Ben Simpson sat at his bedroom window. It was 11.00pm. He was taking a break after three hours of Warhammer. He was surveying the street and the houses opposite with a pair of night vision binoculars. It was amazing what you could see in an ordinary street and in ordinary houses if you were patient enough. At the moment nothing was happening but that was all right. The night was young. There was a bright quarter moon and you could see quite well without the binos. The binos were for close-ups. Ben looked at the Mannings’ house opposite. Nothing much happened there. Their car was parked outside so that they were probably in. Ben had once hoped that Mrs Manning would provide material for upload to milfwatch.com, but had so far been disappointed. The Mannings might even have gone to bed, preparing for a long day in the bank or wherever they worked. The place was very quiet. Ben had a look through the binos at the ground floor. Nothing. He had another look at the bedroom curtains. Nothing. But wait a minute – what was that? He thought he saw something move in the path that went up the side of the house and into the garden. Something small, dark and furry. Maybe a squirrel or a small dog, or a cat. But who knows it could be something more exotic. Maybe a mink.
Ben zoomed in. The animal was walking slowly down the path. It was a cat. No, not just a cat, it was the cat, the Mannings’ cat. This was the cat that according to Mrs Manning was almost human. They’d found it in the garden, all bloody and beat up. The story was that kids had shot it with an air gun. Now what kind of kids would do something like that? Sickos. According to Mrs Manning the cat had nearly died. But Mrs Manning had nursed it back to health. Ben wasn’t that keen on cats as he was more of a dog person, and he didn’t like this particular cat. Didn’t know why, it just seemed a bit creepy. But then many cats did. The cat stopped on the path and looked around. Ben knew that cats had excellent night vision.
Then something moved just in front of the hedge of the garden next door to the right. Probably just another cat but have a close-up just in case – bingo! – a fox. The fox was walking along the pavement in front of the Mannings’ house. It was a fairly small fox. Ben had seen foxes around before and thought that they were great. There was something odd about them; they were kinda like a dog but also a bit like a cat. But then dogs were man’s best friend and cats were cuddly. Foxes were aliens who killed without mercy. The cat saw the fox and the fox saw the cat. Great. Ben wished he had his video camera set up. This was gonna be FunVid stuff. The age old question: fox vs cat, who comes out the winner? Most people thought, on the basis of no scientific evidence, that the fox would come out on top. People thought foxes were bigger and more vicious and were wrong on both accounts. A fox might have a little size advantage but not much and cats were if anything more vicious than foxes. Cats were born fighters unlike foxes who could fight but hadn’t evolved to do so. So cat vs fox was always an interesting contest. Another myth is that loads of cats are killed by foxes. If anything it would be the other way around. The usual result of the contest was a draw. A lot of hissing and posing until someone backed down, usually the fox. Let’s see what happens here.
The cat stared at the fox. A cold hard stare full of real hatred. A good start to the contest. The fox showed its teeth and got into a kind of defensive position, with its body low to the ground and its ears pinned back, though it could have been preparing to pounce. Both froze in their positions for a few seconds. The cat made a move. It turned sideways and puffed itself up, making the hairs on its coat, even the tail, stand on end. This made it look a lot bigger. The cat charged at the fox sideways on, hissing as it moved. This cat meant business. The fox backed down, turning and running with its tail between it legs. The cat chased it for a few yards and then slowed down and stopped. It wasn’t interested in the chase but just looked up the street after the fox. The stare was a searching one and the cat’s body was tense and stiff. Then all of a sudden its body relaxed and in an instant it was as if the incident had never happened. Then Ben felt his throat go dry and the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. He had zoomed in on the cat and felt a mild shock, causing him to quickly take the binos away from his face. He needed to check that the cat was still really that far away, just to reassure himself that that stare right at him couldn’t be real. He didn’t put the binos back up. He didn’t want to see those cat eyes again. The cat trotted off left, with that purposeful air that cats have. Places to go and people to see. Time to get back to Warhammer. Man, that cat was evil. Just as well that Ben never saw that cat again. Neither did the Mannings.
House of Glass 