We jogged for a bit, till Cassidy and Theo started to run out of breath. I set Benny down, making sure not to lose the end of Theo’s makeshift leash, and we quickly walked together back towards the daycare.
“Ms. Maisy?” Cassidy asks after a bit.
“Hmm? What’s up?” I reply, squeezing her hand a little. She pauses and I wait, giving her a moment to collect her thoughts.
“Is Mommy and Daddy okay?” she asks me. I almost miss the next step at the question. Ah, shit. How should I know? How should I answer this? The message said End of Earth, which meant the whole world was probably experiencing the same catastrophe. There was always a chance they’d survived, but…the fact that they hadn’t seen any other people left her with little hope.
But these aren’t things you can say to a scared four year old. So I plastered a small smile on, hoping it looked sincere.
“Of course they are,” I tell her. “I’m sure they’re working hard right now to try and get to you. But things are a little messy right now, so until they come, I’ll be here to keep you safe.” I hope that my speech is reassuring; each word feels like a blatant lie to me. Cassidy keeps her head down, looking at her feet as we walk, before asking a second question.
“And what about Mr. Bitsy?” she said, her voice quavering. I laugh out loud, surprising both her and myself. But if there was anyone to survive the end of the world, it would be that damn cat.
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Mr. Bitsy had been my cat, originally. He had been the runt of the litter, earning him the name ‘bitsy’, and had been a handful right from the get-go. I had loved the angsty furball, but after he tore up the carpet in my apartment(and the couch, and the corner of my bed), my landlord said he had to go. I cried and set about trying to find him a new home. I told Ren and my coworkers about my plight and Cassidy’s mom had messaged me about taking him in. Ever since then, I’ve heard updates about my naughty former pet from Cassidy at daycare. He’d mellowed out a bit as he got older, but he still had a habit of trying to claw the curtains on occasion.
“Mr. Bitsy is fine, I’m sure,” I tell her. “That cat is smart enough to handle himself. I’m sure he’s hiding out right now, waiting to tear up some innocent curtains as we speak.”
Cassidy giggles and I see a little relief on her face.
“We’re almost here,” I tell them as we approach the road leading up to the building. Thankfully, we don’t have to go all the way back to check the zone. I cross the veil, the now familiar feeling of cobwebs caressing my face before fading away.
“What Zone is this?” I say out loud and a pop up appears.
Zone 272
Next challenge in this zone: Wasp drones
“Ekgh!” I exclaim, recoiling. Wasp drones? Definitely not this one. That sounded truly awful. “Okay, well, that was easy I guess,” I say. “We can head back to Mr. Ren now,” I tell the kids.
“Already?” Theo says, sounding disappointed. “That wasn’t a race…”
“Well,” I tell him, “We can’t run the whole way, but do you want to race back?” I see his expression lift and he nods, his hair flapping. I untie the sleeve from his wrist as he vibrates in place. Once he’s free, he bounces over to the other kids.
“Yeah! Ready Benny! Let’s go, Cas!” Theo nudges the other two, crouching down like he’s in a professional sprint. I smile at his enthusiasm and his seriousness towards the game.
“Alright, racers! Our mark is the stop sign!” I tell them, putting on an announcer’s voice. “First one to reach it wins! On your mark, get set, GO!” I wave my arm like a starting flag and start slow jogging. I don’t expect what happens next.
With a flash of fire, Theo shoots off, an afterimage of flames burned into my eyes.
What? WHAT? What was that???