Wounded Cat

Sven's cabin house is more like a hideout, surrounded by trees, making it hard to spot. That's good too, so no one will be able to track us down easily. I pull into the dirt driveway, next to Sven's car and switch off the ignition.

"You two go inside," I say to the girls. They climb out of the car and run into the house. I lock up the car and follow. I call Sven's name and follow his voice down a hallway into a spare bedroom. Black Cat was sprawled on a bed, still unconscious, Sven was sitting in a wooden chair, and Eve stood beside him with Black Cat's gun in hand.

"Thanks, Sven," I say.

"Hey, it takes guts to risk your life for kids, most people would only consider saving themselves." He said with a shrug. "But you and Eve are the ones who fix him."

"Deal," I say. "I've got a first aid kit in my car. I'll get it." I run to my car and get the kit in less than a minute. Sven began making dinner while Megan and Emma played with the kimono doll and cat. I take the first aid kit to the bedroom with Black Cat in it and set it on a wooden table. Eve had placed Black Cat's gun on a shelf.

"Ok, let's get to work, ok?" I ask. Eve nodded.

"I read a book about medicine." Eve said. "I will guide you." I nod. We discovered a few small burns and scrapes on his back, right cheek, forehead and hands which we treat with ease. On his chest was a large slash which Eve easily takes care of.

"Now, we wait for him to wake up." I tell her.

"How long will that take?" Eve asks.

"Who knows?" I say with a shrug. "Could be hours, but we should just let him rest."

A week, a full blown week is how long Black Cat slept, his position unchanged. Mom and dad are planning to stay in London for four weeks on a trip so me and my sisters are able to stay at Sven's house, although I left them with my grandparents on Wednesday. I'd go to school, study, eat, sleep, and do it over again. On the following Saturday, I walked past the room with Black Cat in it and saw Eve sitting in a chair, looking right at him. I wonder why though. I got my answer; Black Cat sat up slowly. Oh my god, he's awake.

"Oh my god…" I whispered.

Black Cat turned to us and blinked at us. "You're the bioweapon… and…" he trailed off. Eve climbed out of her chair and left down the hall.

"Well," I say casually, leaning against the door frame. "You feel any better than before?" He just stared at me. "I'll take that as a yes…"

"Eve, he didn't come back to life, he just woke up." Sven's voice said. He came in the room wearing a pink apron and carried a sizzling pan of bacon and eggs. He gave a grin. "Well, welcome back from the land of the dead."

"The sweepers…" Black Cat said softly. He looked around the room. "Where am I?" he asked.

"My house," Sven said. "Actually it's more like a hideout." He frowned. "God, you gave us quite the scare."

"How did I get here?" Black Cat asked.

"Well," I say scooting the chair next to the bed; but only a bit. "Eve smelled blood so she led us down to the water. We at first had no idea why, until we saw a boat on fire."

"Yeah," Sven said. He and Eve were pushing some more chairs next to a table. "So basically we dragged your hide out from under a blazing oil tanker before it exploded."

"Explode?!" Black Cat cried. His voice didn't rise though. "Saya; the girl in the kimono, what happened to her? Did she get out?"

"Oh…" I say. So he was Saya's friend? "Sorry," I say handing him the kimono prize and the news article about the fire. "She was dead when we got there. And even if she wasn't, she wouldn't have made it out of there alive." Black Cat was silent for a long moment. Eve got up and handed the black cat toy to him. "But I am impressed." I say. "You saving those girls and all… most people would've saved themselves, so thanks."

Sven put a small tray of food in front of Black Cat. "Now then, let's eat."

Breakfast was really awkward, really awkward; no one spoke for the first two minutes until Sven finally spoke up.

"Oh come on, eat." He said to Black Cat who just stared at his food as if it had teeth. "You need to eat, even if you don't feel hungry, you've been asleep for a long time. Besides; I worked hard on it so don't let it get cold."

"How long have I been asleep?" Black Cat asked.

I gulped down orange juice. "Uh… a week…" I say.

"A week?" he asked.

"Eve," I say, trying to change subjects. "Give him the cat." Eve got up, walked over to Black Cat, and handed him the cat toy we won at the pier.

"Kristen's sisters wanted you to have this." Eve said handing it to him. She walked back to the table and sat down.

"Sisters"

"Yeah," I say. "You leapt over my sisters during the fire, right? That's why we brought you here; it takes guts to save others in a situation like that. Most would've saved themselves."

"They only suffered a few small burns and scrapes." Sven added. "But all in all, thanks for the attempt to save them."

The cat toy fell off the bed and rolled on the floor. Oh crap; was he insulted?

"Where's my gun?" Black Cat asked. Oh… he just wanted his gun.

"Eve, give him back his gun." Sven said.

Eve shook her head, not taking her eyes off Black Cat though. "I still smell blood all over his hands. His gun stays with me." In other words; Eve hadn't forgiven Black Cat for trying to kill her, about three or four times. Black Cat didn't say anything; he just stared at us with sullen eyes.

"Uh, so, anyone want seconds?" I ask.

"Give the man a break, Eve." Sven said later. He was chopping logs, Eve was reading, and I was watching. "He's been out for a week. If it were me; I wouldn't be too chatty either."

"I still smell blood all over his hands." Eve said, not taking her eyes off her book. "I do not trust him."

I bounced my leg up and down for about five minutes before moving on. "So," I say. "I've noticed that you've been reading a lot lately, Eve."

"There's so much I don't know about the outside world." Eve said. "I want to learn about it."

I examine her book mountain; three minute cooking, easy combat, drift racing, false freedom, advanced first aid, etc.

"What are you reading now?" Sven asked.

"This," Eve held out a book. It had a picture of a black cat and mice.

"That's one scary looking cat." I say. The cat did look mean, for a kid's drawing.

"Yes…" Eve said. "The cat is very bad, so the mice are trying to put a bell on the cat." The mice were trying to put a gold bell hung around a red ribbon around the cat's neck.

"Why would they do that?" Sven asked.

"Because," Eve said. "If you put a bell around the neck of a bad cat; you can always know where it is."

"We have one around our cat Luna's neck too; if he gets lost we can easily find him." I say. I see an idea light up Eve's face.

Sven checked his watch. "Well, I'd better go grocery shopping, since we're feeding four mouths." he set his axe down, grabbed his hat, and went to his car. Eve scowled when Sven told me and her to stay home.

"Aw, don't give me that look." Sven said climbing into the driver seat of his car. "We can't leave him alone completely, and Kristen's father would hunt me down like a dog if he found out I left his daughter alone with a boy, if you know what I mean."

"Gross!" I cry. Sven burst out laughing.

"But seriously; you two should stay. I'll get you something then; name it." Sven offered Eve.

"Books, more books," Eve said immediately.

"Ok then," Sven said, and then he turned to me. "And you Black Knight?"

"Eh…" I say. "Surprise me." I turn back to the house. "We'll see you in a couple hours?"

"Yeah," Sven shut the door and rolled down the window. "You call me if anything bad happens."

"I will." I say. Sven drove down the dirt path and out of sight.

I decided to take this opportunity to study up for some tests next week while Eve went to work doing I don't know what. After a few hours, I heard the door shut.

"Sven, is that you?" I asked. It was dark outside. I got up and walked to the front of the house. Sven wasn't here.

"Huh." I say checking the clock on the wall. "It's getting late, might as well try and cook dinner on my own." I say to myself. Sven really didn't have anything. I had at least five hundred dollars in my wallet, maybe we could order out?

I grab my phone and walk to Black Cat's room. He was lying on the bed watching an anime show. Eve wasn't here. Come to think of it; I hadn't seen her in a while.

"Hey," I say. Black Cat looked my way. "Have you seen Eve? She came in here last time I checked."

"Yeah," he said. "She tried to put some bell around my neck."

"Well, you are Black Cat." I say matter-of-factly. "So where is she?"

"I didn't wear the stupid bell so she got upset and left." Black Cat said.

"WHAT?" I blurt. "EVE'S GONE?" Oh god; Eve was wandering the woods at night. "Oh my god… this is so bad!" I say. I decided to turn my anger on Black Cat. "What the hell did you say to her?"

"I said that I haven't forgotten that she tried to kill me and she just left." Black Cat said, clearly more interested in the anime he was watching. I stood in front of the screen. "You're blocking it." He said, annoyed. I turned it off. "Hey, I was watching that."

"You listen up, asshole." I say. I stood over him; trying to look intimidating. I'm an inch away from six feet tall so this wasn't easy, Black Cat looked at me. "Do you know why you're not dead?" I growl.

"Yeah," He said rolling his eyes. "You were the one who decided to save me and-"he gestured to his bandages.

"Do you think I could've done all that?" I snap. "Do you think I'm the one who put all those bandages on you?"

"Yeah…" he said.

"I did the smaller ones, I take basic first aid." I say. "Eve was the one who saved your damn life! She's the one who saved your sorry ass! Eve nursed you back to health you freaking idiot!" I pointed an accusing finger at him. He didn't look intimidated, but I could tell that I shocked him. "If you did anything… ANYTHING to hurt that little girl's feelings; I swear to god I'll re-open every wound on your body and throw you back into that alley way to bleed to death!" I yelled. There was a moment of silence. I head towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Black Cat asked.

"You asshole," I snap at him. "I'm going to find Eve!"

"She's a damn bioweapon." Black Cat protested. "She tried to kill me, your partner and you if I recall that night correctly."

"She's not just a bioweapon," I say. "She's a human being, and every human feels. Weapons don't feel. And unlike you, she feels horrible for murdering people…" I walk into the hall, and then, I just left without another word.