Chapter 2 - The Echo in the Shed
Copper didn’t wait. He bolted forward across the drenched lawn, water kicking up behind his paws.
""Copper, stay!"" Leo yelled, clutching the kitten tighter inside his jacket as he lunged forward. The kitten hissed, sinking needle-sharp claws through his sweater into his skin, panicked by the sudden rush of motion.
Leo reached the shed just as Copper pushed his head through the cracked opening. The inside smelled of rotting cedar, mildew, and engine grease. Shafts of gray daylight cut through the warped wallboards, illuminating floating specks of dust and moisture.
Copper was whining low, his snout tucked into an overturned plastic crate.
Leo ducked his head beneath the low lintel. ""Copper, back up."" He reached down, carefully peeling the dog away from the corner.
Beneath the cracked crate, huddled together on a bed of shredded fiberglass insulation, were two more kittens. One was ginger, barely larger than a teacup, and the other was a mirror image of the tuxedo kitten resting against Leo's ribs. They were drenched, shivering, their eyes glued shut with dried crust.
Beside them lay an adult calico cat. She was motionless, her ribcage still, her soaked fur matted flat against sunken hips.
Leo’s heart dropped. He reached out with two fingers, touching the cat's neck. The flesh was cold, stiffened by the autumn chill. She had been gone for hours.
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Then, behind him, the shed door slammed shut with a heavy wooden thud.
Leo whipped his head around. Copper let out a sharp, protective bark into the gloom. Outside, heavy, deliberate footsteps crunched against the wet gravel, stopping right against the wooden wall.
