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file:///E|/Funny%20&%20Weird%20Shit/75%20-%20Stephen%20King%20Books/Stephen%20King%20-%20Pet%20Sematary.htmIt’s not a secret, goddammit! It’s just the cat!But Ellie was right. It stank to high heaven.He took the cat out of her room and carried it downstairs, trying to breathe through his mouth. Therewere worse smells; shit was worse, if you wanted to be perfectly blunt. A month ago they’d had a goroundwith the septic tank, and as Jud had said when he came over to watch Puffer and Sons pump thetank, “That ain’t Chanel Number Five, is it, Louis?” The smell of a gangrenous wound—what oldDoctor Bracermunn at med school had called “hot flesh”—was worse too. Even the smell which camefrom the Civic’s catalytic converter when it had been idling in the garage for a while was worse.But this smell was pretty damn bad. And how had the cat gotten in, anyway? He had put it out earlier,sweeping it out with the broom while all three of them—his people—were upstairs. This was the firsttime he had actually held the cat since the day it had come back, almost a week ago. It lay hotly in hisarms, like a quiescent disease, and Louis wondered, What bolthole did you find, you bastard?He thought suddenly of his dream that other night—Pascow simply passing through the door betweenthe kitchen and the garage.Maybe there was no bolthole. Maybe it had just passed through the door, like a ghost.“Bag that,” he whispered aloud, and his voice was slightly hoarse.Louis became suddenly sure that the cat would begin to struggle in his arms, that it would scratch him.But Church lay totally still, radiating that stupid heat and that dirty stink, looking at Louis’s face as if itcould read the thoughts going on behind Louis’s eyes.He opened the door and tossed the cat out into the garage, maybe a little too hard. “Go on,” he said.“Kill another mouse or something.”Church landed awkwardly, its hindquarters bunching beneath it and momentarily collapsing. It seemedto shoot Louis a look of green, ugly hate. Then it strolled drunkenly off and was gone.Christ, Jud, he thought, but I wish you’d kept your mouth shut. He went to the sink and washed hishands and forearms vigorously, as if scrubbing for an operation. You do it because it gets hold of you. . .you make up reasons. . . they seem like good reasons . . . but mostly you do it because once you’ve beenup there, it’s your place, and you belong to it. . . and you make up the sweetest-smelling reasons in theworld.No, he couldn’t blame Jud. He had gone of his own free will and he couldn’t blame Jud.He turned off the water and began to dry his hands and arms. Suddenly the towel stopped moving and hefile:///E|/Funny%20&%20Weird%20Shit/75%20-%20St...20Books/Stephen%20King%20-%20Pet%20Sematary.htm (140 of 333)7/28/2005 9:21:49 PM
file:///E|/Funny%20&%20Weird%20Shit/75%20-%20Stephen%20King%20Books/Stephen%20King%20-%20Pet%20Sematary.htmstared straight ahead, looking out into the little piece of night framed in the window over the sink.Does that mean it’s my place now? That it’s mine too?No. Not if I don’t want it to be.He slung the towel over the rack and went upstairs.Rachel was in bed, the covers pulled up to her chin, and Gage was tucked in neatly beside her. Shelooked at Louis apologetically. “Would you mind, hon? Just for tonight? I’d feel better having him withme. He’s so hot.”“No,” Louis said. “That’s fine. I’ll pull out the hide-a-bed downstairs.”“You really don’t mind?”“No. It won’t hurt Cage, and it’ll make you feel better.” He paused, then smiled. “You’re going to pickup his virus, though. That comes almost guaranteed. I don’t suppose that changes your mind, does it?”She smiled back and shook her head. “What was Ellie fussing about?”“Church. She wanted me to take Church away.”“Ellie wanted Church taken away? That’s a switch.”“Yeah, it is,” Louis agreed and then added, “She said he smelled bad, and I did think he was a littlefragrant. Maybe he rolled in a pile of someone’s mulch, or something.”“That’s too bad,” Rachel said, rolling over on her side. “I really think Ellie missed Church as much asshe missed you.”“Uh-huh,” Louis said. He bent and kissed her mouth softly. ‘Go to sleep, Rachel.”“I love you, Lou. I’m glad to be home. And I’m sorry about the couch.”“It’s okay,” Louis said, and turned out the light.Downstairs, he stacked the couch cushions, pulled out the hide-a-bed, and tried to prepare himselfmentally for a night of having the rod under the thin mattress dig into the small of his back. The bed wassheeted, at least; he wouldn’t have to make it up from scratch. Louis got two blankets from the top shelfin the front hail closet and spread them on the bed. He began to undress, then paused.file:///E|/Funny%20&%20Weird%20Shit/75%20-%20St...20Books/Stephen%20King%20-%20Pet%20Sematary.htm (141 of 333)7/28/2005 9:21:49 PM
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