All Chapters of Turns Out Cats Are Endgame: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

[24-hour countdown to the apocalypse. Pets will transform into guardians. Three per person.]The second the notification dropped, the world lost its mind.Spoiled pets got dumped on the street overnight. Dogs people used to cross the road to avoid? Suddenly sold out.My girlfriend showed up the minute she heard.She shoved my three sleeping cats into a carrier, yanked the window open, ready to toss them.I jumped in front of her. "Bella, what are you doing? I raised them."She snapped. "Did you not hear it? Twenty-four hours. You're betting your life on a blind cat and a lame one?"I blocked the window. Didn't move.When that didn't work, she switched it up. "Jaime, be smart. Kill these pieces of trash. That's six slots between us. We load up on real beasts. We'll be safe.""No." I held her stare. "Who says they can't protect me? Bubba isn't lame. Missy isn't blind. They're good cats. Touch them and we're done."She looked at me like I'd lost it.She slammed the carrier down

Chapter 2

I crashed right after. Eat. Sleep. Sleep. Eat. Even in my dreams, everything smelled like food.Didn't last.At dawn, frantic scratching ripped me awake.I opened the door.Bubba and Missy were sitting there.Bubba had a fish in his mouth. Missy pinned a bird under her paw.They didn't move, staring up at me with those watery eyes. Quiet. Waiting.The second they saw me, they pushed their catch into my hands.The wall I'd built overnight cracked.But I remembered those starving days and forced it down."No. I can't afford you. Don't come back."I shut the door. Everything went quiet.Then I stood on my toes and peeked through the peephole like a total creep, tears streaming.Day one—they chose not to eat.Day two—still starving.Day three—same.They got thinner every day. I played cold. Inside, it burned.A week later, Bubba couldn't hold it anymore. He threw up bile right in front of me.That broke me.I yanked the door open."Get in."I gave in.Guess I was born

Chapter 3

Through all that noise, the three cats never woke up. Lately, they'd been sleeping more and more.My one-bedroom was crammed with supplies. I was drenched, legs shaking, ready to drop.Didn't matter. No time to crash.I hit the hardware store, bought steel plates, and reinforced every door and window. When the zombies showed up, I'd at least buy myself a little time.When I finally finished, I sank to the floor, eyes half-shut.The lock clicked.My landlord, Alan, stormed in with a crew behind him."Leave the stuff. Get out. I'm not renting to you anymore."***My heart slammed. I glared at him. "On what grounds?"Alan swaggered, twirling the stick in his hand. "Because it's my apartment. I do whatever I want."His guys slammed me to the floor. I couldn't move.I watched them haul out my supplies. Then I watched them set up a custom fish tank in my living room.No clue how Alan pulled it off, but he'd gotten crocodiles.Wires cinched their jaws shut. Their exposed teeth s

Chapter 4

It was the first time I'd ever seen Bubba open his eyes.Those empty black sockets burned gold.Curled in my arms like he was still napping, he lazily lifted his head and looked at the three Caucasian Shepherds.Their jaws were inches from my face. Drool even splashed onto my forehead.I braced for pain.It never came.The dogs stopped.Frozen. Staring into Bubba's glowing eyes like they were hypnotized.Then, like something snapped, they scrambled back.These Shepherds were huge—supposedly part wolf.Now they whimpered, tails tucked, like strays that'd been kicked one too many times.The smallest one shook so hard it leaked yellow onto the pavement.It happened so fast Dylan and Bella just stood there.When Dylan finally snapped out of it, he smacked each dog upside the head."Useless! Get up there! He's just some loser with three cats. What are you scared of? I waste my money on you?"The dogs—usually vicious—crouched at his feet and took the hits. Not one of them step

Chapter 5

Was it just a dream? Did I imagine all of it?Did I seriously think a cat could scare off those massive shepherds?No time to spiral. Thirty minutes left on the countdown.The apocalypse was about to start.***Time was tight. Soon, the virus would spread through the air.Anyone still outside would be the first wave of zombies.I had nowhere else to go. I scooped up the three cats and slipped into the apartment complex security booth.When the countdown started, nobody showed up for work. The guards had stocked up on instant meals.Better yet, there was a full toolbox—hammers, axes, the works.If zombies found me, I wasn't going down without a fight.Seconds crawled. A faint metallic smell drifted through the air.On the cot, the three cats slept like nothing was coming.I checked my watch.5, 4, 3... 2... 1...[Welcome to the Zombie Apocalypse World. The game begins now. All players, do your best to survive.]The mechanical voice rang in my ears.At the same second, t

Chapter 6

The good vibes didn't last.That night, the first scream since the apocalypse ripped through the complex.***I watched the zombies go in. Three of them.I shoved the kittens under the bed and slid in after them, barely breathing.The first-floor residents were dumb enough to light candles and draw a bath. They were the first ones cracked open.One zombie looked like he'd been a beggar—filthy, matted hair, yellowed teeth.Like he hadn't eaten in years, he tore the man's stomach open with his nails and dug in.The other two scaled the walls, dragging people out through windows, ripping into them one by one.Screams tore through the night. The whole complex turned into hell.Then—just like that—Bella's lion dropped from upstairs.At her command, it moved, jaws slick with blood, lunging at the zombies.The infected had just turned. They couldn't handle a beast at full force.One swipe—done. The lion shut it all down in minutes.Silence. Total silence.The residents who'd be

Chapter 7

Bella stepped in front of me, staring down with a cruel smile."Jaime, told you you'd be begging someday. Here's the deal—crawl between my legs, and I'll spare them."The crowd laughed. Bella planted her hands on her hips, waiting.I slowly lifted my head.My eyes tightened."Behind you. Turn around..." My voice shook.***Bella sneered. "You're about to die and you're still pulling tricks—"She never finished.Thick blood splashed across half her face.Bright red flooded her eyes. She wiped at them and shrieked, "Who the hell threw water at me?!"A pale face floated up in front of her, nose twitching like it caught fresh meat."Ahhhh—!"The crowd blew apart.A mutated zombie had slipped in and was ripping through people, biting anything it could reach.Bella grabbed Dylan and bolted for higher ground, blowing the whistle at her chest."Don't panic! Get over here! I've got Caucasian Shepherd Dogs. One zombie's nothing!"At her signal, the biggest Shepherd launched forw

Chapter 8

The screaming outside dragged on for almost half an hour.Then it stopped.When the silence settled in, I slowly lifted my head.Something black rolled to my feet.Bubba stood there, 24-karat gold eyes shining, chin tipped up like he'd just saved the world."Dad, I bit off every zombie head on the block. I'm solid, right?"***Who just talked?"Ahhh—monsters!"Missy calmly licked the blood off her paw. The leg that used to limp looked strong now."Daddy, don't say that. We're your babies."Yeah. They're my kids. Not monsters. Not monsters. It's the system. That's why they can talk.Even ready for it, I still flinched when Bubba spoke again. "We don't belong here."They were from thirty years in the future.The apocalypse had dragged on for decades. Zombies evolved first. Then the guardian pets leveled up after them.Some turned into power types. Some got crazy fast. Others unlocked special abilities.Cats, though?Different tier.They were the only ones who got strong

Chapter 9

"Yeah, just give him the cats! If they can protect you, they can protect everyone. What's so hard about helping people?"A few even reached for me, trying to rip the cats out of my arms."Wow. Okay." I clapped, slow and sharp. "You beg him when you're scared. But when you need me, you'd rather I die. Fine. If that's how you wanna play, don't expect mercy."***"Bubba. Missy. Let's move."I backed up fast, pulled the three cats into the security booth, and slammed the door.While they were busy yelling, a few zombies drifted up behind them.Before the apocalypse, they called me soft for keeping "useless" cats.Not anymore.They think they're so capable? Let them handle it.These zombies were different. They bit with intent—no stopping to feed.Before the lion or the crocodiles could react, over half the crowd was infected.Blood flooded the air, thick and metallic, pulling in more zombies.Alan's crocodiles and Bella's lion got swarmed, throats ripped open.Dylan—already d

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