Toby's New Best Friend

Toby's tiny fist twisted at the handle, working back and forth until the quarter slid through and the clear plastic ball dropped into the chute. His grin flashed and he scooped it up without opening it. His mother waited in the store foyer, tapping her thigh with her keys. If he took any longer, he'd be in trouble.

"Get anything good?" She took his sweaty hand as they crossed the parking lot. The sunlight broke over them in waves, and glinted off the painted lines on the asphalt.

"Dunno," he said. He shook the plastic ball, trying to see inside.

# # #

At home, Toby pounded up the stairs to his room and shut the door. Cupped in his hands, the plastic ball rattled as he bounced. He climbed up on his bunk bed and pried the ball open at the seam, and Toby's prize fell out onto his rocket ship bedspread.

Hm.

He examined it without touching, and then carefully edged closer, his eyes wide and a little crossed. It was tiny. He'd seen one before -- lots of them, actually - but not like this. Toby held his breath and poked it with his finger. The blood had dried into the fissures, and the roots had shriveled, dried. This wasn't fresh.

It's a tooth. Weird.

Then, as he watched, it twitched, and Toby knew what he had to do.

# # #

A few days later, Toby crouched in the shade beside his house. He tugged on a line of string extending to the dirt under the bushes along the street curb. Tied to the end was a chicken bone he dug out of the trash. A small cat enjoying the shade had noticed, and was slowly inching toward the redolent bone, its ears forward. Toby snickered and pulled the string a few inches. Not too fast, he reminded himself. The tabby crept to keep up, eyes locked on its target.

A few inches at a time, and finally, the cat was right at the edge of Toby's house. He stopped tugging, and let the cat latch onto its prize. As it clasped the bone between its front paws, purring and gnawing away, Toby slowly lifted a large rock. With both hands, he tossed it on top of the feline, pinning it with a muffled crunch. It thrashed, tail whipping about as it yowled and hissed, its green eyes furious. Toby only watched for a moment, then jumped onto the rock himself, silencing the cat's fight to free itself.

After he was sure it wouldn't wake up, Toby lifted the rock and peered underneath. Its fur was matted, torn in one spot, and the head was cocked at an unnatural angle. Blood had pooled in the dip in its spine, where the rock had broken through. Toby smiled, and petted one of the front paws.

He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the tooth. He pried open the cat's jaws, pushing its tongue aside, and jammed the tooth into its flesh, root side down. Toby sat back on his heels and waited. He was thirsty, and needed to pee, but if he moved it wouldn't work. Very important, the tooth had told him.

The day ticked by, shadows shifting to slant behind the trees, leaving Toby and the cat in the quick-cooling dim light. As the crickets began their summer evening song, Toby's mother called to him from the back patio.

"Toby, dinner."

He didn't take his eyes off the sunken corpse. "Almost done, Mom."

"A few minutes, all right?"

He willed it to work, glaring at the cat, wishing as hard as he could. Then, it happened. Toby almost wasn't sure, but when he heard the voice he knew.

Good work, Tobias. You have done well. We have many adventures ahead of us. The cat lifted its head, its green eyes glowing in the dusk. Oh, yes. Many fun adventures!

He had a new best friend. Toby giggled and stroked the raised head, his hand coming away bloody.