Grim Reaper • Gatorade The Cat
By Megan W., 11
A February 2025 Monthly Essay Challenge Winner
Click the "Clap" button if you liked this story!
I’ve never gotten lost before. At least, until now. When that elegant rainbow butterfly fluttered into my servant Nicola’s tacky room, I couldn’t NOT chase it. Whenever I went outside to chase the colorful rodents in the forest, I was always able to recount my steps back home. However today, I stumbled upon an odd occurrence. All of a sudden, the butterfly vaporized, and so did some of the flowers in the meadow. A strange flickering streak appeared overhead. It was bright crimson, and gave an angry glow. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It seemed like a rip through the fabric of our universe, a tear in the margins. I meowed as loud as I could in distress. This wasn’t normal. Someone had to heal to this wound in the atmosphere. I was far into the wood now, but I could lead them back to this clearing! That’s when I noticed that there were a multitude of paths, all leading in different directions. I couldn’t, for the sake of our world, remember which path I had came from. Frantic and lost, I did the only thing I could think of in the moment. I jumped into the fiery red gash, not knowing what awaited me on the other side.
I landed on a rainy alleyway. I never really liked rain at all. My fur hung in a wet, unsophisticated blob, similar to a mop. Just as suddenly as it came, the steak disappeared. Now I was stuck here. I decided to venture out of this dark alley to find shelter, and the person who caused this.
“WhoooOO, are youuu?” A honeyed voice extended from the shadow. Soon I found that it wasn’t a shadow at all, or rather a handsome, well-groomed cat, who looked as though he only had two or three meals that day. I hissed, backing away, as he stepped towards me. I simply wouldn’t let anyone see me soaking wet in the rain like this.
“Whats up, doll face? Haven't seen you around these parts before. New to town? OUR town?” Another voice extended from above. When I looked up, a wiry ginger tabby POUNCED ON MY FACE.
“Woah there, Martin. No reason to hurt the little lady.” I soon found that the ginger tabby’s name was Martin and the black cat’s name was Murphy. What strange names. They sounded human(eww).
“Don’t you know who I am!?” I exclaimed when they asked for my name.
“I was gonna saw that saaame thing.” Martin hissed through his lips.
“Whoa there, Martin.” Murphy repeated. “No reason to hurt the little lady.”
“My name is Gatorade, loyal companion of-” “Bwahaha!” Martin burst out laughing before I could finish my sentence. How dare they!
“That can’t be your name! Thats a sports drink, dummy.” It was Murphy’s turn to laugh now. “Martin, stop being so ridiculous! Remember that Maine Coon? Her name was Orange. If one can be named after a that disgusting fruit, one can be named after a sports drink.” Martin snarled at his companion.
“She was named after the color of her fur!” What happened to this Maine Coon I did not know, and did not yearn to find out. Once they were done bickering, Murphy leaped up onto a tall garbage bin.
“Let’s leave this grotty alleyway and take this back to my place.” A devilish smile spread on his face as he playfully pounced on Martin when he tried to leap up as well. I chuckled. These cats called themselves kings, yet were about as civilized as a child who had lost a shouting contest with it’s mother.
I had never seen such elegance as Murphy’s home. Every cabinet was unsullied by fingerprints and every cozy pair of shoes were spick and span, probably polished daily. A lovely old woman named Victoria cleaned every corner of every room in the building. Even though it was late winter, Victoria still kept the air conditioning to a brumal 60 degrees. The room temperature was GLACIAL. Somehow, Murphy and Martin were used to this biting cold.
“Lawrence is probably asleep right now, he always takes naps at this time.” Murphy slipped through a skinny crack between the door and doorframe. Me and Martin followed suit. The inside of the room was beautiful, and the wallpaper was stunning. A little boy lay on a tall, ornate bed, sleeping. Murphy and Martin both shushed me, gesturing to the blonde boy, and pranced over to the cabinets. Under them, there was… A CUCUMBER?!!? I leaped back and landed…on the blonde boy’s chest.
Photo: by ChatGPT & Dall-E