Fire Cat

by BlackJack

Stinky was a stray, living wild on the inner city streets, scrounging for food amongst the garbage cans. He was so named because he tended to pick up those odors from the cans he poked through. Sometimes he would be lucky and catch a mouse or rat, but life was very tough for him. He was getting older now, he figured he was about 9 years old, and he was sick of being a stray. But where could he go to find a home? One dark night, he was sleeping in an abandoned shack and a fire broke out, set by transients. Stinky was trapped by the fire, as it blazed white hot at the doorway. But, Fire Station 48 was on the job, and they came racing through the cold night, and took down the flames with their hoses. Stinky crawled out, wet, singed and totally miserable. One of the firemen saw him, and called out. Stinky, in desperate need of a friend, went over to the fireman, and suddenly felt at home. With a warm blanket surrounding him, a bit of oxygen to perk him up, and a friendly voice talking to him, he fell fast asleep in the fireman's arms.

When he awoke, he was surrounded by firemen, and they seemed to be friendly too. Food appeared, fresh water, and a soft bed for him in the fireman's loft, which thankfully had stairs instead of that steel pole to slide down.

As the days passed, Stinky had a trip to the vet for neutering and was pronounced very healthy, and soon he became the official mascot of the firehouse. Amazingly, the firemen had called him Stinky when he first arrived, but as he filled out with proper food, he acquired a new name more befitting his elegant coal black coat: The Black Knight. The firemen called him Knight, and he felt like one, with his important job of keeping the firehouse free from mice and rats.

He took to riding to fires in the firetruck, and his dayglo collar would stand out as he prowled through the rubble of the fires they fought. One stormy night they headed out to a bad fire in the warehouse district. This area was dangerous, with old buildings that were tinder dry, and burning like a torch in the night. Knight went along as usual, and when the fire was out, he began his routine of searching among the ruins. He heard the barely perceptible cries coming from the basement of the burned out shell of the building. These buildings had been abandoned for many years, and not even transients would stay there. Who could be crying in the basement? Knight picked his way through, and finally found a small opening which led to the basement stairs. The basement was old, and had been made of concrete, and water flowed down the stairs as he descended. There, sitting in the corner, huddled up in fear, sat a woman and a baby. Knight realized this was a job for his firemen friends, and went frantically to them, meowing and walking towards the basement. They followed, since he was so persistent, and they were amazed to see the woman and baby. The firemen carried them out, and soon found out their astounding story. The woman had been chased by a killer, and ran into the old building as a last resort. She had found the basement, and hidden there, thinking she would be safe, but the killer had started the fire, and she had been trapped. Knight was her hero!

Back at the firehouse, Knight licked the baby's face clean of soot, and purred and purred. The firemen brought food for the woman and her baby, as they recuperated from their harrowing ordeal. When the woman and baby went home, they never forgot their special heroes. Every day she brought special treats for the firemen and for Knight, and when Knight was presented with a hero's medal for his bravery, he knew he had found his forever home and a forever job at the firehouse.