“What the fuck did I just hit?!” I yelled out as I jumped out of my jeep. Running my hands through my short brown hair I paced back and forth beside my vehicle. My eyes drifted, casting occasional glances at the lump of red cloth that lay ahead of me and the small dent on the front of my vehicle. I looked around frantically, taking in my surroundings. Trees formed an uneven circle around this clearing in which I had just hit someone. “Oh god, oh god, oh my gooooood.” Heavy breaths accompanied my distress, “I hit a damn monk! Please don’t let the Buddhists be right. I am not in the mood to be slapped around by some six-armed goddess when I die.”

I began to take deep, calming breaths in an attempt to regain control of myself. It helped…barely. I took my phone out of my right front pocket and dialed 911. A dead beeping sound was my only response. I looked at my phone, no signal. “Damn, damn, double damn! There is no way I’ll be able to afford a hit and run charge.” In my moment of great distress, I did the one thing I never thought I’d do. I prayed.

With folded hands I closed my eyes and began. “Hey God? Yeah it’s me again. I know the last few times I’ve called were petty and selfish but I’m a changed man now. So can you like, bring this guy back from the dead so I don’t get in worse trouble than just a lawsuit?”

Off to the side I heard a faint whimper. ‘Oh shit ooooohhhh shit…’ I turned my head to my side to see a…small…cat...person…thing? She was small, couldn’t have been more than two and a half feet tall. Her white fur covered her entire body and was matted with dirt. She had red eyes that seemed to glow in the moonlight and tracked every movement I made. Atop her were head two large cat-like ears that stood straight up as well as the tail behind her. She was clearly an albino of her species. Poor thing looked like she hadn’t eaten in forever as well. “H-hi…” I spoke nervously, raising my hand nervously towards the kid…kitten…kidten? My train of thought was being lost. I quickly shook my head to bring myself back to the present. ‘Damnit Mark, head in the game here. You just hit a monk, he’s probably dead and the kid saw everything...and God isn’t responding to my calls.’ I stared at the small kitten thing.

“You did see everything right?”

A nod

“Of course you did.”

Wellp, I was fucked. Pretty soon the police would be swarming all over this area. Guns would be drawn on me yelling for me to put my hands up and for me to lie on the ground. I hoped to God that this portal didn’t take me to somewhere in Florida. Cops there have itchy trigger fingers and will shoot you even if you do lie down. I would know, I saw that video. That poor guy did everything he was told and still got shot. I looked at the small girl again,

“Hey kid, if you forget everything that ever happened here I’ll buy you whatever you want. Candy, ice cream, lewd magazines, you name it, just don’t tell the cops alright?” The kitten attempted to shuffle backwards with her eyes wide, seemingly in fear. It was then that I noticed a strange detail, “So…why are you tied up in this chalk circle…” realization hit me, “Oh thank God.”

I didn’t hit a monk, I hit some crazy cultist. Probably stopped some blood ritual too. In a way, I’m a hero right? I mean, I still killed a man. But still, better a loony than a sane religious man right?

“My lord!” A manic voice called from behind me. Perhaps I judged the man dead too soon. I turned to see a flurry of dark red robes rapidly approach before kneeling down before me. “Lord of Darkness, you have finally arrived! The world shall tremble at your heel and I am your faithful servant!”

“Uhh…” I stared at the kneeling man. Judging from his posture he seemed like he would stand at around five feet tall. From under his robes a scaled tail jutted out…Wait, tail? I studied the man’s uncovered head. Scales. I was being called Lord by a cultist lizard. “Talking humanoid lizards and tied up furry cat girls, I don’t remember stealing and using any drugs from the pharmacy…” I muttered to myself.

Not that I did that sort of thing.

“Please sire, accept this child as a sacrifice to your will. Crush her bones, drink her blood, rip and tear her flesh as it pleases you! I gift her to you as a means to increase your power so you may destroy their vile town of degenerates. The mere sight of it burns my very soul.” The lizard spoke with a disturbing urgency, casting wild-eyed glances towards the tied up child.

Did he really expect me to kill a child of all things? With clenched teeth I turned my attention to the child who shivered fearfully, tears streaming down her face. I’ll admit, I’m a softy at heart and hate to see people, especially kids, cry. If I were to help this child I’d have to deal with this nutcase first.

“Stand up.” I spoke in a commanding voice. My anger always had a way of acting up and while I was still in control I may as well get some information first. The lizard cultist stood as commanded instantly and kept his eyes to the ground in reverence. “Where can I find this town?”

“M-milord, tis to the west!” the lizard frantically pointed behind me. “Tis a few hours journey by foot. Currently a disgusting Mikthar, same as the girl I brought you, leads the town. About eighty Mikthar, twenty Hib’litan and forty Shren live within the wooden walls. The guards there are complacent and weak as there is no threat for days from the town. They should prove no challenge to one as powerful as you! May their lives be short and their people bend to your will!” The lizard bowed repeatedly.

I shrugged to myself. This cultist was nothing if not informative. Still, guards meant law and I’m sure they’d love to have this nutcase behind bars for abduction. So the cat people were Mikthar eh? I had to wonder what these...Hib’litans and Shren were. In my mind I spoke the names of the species, becoming familiar with them. Answers would come to my questions eventually, for now I had a loon to disable.

“Thank you.” I stated and clenched my fist.

“Tis no trouble milord, none at a-“ He didn’t get to finish as I slammed my fist into his head, knocking him out. I quickly rummaged through my jeep and grabbed a pair of plastic zip ties. Without much effort I tied the cultists hands and legs together, lifted him up and tossed him into the back of the jeep. He wasn’t too heavy, without a scale I’d assume he weighed at around 140-150lbs.

It wouldn’t be comfortable, tied up in the back, but in my mind criminals don’t deserve comfort.

I then approached the tied up kitten girl who shied away from me as much as she could.

“You understand me, right?” I questioned with a soft tone. A nod, “Ok good, I’m not some Lord of Darkness or whatever so forget what that lizard says.” She didn’t relax, if anything her eyes looked at me more wearily. I sighed and sat next to her, “Alright let’s do introductions. My name is Mark, what’s yours?”

“Peh…” She responded in a small voice barely audible.

“Peh?”

The girl shook her head weakly, “Peh…” she looked like she was going to continue but couldn’t. I scratched my bearded chin. The poor thing was weak and very much malnourished, I vowed to see this lizard rot in prison when we get to the town. I rose from my seated position and motioned for her to sit still,

“I’ll be right back. Trust me.” With haste I rummaged through my jeep, pulling out a bottle of water from the back which lay under the lizard cultist’s tail as well as retrieving the hamburger I had bought from the fast food joint earlier. As I returned the small girl watched my every movement with interest. Her small nose sniffed the air with fervor and I noticed her tail whisking back and forth.

I opened the bottled water and set the wrapped burger on the ground before untying her from her ropes. She shied away from my touch at first but was quickly appeased when the ropes came off. She sat still, her eyes darting from the food and water to me and back again. I sat next to her and handed the bottle of water towards her.

“Take a drink first.” I suggested. Her hands reached forward daintily and gently took the bottle from me. Unlike the cats I was used to she had five fingers, including a thumb, on her hand. Each finger ended in a small, sharp-looking claw. She sniffed the mouth of the bottle before taking a deep drink. Despite being starved and dehydrated, she seemed very well mannered for a young child. Before long she had drained the entire bottle of its contents. I then un-wrapped the burger and handed it to her.

“Not sure if you’re allowed to eat this kind of thing, but desperate times and all.” Once more she tentatively took what I offered her and began with a small bite. Her eyes widened and her tail began to swish back and forth exceptionally fast. With ravenous hunger she devoured the hamburger in seconds, which was quickly followed by a burp. It was so comical I had to laugh.

“Want another bottle of water?” I asked as I rose from my position, already sure of what the answer would be.

“…es” she said faintly. I smiled and jogged to the jeep to retrieve another. Just as quickly as the first she drained the bottle and gave a content sigh. “T-thank you…” I gave her a thumbs-up and a smile.

“Ready to go home?” I asked and held out my hand to the small girl. She studied my hand and then my face before grabbing a hold and using my hand to rise. Her claws pricked my skin but I didn’t care. When people…of any species need help, you help them.

“Pehtal…” She spoke softly.

“Eh?”

“My name…Pehtal.” The girl explained.

“Alright Petal, let’s go home okay?”

“Yes…thank you…” Petal smiled a small smile, but one radiant enough to brighten even the darkest day. I walked her slowly to the passenger side of my jeep, opened the door and helped her inside. I then buckled her in, which caused her some distress but I explained it was for safety which seemed to appease her. Her eyes then wandered about the vehicle in amazement.

I then closed the door and walked over to the driver’s side and entered. Petal watched me closely as I buckled myself in, “Safety first!” I smiled and turned the key to start my vehicle. The initial roar of the engine made the girl’s hair stand on end in fright which made me laugh. “It’s okay Petal, you’ll be fine. Trust me.” Slowly her hair returned to normal and she nodded at me. With a light step on the gas we began to move which brought her hair back to standing on end. “If you think this is scary, you should see me when I get stuck in traffic.” With a laugh I increased our speed and drove to the west, avoiding the sparse growth of trees. It was off-roadin' time.

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Author here, if you enjoy this story please do throw a follow my way. This story seems easy enough to write up a new chapter every 2 days or so. Also, do leave comments and criticisms as I'm looking to grow my skills as an author along the way.