Once Upon A Midnight Dreary…

My apologies to Poe..

Once upon a midnight dreary, while watching TV, weak and weary,
Surfing through unusual, and violent TV shows,
While we nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone rapping, rapping loudly at our small cat door.
“Tis some stray, ” I muttered softly, “Tapping at our small cat door – Only this, and nothing more…”

Ah, distinctly I recall – it was during the late fall,
And each feral cat we have, scrambled in across the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; frightened of the constant slapping
of the feral cat ‘a tapping – some sign of mind-crazed rapping -
For the horrid sound of door flap as it slammed against the door
Even Coyote stopped his yapping, quickly silent evermore…

And the sad consistent rapping of the constant, steady tapping
Thrilled me – filled me with a terror, that I’d never felt before;
So that now to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
‘Tis some stray cat wanting entrance at the path of my cat door -
Some late abandoned stray cat wanting entrance at the path of my cat door; -
This it is, and nothing more…

Presently my heart grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
“Tom,” said I, “or Queen, your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was sitting, and suddenly you came repeating,
And so loud you came a tapping, rapping at my small cat door,
That I ran to see you, scared to death – I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.”

Deep into that darkness peering, so long I stood there seeing,
Daring, fearful dreams that no mortal dreamt before
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And no words were ever spoken, only hisses in the wind.
Brave, I hissed into the darkness, and an echo hiss returned…
Merely this and nothing more…

Back into my chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
“Surely,” said I, “surely, there’s a cat at my small door;
Let me see what type he is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;
Tis a cat and nothing more!

Suddenly, I flung the flap when, with many a scattering yap,
There stepped a big black cat of my neighbors house next door!
Not the least obeisance made he; not an instant stopped or stayed he;
But with mien of lord or lady, perched before my small cat door –
Sitting on the dirt before me, just outside my small cat door -
Sat and stared, and nothing more…

Then the black cat sitting lonely near the small cat door spoke only,
Just one word, as if his soul in that single word did pour.
Nothing further then he uttered – not a whisker did he flutter -
Till I scarcely more than muttered, “Many cats have been before..”
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.’
Then the cat hissed, “Nevermore!”

Thus I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the cat whose fiery eyes now burned through my small cat door;
This and more I sat divining, with my pets gathered behind me,
glancing through the small cat door that the flash-light gloated o’er,
But whose clear plastic flap with the flash-light gloating o’er,
He shall tap, ah, nevermore!

“Stray cat!” said I, “Feral cat! – Feline still, if pet or stray! -
Whether tempter sent, or tempest tossed thee here at my cat door,
Desolate yet still undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
At this home by pets we’re stunted – tell me truly, I implore -
Are you – are you homeless? – Tell me – tell me, I implore!’
Quoth the feline, `Nevermore.’

`Be that word our sign of parting, pet or feral!’ I shrieked upstarting -
`Get thee back into thy home – go on through the neighbor’s door!
Do not bully my poor felines, and recognize that I hath spoken!
Leave my frightened pets unbroken! – disappear from my cat door!
Take thy tail from out my heart, and stop rapping at my door!”
Quoth the feline, “Nevermore.”

And the feline, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting…
Terrorizing all my kittens just outside my small cat door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a tom cat’s that is dreaming,
And the flashlight o’er him streaming throws his fur upon the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted – nevermore!

www.petsweekly.com
www.authorsden.com/stacymantle

I Ran…

This is a new novel concept I’ve been messing around with. Here’s the first piece of it. Let me know your thoughts!

There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophies…

 

- Shakespeare

 

 

Preface

I ran…

The cold mountain air brutally assaulted my chest with waves of pain as I fled the creatures. The soft needles from pine boughs that I had, only hours earlier, sung praises too now slapped against my face and body, as each breath I took pierced my lungs.  Yet I pushed forward, ignoring the protests of my now weakened body, knowing that my life would be lost forever if I stumbled on the rocky ground or slowed for even a moment.  Any show of weakness, no matter how slight, would result in my death.

The blood throbbed in my veins, pounded through me, as I ran through the night; and I sensed they were tracking the way it moved through my body as I struggled to breathe, coughing air out even as my body craved it. Specs of bright red liquid fell to the unyielding forest floor leaving a trail as I moved through the wilderness – no doubt the result of a pierced lung from the broken rib.  My legs cramped, protesting the quick pace, yet I pushed through the pain.  There would be no stopping tonight, assuming I was fortunate enough to escape this seemingly endless pursuit. As miserable as I felt, those who followed were far less interested in my personal pain.  I could smell the coppery stench of my own blood as it mixed with my terror, and I knew that the scent lingered in the freezing night air for them to follow.  Yet, still I ran. Instinct drove me forward, a result of the culmination of millions of years of adaptation as the human species evolved from prey to predator, yet I knew that tonight I had somehow regressed to the role of prey, and there was no way in Hell I would escape these predators. My ten years of training in martial arts meant nothing now; the hard life of isolation that I had imposed on myself since youth did not matter, for these were no city predators that followed – they were something more. Neither fight nor flight would save me now. I was doomed…

Those that followed moved stealthily over the uneven, rocky ground in silence and while I could not hear them, I could feel them as they gained on me. Suddenly, a dank scent not of this world hit me and I slid to a stop, leaning against a tree to pant heavily.  There were more of them ahead of me. Although I could not see them, I could sense them. Suddenly the realization hit me that I was not being pursued, I was being herded…

The sudden understanding overwhelmed me, but with a shattering breath, I let the fear move through me, stifling, terrorizing me, before I refused to give it more of my attention. Thousands of thoughts filed through my head as I paused.  I couldn’t remember why I was in the woods deep in the Washington wilderness; let alone how I had come to this place.  I did remember David and his unheeded cries for mercy.  In his dying cries, he warned me against the beasts, but I already knew that those who pursued me were anything but merciful.  They had waited for me like the wolves they were. They knew I would be coming, and they anxiously awaited their next meal, unwilling to settle for just one body this night. One glance at the shredded tent and mutilated body was all it took and I ran.  No time to retrieve a weapon, no time to face my pursuers, no time to mourn the loss of the one friend I’d had since childhood.  I was being hunted and now, that was all I knew.

Catching my breath, I quickly evaluated the situation.  At least two up ahead and several more behind me.  I sensed nothing but cliff to the left and a steep incline to the right.  Making a split second decision, I willed the stabbing pain in my chest to a place deep inside my body where it could no longer be felt, and forced my racing pulse to slow, then opted for the cliff.  Perhaps wolves could not climb – I didn’t know, but I supposed we were about to find out. To move forward or back meant certain death, and I knew they would easily outpace me if I attempted to climb the steep hill.

The cliff sheered off deep below and I held as best I could, my hands burning from the effort as dirt and tiny shards of rock worked themselves deeper into my already destroyed flesh.  The smell of earth mingled with blood was everywhere around me, yet I forced myself to remain calm. To fall would send me straight to the watery depths hundreds of feet below and defeat the purpose of escape, yet I was not about to be defeated by animals.  The darkness was nearly blinding, but I found that I could see well.  Never had my vision been so acute.  I chalked it up to fear and worked my way down the mountainside. Clamoring for a foothold, I felt a large drop beneath me my feet and glanced down, hoping it was not the end.  But hope suddenly surfaced as I glanced down and spotted a shelf of rock jutted out from the mountainside, perhaps 7, maybe 8 feet below me.  I pushed off from the crevice, swinging until I had enough momentum to fall onto the ledge and not off of it.  But, then my aching hands finally reached their limits and I let go…

I hit the rock ledge with more momentum than I planned and the wind was knocked out of me, but never had I felt more relieved even as I fought to catch my breath. I reveled in the feel of solid earth beneath me, rewarded even more when I recovered my breath enough to take in my new surroundings. A tall entrance to a dark cave loomed before me.  I would be able to rest a moment, knowing what was at my back, and if I were lucky could locate something with which to make a fire.  Fire stopped wild animals in their tracks, something I knew from years of camping in the remote forested wilderness of the Pacific Northwest.  Glancing up, I listened for the inevitable pursuit, but heard nothing. The night was silent, eerily so, and I knew that was a sign of something bad.

I sensed him before I saw him.  Turning slowly, a tall, dark-haired man stepped from the shadows of the cavern. His unnaturally dark eyes glared down upon me in cold hatred, yet I could not turn away.  He was terrifying and fascinating at once. This man was a contradiction in all things; unnatural and eerie, yet absolutely captivating and stunning in beauty. I felt as though I were moving towards him, despite the deep terror that warned me away. 

He never said a word to me and I knew it was over before it began.  A deep growl erupted from his strangely sensual mouth and he snarled even as he smiled. There was no place left to go.  The precipice dropped several hundred feet below me.  Jumping would be death.  To stay meant the same.

Despite the fear, his eyes held mine and I stood silently, spellbound. Neither of us had spoken a word. At any other time, I would likely have been with this man of my own volition, yet when his teeth slowly extended down, a new terror fled through me.  This was no man…

He continued to hold my gaze and I remained powerless to turn away, although the thought of retreat was foremost in my brain.  I stood paralyzed as his eyes held mine.  His long teeth, even and white, contrasted sharply against the night. I was repelled and fascinated at once, and paralyzed. He leaned over me, hesitating slightly as though he wanted to remember this moment, and then slowly sunk his long, white teeth into the flesh just over my sprained shoulder. 

Still somewhat conscious, but no longer in any pain, a deep weariness came upon me as the creature fed. The background noises that I could hear remotely suddenly sounded very near and a deep-throated growl rose in the distance. The man returned the wolves threat, and then as slowly and confidently as he had acquired me, released his hold and disappeared into the shadows as I fell to the cave floor.  Please make it a quick death, I thought.  Please let me go out with some type of honor and not pleading for my life.  Slowly, I turned my head to see two large wolves standing within a few feet of where I lie. The scent of blood must be heavy on me and my weakness was more than apparent.  Suddenly the temper that I had become known for amongst people rose up like a wild animal fighting to free itself.  I was furious, angry that the man had just left me here to die being torn limb to limb by a pack of wolves, not understanding that he had also taken my life as I knew it. I could feel my spirit leaving as the blood pumped slowly through the holes in my neck. To my left lay a large stick, some remnant from storms past, and I reached for it.  But the energy was gone, my lifeblood had been drained, perhaps not to its last, but close enough to consider me dead if I didn’t receive medical attention, and I could not grasp the stick.  Infuriated, I cried out in frustration with the last of my energy. The last thing I remember are two massive wolves, the larger of which stood over me staring down intently with its gray eyes…

 

3 Feature Pet Articles Coming

Hello fellow packmates!

I have some great news this week! I have just been contacted by a HUGE cat magazine to write two articles (which are going to be LOTS of fun to write). In regards to this cat magazine, I have been trying to get in with them for nearly 10 yrs. The query they finally responded to was 10 months old. So – for all you fellow writers out there, keep in mind agents and publishers may still be considering you! I’ve also been contacted by a large Yachting Magazine to write yet another feature about boating with pets.

Since the articles are requiring a very short turnaround, I am putting my hand out for help. I would love to hear from people who have experience (or no someone who does, or have run across an article that cover these topics, or just have some input on the topic) about the following:

1. The History of Pets on Ships: I’m writing this for a yachting magazine and I want to know about anyone who is cruising with pets, anyone who knows stories about cruising with pets, and the historical background stories of pets who came over in the Pacific Northwest throughout history.

2. Cat Houses: Nope – not Vegas prostitution rings, literal everyday, run-of-the-mill people houses that have been converted to provide the best accommodations for cats! An example woud be The Cat’s House.

3. The 10 Most Luxurious Hotels for Cats: Know of any hotels, resorts or travel methods that cater to cats? Let me know!

And I’m keeping this short because I have TON of work to do. Take a quick cat nap and we’ll be back with our updated newsletter next week!

Stacy

SuperZoo 2007 Pet Trends

Greetings Fellow Pack Members!

We have finally returned from the SuperZoo trade show – and what a show it was! There were companies there from the world round and we met many of our friends in person (a quick hello to Dale from FullPetential, Theresa from PupGear, Jonathon from SmartCats, Rick from Canine Covers,

I’ve had a lot of questions on the newest pet trends for the year, and since returning from SuperZoo, we can tell you a few things. The trends at the show seemed to focus on pets being a family member, rather than “just a pet.” This would include a large movement towards ensuring that pets are dressed correctly (complete with jewelry and custom carriers), taking them to the spa rather than just getting them groomed, being certain that they are eating and drinking out of only the best handcrafted, personalized bowls and consuming all natural pet food that is manufactured in the U.S.

Other products included high-tech toys that stimulate all five of our pets senses, strollers (so your pets don’t even have to walk), a diaper bag for pet parents, and even wigs for your pet. Yep – wigs. Don’t believe me? Watch the video to see for yourself!

We also made some fun new friends! If you get time, check out some of these great companies: Thushara from ZooMed, Brandon and Micah from Oxbow, Chantel from Merry Products, Laird from Azoo Palm Aquariums, Cristen from Innovative Pet Therapy, Keith from NextWave, Grant and Ming from Yumin, Bob from ChillyBuddy and Jim from JelliQuarium.

This was a great show and I highly recommend everyone go if they are given the opportunity. As for us, well we will have a whole slew of neat reviews for all species coming up and we can’t wait to show you! Many of these products will also be given away in weekly contests and I really hope you all participate! It will be a great way to win some fantastic gifts for your pets!

Purrs and Soft Growls,

Stacy

http://www.petsweekly.com