Tag: OiS1

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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Chip was a harsh task-master.  He kept Kipper lugging crates of shrimp, tanks of crabs, and other sea-farmed delectables along with trunk after trunk of passenger luggage until her agile cat-spine ached.  Cats weren’t built for hard work, and this work was back-breaking. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 7: Kipper Rides the Elevator”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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The next few days were a blur of countries outside Kipper’s window.

Guatemala became El Salvador and then Honduras.  The terrain grew mountainous, green, and jungly.  Wild rainforests alternated with farmland, growing sugarcane and coffee beans.  Kipper slept through Nicaragua and most of Costa Rica, but she took the wheel through all of Panama and down into Colombia.  South America at last! Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 6: Kipper in Ecuador”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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The guard flicked his ears in the chill desert air.  Mornings were cold, but it would be hot when the sun got overhead and started beating down.  During the day, it was no place for the thick, full mane of a rough Collie; but, right now, it was a bit nippy for a smooth one.  The guard dog scratched the barrel of his rifle against his chin.  A car was coming. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 5: Kipper in Mexico”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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After a quick sweep of the alleys surrounding the bar, Kipper thankfully concluded that Petra wasn’t lying, bleeding to death in any of them.  Though, even with a big black dog tailing her, watching her back, Kipper still felt like jumping at every shadow.  And her heart stopped when she saw a crumpled bag beside some trash bins — in the dark, it could have been her sister.  But Trudith was very reassuring and convinced Kipper that if anything had happened to Petra — if thugs had dragged her out of the bar or caught up with her outside — she would still be pretty close.  Close enough that they would have found her. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 4: Kipper Flees to Mexico”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or skip ahead.

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After Kipper finished her exciting day of balancing accounts, and Petra finished her last-minute canvassing of the water-cooler dogs, the two sisters headed down to their favorite hangout, deep in the heart of Old Town.  The bus ride between Luna Tech and All Cats Go To Hell was short and, unlike that morning, uneventful.  The walk from the bus stop to the bar’s front door, however, always made Kipper a little nervous.  And tonight she was extra jumpy, seeing shadows everywhere. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 3: Kipper Gets in a Fight”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, or skip ahead to the next chapter.

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Three blocks through the alleys was farther than the Chow cared to follow Kipper throwing bottles.  So, Kipper was able to emerge onto the main street and limp the last two blocks to Luna Tech.  She wasn’t bleeding, but her paw pads were filled with slivers.  Before entering the Luna Tech lobby, Kipper leaned against the outside of the building and took a moment to carefully dig the glass shards out of her paws.  As she was working, Petra came around the block and sauntered over to stand beside her injured sister. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 2: Kipper Makes a Discovery”

by Mary E. Lowd

An excerpt from Otters In Space: The Search for Cat Haven.  If you’d prefer to read in e-book or paperback form, learn more here.  Or if you want, skip ahead to the next chapter.

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The bus stop sign and shelter were in front of a giant, white church.  The Church of the First Race was an historical building, preserved from the time when humans still walked the Earth.  It dwarfed the taller but smaller-scale high-rises around it.  It was the oldest building in New LA.  Kipper had been inside once and sat on the monstrous pews, but, like most cats, she didn’t feel comfortable with First Race doctrine.  It was a dog religion — they preached that humans, the First Race, had left Earth as emissaries to the stars and would return to bring all the peoples of Earth into a confederation of interstellar sentience.  Someday. Continue reading “Otters In Space – Chapter 1: Kipper in a Dog’s World”