shake her awake.  She moaned painfully as she regained consciousness. He turned his attention to Slater and shook him awake.

“Don’t open the hatch to the computer core,” he warned.  “Electric shock.”

“Take off your jacket.  When I throw this grenade in the computer core, I need you two to jump out the hatch.  It’s a long jump, but a couple of broken bones is better than being blown to shreds,” Benton said.  “Can you guys stand?”

“I’ll try,” Lucille said as she slowly stood up.

“Get ready.”

Benton wrapped his left hand with Slater’s jacket and lifted the hatch to the computer core.  He pulled the pin and dropped the grenade into the computer core as Slater and Lucille jumped out.  He turned around and quickly jumped out of Mecha Cat as the grenade went off.

Mecha Cat screamed loudly as its internal systems exploded.  A few seconds later, its head exploded sending fire and debris into every direction.

As Lucille was standing up from the jump, a small piece of debris landed on her right arm.  Her arm glowed a bright white for a few seconds.  She felt dizzy and passed out.

Her eyes opened and she was lying on a bed at Porter Memorial Hospital.  She looked over at Benton, Slater, and Ajit who were discussing the events of the past couple of days.

“Pay no attention to me,” she said with a smile.  “Do I look as bad as I feel?”

“You have a concussion and a few fractured bones.  Otherwise, as beautiful as ever,” Benton answered.

“Thanks, I think.  Is it over?”

“Yes, there is no more feline threats,” Slater answered.

“That we know of,” Ajit added.

“Promise me we are done with this.  I want to have a normal life,” Lucille said.

“Benton, you better tell her,” Ajit said.

“Tell me what?”

“The government wants us to begin construction of another Mecha Cat right away,” Benton answered and all three of them began laughing.  “Believe me, I think the last thing they will want is for us to build another one.”

“I hope so for all our sakes,” she said with a smile.