Ariana tightened her grip on the steering wheel, looked at Micaela through the rearview mirror and said in a reassuring tone:
-Mr. Nilson, you will be safe and sound.
Micaela’s fists clenched, she also wanted to be safe, she had not loved Carlos enough, she had not honored her mother enough, she had not given more love to Mike….
It was a while before Micaela could barely suppress her anguish and instructed Ariana to go first to the hospital and the guardhouse.
All the places that could take these people were full and they kept them incommunicado for fear that they would attack each other.
Micaela watched them with bloodshot eyes and drooling mouths, pouncing with their teeth and claws when they saw someone approaching, even gnawing on the bars, and it gave her a pang….
This is how many families are part of a family where everyone was healthy and well, but now they have no sanity and know no one….
There is no medication available to control the disease and what to do if it continues to progress….
After talking to the person in charge and explaining what she should and should not do, Micaela left the guard force and set out on her way back to the Council House.
When she reached her destination, Micaela saw through the car window that the doors of the Council House were closed and that the outside was crowded with people, bustling….
With no time to worry about how the Council House doors were closed, Micaela was overcome with worry about how so many people could gather in such a situation, in case there was someone inside who had been bitten by a cat.
Micaela hurried out of the car before it stopped. The men saw Micaela and immediately ran to her, each with a very angry expression on their faces.
What’s going on…
The men rushed at Micaela, glaring at her with hostility on their muzzles:
-It’s all your fault and your husband’s fault for making a good salamona look like this!
-That’s right, we used to live at least 45 years in peace, even though most men only live 45 years! But after you two showed up, such terrible things really broke out!
-Your choices are to blame, we changed the diet and made the family cat mutate and bite my son, he’s 18 years old! Give me back my son’s life.
-It’s all your fault and Carlos’ fault!
-Turn Carlos in, he’s responsible for this!
Micaela took a startled step back and shook her head hard as she looked at each of them with wide eyes and wanting to eat them alive….
-No, it isn’t…
As she stepped back, the men advanced and surrounded her.
-That’s it! Why don’t the cats become like that sooner or later, just after all sorts of measures have been applied?
-You are the ones who have destroyed countless families and all of Salamonsa!
-You don’t deserve to be Lord Nilson of Echave City!
-It’s time for the two couples to be bitten by the cat!
Micaela’s eyes were filled with disbelief as she saw that those people who had said that Carlos was the hero of Salamonsa, now saw her and Carlos as villains….
Ariana called security and quickly moved the men out of her way as she grabbed Micaela’s hand and led her away from the scene….
Micaela was led away in a trance, hearing a raucous shouting behind her….
Sitting in her office, Micaela was unable to calm down for a long time….
Is it really due to these initiatives that Salamonsa is in this situation?
Did they change her diet at the same time as her pets, and that’s why the cat suddenly became like this?
The other staff members of the Council House came out to calm the crowd, I don’t know if they were convinced or not, but they all went behind?
Micaela’s mind was a whirlwind, looking at the statistics, the number of cat bites and infected human bites was on the rise, and professional “cat exterminators” had been organized in every city, killing cats on sight and collecting them from every home, euthanizing them to get rid of the problem.
The other Council officials have repeatedly suggested to her that Echave City also organize an “extermination team,” but she has temporarily suppressed it….
It is true that sick cats are a danger to human safety and there is nothing wrong with putting them down, but it is cruel to put them all down, no matter how good or bad they are. Many people care for their domestic cats as if they were their own children and it is unacceptable to put them down in such a reckless manner….
The cat is also a good friend of humans, it is also originally very docile, it is sick, it becomes so, can not easily give up all the cat ….
The day went on somehow, and it got dark before they got home. Yerma was relieved to see that Micaela had returned safely and was a little perplexed to see Ariana come in with a small suitcase.
Micaela explained:
-Mom, Ariana has been staying at our house lately.
Yerma nodded knowingly and led Ariana upstairs to prepare a room for her.
The phone in Micaela’s pocket rang, a video call from Carlos, and thinking to go upstairs to change, she picked up the phone as she went upstairs.
Carlos’ handsome face appeared on the screen, surrounded by lights, as he sat, with a sleeping Mike in his arms, in what appeared to be the airport.
Micaela was distraught.
-Carlos, there’s no need to rush, you’ll find a hotel for the night….
Carlos stared at her, with eyes full of tender tenderness.
-It’s all right, I’m not tired and I want to come back to you soon.
Micaela was saddened and felt like crying at the thought of what was happening to Salamonsa now that she herself had been bitten by a cat and did not know when it was going to attack. She left the phone on the bed, took off the jacket she was wearing and hung it on the hanger, and took a moment to compose herself before picking up the phone.
Carlos was waiting for her, and when he saw her without her jacket and with the white sweater she was wearing underneath tighter, his eyes instantly warmed and he lowered his voice.
-Girl, you’re tempting me.
Micaela was in no mood to blush and bit her lip, deciding to let him know first what was happening from Salamonsa’s side.
-Carlos, Salamonsa’s water, the plants in the soil, the fruits in the air, the vegetables, the meat, all are responsible for poisoning people with heavy metals, right? And the animals? Like cats and dogs, do they also get poisoned with heavy metals when they are in such an environment?
Carlos frowned a little, the girl’s expression was unnatural, there was a slight uneasiness in her gaze, and then, without warning, her big, clear eyes suddenly clouded a little, and Carlos was about to speak when she hung up the phone again and walked away….
-Micaela?
On the phone screen, Carlos sat upright and turned up the volume….
The sound of an open window echoed in the room, followed by a muffled cat cry….
Cat calling…
Carlos’ heart skipped a beat, remembering with a jolt that on his last visit to Salamonsa, Nilson had approached and escorted him out himself, and at the front door he had heard cat screams, followed by two cats running quickly….
Diego appeared on the screen and Carlos stood up, hugged Mike to himself and called her even louder with his phone:
-Micaela, Micaela!
The room was silent, except for the vague screams of the cats….
What’s wrong? Girls never ignore him just like that all of a sudden?
Besides, the look in her eyes just now, was so strange….
-And the animals? Like cats and dogs, do they get heavy metal poisoning?
The girl’s question only echoed in his head as intermittent cat calls came from the phone….
Carlos’ heart raced with growing restlessness, he called twice more without getting an answer and hung up the phone, not long after, the screen lit up and the three words Carlos appeared on the screen, the phone ringing echoed in the silent room….
Yerma, who had settled Ariana, stepped outside and, seeing the door to her daughter’s room hidden, the light from inside shining through the crack and the ringing of her cell phone, she pushed it open and asked:
-Moya, why aren’t you answering your phone…?
Then there was an abrupt pause, and the sight that made her liver and guts split: the
Her Moya, opening the dormer window, sat on the tiny sill with her feet stretched out, the night breeze whipping her long hair….
-Moya, Moya, what are you doing?
Yerma’s legs shook instantly and Ariana, who then entered, saw the scene taking place inside and immediately ran to hold her, but Micaela jumped up with both hands…