Chapter 4- Abyssinians

The first few days were hardest. We hadn’t put any thought into our leaving beforehand. We had to figure out how to survive. For Eve, it was even harder. Eve was a little girl. Not in the physical sense, however. Physically, she was twenty-two years old. Mentally was an entirely different story. I felt so sorry for her.

The only things we had were the three vans and the clothes on our backs. There was a little money in the vans, but not enough for more then gas. It was Lucifiel that remedied that problem. With gloves on his hands and my hooded shirt, he entered a bank and created an account. Then he hacked into the computer systems and transferred money from the base’s account to ours, wiping his trail clean.

"They deserve it," he snorted when Chassiel tried to say it had been immoral and stealing. "We need it more then they do anyway, and they owe us, damn it!"

That night, the older four of us decided what to do. We’d go down to the Catianians held near Mexico, all of us preferring the warmer climate for now.

Raziel was sleeping quietly in the backseat with Israfel and Jophiel. The three were the closest of all the younger ones. Chassiel was in the passenger side, reading another book, and I was driving. Eve was in the back of the van, where she had chosen, and reading picture books. The other children were spread between Seraphim and Lucifiel. Who sat where had been a bit of a battle…

"I want to be with Lucifiel!" Michael cried first. Uriel started to cry.

"No, me!"

"He’s my brother!"

"So?!"

"So I get to sit with him!"

"Do not!"

"Yes I do! I’m older too, so you go with Seraphim!"

And Uriel started into another bout of tears. Seraphim sighed.

"I’m so glad to be held in such high esteem," she said to Lucifiel, rolling her eyes. One side of the albino’s lips quirked in amusement. Seraphim finally ended the argument before it became a brawl by plucking Uriel from the ground and tossing her into the van. Michael grinned triumphantly.

That had been six…maybe seven hours before. We were heading towards a place pointed out to us by a local man who had seen the cat creatures. So far, the entire area was lifeless desert for miles and miles…Metal caught my eye. I stared as the strange thing came into view. It appeared to be a huge chain link fence. I stopped the van outside of it and stepped out, telling the others to stay. I approached the fence but stopped before touching it. The fence was electrified. I could feel the current making my fur stand on end. I frowned at the fence and looked past it. I almost gasped aloud.

There were hundreds of them.

I hadn’t noticed them before, since they were almost the exact color of the ground. There were about three hundred of them, it seemed. All of them were tan and lanky, with no fat whatsoever on them, even the younger ones. They were dirty and their hair unkept and their clothing was primitive at best.

We had found the Mexican Catianian tribe.

A smaller boy approached the fence. His curious brown eyes were centered on me. After him were other boys and men as well, most females staying away. The boy tilted his head, his long golden ears high with curiosity.

"Kona dafe?" he asked with a movement of his hand. I blinked. The boy blinked back and repeated, "Kona dafe?"

I frowned. "I don’t understand you, little one.."

The boy’s eyes got wide. "Huma! Huma!"

I didn’t know what upset him so, but I could see the others reacting like him. A few of the youngest boys fled, heading for the primitive tents where the women waited. The oldest males took fierce looks to their faces, their claws ready to use. Some of them looked like they were in their fourties at least, but I knew that couldn't be possible. Finally, a female came. She looked a little healthier then the others, though all of the females looked this way. The woman wore a short skirt made of some kind of skin with only a slight covering over her bust. It seemed that modesty wasn’t very important, as most of the other women wore no top covering and some men nothing at all. This woman’s hair was cropped short in haphazard spikes on the top, a braid hanging over her shoulder. She was regal looking and demanded respect.

"You speak huma?" asked the woman. She seemed the oldest of the catianians here. The lines upon her face resembled what I'd seen in some of the gray haired doctors.. I nodded to her after a while. The woman paused. "Who you?"

"Gabriel," I answered. "And you are?"

"Shay." She paused again. "You different. Not us."

I glanced about the other Catianians then at the van where I knew the others were watching. Lucifiel and Seraphim had pulled up next to my van. I looked back at Shay. She was watching me very carefully.

"Others," she murmured. It wasn’t a question. She nodded to herself before grinning and hitting her hand upon her right breast. "We the Abyssinian!"

I couldn’t help but smile back. "We call ourselves the Catianian."

"Abyssinian want friendship with Catianian," Shay said happily. "Brothers and Sisters forever."

Very carefully, she stuck two fingers through the fence and touched my hand. "Brothers and Sisters forever."

"Brothers and Sisters forever," I murmured back. Shay was absolutely delighted. The other Abyssinians were very relieved. A sudden gunshot ended this cheerful introduction. In a moment, the tan furred catlings bolted for the tents, older ones catching up children in their arms as they made a mad dash inside. I watched in confusion as Shay looked at me.

"Run, Brother! The Huma come and take you!"

With that, she was gone. There was only a second before I heard sounds behind me and whipped around. The vans were wheeling away at top speed as at least one hundred humans circled me, all of them holding large rifles. I scowled at them.

"Hello," I said politely, glaring at the humans. "Nice day, isn’t it…"

"Shut up, you worthless cat!" One yelled at him, his eyes hidden behind dark goggles. Each of the humans were clothed in heavy materials I heard rather then saw one come behind me, but wasn't quick enough to swipe at him before the butt of his rifle came to the back of my head. The world went dark as I fell to the ground.

When I came to, I found myself laying on a slightly upright table of sorts with strong metal straps around my ankles, wrists, neck, knees, upper arms, and abdomen. They were making sure I did not escape. My eyes quickly adjusted to the room, filtering light enough to make it look like daylight. There was a man in military clothing sitting across the room, watching me. He was stern looking and middle aged with stubble across his chin.

"So," he said. "You're Corin's wonder boy, aren't you?"

I scowled. The man laughed softly, getting up from his chair.

"Not talking won't save you, Gabriel." I didn't even wonder where he got my name. "You see, the lab is very angry with you for taking all of their lab rats away."

He reached over and grabbed my dirty white shirt, fingering the material. "Gave you clothing? That Corin is too soft. You're animals, not people."

"The Abyssinian have clothing," I snapped. He grinned.

"Ah, so you can talk..." He folded his arms over his chest. "What those animals down there do with their hunts is their own business."

With that, he motioned to someone I had heard breathing before. That someone started to push the apparently mobile table I was on, following the man as he left the room. The hallway was white and highly lit, making me wince a little at the sudden change. We moved down that hall and into another room with moniters up on one wall, completely covering it. There, we stopped.

"Well, Gabriel, you're our guest for now. And questions you might have before Corin gets here to collect you?"

I glanced at the moniters before looking at him. Then I rememebred one thing.

"The Abyssinians. Some of them are older then they could be...Corin said I was the first and I'm only twenty."

The man nodded, smiling. "Gabriel, tell me. Do you know how fast a normal cat grows?"

"Seven time as fast as-" I stopped. It hit me. "You accelerated their growth..."

"That's right. We needed an army. There were only ten at the beginning. But after two and a half years, they were fully grown and ready to procreate. We just let them do as they wanted."

"Shay..."

"That one is of the first natural litter. The others have already died out, as have the originals. She is fourteen years old, the oldest of them all right now." He tapped a few buttons on a control panel and instantly, the screens lit up, showing make different areas of the Abyssinian camp. "We keep close tabs on our animals, Gabriel. Shay has risen to lead them because she is the eldest and she is female. They hold females in great esteem. In eighteen years, they've already created a belief system, a government, a language... It's amazing."

I sighed. "What's amazing is how primitive they are despite their intelligence..."

"They have to be," he said shortly, folding his arms. "We have to control them."

"You're fools..."

"Are we? You're the one that let himself be captured."

I didn't say anything to this. We watched the Abyssinians for hours, observing their rituals, daily events, even one couple who was unlucky enough to be caught. I didn't watch this, of course. That would have been disrespectful. It disgusted me how these souls never had privacy from the humans holding them, not even for those intimate moments.

"Shay's smart," he said suddenly. One of the screens showed her talking to a younger female. "She learned English immediately, when she was younger. Now she's teaching the next in line for command. She's the only one who learned it."

I nodded a little as we resumed watching. The man became bored with this after a while and had me wheeled out into the Abyssinian enclosure. The other catianians run when the doors were opened, scattering in case of something happening. There, they released me only after stripping me of everything I had. The only thing they let me keep was the little cross necklace Corin had given me as a child.

The humans walked back into the compound, leaving me in the swelthering heat. My naked white fur stood out like a beacon in the tan dirt of the landscape. Slowly, a few tan Abyssinians approached me, speaking softly to one another. One of them said something about Shay before another ran off. I looked up at them, wondering what they were up to. I was too embarrassed to say anything. One of the older males kneels beside me, smiling kindly and spoke in a gentle voice, his hands motioning every once in a while. I didn't understand the words, but the message did get across. They were going to take me to Shay and she would let me stay until the humans came for me again. That was alright with me.

The male helped me stand and lead me into the small village like area from where Shay was already walking. She smiles weakly at me and kept her aged eyes on mine. She would not embarrass me further by looking any farther.

"Huma do this many time," she said comfortingly as she took my hand. "Gabriel not be mad."

I sighed. "No, I'm not mad."

"Gabriel think Huma different," Shay saw, tilting her head. "Not this."

I shook my head but refused to elaborate. Shay accepted this and waved the male beside me away, leading me to her tent. The young girl I saw on the screen before was still there. She looked about twenty years old to me, but I knew she was only three or four years. It saddened me greatly. This child would not live more then eighteen years, if she made it that long. I turned away from her. Shay. Shay was fourteen, but she looked like she was at least eighty. She wouldn't last much longer. I could see the strain in her joints as she moved. She was old.

"This Cek," Shay said suddenly, motioning to her young companion. Cek stood and bowed to me. I nodded my head back to her. She smiled in delight. It seemed just normal politeness was highly valued here. Cek was tan furred and yellow eyed like the others, but she distinctly looked like Shay. This was what Shay must have looked like when she was younger. Cek was a beautiful Catianian, her hair hanging down her back in many braids. She was dressed as much as Shay and had the same dignity in her sharp features.

Shay left me there, standing in front of Cek, who decided not to stare at my pale fur any longer and go about with her activities. I saw suddenly that she was reading. Well…more accurately, she was memorizing letters and combinations of them. After a moment, she would mutter the sound of the current character before mastering the sound on her tongue. She was so very determined.

Shay came back with a bit of cloth which she wrapped around my waist. I thanked her, feeling much better with at least that area covered. Shay slowly eased herself onto the ground, wincing as her joints cracked. Cek glanced up at the sound, biting her lip. I frowned worriedly and sat beside the woman. It felt she was older then me, even if I was six years her elder…

"Gabriel must leave," Shay said suddenly. I tilted my head slightly.

"How?"

"Abyssinian brothers find way." She looked very determined, her eyes blazing bright yellow as the pupils slowly turned from round to a vertical slit. I was very startled. I had thought before that that would only happen when we were angry. "We find way to get Brother Gabriel home."

I smiled. "Thank you, Shay."

"It is duty," she said with a returned smile. "Gabriel have things to do."

"Things?"

Shay smiled mysteriously and refused to explain.

* * * *

I was surprised that the humans didn’t bother us for the rest of the day. Actually, it was a few days before a soldier finally entered the Abyssinian camp to find me. Shay and her council were sitting in a large tent set aside for meetings. I was behind her, watching it. The Abyssinian Council spoke in spurts with their hands moving quickly. The spoken language was only half of it and the motions conveyed the other half of the speech. The meeting was very organized and respectful, no catling speaking out of his or her turn. And all of the twelve knew Shay’s authority. When she raised her hands, all other speech ceased and twenty-four eyes rested on her. When she spoke, no other made a move or stopped listening. It was only when she let her hands fall and her voice fell silent that the others dared to say anything. The council was made up of the eleven eldest Catianians of the camp and Shay with her apprentice Cek. Each of the catlings had time to speak of problems of concerns of their own before another took his time. Shay watched them all and listened, taking it everything. And when they were all finished speaking, she took her time.

I listened to Shay talk, though I could not understand her. Her voice was cool and soft with a sound like that of a goddess soothing her people. She looked at each council member one at a time and after she turned to the next, he or she would look mostly relieved. She had almost finished this when he strode through the front of the tent. Shay paused and glanced up at the dark haired soldier. He was young and looked very weary of the council members, his eyes switching over them all before looking at Shay. The old catling slowly rose to her feet, aided by Cek. She was taller then the young man by a few inches at least while she could stand straight up. I noticed that all of the catlings were nearly the same in height, most topping out at six feet, give or take an inch or two.

"Why come now?" she asked softly. Her voice was as soothing as ever and the soldier seemed to calm some. At least he wasn’t holding his gun as tightly.

"Gabriel," he answered. "I have a message for him."

Shay glanced back at me. She nodded slightly and I stepped forward to stand beside her. The soldier wouldn’t look into my face and I could see his body shaking.

"Doctor Corin will be here for you today." He glanced around at the others, as if paranoid that they could understand him. "You’ll be called for in the next hour to be cleaned up."

I nodded. "All right. Thank you."

He looked at me with a strange expression before turning and leaving without another word. Shay sat back down and resumed the meeting, her council becoming immediately quiet and respectful of her. I walked back to my seat behind her and sat as well.

After a while, Shay’s voice suddenly rose into a howl like sound. I stared at her as the council members rose and nodded. Her instructions were as incoherent to me as ever, but each Abyssinian was rapt with attention. Shay barked her last order before turning toward me. All of the council were gone in seconds.

"What was that about?" I asked. Shay smiled.

"Gabriel go away now," she said simply. "This not Gabriel place."