Fangio: A Very Nice Cat

By Joshua Allen

The main character of Fangio is the Traveler, a twenty-eight-year-old Belgian Canadian woman who leaves on a trip throughout the USA after the death of her best friends father. A dramatic event at her home front forces her to interrupt her trip after six months and fly back to Belgium for just one week. After she returns to the States, suddenly her hometown and its surroundings are startled by a series of killings, not connected to each other at first sight.

As a die-hard Stephen king addict, the Traveler is accompanied by his books that inspire and assist her when she has to make decisions.

The first half of the book sets all the characters, drags the reader into the world of the Traveler and her entourage. The second half of the book contains the mystery and the action.

As I am writing the synopsis myself, it is very hard to boast and use marketing terms in order to make you feel like reading my book. All I can say is that it was written with heart and soul, without the intention even ever to publish. And there must be a reason that since 1997 I didnt write again, until three weeks ago when I was in Romania and I started my second thriller: In Romania, all Bulgarians Are from Texas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jan 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504997225

Joshua Allen

He is a loving father of three children, two step children and with a wonderful wife. He has always enjoyed story telling with a special message of "good" as his children grew up. The most satisfying feeling is when the children would ask for the story be told again and again. He knew that an educational message on the true value of diversity could be told in an entertaining way for children to understand, learn and appreciate.

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© 2016 Ann Woolf. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  01/27/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5049-9723-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-9724-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-9722-5 (e)

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Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1    The Traveler

Chapter 2    The call of the wild

Chapter 3    How a dark half took over

Chapter 4    The Devil’s Forest

Chapter 5    Home sweet Home

Chapter 6    Ghost Squadron

‘Time spent with a cat is never wasted time’

Desmond Morris

Cort would answer: Y is a crooked letter and cannot be made straight… Never mind why, just get up, pushead! Get up! The day is young !

Stephen King,

The Gunslinger – The Darktower I

Everyone should go for A Last Stand before they die! – challenged The Adventurer.

Why wait until you’re almost dead? replied The Traveler.

Prologue

Time to say goodbye,… Con te partiro… Bocelli sounds through the speakers. The terrace door is open and the music finds its way to the grave through a veil of rain. The Traveler had always found it so ridiculous that this song came to ruin funerals again and again. She despised every form of narrow-minded cliché and Bocelli could go to blazes, and funerals could go to blazes, and death could go to blazes.

Death was merely there to challenge and to embarrass again and again. But the CD club had sent the disc as best selection when her order had been overdue after three months.

Time to say goodbye,… The Traveler had never had the chance.

Atlanta – Brussels – Atlanta in 3 days had not left her much quality time with Fangio. She had spent her last night in Belgium with her favorite cat purring against her belly. Six months of adventure and nightmares later, Fangio was missing. The search parties rallied by friends and neighbors bore no fruit. The Traveler took the first flight from Arkansas to Brussels.

The sticky October cobwebs, the blackberry bushes with their entangled thorns – a joke compared to the wilderness trails of the past months.

After a few hours she found the cat’s corpse at the edge of the woods, already half-covered under the first autumn leaves. A scent of death, an invasion of wasps’ larvae, and the yawning hole in her back… currently occupied.

This time there was no one to comfort The traveler, a task that Fangio voluntarily had undertaken since day one.

The autographed copy of The Regulators by Bachman didn’t even make her happy. In Bangor they had politely explained to her that there was a waiting list and that she shouldn’t expect the book for 8 months. That was June 2nd, 1997. The postmark on the package said June 4th, 1997. Did the Master himself know what would take place in this scorching black summer?

‘WHEN DESPERATION IS ALL OVER, THE REGULATORS HAVE TO TAKE OVER… CRACK." The Regulators

The tears cracked their own way out of her sockets, pouring hurriedly over her cheekbones, but crying didn’t relieve her. A storm of rage electrons arose.

CHAPTER 1

The Traveler

MOUNTAIN T, BELGIUM, April 14th 1994

The white villa amidst the pine trees could have been located in any other snobby neighborhood, in Washington or in Alaska.

The sun photon-torpedoed everything whiter and greener that day. The foliage rustled the news to the pine needles: ‘ Four adorable kittens were just born, the tranquility would soon be over.’

The pitch black cat lay casually with her offspring. All was well for about 3 weeks until the Doom girlfriend from years back dropped the SPCA bastard on the nest. The Doom Girlfriend gave assurance that the shelter vet guaranteed that the sick kitten had been vaccinated. The pitch black cat banned the little one promptly. The poor soul died 2 days later and the incident was soon forgotten.

MOUNTAIN T,BELGIUM, May 14th, 1994

The kittens were ill, mortally ill and the mother seemed flush too.

The vet offered little hope; cat leukemia infects the immune system. In 85% of the cases its fatal. The Doom girlfriend had lied.

But The traveler wouldn’t stand for it. 15%, that’s what we’re after!

The serum was administered and additional medication was for further treatment. The nightmare would last for a week.

The nameless kitten went first, slowly fading away. The Traveler was left in the cold, full of guilt for not having taken the time to find a true name. Trixie slept that same night. Meanwhile, Zulu had lost all interest for her young and lay tucked away in the bath tub.

Days were long and nights endless. The stack of VCR’s, the books and gallons of coffee couldn’t help her stay awake, but the most bizarre kitten of the litter saw to it that her attention didn’t fade out.

The Traveler had named the kitten Bubbles, but she wasn’t satisfied with the name. Its enormous eyes questioned her continuously. Casper died in the 3rd night, black with a little white freckle on his nose. This came as a blow; he was her favorite. Casper meowed softly once more and died in her hands, he couldn’t swallow his medicine anymore.

Zulu didn’t leave the tub anymore to drink and for the first time she showed she had surrendered as well.

On the hour, each cat was administrated a dose of astronaut ration and water with a carbon compound to battle the fatal dehydration.

But the disease claimed more.

That night Bubbles crept into the fold of her shoulder and neck and started purring faintly, but not from pain…

2 hours later she found Zulu in a puddle of blood in the tub. The blood came from every hole in her body and the cat died in her arms, dignified, as she had lived. Then something dawned in the Traveler. Rage, hatred and despair dominated the chaos in her mind.

After she had buried Zulu and the third kitten, she knew there was nothing to do but prepare for the death of Bubbles and this would come down on her much harder than she dared to admit to herself.

The little runt slept in her neck every night now, followed her everywhere and those enormous eyes spoke a language she understood all too well.

The picture postcard in the mailbox came from the Doom Girlfriend. A coastline by night, ugly and covered with buildings. The message on the card’s back read thinking a lot of you, Zulu and the kittens. The Traveler threw the card in the fire. " Burn! You bitch of betrayal’ Why had she never learned to curse well in her mother tongue?

Next morning, the vet rang the doorbell for the daily serum, while entering he rested his eyes on the Traveler.: You could use some rest as well

Bubbles had no more fever. The disease is beaten, he said. This has only happened once. He’ll be up on his feet in a few days.

The Traveler had given up on people, but she could just embrace this grinning man.

Bubbles was soon named Fangio for his incredible accelerations and the control skidding which he performed effortlessly. He became a beautiful cat; the bizarre proportions of his face came in to place, but his eyes remained the same… eyes bigger than life itself.

MOUNTAIN T, BELGIUM, February 15th 1995

The bright yellow Porsche 911 parked smoothly and as the Traveler cut the engine she immediately noticed something was wrong. Fangio didn’t come running when she stepped out. When she entered the hall, she heard an unrelenting, panicky meow. While entering the bathroom she shockingly perceived what was going on. Fangio started turning the towel cupboard upside down. A ritual very well known to her: Fangio – her so called tomcat- was about to have some kittens. Fangio’s cat instinct still showed flaws because she kept gazing helplessly, inquiringly at the Traveler. Her two paws took grip of the arm of the Traveler and didn’t let go. The kitten was coming with much pain. It was dead. There came no second. For the meantime, it remained Fangio and The Traveler.

MOUNTAIN T, BELGIUM, April 23rd 1995

Loudly chattering, the Traveler entered the living room with her only friend, the Adventurer. They displayed their new assets: a mosquito net, a new sleeping bag, a new back pack, all sorts of survival gear they’d probably never use, but still exciting to have at hand.

They planned nineteen to the dozen which adventures Australia would bring them. For the first time in years the Traveler was happy. Her money was gone. Trusting in others raided her account. Trusting in her raided the Adventurer’s account. Day in day out she worked and juggled to get at least his money back. It worked. Recklessness made her think she was out of trouble, and the world beckoned. Three years in Belgium had been too long.

Her thoughts were distracted by a sound in the bedroom: Fangio was lying in bed, proudly she was licking three peeping kittens. Her eyes read : ‘Look, all by myself". The goof hadn’t noticed that the last kitten was still attached to the umbilical cord. The Traveler prepared some sterile scissors and did what needed to be done. Kitza, the Tomcat sat aside dozing. Amazed, she watched how Fangio tolerated this.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, June 6th 1995

The non-smoking flight was long, but the Australian morning glory welcomed them. Numerous arrivals at foreign airports had taught the Traveler how you could know with one foot set out of the plane: intuitive gradations from ‘ never again’ to ‘home sweet home’. This seemed to be a lot like home sweet home. The trip was fabulous, and for two months Fangio played the main role in her dreams. She couldn’t gasp how this little cat could take up so much space. The few phone calls home informed her of her approaching financial collapse, but her lust for adventure was greater. She knew that in any case 1997 would bring her past caring. Then she could have her off shore trust at her disposal. She found money was something ridiculous. Between her 20th and 26th birthday, she had been stinking rich 3 times and had hit rock bottom twice. She still hadn’t figured out which was the most fun.

And Australia conquered the Traveler and the Adventurer with every square mile they explored.

BUSSELS AIRPORT, BELGIUM, August 4th 1995

Being arrested by the state police after a 24-hour flight wasn’t her idea of a good time, but on the other hand it wasn’t even a surprise. Spending a night in the waiting room of the local investigation squad was a fieldtrip thanks to smuggled smokes. And after sitting with the district attorney for another 4 hours she could think of only 2 things: a hot shower and seeing Fangio again.

The District Attorney’s fist came down hard on a pile of dossiers. Full of investigations that researched the activities of the Traveler. Lack of evidence was her self -conduct. The game is over! he yelled, louder than he had expected himself. Who owes you money and where you owe money; one inextricable mess!. He sighed deeply and reproachfully pushed away another heap., And all these arrests during demonstrations for the well-being of animals!. A sour expression overtook his face.

‘Breaking through a road block, resisting arrest in Newport for that sheep transport affair. A complaint form Dutch authorities for sabotage at Schiphol Airport. A sit-in at a foie-gras company. The unintentional infliction of beatings and wounding to the mayor of Mole in protest for the market sales of animals, stealing a pig out of a pig farm … I could go on forever".

"On the other hand we could finally arrest that pig farmer for possession of enriched uranium, the sheep affair led to the bust of corrupted custom agents and the mayor of Mole is under investigation