The Cat People of Kagir Manor ~~ Part 6

If you haven’t read the other parts you can find them here:

Part one

Part two

Part three

Part four

Part five

What was Kali warning him of exactly and why?

“You have one opportunity to escape Michael, but only one of you will be successful. As a group you will have to make a difficult choice.”

Michael could imagine the ensuing conversation when he told the others what Kali imparted to him just now. He thought Roger was sure to go into a complete panic. The last thing they would want is a panicky man in a beige body suit, not a good sight at all.

“Those of you who do not make it will become like me. Our lives are one of servitude Michael. We receive nothing but abuse from the Cats, some of us who have challenged their authority have met with horrible deaths.”

“What happens when your time is up?” Michael asked.

“As I said we are ’reborn’ as Catfranka likes to call it or if we are ‘stale’, we are thrown into the pit where the Cats draw lots to see who gets to kill us, and you’ve seen cats play with their prey Michael, it is not a pretty sight.” Kali shuddered at the thought.

“When will all this happen Kali?”

“Tomorrow is a ‘reborn’ day and I know there are at least five Purrs who will not be reborn. That means you five will become Purrs.”

With that being said, Kali led Michael back to his room and silently left again.

Michael lay down on top of his cot after Kali slipped away. His mind was full of questions and denials and fear. Fear for his friends, as he was the one who convinced them to come with him to this crazy Manor. Now what was he to do? How was he supposed to choose who lives and who dies?

Kali was quite firm in that only one of them were to live, only one of them was to escape this madhouse. Michael knew that he was not going to be the one to survive. He couldn’t do that to his friends. He would accept his fate as well as he could. If he had not been fascinated with the tale of the Witch they all would be safe at home, perhaps lifting a brew at the local hangout. Now he had a choice to make. One of life and death.

He thought of each of his friends with fondness. They had not blamed him for their trouble, except maybe Roger. But then Roger complained about everything. The others just took it in stride because they were mostly like Michael himself.

They made their decision and dealt with it the best they could. Roger though, was known for his complaints and over the top stories. Not that Roger was a liar exactly. Just that he liked to embellish his stories a bit too much. With Roger himself as the hero, of course. 

Michael’s mind suddenly clicked. He knew who he was going to save. Roger! The decision was really quite easy once he thought it through. Michael didn’t want someone who was going to tell what happened here and be believed! Why? Simple really.

If they were believed, Michael thought, they would search for the others. They would search for the Manor and Catfranka and Michael couldn’t let that happen! If Roger was the one that lived and he told his story, no one would believe him. No one would come searching. No one else would have to die.

As for him and his other four friends. People would simply think they had run off to the big city like they always threatened they would. Their families would miss them of course. They would even look for them, but not in the marsh and not in the woods where the Manor hid.

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This story is a collaboration between Michael at Morpethroad and Jackie at To Breath Is To Write. It began when we realized our Friday Fictioneer stories

https://jlroeder.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/friday-fictioneers-jan-17-2014/

And

http://summerstommy.com/2014/01/15/friday-fictioneers-the-manor-house/

Had a common ground and decided to try our hand at writing a story from this base. So this is the fruit of our labors, a lot of fun and always a pleasant exercise.

Part 7 (which is the final part) continues tomorrow on Michael’s blog. Please come back! We also love comments so don’t be shy! Don’t miss the ending!