FILE 5: MARS

Mars was always awake first thing every morning. He would sit on the windowsill and watch the sunrise as he waited for Nathan to wake up and make breakfast.

Despite his frustration with Nathan, he made good food and took good care of Mars. The sunlight reflected on the buildings, giving them a beautiful shine.

Mars loved the sunshine. He especially loved the heat it gave off, as he had lived nearly his entire life in the cold.

It would still be at least two hours until Nathan woke up, so Mars still had time to kill. He softly opened the window and sprang out, landing softly in the backyard.

Using a paw, he pushed the window closed and left for some exploring.

You never know, there might be a case of a client who couldn't call their office. 

Tail in the air, he trotted on a fence, listening for something out of the ordinary. Cases don't happen every day, however.

If he was lucky, he might get a case at least every six months or so. He was just about to head back when he heard someone cry in distress. 'Bingo,' he thought and hastened in that direction.

Sniffing, his ears perked, and he searched for the source of the agonising cry. It got louder as he jumped onto the roof.

Arriving at a blue tile roof and looking down, he saw a grey stray cat meowing, trying to get past the white gate. They strode back and forth, looking upset. 

Watching their hysteria, Mars examined this grey cat. Their eyes were large and green. They had the symptoms of having given birth to kittens, but Mars noticed sadly that this cat had recently died.

He hopped down and settled beside her, giving the stray a big fright. [Meow!] she exclaimed, shaking. "Don't worry, I'm not here to harm you," he promised. 

[Prrowr?] She asked cautiously. Mars sat a little way from her to not appear threatening. "I heard your distress. I thought I might help you," he responded. [Pfft!] she hissed in disdain.

"Wait a minute. Don't write me off just yet. I'm no ordinary cat, I promise. Tell me what's wrong, and I'll see what I can do to help you," Mars offered.

The grey female cat stared at him doubtfully before answering. [Meow, meow, yeow. Meeeooowww!] She pointed a paw at the house.

"I see, I understand. So your kittens are in the house, and you want to see if they are well taken care of before leaving this world, but you can't get in," he nodded thoughtfully.

"That's pretty easy. I can see that you are tied to your body, but your owners threw it away. All we need to do is break that tie," he told her.

[Prowr?] she inquired.

"Don't worry about that. I told you, I'm a special cat. Hold on for a moment."

He closed his eyes and murmured something that sounded like gibberish to the cat ghost.

[Yrowr!] she yowled as small stings accelerated through her body. It felt like she was pinched over and over.

As Mars stopped, she screeched, and she felt a giant stab in her chest. Mars patted her with a ginger paw sympathetically as she collapsed on the ground. 

[Meow,] she groaned. "Why didn't I warn you? You might not have gone through it if I had. But it's all over now, and you can go see your kittens as much as you want!" He laughed guiltily.

She slowly got up and swiped angrily before darting off. She became transparent and disappeared through the door.

The ginger waited a while, but she didn't return. Mars sighed but accepted that he wouldn't get a thank-you. He got up and trudged off. It was time to go back anyway. 

He landed safely in their backyard with ease and bounded to the window, only to find it locked. He scratched the window.

"Nathan! Let me in this instant!" he shouted. Nathan's figure appeared, and he grinned. "Sorry," he smirked, "but we don't allow stray animals in here. 

I like to keep my house clean." He then disappeared, leaving a furious Mars outside. "You bastard!" he yelled as he thumped against the glass but was ignored.