Return of the Lost

So after 12 days adrift, Skippy is home. As best as I can reconstruct the story from her yowlings, after the Pirate Dogs had made her walk the plank she was able to find refuge in a neighboring tree across the alley. Since the pirates maintained control of the yard, she decided to bide her time and attempt to return later, under cover of darkness.

But her plans were foiled by the emergence of AndromeClee, the shadowy nemesis who has haunted Skip's life since her arrival. With Skip gone, AndromeClee began to enjoy her freedom. She made a grand entrance onto the stage of outdoor life, sunning herself, stalking the grackles who sang their siren songs from the trees and rooftops whenever a feathered one ventured onto terra firma. So rather than endure a confrontation with her enemy, this high energy newly freed spirit, Skip waited in the alley and bided her time.

Came the night and the new dangers it presented. People in the alley, emptying lawn mower bags and dumping garbage. Her own yard unwelcoming, SkippyKee looked for alternative shelter. She knew that there were neighbors who had felines and sometimes left food out for them. She had sampled these victuals on her other forays about the neighborhood. So she scaled a fence across the alley in search of sustenance. Instead she found a furious terrier objecting to her presence. Barely escaping by scrambling up a woodpile near a metal fence, she found herself in a yard with dishes of cat food and water free and welcoming. She helped herself to the feast. Bushes throughout the yard provided shelter from the overwhelming sun of the high plains. She dozed and lost track of the fleeting minutes and hours.

Waking in the darkness, she decided to return home. But the metal fence had no surfaces where she could gain purchase with her nails. There were no trees near the edifice to assist her. She was trapped in someone else's fortress! Days passed without any opportunity to escape. A human had at one point startled her but Skip was unable to get through the gate before it slammed shut. Then, a fateful evening---hiding in the bushes, Skip tried to settle down. But her comfort was shattered by the pelting of water on the foliage. Terrified, she bolted for an open door. Unfortunately, it was a garage. The human closed the door, trapping her amid the spoils of years of human acquisition. Fortunately, the human had seen the posters for the lost cat and called the number. After some negotiation to make the newcomers prove their identity, SkippyKee entered the carrier, comforted and made confident by its familiar odors. And she was carried home.

Her first interaction with those who had made her walk the plank and embark on such misadventures was chasing and pummeling. Three Pirate Dogs pursuing a small cat down the corridor, threatening her should she tell the story. This was followed by some whimpering and whining as the claws on those double paws made contact with various body parts of those canines more efficiently and with far greater destructive power than Errol Flynn at his most swashbuckley best. As for AndromeClee, her moment in the sun is gone---she is back under the bed, hoping the Pirate Dogs succeed with her next plan..................