Realization
The struggle had Agatha's heart racing. Getting the stray cat into her net required all of her energy. Now that it was trapped, she cautiously had to remove its head from the peanut butter jar.
The jar finally popped off its head after a little bit of struggle through the net. However, Agatha's momentary joy was quickly replaced by dread as she looked at the creature's long teeth and realized it wasn't a cat.
New House
Agatha knew she had made the right choice moving to a small town in Minnesota. She was used to living in Chicago her whole life, and this was just the change of pace she needed. She could even afford a beautiful house.
She felt that her life was finally falling into place, but she had no idea what difficult decision she would be faced with just a few days after moving in.
Agatha Sori
Agatha Sori was a bright-minded individual who dreamed of giving humanitarian aid even from a young age. She wanted to help people more than anything. While in high school, she volunteered at animal shelters and helplines, but her biggest dream was still ahead of her.
Her dream was to find a job that allowed her to pursue her passion. Straight out of high school, she found the perfect career.
Psychology
She studied psychology straight out of school. Her reasoning would be that she could help troubled individuals work their way through any problems. She'd also be able to pay off the student loans once she was qualified.
It was a rigorous six years, but after getting her bachelor's degree, honors degree, and master's degree, she was a qualified psychologist ready to help anyone that needed it.
Moving Out Of The City
Three years after finishing her degree, Agatha decided to move to a new city. She felt she had outgrown her hometown and looked to another state nearby - Minnesota. She had family there that told her it was an amazing place to live.
She decided to take the plunge and buy a beautiful house surrounded by nature. It took a few months to move everything across, but she was excited to live in her new city. But she had no idea what would happen on this new property.
Wildlife
Her new property was surrounded by nature. The small town in Minnesota seemed to offer her everything that Chicago didn't have. There were raccoons that would skulk around her porch at night and even local stray cats.
Agatha would leave some cat food out every night for the stray felines. She was a big animal lover and wanted their lives to be easier. But she was welcoming something into her life that she wasn't aware of.
Late Night
After a busy day of seeing clients, doing shopping, and then making dinner, Agatha was beyond tired. Despite this, she still decided to work on her psychology thesis. She checked the clock after making some progress and saw it was 12 o'clock.
She needed some sleep, so she put out the usual cat food and even put some peanut butter in the mix as a special treat for the strays. But she made one mistake in her tired state that she'd learn to regret. She left the peanut butter out on the porch.
It Was Gone
Agatha woke up the next morning and got dressed. Thankfully it was her day off, and she could relax. But when she walked out onto the porch, expecting to see the peanut butter jar empty and eaten, she saw something much more alarming.
The jar wasn't anywhere to be seen. She remembered that she'd left it out there, but something had happened to it. Then she heard an animal cry out for help.
Trapped
Agatha whipped around, and her heart sank. She saw that one of the strays had gotten the jar stuck on its head. She knew she needed to help. But it was so skittish that it would run away if she weren't careful.
She had to think of a plan to get close enough to get the jar off of the cat's head. She didn't like leaving the cat alone, but she knew it would just run away if she tried now. She had to go get some supplies. But she was making a mistake.
A Net
After an hour out of the house, she finally arrived back home with a large net. She would have to be quick now that time was running out. She looked around for the poor animal until she finally saw it pop up from underneath her porch.
She leaped forward with the net and managed to get it over the animal. Now it was time to pull the jar off of its head. But she could never have prepared herself for what happened next.
Not A Cat
Agatha's heart was racing from the struggle. It took all of her strength to get the stray cat into her net. Now that it couldn't get away, she had to carefully remove the peanut butter jar from its head.
With a bit of a struggle through the net, the jar popped off of its head. But Agatha's brief triumph was replaced with dread as she stared at the long teeth of the animal and realized it was no cat.
Something Else
The grey animal wasn't actually a cat. Agatha's heart jumped in her throat, and she dropped the net with the animal. It scurried away from her and went under the deck. She felt like she was in a horror movie.
The teeth flashed in her mind as she stumbled backward. Her beautiful home had now turned into a living nightmare.
It's True Form
Agatha stood on the deck, frozen. Thoughts raced through her mind before she heard a call. She looked up above her porch to see three animals looking down at her. Then she realized what they were.
Relief washed over her as she realized that the animals were only foxes. She could tell the mother was now standing with her two babies - one of them being the "cat" she thought she had rescued.
A Good Deed
Agatha now felt confident in her decision to help the animal. Regardless of what species it was, it needed her help, and she was happy to give it. Her brief scare was now behind her, and she could feel triumphant again.
The mother looked at her and blinked as if to communicate a thank you for saving her child. But Agatha didn't need any praise.
As Passionate As Ever
Agatha smiled and walked back inside. Half of her day was spent helping the fox out of the jar, but she didn't regret it at all. In fact, she thought back to her time volunteering in animal shelters, which made her feel good about herself.
She was just as passionate about helping both people and animals as ever. It was a new inspiration, and she had her new home to thank.
Offering Help
Agatha thought her encounters with animals would be over, but it would only be the beginning. She’d have the strangest encounter when she had to help out a family member.
Her 86-year-old grandfather was recently put into a nursing home, and she knew she had to help him move. That’s when things start to become strange.
Couldn’t Take His Cat
One major problem for her grandfather was that they wouldn’t let him bring his old siamese cat with him.
Agatha was an animal lover and always wanted to help her family. So she decided that she’d happily fly to his home and pick up some of his things along with the cat. But she had no idea what she’d find at the house.
Couldn’t Help On His Own
Her grandfather had been living on his own ever since he lost his wife five years prior. His health had only gotten worse over those years, and the same could be said for his poor cat.
Agatha flew to the nearest airport and, from there, drove to her grandfather’s house to check in on the cat. But when she got there, she had no idea what was lying in wait.
At The House
Agatha arrived at the house and approached the front door. It was very dark inside when she looked through the windows. It was clear he wasn’t looking after himself, and that’s why he was put into a nursing home in the first place.
She walked back to the car to grab a flashlight from behind the seats. She thought she might need it, and she was right. But it wouldn’t help her against what was inside the house.
In Disarray
When Agatha got inside the house, she immediately noticed the strange smell that was in the air. She could tell that the place hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. She saw everything in disarray - broken furniture and clutter lay at her feet.
Whatever her grandfather had been doing, it didn’t seem rational. There was even scribbling all over his wall.
A Bad Feeling
Agatha continued to venture deeper into the guts of the house. If it was a person, it would have been a corpse. She worried that the local wildlife had moved in - most notably rats. She hated rats.
She had a bad feeling about the whole place. She was even a little scared, as irrational as that was.
Not Scribbling
As she inspected the walls more closely, she noticed something disturbing. What she previously thought was scribbling on the walls was something much more sinister.
They were deep gouges in the walls, like scratches from an animal. Could an ordinary household cat make these marks? She was about to find out.
Many Hiding Places
Agatha continued to delve deeper. She found the cat’s food bowl and filled it up with a nearby bag of cat food. She really thought that Siam would come running at the sound of his food bowl clinking with food.
She knew that she’d have to go find the cat herself. She’d have to venture deeper into the derelict house and try to find a needle in a haystack. To make things easier, she’d first go downstairs to turn on the power.
A Sound
Next, Agatha heard a noise that made her blood run cold. It came from another room nearby. Was it the cat? As she walked down the corridor, she realized that it was coming from the bathroom at the end of the hall.
She slowly approached the door and slowly opened it. There was movement behind the shower curtain, so she slowly pulled it to the side.
Not Knowing What To Expect
She thought of various horror movie scenes as she prepared to open the curtain. Realizes that maybe slowly wasn’t the best option, she prepared herself to yank it quickly.
She just hoped that Michael Myers or Freddie Kruger wasn’t waiting on the other side. She closed her eyes and quickly opened the shower curtain, not ready for what was on the other end.
Frightened
As she yanked the curtains to the side, a frightened animal jumped out. It was Siam! He had been hiding in the bathroom all this time and looked very different from how Agatha remembered him.
But it wasn’t over yet. Agatha heard something else in the house. It wasn’t Siam since he was with her. Was it what he had been hiding from?
Something Out Of A Nightmare
Agatha’s curiosity got the better of her. She decided that she would check the house to make sure that no vagrants had moved into his house while he was gone. She could tell the noise coming from under the bed.
But when she looked underneath it, she saw something straight out of a nightmare.
Taking It To The Vet
Agatha found a furry creature underneath the bed. It looked just as frightened as Siam. She decided to call her grandfather and find out more about this strange-looking animal. Once he answered the phone, he spilled everything.
“You found Missy!” He said with glee. Agatha was confused, but he explained that he thought his other cat had run away. But this didn’t look like any cat she’d ever seen. She had to rush her to the vet.
Unrecognizable
The vet couldn’t believe the way the cat looked. She had been neglected for months, and her fur had become more matted than anything they’d ever seen. He quickly began the treatment process.
He got a special set of clippers and got to work on the poor frightened animal. But would she look like her former self once he was done?
Like A Different Animal
After extensive treatment at the vet, Missy looked like a different animal. She looked like a lovely little kitten that had a lot of love to give. Now she could be properly looked after. Agatha decided to look after her grandfather’s pets, and she would arrange visits every so often. It was the perfect ending everyone asked for.
In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events, places, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.