{C-4-B}

“I’m pretty sure that’s where the missing animals are being kept, in crates, ready to be shipped out somewhere!” Neko-chan says.

“That can’t be good,” you agree. “Let’s hurry up before it’s too late to save those other animals.”

When you finally get there, Neko-chan jumps on a crate that is being lifted into a big freighter.

“Wait for me,” you say. “I want to help rescue the other animals.”

Neko-chan laughs and jumps down onto the deck of the ship.

You hear a pickup truck honking its horn and you instinctively hide behind a crate. You are scared when the pet shop owner emerges from the truck and the two dogs jump out from the truck bed.

The dogs run in your direction and you don’t know what to do.

“Neko-chan, help!” you cry.

“I’ll help you alright,” Neko-chan says.

“Get him,” the pet shop says to the dogs, pointing at you.

Neko-chan suddenly grows into a huge monstrous cat with two long tails flailing like fiery whips. He creates a fireball and hurls it in your direction. As the two dogs move in, one knocks you out of the way, and the other blows a gust of magical wind that destroys the fireball.

“That thing lied to you,” the pet shop owner says. “That isn’t Neko-chan at all, but a nekomata, an evil monster from the mountains of Japan.”

“What do we do now?” you say, noticing that the nekomata is nowhere to be seen.

“It got away while we were rescuing you,” the pet shop owner says. You look down dejectedly, but the pet shop owner only smiles.

“It’s okay,” he says. “What really matters is that no one’s been hurt. The nekomata will most likely return to its mountain home, and as long as no one tresspasses near it, it won’t cause any more harm.”

You decide to avoid mountains for the rest of your life.

Destiny Discovered