Jack

Blinking, I stared down at Jack and wondered if I was losing my mind.
That damn cat had just spoken.
In English and in a tone that left no room for argument, he’d said “You won’t be going to work today.”
I also noted that he was sitting stubbornly on my briefcase, but at the moment, that didn't matter.
I scratched the back of my head and decided for the sake of my sanity that I must be hallucinating.
Yes, that’s it; I’m not getting enough sleep.
I turned, decided to ignore what had happened, and go get a cup of coffee…
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I halted and looked over my shoulder. Jack was staring at me with his white and black head turned at an angle, and those bright, yellow eyes boring into my soul.
No, this isn’t right. Cats can’t talk. I’ll just go to work like normal, then come home and turn in early for once. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.
“It’s about time you and I had a little talk.”
I finally found the brain power to open my mouth.
“What?”
I couldn’t believe I thought this cat was talking to me. A cat!
That’s it. I’ve finally snapped. They’ll lock me up and throw away the key, and I won’t blame them. This is insane.
“Ah, so you can hear me. Then my timing was correct.” Jack went on, his mouth moving perfect with every syllable. “It is time you took the journey.”
I shook my head and groaned.
“This isn’t happening.”
“Listen to me, girl!” Jack exclaimed in a tone that suggested he was losing his patience. “If you are hearing me, then the time has come. The ancient power of the Katchuni has completed its beginning stages of growth in you, and you must now make the journey.”
I clamped my hands over my ears, as if that were going to make the situation go away. “I’m not listening.”
Jack bared his fangs, and he gave a menacing hiss as he leaped off the briefcase at me to sink his painfully sharp claws into my chest. Surprised, I stumbled back into the wall and tried to peel the cat away.
Okay, this wasn’t a joke. As long as I’d had Jack, he never once attacked me. Actually, he’d always seemed more inclined to protect me, now that it came to mind.
“You must make the journey!” he shouted in my face, his breath holding the usual scent of dry cat food and tuna fish. “Everything is counting on you to make it!”
“What journey?” I found myself replying in a panic.
I felt the claws retracting into their little sheaths of skin and I held Jack to me despite the morning’s events and listened.
“There’s a door.” he began. “It leads to a world beyond this one, my world. And it’s in danger.”
“But you’re a cat!” I protested.
“I am not merely a cat, girl! I have another form, but it cannot be harnessed in this world. You also have this form, but only through the higher power of the Katchuni can you use it. You can only learn the higher power in the world of my people. You have the potential. It's there, it's been there since you were a child. I was sent here as your guardian. You were chosen for this journey by the great and wise oracle of my people, and you must make it. Or all I know will be lost."
I stared at him, at his adorable white face with its splotches and patches of sheer black, the straight and long whiskers, and the large, almond-shaped, and slip-pupil eyes. Jack, my companion for many years.
He was a damn cat!
"You don't believe me."
"Of course, not!" I cried in frustration. "Cats can't talk!"
"The sooner you face the facts, the better. I'm a cat now and I'm talking to you. There is a world in dire need of help and you were the one chosen to help it. So, you have two choices here. You can either do what you are meant to do willingly or you will be forced into it. Either way, when I leave this world, you're going with me."
I glared at the feline, not appreciating the subtle threat.
"And what're you going to do about it?! You're just an animal. I could fling you across---ow!"
Jack had sunk his fangs into my hand. I dropped him onto the floor and he landed gracefully on all fours. He sat down, his tail curling around him. He stared at the floor.
"Would you go if I could prove what I say?" he asked.
"Fine." I conceded, staring at my bleeding finger.
Jack padded across the bedroom floor toward my full-length mirror. At first, I had no clue how he planned on proving anything with a mirror, but then he sat down in front of it and spoke some kind of gibberish I didn't understand.
The glass rippled, leaving me more than a little shocked, and then it seemed to swallow itself. Colors exploded and swirled about, trying to find a hold in the chaos and finally it all came together to create an image of splendor, of rich, thick forests, rolling hills, deep valleys, a range of jagged and snow-peaked mountains and a cloudless, crystalline sky. It was primitive with no smog-clogged cities or their sun-obstructing sky-scrapers. It was beautiful.
I stared hard, my eyes feeling like they would pop out of their sockets at any moment. I remembered buying that mirror at a flea market. It had seemed so insignificant at the time. Oddly enough, I'd bought Jack there as well.
The black and white cat looked at me. He was grinning.
“Do you believe me now?”
I scowled. “Alright. You’ve made your point.”
“Then you'll go?”
It seemed there was no choice in the matter. Besides, I was now a little intrigued.
“I’ll go.”