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Of all the careers DogDay has thought of pursuing through the years, never did he think he would land a job at E.C. Enigma Containment. A job where he studies enigmas of the world and helps to understand them so the scientist could experiment on them safely and optimally.
His first day on the job was a rather unforgettable one.
He walked into the building, a pep in his step. He wore a black dress shirt along with some black slacks and a red tie, as was the dress code. He thought it was nice. Simple.
When he walked in, he was greeted by a baby blue elephant, much taller than him. “You must be DogDay, correct?” He questioned. DogDay nodded. The elephant reached a hand out. “Bubba Bubbaphant. It’s nice to meet you.” He greeted. DogDay smiled. “The pleasures all mine!”
“Now DogDay, as a new employee, a tour is mandatory. I’ll give you that, and then you can start your first shift.” He stated. DogDay nodded, following the elephant as he walked through the halls. There were so many, and in each hall held even more enigmas of the world. Some harmless, some extremely dangerous. It was all fascinating to DogDay. They had to take a few elevator trips for DogDay to be introduced to everyone and every class.
They got to the bottom floor and Bubba handed DogDay a clipboard. Before he could ask what it was for, the elevator door opened and Bubba walked out. He followed all the way to the end of the hall, still slightly confused.
"This one is Subject 1188, or as we call him," Bubba stopped in front of a glass window. The room in front of them was filled with what looked like red fog, moving like it had a mind of its own. There was a barely distinguishable silhouette in the center of the room, back to the doctors. "CatNap."
DogDay tilted his head. A confused look as he furrowed his brows. "CatNap?" He asked in a curious tone as he looked down at his clipboard filled with the names of subjects he would be looking after. Actually, he was assigned to one and one only. CatNap. Bubba looked over to him. "Is there a problem?"
"No...." DogDay shook off the weird feeling he got seeing that he only had one subject when he was told the average was five per doctor. "No, just... that name is.... rather adorable, no?" He asked in response. Bubba sighed. "Don't let the name deceive you. It is down here for a reason just like all of the other dangerous subjects. I know he's your subject now, and I don't mean to scare you off, but I need you to understand the severity of your awareness around it." His voice was stern with a twinge of pity. He glared at the silhouette. "That thing is the most dangerous creature down here."
"Really...." DogDay stared as he watched the Subject #1188's tail start to swish on the floor behind him. What Bubba said registered in his brain slightly late and he glanced back up to the elephant. "Really?"
Bubba nodded. "It gets its name from its typical feline critter appearance. But aside from its appearance, it is incredibly aggressive. It may not seem so at first. It's a predator. It plays with its food because it knows they can't escape it. If it doesn't kill you itself, it's gas will." DogDay scribbles little notes on his clipboard, trying to remember all of the information he's being given. "It emits a red gas from its mouth that when inhaled will almost immediately render the victim unconscious. It brings on incredibly harrowing and terrifying nightmares over days at a time. You will lose sleep, and either succumb to the effects of sleep deprivation... or end it all yourself."
DogDay stopped writing a while ago, just staring at his paper. This is who his subject is? Why could he get five low-risk subjects like the ones from the first floor? Why did he have to get the homicidal demon cat?
"Still think it's a cute name?" Bubba chuckled. DogDay sighed. "...would you believe if I said yes?" He didn't allow Bubba to give him an answer, he started a completely new sentence. "What have we learned about him through experiments?"
Bubba was quiet. He cleared his throat. "We... haven't been able to run any experiments. No one can get close to him, it's too big of a risk that no one is willing to take. For good reason. He's volatile." Bubba sighed. "The best we can do for now is monitor him and make sure he stays somewhat content with his containment. We found that he doesn't require food but he needs water."
"Noted..." DogDay said, making a mental reminder to bring down a bowl of water when he comes back.
Bubba turned. "Follow me. We need to finish the tour so you can start your first night." He started walking back to the elevator. DogDay glanced at where the cat had been sitting. His tail was still moving. He looked down at the clipboard, seeing the notes he wrote all around the subject's name. He started following the elephant. "Right..."
The tour didn’t go on for much longer after that, and in no time he was sent back down the the bottom level, far below ground, to introduce himself to the subject he was assigned to.
He walked up to the button next to the (incredibly reinforced) glass wall and pressed it, turning the microphone on He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for anything."Hello. I am DogDay, you're new personal caretaker." DogDay said into the microphone. From the way the cat's ear twitched when he started speaking, he knew it could hear him. "I was told you are classified as Subject #1188.... but…." DogDay bit his lip. He was told that the instructions were to be cold and not show weakness because it supposedly feeds on weakness.... but every one of the caretakers before him were taken out even while following those directions. Maybe a new approach was needed?
"But I would hate to refer to anyone in my care by number. So, I would like to directly refer to you as CatNap. Is that alright with you?" His voice was stern but soft. The cat turned to the window, a big smile on his face. Though he didn't say yes, he didn't give a negative response either.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Would you mind if I bring a bowl of water into your quarters?” He asked, CatNap, once again, didn’t answer, but his smile didn’t falter, nor did his tail stop moving so DogDay hesitantly went to pick up the gas mask. “Right, again, I’ll take that as a yes.” He stopped in his tracks. “…You may not like being verbal. If you wouldn’t like to talk, you can stop moving your tail when your answer is no and move it when your answer is yes. Is that okay?” He asked. The tail kept moving. He smiled, more confident in going into the holding quarters. “Okay. Thank you.”
He picked up the gas mask and adjusted it over his face, making sure it was correctly positioned. He picked up the bowl of water and took a deep breath. He punched in the numbers that Bubba wrote on his clipboard and the doors slowly opened, red gas leaking into the hallway. he stepped into the room, the door closing behind him. He walked to the other side of the window and placed the bowl down. He noticed it was a one way mirror because he could only see his reflection, as well as CatNap’s. He looked over at CatNap to see the cat had fully turned, staring at him with blank eyes, a singular white dot in the middle of each black void. His smile was as wide as could be, eerily so. DogDay walked back to the door, put the numbers in and walked out.
When he got back to the outside of the window, he didn’t take the mask off. Two minutes. The gas doesn’t completely dissipate into the air until at least two minutes after exposure, so that’s how long he should wait. He looked up to see CatNap was still sitting there. He was confused. He turned his mic back on. “You… can go to your water now.” He announced. The cat started stalking towards the bowl. His movements made DogDay realize just how abnormal this cat was. What was he?
Once he got to the water, he picked the bowl up with one hand and started to drink it. DogDay was surprised by just how tall this cat was when right in front of him. He at least had six inches on DogDay. He did as he was supposed to. He studied it. Not that there was much to study. As enigmatic as the cat was, there was not much to note about its current behavior.
He’d have to dig to get information on this cat.
“How old are you, CatNap?” He asked as a test question. He wanted to see if he could get direct answers out of this creature. Could it speak any human language? If so, could it speak english? He didn’t expect an actual answer to these questions but much to his surprise, the cat’s mouth started moving. “Centuries…” It answered in a husk voice. DogDay’s eyes widened. If there was a voice he was expecting, it wasn’t that.
He composed himself quickly, though. He cleared his throat. He wrote down, “100+ years?” on his clipboard. “Wow. That’s a long time. How have you gone under the radar for so long?” He inquired more. CatNap tilted his head. “How can you report… what has killed you?”
Then genuine curiosity in the cat’s voice sent shivers ricocheting down DogDay’s spine. Was that a genuine question? Is it just teasing him. He looked away from the cat. “Fair point.” He muttered. “What are you, CatNap? Are you really a cat? Are you a higher being? I’m very curious, my friend.”
CatNap tensed. He was completely still. DogDay started to sweat. Had he said something wrong? He didn’t want to bed this cat’s next victim. CatNap’s tail started to move faster. “…friend?” It asked in quiet voice. DogDay smiled. “Of course. If I’m taking care of you, I’ll consider you a friend, like all the people I take care of outside of my professional career.” He answered.
The cat stared at the glass, which to him only showed his reflection. But if he could imagine the dog’s height, knowing where they usually stood during monitoring hours….
He glanced down at DogDay which made the spaniel tense. How does he know where he is? This is a one way mirror. He could only see his reflection. How would he see DogDay? “….” The cat turned and started walking back to the center of the room. “My being is incomprehensible to your brain.”
“Try me.” DogDay blurted out immediately. “I study enigmas of the world for fun. I won’t let you be the one thing I fail to understand.” He continued passionately. He applied to this job for a reason. Figuring out the answers to the unexplainable was what he does best. The cat stalled for a moment before turning around to return to the window.
He let out a deep chuckle. One that made the dog’s skin crawl. “….I’ll humor you, little Critter.” He said as he sat in front of the one way mirror. “I am a being from beyond your plane. In my dimension, I was born a physical representation of natural selection. If you were foolish enough to be lured by my beckoning, you weren’t built to survive in the world.”
DogDay eagerly wrote down this new information down. They finally had something to go off in terms of where he originated from. He hummed in satisfaction, his tail wagging. He was already helping out the organization. This is a good start. At this rate, he’ll get a promotion in no time. “Interdimensional embodiment of natural selection.” He wrote. “So, you’re from a completely different dimension? One where our world is different….” He put his pen to his mouth as he thought. “….and you were created as a natural physical form of natural selection you say? So in a sense, you feed off of naivety…. interesting.”
“I am, as your kind says, an alien.” CatNap stated. He didn’t understand why. Where’s he’s from, alien meant-
He couldn’t even finish his thought. DogDay furrowed his brows. “That’s untrue. An alien is an extraterrestrial being, originating from outside of our world. You are an interdimensional being, from another dimensional plane. Two completely different meanings. Anyone who has said that about is quite uneducated in the matter.” He said quickly. CatNap mentally raised a brow. “…A smart one, aren’t you?”
“I spent my high school years with my nose in a dictionary.” He said with a semi bragging tone. “So, you can travel dimensions at will?” DogDay continued his interrogation. CatNap nodded. DogDay raised a brow. “If that’s so, why have you stayed in containment? Surely you can leave if that’s the case.” Maybe not the best thing to bring to the homicidal cat’s attention, he didn’t think about that until after he said it.
The cat tilted its head. “Why would I do that? This is the most fun I’ve had in a millennium.” He asked. DogDay frowned. “What do you mean?” He pushed for a more clear answer. CatNap laughed darkly. “I get pampered. I don’t have to wander and lure for my meals. Everyone and everything that knows of my existence in this dimension fears me. The other dimensions aren’t nearly as incompetent.”
This was a lie. Well a half lie. He did believe this was the most incompetent dimension by far. He also was enjoying his time here, being the most powerful being in this dimension. He couldn’t leave this dimension, or this facility, whether he liked it or not though. He doesn’t know how he travels dimensions. It just happened, usually when he became threatened. This dimension didn’t have a more threatening enigma though, so he it was safe to say he’d be here a while.
“So this dimension is the easiest for you to exist in.” DogDay summarized the Cat’s words. CatNap shrugged. “You can put it that way if you’d like.”
The dog interrogated the cat for hours. The cat complied and answered every single question with a swaying tail and a smile. DogDay was starting to get tired. He was up all day making sure he had everything for his first shift. He didn’t expect them to have him working a full shift his first day, nor did he expect to have such a high priority subject. He yawned with the microphone still on. CatNap’s ear twitched.
“You’re tired.”
“Maybe… a little bit.” DogDay grumbled out. CatNap stalked ever so slightly closer to the mirror.
“You should come sleep in here.” The cat suggested.
DogDay’s eyes widened. He frowned. “Do you believe I’m an idiot?” He asked bluntly, plain offense in his tone. CatNap cocked his head to the right, looking down to where he guessed DogDay was standing. “It would be the safest option.” He pressed further. DogDay snorted out a laugh, believing the cat was making an attempt at a joke. “Oh yeah? How so?”
“Judging from the slurring in your voice, you wouldn’t last another hour awake and you have what? Three more to go?” His guess was correct. DogDay’s shift ends at six in the morning and it was only three. He continued. “You wouldn’t want to go unconscious out there. What if a subject breaks loose and comes down here? You’ll be out while I have to sit and watch?”
“I thought you said you could leave at anytime you want. If you’re so worried, wouldn’t you be able to fend another subject off for me?” DogDay’s tone was teasing, as if he knew he caught the cat in a lie. CatNap held in a snarl. “You sleeping out there is your choice. If a subject comes and attacks you I can’t intervene. I am the embodiment of natural selection after all.” The cat shrugged, turning away. “But if they break into my quarters, they’re in my territory, meaning they lost the game of life. It is up to you, critter.”
DogDay scoffed, crossing his arms. “Why would I believe that I’m safe around you? How do I know you won’t attack me as soon as I let my guard down?” His inquiries were met with a small gasp feigning offense. “How could I ever do such a thing to my newfound friend? Don’t you trust me?” CatNap made a saddened face and looked away. “….and it gets lonely in here.” The cat was very obviously trying to lure the dog into his space. That’s what a normal critter would think. Something in the dog thought differently, though. Up until now, they couldn’t figure out if the cat could even get the cat to speak to them yet he just spent hours answering DogDay’s intrusive questions.
He slowly reached out and picked up his gas mask.
“Do what the others didn’t.”
He looked up at CatNap. “I’m trusting you.” He stated, as if it was a declaration. CatNap, though DogDay didn’t see it, was completely surprised. He didn’t think the dog was actually dumb enough to come into the cat’s quarters. This dog…
…really was different.
DogDay tiredly punched in the numbers to the secured area and walked in. He quickly set an alarm for three hours on his phone as he walked towards the car, staring at him as if he were crazy. He went and lied against him. “Goodnight, CatNap.” He said, his head against the cat’s arm. Despite the stupidly dangerous situation, how he was risking his life for a theory and strategy based on nothing, he felt the most at peace he has in the longest time. Much farther back in time than he could possibly try to remember. He drifted off to sleep quicker than he would have liked.
CatNap watched as the dog breathed in and then breathed out with a steady slow rhythm and closed eyes. He felt his claws unsheathed. He licked his lips, its had to have been at least a week since his last meal, and dear god was he starving. But as he hovered over the spaniel, only seconds away from attacking, he kept looking at him and realized how the dog had treated him. Not like a subject. Like an equal. An intellectual equal and not just a beast of nature. Added on to that, the dog was adorable with his fluffy tail and comically big ears flopping at his side. He had no business putting himself in danger by working with this occupation. CatNap equated DogDay to a pet. A pet who might just be as smart as him, and treats him like it as well.
His claws retracts. He patted the dog in the head with his tail. He’ll figure something else out to eat later.
“Goodnight, DogDay.”
BONUS !!
DogDay was certain that someone on the cameras would’ve seen him go into CatNap’s contained quarters on whatever cameras were around by the time he got back to work. It’s all he could think about on his way in. That’s why it was no shock when Bubba came up to him as soon as he walked into the facility. Before Bubba could speak, DogDay’s guilty conscience did. “I know I messed up last night, i-it was really dumb, but I have this theory that has no weight to it but seems to-”
“What are talking about?” Bubba questioned with a smile. “You’ve managed to enter in close vicinity of Subject #1188 and you’re still in one piece. Not to mention the abundance of new information we got from just one shift with you on the job.” He turned to walk away. “I just came to convey the praise our higher ups have given you. Whatever your doing, whatever your hypothesis is, it’s working. Keep up the great work.” He walked away, down the hall to their left.
DogDay stood completely shocked and aghast. After what happened last night, the last thing he was expecting was praise, let alone no reprimanding. This, however, only confirmed that he was on the right path. He went to the elevator and pressed the bottom floor, his tail wagging.
“I will understand you, CatNap.”