The Cat God's Game (8)

That evening, a few hundred people crammed inside the old church building in the middle of town. It was filled with voices as everyone talked amongst themselves, waiting for the meeting to begin. The setting sunlight poured into the building through the stained glass windows.

Once all the adults in town had just about arrived, Mr. Keensley called them to order from the front pedestal before the rows of pews.

“I’m calling this meeting to discuss The Cat God that has been wandering around our community for the past week, engaged in a challenge with Miss Katherine Jones.”

Numerous groans and gripes erupted, with everyone expressing some personal anecdote with The Cat God.

“Now, now!” Mr. Keensley shouted, calling for everyone to calm down. “I’m sure we all have had some run-ins with it these past few days.”

“I’ll say!” Pops shouted. “He came to my diner at the start of the week and used his magic or whatsits to make everything brand-spankin’ new! At first, I thought it was great! I mean, new furniture, new equipment. What’s not to like? But at the same time, all the character that had built up over the years was wiped clean. Now whenever I get to work, it feels like I’m walking into some stranger’s diner. Not my diner.”

“Yeah!” shouted Chuck, the town mechanic with a bald head hidden beneath a tattered denim cap and the bushiest white eyebrows in the world. “For the past decade, I’ve been slowly working on an old beater truck as a side project. Then Kat and that darn cat god came barging in and accidentally knocked a can of paint on it. Sure, I was annoyed, but no big deal. Easy clean-up. But then that night that cat god shows up and completely restores the truck like it just rolled out of the factory! Completely spotless!”

He grabbed his cap and threw it on the ground. “Ten years of work down the drain! I don’t care if it’s fixed or not! What mattered was I got to fix it! The heck am I supposed to do with my free time now?!”

An elderly woman with a flower pattern scarf wrapped around her neck stood up. “And me!” she shouted. “For decades I’ve been running my flower shop despite not being able to smell! But then came that darn cat god and it cleared my sinuses right up! First time in my life I’ve been able to breathe clearly!” She ripped off her scarf in frustration. “Turns out I can’t stand the smell of flowers! They’re too strong! And my husband! Oof! I can’t even hug him anymore! Married for fifty years and never had such a strain on our relationship as we do now!”

More and more people stood up, shouting about their own blessings that ultimately proved to be a more of a pain in the butt than helpful.

Mr. Keensley shouted to calm everyone down again.

“I hear your complaints,” he said. “And while I feel that his actions were done with sincerity, they have proven to negatively impact our community. Save for Mr. Boss and Isabella, who have become wonderful members of our town.”

Everyone turned around to look at Boss, who stuck out from the crowd due to his massive height. They all nodded while giving him and Isabella praise, saying how much they love them. Boss rubbed the back of his neck, blushing from the attention.

“However! Just as The Cat God brought two new members to our community, we also stand to lose a member if nothing is done before the end of tomorrow. I speak of Katherine Jones, the first one to have her life impacted by this whole fiasco. I understand that we all have had our problems with The Cat God. I even had my fishing spot ruined, as The Cat God filled the creek with hundreds of fish every day, making it difficult for me to just sit back and relax with a beer without catching something on my line seconds after casting. Our problems pale in comparison to that of Kat’s.”

A few people nodded in agreement.

“At the start of the summer, she was forcibly turned into a catgirl for simply trying to rescue what she thought was a kitten in danger. Her life flipped upside down all because she performed an act of kindness whilst putting her life - seemingly - in danger. All summer we watched her run around, desperately trying to find The Cat God and have her ‘blessing’ reversed, to no avail. But this past week, she found ‘em, as we’re all painfully aware. When she asked to be changed back to a regular human, she was refused unless she took part in a challenge. Over the span of seven days, from sunrise to sunset, she must grab The Cat God’s tail.”

“Ah! That explains it!” yelled a voice, wondering why this chase has been going on.

“But in doing so, she had to agree to a binding contract, which forfeits her to an eternal life of servitude to The Cat God if she were to fail.”

Voices began to mumble amongst the crowd when they heard the terms of the deal.

“She is still a child with no experience with contracts, and the numerous traps that are littered throughout them.”

Nods and whistles came from the crowd from people who had experienced them in the past.

Kat’s mom and Maria went around the room, passing out copies of the document that Mr. Keensley had marked on before. The townsfolk progressively grew disgruntled as they read the conditions of the contract and the things that Kat would be forced to endure for eternity, such as being at The Cat God’s beck and call, the bit about grooming, forced to travel at any moment, being unable to hold a second job, no holidays or sick days.

And, of course, being an apostle was an unpaid position.

“This is just slave labor!” shouted someone.

“What bullcrap!” yelled another.

Angry jeers spread as more and more cruddy details about the contract came up.

“A young girl who has yet to even finish high school shouldn’t have her future taken away from her simply because she didn’t understand a contract she was signing. Worse, a contract for a challenge to simply change her back, when The Cat God should have done so from the start, no questions asked.”

Shouts erupted from the crowd.

“But what can we do?!” yelled a voice.

“This thing’s airtight!” called out another.

Mr. Keensley calmed the mob down once again. “Kat is unable to get out of the contract. However, there is nothing in there stating that she has to endure this challenge alone. All it states is that Kat must grab The Cat God’s tail, and The Cat God is forbidden to use any sort of magical abilities to escape.”

He pounded the pedestal. “This community is a family!” he shouted.

Cheers erupted.

“You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!”

More cheers.

“We’re going to take down The Cat God together as one, and help Kat win her challenge, and force The Cat God to undo any of the blessings we want undone!”

The town erupted with cheers, ready to take on The Cat God. With still some sunlight left, they quickly got to work coming up with ideas for a plan to aid Kat.

For it was no longer just Kat vs The Cat God.

It was the community vs The Cat God.

It was their family vs The Cat God.

***

Day six came to a close in the same fashion as it had every other day. Kat sat on the ground, completely worn out, as Maria’s siblings and Isabella cheered at the fireworks display The Cat God put on.

Kat watched the fireworks, thinking about her mom, Maria, and Mr. Keensley. She had managed to keep The Cat God away from everyone. There were a few moments where it seemed like their chase was turning toward town, but Kat would find ways to alter course. She’d feign an injury, prompting a halt, or call for additional breaks to catch her breath. Whenever she did, she’d move between The Cat God and town before resuming, pushing them further and further away.

Not once did The Cat God notice it was being herded away.

Just then, a flashlight shone brightly down the road towards the group. When it got closer, it was revealed to be Maria.

“Ah! Maria!” The Cat God said. “I was worried you’d miss this spec-tacular display!”

“Yes, well, it’s the same as every night. I’m sure I wouldn’t have missed anything even if I weren’t here,” she casually remarked.

The Cat God’s eyebrow twitched, annoyed with the flippant rejection. “Same as every night, you say? Repeated? Repetitive? Re-Monotonous?”

“Yeah, it kinda is the same every night,” Marco commented.

“Uh-huh,” the twins remarked.

“Have you thought about trying something different?” Veronica asked.

Hearing the complaints of his audience, The Cat God crossed its arms. “It comes across as such even to you all, huh? I see. I seeee,” it nodded. “I guess eating a cake for every meal would tire one of cake, would it not?”

“I dunno about that,” Patricia answered honestly, envisioning herself eating a mountain of cake. Just the thought made her mouth water.

“No, no! Maria was right. The more I think about it, the more her attitude makes sense. When one lives amongst works of art, they simply become the scenery. Nothing but added detail to a background, unimportant to the scene.”

Patricia spoke up. “Can I have some ca—”

“I have got it!” The Cat God yelled, its eyes lit up. “A celebration! A feast! A ceremony!” It then pointed at Kat. “On the end of our challenge, if you fail to put your mittens upon my tail, I will announce your newfound apostle status to the world with a carnival! A magnificent display of wonders and sights! Tables of food stretching outward to the horizon, featuring the numerous delicacies I had the pleasure of tasting on this week-long affair!”

The siblings and Isabella jumped with joy at the sound.

Kat chuckled. “That’s fine and dandy, but what if I were to win? Would the festivities be canceled?”

“Nay,” said The Cat God. “They will go as planned, but to celebrate your glorious victory! Your triumph against the heavens! Regardless of the outcome, you and everyone in this town shall have the most extravagant night in the world not witnessed in several millennia!”

Kat slumped her shoulders. “Oh, well. I guess that’s cool, too.”

The Cat God began pacing back and forth. “But such festivities need much planning, and time is not on my side! Kat, your mother will not need to worry about hosting me this night, for I shall be busy until the sun rises from the East and signals the beginning of the final day!”

With a hearty laugh, The Cat God spun in circles before vanishing.

“Okay! Bedtime! Tomorrow’s the last day of summer vacation, so you’ll want to get up super early to get the most out of it, right?”

Her siblings quickly ran toward the house to get to bed, taking Maria’s advice to heart.

“Marco!” Maria called out.

“What?”

“Can you take Isabella home? I need to talk with Kat for a bit.”

Marco moaned, not thrilled to have to walk all the way to the Kingdom of Cats, then back to the house, but he didn’t argue. “Let’s go,” he said, grabbing Isabella’s hand before escorting her home.

With the kids gone, Maria sat down next to Kat.

“So,” Kat said. “How’d things go?”

Maria smiled, giving her a thumbs up. “The whole town is going to help.”

Kat hopped to her feet. “Holy cow! Really?!”

“Seems you’re not the only one who has been hassled by a god-awful blessing,” she commented.

The news caused Kat to break out in laughter, with Maria joining in afterward.

“Alright!” Kat said, raising a fist into the air. “Let’s kick that god’s butt!”