Blogging Mindfully

The fluorescent lighting flickered curiously as a portal suddenly materialized like a zipper opening to peel back the protesting particles hanging in the air minding their own business and letting in the gentle breeze from another dimension waft into the drab hospital bathroom.

The whiskers of a small creature quietly poked out of it low to the ground and cautiously wiggled for a moment before the rest followed. 

The slim black cat slid gracefully out of the gaping hole in the fabric of reality and surveyed its surroundings with an air of distaste. Padding along the linoleum floor the cat hopped up effortlessly to the sinks, pawing hopefully at a faucet and waiting for the thing to magically spring forth some water. It had been a lengthy voyage and the cat was parched from meowing haughtily all day, or however long it was that time worked down here.

The portal then wobbled and expanded to allow for the next figure to emerge, a hulking mass of feathers adorned in a draping leather jacket of a steampunk fashion. The infamous Captain strode out with the air of one who is wanted by 7 different dimensions yet always finds a way out, known for stealing riches, stifling scientific advancements and swallowing a plethora of vile substances that led to his genetic mutation. In short, he was now a giant chicken. As humiliating as this should have been, it did not seem in the slightest to strip him of his intimidating nature as he stands 7 feet tall dressed in pirate garb with calculating eyes and the cunning mind of the handsome young man he used to be. 

The Captain’s presence impressively commanded the attention of any room he was in, so it was to his vexation that he found himself stumbling and ducking a bit too late after unceremoniously bonking his head against the low ceiling. He readjusted his tricorn hat with a low grunt. Swinging his head around to look toward the impatient cat he lumbered over to turn the tap on for it. With an appreciative purr the cat began to lap the stream.

The portal zipped back up and sealed shut with a hiss leaving a faint shimmering residue in the air as the disoriented particles groggily moved back into their proper places. The Captain noticed that he still crackled with lightning from his inter-dimensional travels, prompting him to forcefully pat down his clothes and blow on his stinging and now singed feathers. He coughed with a throaty sort of clucking sound and sighed heavily. 

Leaning against a nearby stall with such force that the door to it buckled and moaned protesting in agony, the Captain drew out a long roll of parchment paper from his inner coat pocket and unfolded the map. He fumbled with the ancient document trying to smooth it out by pressing it against the stall wall, but his clumsy chicken wings only managed to wrinkle it to a worse state than before. Growling, he knelt with a thud and let the paper fall fluttering to the ground and rolling open of its own volition. He methodically scanned the faded markings and paused at the freshly etched red X. Beneath it was scribbled the name Elizabeth in a sloppy cursive script and below that was carefully marked the name Queenstown Bay Hospital. 

“Looks like we’re close to getting this whole mess sorted, eh Skipper?” grumbled the Captain.

The cat paused to look up courteously yet appearing disinterested. He slowly blinked at the Captain and turned back to the running stream.

The Captain humphed and narrowed his eyes at the X, the name and the hospital. His beak snarled as best as a beak can attempt such a feat and a laugh boomed out of it echoing across the room.

“We’ve got you now, girl. There’s no escaping your fate.”