This is a continuation of a confusing series of events. You can go to the beginning of the series here: An Uncivil War
My home had been buried under a mountain of debris. I was badly injured. My cat survived. I lay in my buried home with the cat for what was probably a couple of months healing.
But really, I didn’t know how much time had passed since I became more aware and better healed. Maybe it was days? Maybe weeks? Maybe a month or two? Time was hard to judge when deep in a cave.
I deemed myself well enough to take stock of my situation. In other words, it was time to go outside and trying to get some answers. Billysky my cat was hesitant for me to leave.
One odd thing I noticed about her, she was always a smart cat, but now her intelligence had grown abnormal for a cat, as did her ability to non-verbally communicate and understand my specific needs and even my questions.
She did not want me to go outside. But I needed clarity. I needed answers. I made my way back to the entrance of the cave – it was a long uphill climb. I really wanted to know what time it was but had no way of doing that. Living in a cave did not give an opportunity for sunshine to differentiate the day from the night, or the days from each other. I did not even know what season it was.
Exploring the Mountain
Fortunately it was still dark when I left the entrance trail to my “home” buried in the mountain. It felt like it was the wee hours of the morning, maybe 4 am.
I quietly and quickly left my “home” and covered my tracks. Having originally come from the west valley, I decided to go down the mountain to the east. As the sun came out, people walked around mostly aimlessly.
I saw a few people take out guns and randomly shoot dogs dead – no sympathy from anyone for the dogs and no one protecting them. I saw a few people get shot at too, probably for warning or maybe for sport or boredom, not really to hurt or kill them. Or maybe it was. And no one cared.
It struck me that I did not see a single cat. Maybe the cats figured out what the dogs hadn’t – to hide.
I felt nervous, unprotected, and out of place. I really wanted to be back “home” in the cave and decided it was time to go. Quickly. My sense of danger was growing fast.
Meeting an Old Friend
Bio-needs always seem to appear at the worst times. I really badly needed to pee. I went behind a stack of debris to urinate. Things we do not think about – going to the bathroom puts us in a susceptible position of danger. I think animals have known this for a long time.
Out of nowhere, one of my oldest long term friends came to the same spot to pee also. I said his name. With equal surprise he said mine. His face was hardened but a small amount of emotion crept through.
I knew we weren’t friends anymore. When did he and I fall out? It came to me that we broke off our friendship when everyone else started hating each other.
Trust No One
I asked him what he was doing here since he lived far away. He said he had walked up from his city, pointing into the east valley. I said, “Since when is your city to the east of us? It is 600 miles west of us.” He looked concerned but gave no answer.
I asked him, “Can you please tell me what has happened?” He said, “No.” He waited a long pause then continued, “Everyone knows you are a Neutral.”
There was that word again: Neutral. The nurse said the same thing.
He continued, “You’ll be OK just be careful. You need to tell me if you have any insights. I want to try to help.”
I slightly shook my head at him, getting a bad, dizzy feeling.
He ended saying, “I think you know the answers.”
I said, “I don’t think I know them.”
My instincts were screaming at me to get out and trust nobody. Including him. I left as quickly as I could taking a serpentine trail back to my cave home – terrified someone would follow.
Index
Index to Chapters in order:
- An Uncivil War
- An Uncivil War: Letting Wounds Heal
- An Uncivil War: Trust No One
- An Uncivil War: The Peculiar Situation With Cats
- An Uncivil War: How It Started
- An Uncivil War: Answers About Cats
- An Uncivil War: The Bombing Begins
- An Uncivil War: Coast To Coast
- An Uncivil War: In Leadership We Don’t Trust
- An Uncivil War: Peace At Last?
Paul Sees the World 