Shelby and Shauna Kitt and the Dimensional Holes. P. H. C. Marchesi

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СКАЧАТЬ the cry for help again. It was louder this time, and it had definitely come from the narrow, dirty alley.

      “Where are you going?” asked Shelby, seeing her walk towards the door.

      “I don’t know,” she answered, with vague determination. “I think I heard something.”

      Shelby jumped down from the throne, leaving all his stuff where it was. He knew his sister had some kind of weird intuition, and he followed her as Shauna carefully opened the back door of the theater, and peered into the alley. They both peeked outside, and briefly glimpsed the back of a large man turning a corner before he disappeared from sight.

      “It’s Mr. Cruddy,” Shauna said, ominously.

      Shelby cursed silently. He hated Mr. Cruddy. The convenience store owner was greasy and had eyes that squinted with delight whenever someone was a cent or two short at the cashier. One time, Shelby had been just one cent short of a Twix bar, and Mr. Cruddy had grabbed it from his hand, tearing the wrapper and devouring both pieces right in front of him.

      “I saw him carrying something,” Shauna insisted, rousing her brother from his humiliating flashback.

      “Let’s check out what he’s up to,” said Shelby, and they both ran to the end of the alley and crouched down. They heard Mr. Cruddy talking in his low, raspy voice.

      “I should have gotten rid of you a long time ago,” he said, angrily. “I let you hang around so you’d get rid of mice, not raid my store! Do you think I’m one of those suckers who thinks you’re cuddly? Well, think again, fleabag, because I’ve had it with you!”

      Shelby and Shauna now heard the unmistakable sound of a cat’s meow. Unable to resist their curiosity, they glanced around the corner, and saw that Mr. Cruddy was talking to a white cat inside a crate. The crate was much too small for the cat, and she began to howl frantically and paw against its rusty metal bars. Her panic seemed to amuse Mr. Cruddy, who began to laugh hoarsely, as if he were coughing.

      “He’s so mean,” said Shauna, woefully. “Can’t we do something?”

      Shelby could not bear to see the pleading look on Shauna’s large, dark eyes. He would rather face Mr. Cruddy, even though the store owner had a violent reputation – rumor had it that one of the actors had gotten into a fight with him once, and that Mr. Cruddy had beaten him to a pulp.

      “We’ll steal the cat,” Shelby said, his blue eyes bright with determination. “I’m pretty sure we can outrun him.”

      They waited quietly. Mr. Cruddy left the cage carelessly on the floor and began to lock up his store.

      “Wait here,” Shelby said, making a run for it before his sister could utter a word in protest. As he ran, his heart pounding violently, the only thing he saw was the cage drawing closer and closer. He was nearly there – he was grabbing the rusty metal bars – he had it! Now it was just a matter of running back.

      Or so he thought, before he was startled by the painful grip on his arm.

      “What do you think you’re doing, you little thief?” cried a furious Mr. Cruddy, squinting at Shelby as he unsuccessfully tried to free himself.

      “Get off me!” shouted Shelby, fiercely.

      “Did you think you could steal from me, you punk? I’ll show you!”

      “Let him go, or I’m gonna call the police!” cried Shauna, running forward just enough to be seen. “I’m getting my cell phone!”

      Shelby knew that his sister did not have a cell phone, but Mr. Cruddy did not – he involuntarily weakened the grip on Shelby’s arm, and Shelby bolted with his precious cargo in one hand. The cage was a lot heavier than he had imagined, however, and he had trouble keeping up with Shauna as they ran back to the theater. He thought he could hear Mr. Cruddy’s heavy footsteps right behind him, and anticipated the store owner’s heavy hand on his shoulder at any moment.

      “It’s locked!” cried Shauna, shaking the handle of the backstage door.

      Why had it not occurred to her that the door would be locked once the show was about to start? She was breathless with fear – what were they supposed to do now?

      “The diva’s dressing room!” whispered Shelby, pulling her away. “Her window’s over there!”

      Shauna ran after her brother. They reached an old window just above street level – it was barely large enough for them to climb through, but they did, though Shauna crashed down so hard on her knee that for a moment she wondered if she had actually broken it.

      “You ok?” asked Shelby, who had somehow landed next to his sister, on both feet, still carrying the cage.

      “Close the window!”

      Shelby quickly put the cage aside and grabbed the old pole that stood next to the window. Just as he pulled the window closed, they saw the shadow of Mr. Cruddy outside, like a monster prowling in the darkness.

      Shelby and Shauna sighed with relief. Missy Lindt, the leading actress who intensely disliked their mother and whom they referred to as “the diva,” always left her window open – they had constantly heard her complaining to the manager that one day the mold in her dressing room would kill her. They had watched her once, from the sidewalk, doing her pre-show vocalizing exercises with her unpleasantly high voice. As soon as she had seen them, she had marched over to where the pole was, and had slammed the window shut – right in their faces! Good thing she was on stage now.

      “I thought you’d busted your knee,” Shelby said, seeing his sister get up without too much effort.

      “Me too,” said Shauna. “I guess it’s getting better, though.”

      An outraged howl from the cage now reminded them that the cat was still inside, and definitely still unhappy.

      “Come on out,” coaxed Shelby, opening the rusty door. “We won’t hurt you.”

      The cat stretched her little neck outside, and then tentatively stepped out. She was small and thin, with light green eyes and short, white fur – or at least it would have been white, had she been clean. As it was, she looked remarkably like a gray mop. One of her ears displayed several scars, and the other had a deep cut near the base. In spite of her battle scars, however, there was something dainty about her demeanor. Shauna noticed with delight that she had one black paw in front, as if she had accidentally stepped into a puddle of ink.

      “You are so cute!” cried Shauna.

      The cat seemed equally enthusiastic about Shauna. Purring, she gave Shauna several head bumps, and weaved in and out of her legs.

      “That’s not fair,” Shelby said, sourly. “I was the one carrying it the whole time.”

      His sourness melted away, however, as the cat gave him an affectionate head bump.

      “Maybe mom will let us keep her,” he said. “She’s really dirty, though.”

      “Let’s give her a bath!” suggested Shauna, rushing to the small sink in the dressing room and enthusiastically grabbing the soap.

      “I don’t know, Shauna,” hesitated Shelby. “Cats СКАЧАТЬ