Hey guys, it's good to be writing again. I hope everyone enjoys this short story assignment for my fiction class.

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A black cat sniffed at a skull with a helmet on it but found it had been picked clean already. It was probably the foxes. They went after anything, dead or alive. Sighing, he dashed off, paws splashing through the puddles. He ran along the cracked asphalt and around broken-down cars; he made sure to avoid the scattered glass and shredded metal that littered the floor. But one could only be so careful when they were hungry. And he hadn't eaten all day.

Finding food in the streets was hard, harder still after the great war. When the city was filled with cries and fighting men and explosions. All that was left were echoes of what had come to pass. Heavy metal beasts with many wheels and spewed thunder out of their long slender mouths dotted the streets. As he moved down the road, he kicked little golden tubes that littered most all of the roads. He had tried to eat one once but the smell alone made him nauseous. Buildings were either reduced to rubble or scorched and foul-smelling.

And no matter where the cat looked, there was no sign of his human, much less any human, only skeletal remains. But none of them had a prosthetic. So, none of them were him; So, it didn't matter.

Moving through the empty street, he pricked his ears for his partner. He used the term partner lightly. He had only known her for a month. A month of fruitless searching and he had little to show for it: sore paw pads and another mouth to feed. But he was glad to have an extra pair of paws to help him hunt. They could at least agree on that.

The black cat reached the ramshackle apartment and walked through the doorway. He found his hunting partner inside. She was a tabby cat with golden eyes that held pain inside. But he had never asked about it.

"I didn't find anything," he said. He hung his head. The tabby cat jumped off of the couch and wandered into the kitchen. She came back with a mouse hanging from her mouth. The black cat's mouth watered. "Where'd you find that?"

"By the big tree in the park."

Ash nodded. He was grateful that he didn't have to make that trek. His paws hurt enough.

The tabby hopped onto the couch and waved her tail as if inviting him to join her. Jumping up, Ash let out a hiss as he landed.

"What's wrong?"

"Just a little sore." He looked down at his paws. And as he lifted one up to inspect it, the tabby sucked in a breath at the glistening blood splotch on the couch.

"You're hurt," she said, "Ash, you have to rest, you've been searching all day,"

Letting out a sigh, Ash lowered his ears. He knew she was right, but he couldn't just give up. He refocused on the mouse and pushed it toward the tabby.

"You can have the first bite. It was your catch."

The tabby smiled and began to eat. Ash joined in soon after.

"Did you find anyone else?" the tabby cat asked.

Ash shook his head.

"Any sign of . . ."

Ash swallowed and shook his head again. "He would have followed me here if I'd found him. This was our home after all." Ash lowered his head and pushed the rest of the mouse to his partner. He looked longingly into the rain, remembering when he had met his owner.

It had been snowing, and Ash was looking for food and shelter. He had only stumbled upon the apartment because he had lost his bearings in the storm. He cozied up to a stack of firewood against the house when a man stepped outside. Ash had tried to hide, but his black coat against the snow made it impossible, so he curled himself into a tight ball in the corner of his hiding place and waited for pain to come. A warm hand and something that felt like metal grabbed him gently and a soft voice silenced his anxious thoughts until they were inside. The next thing he knew, he was inside, curled up in a blanket by a roaring fire with two bowls next to him. The man lay down with him, metal fingers softly caressing the cat's head until they were both asleep.

He missed fires and their warmth. He missed a lot of what used to be.

The tabby spoke up, "Maybe it's time to move on, Ash." blinking, Ash looked at her like he was lost. She continued, "As scarce as prey is, and the foxes, we can't stay here for much longer. If you keep waiting you're just going to get hurt."

Ash recoiled from her words. His ears lowered. "What do you mean?[[ Joe, 3/16/2023 4:30 PM]

[Do I want Ash to be in denial that his owner is dead or oblivious to the possibility of it? This way he is broken when he finds out the truth.]]"

The tabby cat lowered her ears.

Ash padded to the corner of the room. He laid down and watched as the tabby curled up on the red rug and closed her eyes.

The tabby cat snored softly and the black cat licked the blood from his paw pads and the rain poured down against the roof.

He was about to fall asleep when the high-pitched laughing of a fox alarmed him. His eyes shot open and he yowled for his partner to get up.

A fox stood in the doorway, blood staining his nose. "So," He licked his lips. "That delicious smell was coming from you."

Ash shrunk under the fox's gaze.

"Run!" the tabby yelled.

Before he could escape, the fox lunged at him, claws tearing into Ash's shoulder. Ash backed himself into a corner. He slashed at the fox, hissing, but he froze as the fox opened its jaws, revealing sharp teeth dripping with saliva. A vase crashed over the foxe's head and the creature fell to the ground.

The tabby looked down at Ash from her perch on the wardrobe.

"Hurry! it'll be up soon!"

They sprinted outside. Ash dragged his paws despite his fear, stealing glances back at the apartment.

They ran for blocks. They ran until Ash's paws ached and the adrenaline eased its hold on him and the two of them slowed to a trotting pace. The tabby cat let out short bursts of breath, looking behind her.

"I think we lost him."

Panting, Ash looked at the tabby cat with wide eyes. "You, you saved my life."

"We're partners," she said.

As the tabby cat moved forward, Ash hesitated to follow.

Turning around, he looked back down the way they'd come. His muscles were tense and his stomach was in knots.

"We need to keep moving," said the tabby.

"But," he said, "What if my person comes back and I'm not there?"

Thunder struck and both cats cowered and ran out of the street and into a run-down car covered in leaves and shrubbery.

Ash lowered his head and scratched at the upholstery of the seat, tearing into it.

"I could always go back and check around the area at least and . . ."

"Are you crazy? It was a miracle we survived! We can't go back!"

"Why not? That's what family does. Family never gives up on anyone."

"Ash, I met you a month ago, if it weren't for the fox would you have ever left?

Ash grimaced at her words and curled up on the passenger seat.

"Just forget it," he said, waiting for the tabby to fall asleep.

The sun rose by the time Ash made it back to the broken-down vehicle. He returned with no sing of his human and only a mouse to show for his effort. Now that it was daytime, he was able to better see the vehicle they stayed in. It was a van with a big red cross on it. The front of the van was visible at least, half of it had crashed through the wall of the building. He jumped inside looking around.

At the center of the floor, there was a funny-looking table with a pillow and sheets on top. He didn't have a word for it other than a mobile bed, noting the wheels on the bottom. Jumping up to the top, he kneaded the pillow and curled up on it. He would have fallen asleep if the tabby hadn't landed so loudly onto the table.

"Morning." The tabby looked around. "Humans are strange creatures, they even have beds inside their cars." She sniffed the air. "What's that wonderful smell?"

"I caught us a mouse."

The tabby smiled. "You did? You must have gotten up early for that. Thank you. How long have you been up?"

Ash lowered his gaze. "You'd better eat it before it gets cold."

"How long have you been up? Certainly not before dawn, right?"

Ash licked his chest.

The tabby narrowed her eyes. "You're impossible. You stayed out all night, didn't you?"

"I caught you a mouse, didn't I?" Ash lashed his tail back and forth.

"We are supposed to be working together. How am I supposed to rely on you when you won't take care of yourself? All because you can't see what's right in front of you."

"He's the only family I have left. How can I just give up?"

"Because he must have given up on you. Can't you understand that? How long has it been since you saw him?"

Ash narrowed his eyes. "It has only been since winter."

"And now it's summer, Ash. You need to be honest with yourself. When was the last time you saw any human around here? You need to face the fact that he might be dea- "

"No! I don't believe you!"

"If we're partners, then you need to hear this."

"Nobody asked you. And I'm wasting time I could be searching for him. He found me when I had nothing, I can't stop until I find him."

"You'll have to stop or you'll kill yourself trying to find someone that might already be gone. Is that what he would want for you?"

Ash struck her with a sheathed paw.

"How can you say that? You have no idea what its like to lose someone or what I'm going through! And now all you're doing is slowing me down!" Ash yelled.

The tabby launched herself at Ash and they tumbled to the floor and crashed through the back doors of the van.

"Get off," Ash said, pushing her off with his back legs.

"You arrogant. . . Selfish. . ." She took in deep breaths. "You aren't the only one to have lost family."

"I've lost family too!" the tabby yelled.

Ash looked down at his paws and then back to her as silence fell over them. And as the tabby glared at him, waiting for him to respond, he looked past her.

Moving deeper into the remains of the building, he came across a skeleton leaning against a wall clad in camouflage. He stared, unblinking, as a lump formed in his throat. Paw steps approached him.

"Ash, did you even hear what. . .I. . .said?"

Taking in shallow breaths, Ash approached the body and pressed his nose against the cold metal of a mechanical arm.

As his eyes began to sting, he nuzzled into it, trying to feel comforted by his human one last time.

The tabby cat lowered her head. "I'm so sorry, Ash."

Ash curled up on the lap of the skeleton and closed his eyes. As his tears dotted the camouflage pants, he let out a deep sigh, a morbid sense of relief washing over him. His search was over.

The tabby cat had gone hunting early the next morning. But Ash didn't go with her when she invited him; instead, he moved into the van and laid down on the rolling bed, and went back to sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, the sun was rising again. His mouth watered at the mouse in front of his muzzle but he didn't eat it. His stomach felt sour. He closed his eyes again as the tabby came back into the van.

Ash opened his eyes as a paw jabbed into his ribs.

The tabby looked at him. "Can you at least eat something?"

"Not hungry," he muttered.

"You need to eat."

"It's only been a day."

"It's been two days."

Ash let out a sigh and closed his eyes again. The tabby prodded him harder. He let out a hiss and jerked upright.

"Why don't you leave already? Or are you here to rub it in my face? Is that what you want? For me to admit that you were right?" His tail lashed back and forth. "Fine. You were right! All along!"

The tabby looked around her. "Ash, keep your voice down."

"What's the point? Why do I care if I'm found by a pack of stupid flea-ridden foxes? If my family is gone, then who cares what happens to me?!"

"I care!" The tabby cat glared at him. "Because you're my partner!" She lowered her ears as her voice echoed off of the buildings.

Both cats sat in silence, looking out of the front window down the long stretch of asphalt. Ash looked at the tabby and blinked away his surprise. He tilted his head. "Do you really . . ."

Faint yipping and laughing came from down the street, taking Ash's breath away.

"Run!" the tabby cat yelled, pushing him through the back doors of the van.

Inside was a maze of debris and shattered glass but they found a path through it and up three flights of stairs. Laughing came from behind them, bouncing off of the walls, and echoing up the stairwell.

Ash followed the tabby cat, running under desks and around knocked over chairs. They ran until they found that part of the floor had caved in. The window and the entire wall were missing, letting in light and wind. Ash was about to call out to the tabby to wait when she jumped clear over the gap. Trying to catch up, Ash tripped over a piece of rubble and tumbled to the ground.

"Ash! Come on!" the tabby leaned over the edge. "Jump!"

"I can't!" He looked down to the ground floor. It was miles below. His head snapped behind him as the first fox made it to the third floor.

"Jump! Trust me!"

Bunching up his muscles, he sprang forward. He caught the ledge with his front paws and dug his claws into the carpet.

"I'm slipping!"

Teeth sunk into his scruff and he was dragged up.

Ash looked to the tabby with wide eyes, and then looked behind him as the first fox leaped across the gap. One by one they jumped, and one by one they plummeted to the ground. All of their cries and yips fell silent as the last of the foxes hit the ground.

Ash looked up to the tabby, panting. "Did you mean what you said? That I'm family?"

"Of course," she said. "I want to help you. I've been trying to help you ever since you told me your owner was missing."

Ash lowered his head.

"My owners died too, Ash. So you can imagine my surprise when I found you. You reminded me so much of myself. I waited for weeks for my family to come home, after the shaking and shouting. But they never came. I didn't want you to hurt yourself like I did, waiting for someone who would never come back."

Ash hung on every word she said.

"You were the first cat I'd seen since everything happened." She stepped closer to him. "I thought, if I couldn't have my family back, then maybe one day I could have a new one, with you. But you were so obsessed and frankly self-absorbed with finding your owner, that you didn't see me."

"I haven't been that self-absorbed."

"Oh ya?" the tabby asked. She smirked at him."What's my name?"

The black cat opened his mouth to respond only to lower his ears. They sat in silence until Ash spoke up. "You're right, about everything. I've been a jerk. And I haven't appreciated you. I'm sorry. For not seeing you sooner."

The tabby nodded. She went up to him and nuzzled into his neck. "I can't blame you when I was the same way. I'm just glad you were able to get an answer. So you can start to heal."

Ash nodded. "I wish it didn't hurt so much."

"Give it time. It will get better."

Letting out a sigh, he looked out of the window overlooking the city. Even though it was in pieces -a shadow of what it used to be- it was still home.

Ash turned to the tabby cat. "I've been a lousy partner. But if you still want to work together, then I will do my best to make it up to you."

"Of course. Partners don't leave when things get hard. They help each other."

Ash smiled. It was the first time he had felt happy being called a partner. It carried with it a heavier weight of responsibility that settled onto his shoulders. He liked it. Because his partner was a good one, even if he was still a work-in-progress.

Ash pawed at the ground as his cheeks burned. He peaked up to the tabby cat."You were right, you know. I. . . Never asked you what your name was. And if we are going to be partners. . .well, I thought I'd ask."

The tabby cat smiled. "Honey."