"Where?"
"Oh, along the beach. You can't spend all your life in a damp motel
room."
"It's not damp. That's the fresh sea air you feel." He picked a
windbreaker off the bed and nodded at the door. "So, let's walk." The
night was warm, but heavy with fog. "Sorry I left you up there the
other night, Karen. But you know...."
"Yes. I know. Cats make you crawly." She took his hand when they
reached the sidewalk and pulled him after her in the direction of the
beach. "Have you really been doing all those annoying things, Glenn?"
"Who else? You think I've gotten any recruits?" The street was quiet.
They left the last sidewalk and walked down through scrubby brush to
the beach. The water looked blurred as it touched the misty shore.
"Just me."
Karen shivered and stepped away from Wheelan. "You've just made an
awful nuisance of yourself, Glenn. I've always been very fond of you,
as I'm sure you know. But--I'm very sorry."
She darted in suddenly and pushed hard.
The surprise and the clump of brush behind him sent Wheelan over into
the sand. When he got to his knees and looked around he caught a brief
flicker of Karen's skirt in the fog. Then she was lost. He stood. He
tried to brush himself off, but his hands had started to shake. And he
was beginning to feel odd in the stomach.
Wind came in then across the water and scattered some of the mist. He
saw the cats.
Dozens of them, crouched twenty yards away. Their tails were switching
and Wheelan became aware of a puzzling, whirring sound.
Purring.
In another gust more mist scattered, and Wheelan realized that he was
cut off from the town by a half circle of hundreds of cats. And they
were contentedly edging down across the sand toward him.
Hundreds of damned cats! They made Wheelan feel so crawly he couldn't
move. But if he didn't move soon the first of the cats would touch him.
That thought made him jump back. The cats moved up.
The sand was sucking at his shoes; he could feel the chill of the
ocean on the back of his neck. Maybe if he ran straight at them they'd
scatter. But he couldn't do that. They knew that, too. The cats eased a
little nearer.
Wheelan bent and grabbed off his shoes, then his socks. He backed into
the cold, wet sand near the water. He got out of his clothes--all
except his shorts; he'd have to come ashore someplace. The cats were
close now. For a moment Wheelan thought he wouldn't be able to move,
but finally he was able to grin and thumb his nose.
Then he ran quickly out into the water.
It was dark and cold, but he was a fair swimmer. He could make it down
the coast a quarter mile or so. Far enough. As he swam, Wheelan made up
his mind he'd never come back to his home town again.
Not even for Christmas.