Salvage Yard - Chapter 1

First Row: Skunky, Big Kitty and Dozer
Second Row: Orange Kitty, Raccoon and Chickadee, and Little Kitty
In Back: The Man

C h a p t e r   1

Skunky was so proud of himself. He had eaten all morning long. The trash can was already tipped over so he didn't have to do any fancy footwork to get into it. There was bread and salad with dressing, a half piece of fish and an apple that he saved for last.

He'd gotten up and left his den a long time before the sun rose, while the air was still quite chilly. It was the best time to go foraging. None of the other animals were around and even the dog was still asleep in his house.

Patches of sunlight streamed over the ground and there were lots of places where the snow was mostly gone. As he waddled along he stepped on the cool dirt, then the cold snow, and then over warm piles of dead, but illuminated, leaves. The warm spots made him think of sleeping. He was awful tired and he couldn't wait to find a nice private spot where he could just sleep the day away.

In the shadows along the edge of the piles of metal and tires, where the yard met the forest, he heard rustling. He stopped and sniffed there air. “Smells like a skunk,” he said suspiciously. “Oh, no I guess that's me!” He took a few steps and then definitely heard someone in the woods up ahead.

Slowing down a bit, he kept pointed in the direction he wanted to go, but looked back and forth, back and forth. Then, suddenly he saw two green eyes staring at him. Black blotches on the face he saw made it look like it was only half there. He stomped his little feet as hard as he could on the ground. The eyes only blinked and then continued to stare at him.

“Who are you?!” he snorted. “I'm very dangerous you know!” His broken voice betrayed the fact that he was not even an adult yet. The face yawned. He could tell because he saw a bright red tongue.

“Who are you?” a silky female voice questioned back.

“I'm Skunky, and I'm very dangerous.”

There was a short giggle from the strange face. “You're more like... very 'smelly' I think.”

Skunky took this as a compliment. He crept forward, then lunged back. Then he crept a little further forward, then lunged back again. “Show yourself!” he half squeaked.

“OK. Don't get excited...” Out from the darkness of a row of tires walked a small black and white cat. Her face was half covered in very dark patches. She looked mature, but well-groomed, and a bit chubby. “My name is Little Kitty.”

“Oh,” said Skunky, “I've seen you around.”

“Yes, I've been here a long time,” said Little Kitty, “but this is the first spring I've seen you here. You look pretty young. Where's your mama?”

“I don't need a mama anymore. I can take care of myself.” He felt confident enough to casually but carefully walk up to within a few feet of Little Kitty.

“Well, maybe just barely old enough to get into trouble.” He could tell she was just kidding, by how her eyes closed slightly into a smile. “I think I knew your mama. Was her name Lady?”

“I...I don't want to talk about it,” said Skunky, looking down. “She...left one night and never came back.”

Little Kitty saw that Skunky DID want to talk about it without showing that he wanted to talk. “Yes, I knew her. I didn't know she had a kit who was able to leave his den?”

“I knew her too,” came a different voice came from the woods.

Skunky went into overreaction mode, jumping and spinning around to his left, with his tail up over his back.

“Don't be afraid,” said Little Kitty, “that's Orange Kitty. He lives here too.”

Orange Kitty hobbled out of the woods' edge and into a patch of sunlight.

“You walk funny,” Skunky blurted out.

“It's because I only have three legs, duh!” Orange Kitty was used to dealing with these kinds of brusk observations from others. He was only a few years old himself, but had grown up way too fast.

“Some cats only have three legs?” Sometimes Skunky got easily confused.

Little Kitty butted into the conversation, “He lost part of his leg in the tool barn.”

“Oh...” Skunky seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. “Well, why don't you find it and put it back on?”

Orange Kitty rolled his eyes.

“That isn't how it works, Skunky. Once we lose something that is attached to us, it is gone for good.”

“Oh.” Skunky looked around, a bit embarrassed by being the youngest one there.

“Ruffff!” came a sound on the other side of the tire pile.

“It's the dog!” warned Orange Kitty. He immediately headed back off into the woods, but this time he moved fast and very well. Having three legs didn't mean he could run. He could actually run faster!

Skunky wasn't quite as scared as the other two, but he wasn't in the mood to strut his “stuff” for the dog, he already felt too bloated from eating so much..

“You better hide in the tires, Skunky,” said Little Kitty with some fear tightening her smooth voice. Her eyes were large, and for a moment this made him more nervous than he had been. He walked clumsily into the nearest row of tires.

Little Kitty was watching him, when the dog came skidding around the corner about 50 feet away... “Argggg...RUFF, ruff, ruff ruff!!” the dog snorted, “I'm gonna get ya this time Little Kitty!”

She stood as if she were as still as a rock. “Hishhhhcch!” she hissed. “You always say that!”

The dog cocked his head for a moment, not expecting this still pose from her—just standing there. Usually she turned and immediately ran. “Hahuuoo?” he asked, in so many words.

He walked slowly trying to be sneaky, then broke into a medium gallop straight toward her. As he got closer and closer he began to pick up a scent in the air. It was weak at first but quickly became stronger. He stopped in his tracks about 20 feet in front of her. “A SKUNK?” he asked angrily. “Rrrr-I don't get it? You're a CAT!”

Little Kitty's ears went back, and she lifted her tail as high as she could, then began slowly, ever so slowly, to turn around while making sure her gaze stayed over her shoulder and right at the dog.

He didn't want to look unsure, but he just could not help himself... “Hahuuoo?” He walked forward by a few...cautious...steps. The smell was even stronger, overpowering to him. This wasn't fair! How could she be a cat AND a skunk at the same time. He was completely boggled.

Then came an “Ahhhh-choo!” from his right side in the tires. He looked into the darkness of the tire pile. Two tiny eyes looked out at him, from slightly up ahead. A skunk? “What the..?” The dog was beginning to put it all together. And Little Kitty was beginning to lose her advantage. The dog started to growl in earnest, in a low pitch, then a little louder... “RUFFF!” He barked out at all who might be around him. He smiled a bit and looked back at Little Kitty.

Little Kitty knew the jig was up, and she took off like a rocket. The dog took off after her. He wasn't even close to catching up to her as they ran down the line of tires. But then she stepped on a large stick in the ice. It had been warmed in the morning sun and rolled out from under her feet. She flew sideways for a of couple feet clear off the ground, then ungracefully skidded through the shredded leaves to a sharp stop on her side.

When she flipped up and around, back on all four feet, she was face to face with the dog who was smiling, but also growling. He raised his upper lip and fluttered it a bit for extra effect...

Never in her many years of being chased by the dog, had she ever been in this situation before. Cats don't like to back up, and she quickly realized she couldn't anyway, for the fence was right there. Had she been a little more ahead when this happened she simply would have darted up and over the pile of tires. But a move like that at this point, meant the risk her rear end would get caught in those ugly, bull dog jaws.

“I guess this is it,” she said hissing and arching her back, summoning all the courage she could.

Now, the dog knew very well that cats were dangerous when they were cornered and actually have to fight. They put on a great show before hand, melodramatically spitting and hissing like snakes, growling their own kind of growl mixed with a spooky half-screaming, cry.

He often thought they were a bit over the top with it all. But the only other time he had cornered a cat, many years ago, he'd underestimated the situation and got his head too close. The cat had reached out those razor claws and swiped the side of his face so ferocity that he hadn't felt it for a moment...then came the pain. The cat had nicked the edge of his eyelid too, and it ached for a week with the swelling, itching results. THAT cat had gotten away. It left the yard and never came back. But he had paid a price.

The sun had risen above the trees on this late spring morning. And that certain glint, that sparkle that only this time of day can produce, shimmered off the small, dirty snow bank next to the fence. What had been a floor of shadows in the woods was now fully illuminated.

Little Kitty was brave. She had been through the coldest winter ever this year. She had seen the seasons come and go too many times to count. She had seen her smaller animal friends born, live their lives and die. She was suddenly not afraid anymore.

Animals have one moment in their lives when all the things are added up. The experiences of living become equal to eternity. The days of struggle are negated by the days of triumph and hunger is replaced with fullness. If today was her day to lie down and become stiff, then it was meant to be. But she knew one thing for sure: She was gonna fight like heck before the great sleep came!

She instinctively pounced toward the dog. He wasn't expecting this and jumped back, cocking his head again in surprise. “Hahuuoo?”

See this weakness in him, she jumped forward again, then stood there gripping into the ground with her very prominent claws. He jumped back further. He wasn't used to be opposed and this threw him off. He looked down at those vicious weapons, and thought of his eye lid. What if it was his EYE this time.

She growled, and half screeched, “What's wrong dog?!” Aren't you gonna finish me off?”

He sat down without thinking about it. And said “Grrr!!?” a bit halfheartedly. He was torn between his instinct to grab her in his teeth and his fear of being scratched.

“Well???!!!” she insisted.

His upper lip fell back to its normal position. And he just panted. It occurred to him that maybe taking the next step really wasn't worth it. As the dog's mind poured over the dilemma, Little Kitty began to realize that this dog was having some issues with his typical junk yard duties.

He further sank down to just lying on his stomach. “No...no I don't need to finish you off.”

Stunned, Little Kitty sat down herself. “Are...you...KIDDING me?” she teased. “You are a junk yard dog. Your one and only job in the whole world is to be mean and nasty and to attack!”

“I know,” he said, smiling sheepishly. “But I'll let you in on a little secret... I've never actually hurt anyone. I love to chase them. It's in my blood! But when it comes to finishing them off, I get a bit confused in my mind.”

“Maybe your heart's just not in it?”

“Oh, I don't know...I just don't know...” He looked a bit sad for a moment.

By this time Skunky, who had watched the whole affair from within the tire row, decided to come out and investigate. He was too curious to let the moment pass without seeing what was going on at the end of the tire pile. He had a supreme sense of self-confidence knowing he possessed some kind of secret weapon, but he was quite unsure of just what it was. So, he simply walked up behind the dog and said, “HI!!”

You'd thought a bomb had gone off behind that poor dog. He jumped up and turned around. “No! Please don't spray me!”

Ah, ha! Now Skunky understood. Whenever he had gotten mad at something, like when he couldn't get up and into the trash can, he felt the strange urge to spray it with his rear end. THAT was his secret weapon! He was cagey enough to keep this self revelation from the other two. He just smiled a big smile to himself. “I won't, dog.”

“Oh, THANK YOU. Nothing is worse, not even 'the boot.'”

“What's 'the boot'?” Little Kitty inquired.

“It's from the man. If he's mad at me he gives me the boot.” Seeing that Skunky and Little Kitty didn't get what he was talking about, he went on... “I work for the man. He built this yard. I think the man lives forever; not like us. And he rules everything. And you don't want to make him angry because he does things that are very cruel.”

“Things?” Skunky asked.

“On me he uses the boot. It is like thick skin that he wears on his feet. If I don't come back to the house right away, he kicks me with it. He doesn't do it very hard and doesn't really hurt, but I wish he would just trust that I am getting slower and that I'd still come back every time.

“He's not always like that. It is just every now and then. Usually he ignores me and let's me do whatever I want. I got out and ran around outside the fence, actually outside the yard one time...only once though... and, because he was very, VERY angry about it, he threw the boot at me. But he missed... HA!! Wooohhooo!

“He even gave me my own name. And it isn't an animal name.” The dog shut his mouth and titled his head up a little making him appear very regal.

“Well??” said Little Kitty...

“He named me Dozer.”