Measure of the End Chapter 4.5 - A Novella

Instructions

This was a scene I initially planned to include in the comic but I cut it because A) it meant 3 more chapters of content before the apocalypse starts and B) The motivation to draw it was low. However, the worldbuilding on it makes me happy so I decided to write it instead. --Novella-- "Oh, and Yardstick?" Yardstick turned at Meg's words. With a smile, she said, "When the apocalypse starts, you're telling me how you got your name." Before Yardstick knew it she was gone, having vanished over the tall white fence. Despite her shorter legs, she could still jump as high as any other cat. She'd asked him about his name. Considering how important a moment that had been, he rarely thought about it. It was the one time Ed had noticed him, the one hope he had been clinging onto. It should bring him hope, but instead, it only gave him more doubts. Sometimes, the best memories were the hardest. He turned away from Meg's house, coming back the same way he'd come. He'd never gone this far on his own, so he'd been careful to memorize the route as he went. If he got lost just a day and a half before the apocalypse started and couldn't get back to Ed in time, Ed would disappear, just like every human who didn't have a cat. And then Yardstick would have nothing left. He couldn't imagine what that would feel like. Losing Ed would feel like losing himself. He crossed a bridge, the cold metal frosting his paws. It was early fall, the time of year when it had just started to get cold, but the trees hadn't begun to fall yet. The smell of the cold air tingled his nose, so he took a careful sniff to savor it. Only the scent wasn't the cold at all. Without warning, the bridge underneath him echoed with a sound that pierced his ears. A bark. "Dog!" he screeched, racing off of the bridge, not daring to look back until he was off. There, he spotted three dogs, standing fully upright, growling at him. Another bark. Yardstick ran. Getting lost was one thing, but getting attacked by dogs was something else entirely. No one knew if the dogs knew about the apocalypse, but regardless, they had gotten more violent in recent months. He wasn't about to be their next victim. He darted into an alleyway, climbing up the boxes littering the street. However, he wasn't fully out of the dogs' reach. They must know this area well, because one was waiting for him at the other end. Yardstick darted back the way he had come, slipping between the paws of his pursuers. He veered left and hid behind a trashcan, hoping the odor would mask his scent. However, it didn't take long before they spotted him, so he ran before they could get too close. Any cat knew that the average medium-large dog could outrun even the fastest cat. He needed to be smart, even if he wasn't good at it. What would Ed do? He'd seen Ed outrun people with flashing blue and red lights in his games before. How would he escape. Instantly, Yardstick knew what to do. He dashed through the door of a human business, completely unnoticed. However, when the dogs tried to follow, the store owner shooed him out. Once he was sure the dogs were gone, he peeked outside of the store window, only to realize he had no clue where he was. He might be out of danger, but Ed still wasn't safe. The sun was setting, and he had little over twenty-four hours to find his way home. "Hello, there." Yardstick turned and looked up. There stood a man, probably between fifty and sixty years old, in a dark brown trenchcoat. His smile was kind: the kind of smile Ed had never given him. "Do you have an owner?" Yardstick didn't have a collar, but he hoped it was clear to anyone that he wasn't a street cat. The man picked him up, got in a car, and started driving. Where was he going? Another unfamiliar place? What about Ed? But was this kind man adopting him? He could smell cat on his coat. He'd never lived with another cat before. Would he like it? No- Ed was his human. He couldn't be tempted by anything else. (continued below)