Something’s inside it. Scratching. Trying to get out.

Oh, fuck.

I glance up and down the road where I’m standing, and there’s absolutely nothing out here. No houses or stores. It’s just a road going up the mountain with nothing but woods on both sides for miles.

Kneeling down, I pull my knife out of my belt clip and carefully slice along the tape, not sure what the hell I’m going to find in this box, bracing myself for the worst.

A tiny paw shoves through the small space I’ve cut open, and I quickly cut the rest of the tape as a small gray furry head pokes out. At first I think it’s a squirrel, but it’s a goddamn kitten.

“Shit,” I swear under my breath, gently taking the tiny ball of fur out of the box and cradling it in my hand. It looks to be about six weeks old and is all blue gray with a tiny white spot on its chest. As I stare at it, it begins to mew in my face at the top of its little lungs.

“Shh…I got ya little one,” I say softly, gently rubbing its head. It purrs loudly in response, rubbing its fuzzy head into my palm. I check its body over for any injuries, but it seems fine from what I can see. Other than being taped into a box and thrown onto the side of a desolate road like garbage to die a horrible death. I check the box again, but there’s nothing inside and no markings on the outside. Some asshole just taped a kitten into an empty box and left it to die.

Days like this, I hate the fucking world. I could easily choke the shit out of the person that did this, leave their ass on the side of the road, and feel no remorse whatsoever. In fact, I’d probably enjoy it.

I snap a few pictures of the box and the surrounding area before I carry the kitten back to my bike and pour a tiny bit of water from my thermos into my palm, which the kitten laps up quickly.

“Dude, you have no idea how lucky you are,” I say to it, rubbing its itty bitty ears that are like tiny velvet triangles. “What are the odds someone like me would find you out here in the middle of friggin’ nowhere?”

My mom has said a hundred times, sometimes God puts the right people in the right place for a reason. I’m not a religious person, but right now, I’m thinking she’s right.

Unfortunately, my options for getting this kitten home safely are limited. My cell has no reception, so I can’t even call one of my brothers to come meet me in a car. I sure as hell can’t zip it up into one of my saddle bags because I’m pretty sure the roar of my pipes so close will give it a heart attack. I can’t stick it back in that box and try to hold it for another two hundred miles.

“Fuck it. You better be cool, kitten,” I say, as I tuck it against my chest and zip my leather jacket up. “Don’t go all Freddy Krueger on me and get us killed, deal?”

I kiss the top of its head before I zip my jacket up a few more inches. This is probably not the best plan I’ve ever had but I have no idea how else I can get this poor thing home. Hopefully it won’t scratch the shit out of me.

I start up the bike and get back on the road slowly, letting the fur ball cuddled up against my chest adjust to the noise and movement and hoping it doesn’t freak the hell out. After a few seconds, I can feel it purring up against me, vibrating against my heart. So far, so good.

We head for home, stopping once at a gas station so I can fill up my tank. I slowly unzip my jacket a few inches to check the kitten, and it pokes its head out and rubs against the stubble on my chin, still purring.

“You think you’re a biker cat now? Don’t get any ideas. This is a one-time ride, kitten.” I can’t believe it’s not scared out of its skull after enduring the rumble of my engine, but it seems pretty content just hanging out inside my jacket, which I guess is better than being taped up in a box. I tuck him back in and hop back on my bike to get this last stretch of miles over with.

As I cruise down the road, I wish Kenzi was with me. She would love this kitten. I can almost see her face if she had been with me when I found it. She would have cried and ground her teeth in anger, and she’d probably have it named by now and would be begging me to talk Asher into letting her keep it.