As the late summer heat begins to fade into fall, the temperatures drop, indicating the coming of winter. After feeling that first cold night, Marvin realized that his favorite food source was about to disappear. He started stashing his treats wherever he could find space. Underground, between rocks, in the knots of trees. He didn’t have much competition as the crafty cat from across the tree line had been scaring off his fellow hoarders.

After many weeks of work, Marvin felt confident in his winter stashes and was pleasantly surprised that there was still lots of foliage left on the trees, indicating he had more than enough time before the first freeze. Upon this realization, he got curious about trying other options for food. “I’ve got the time, why not go explore the ground some more.” Spending many hours planning out his path on the grass below, Marvin had surmised that there was plenty of food below, and that he would not need to dig into any of his winter stashes for a snack that morning.

Running straight down the trunk to his first stop, the large bushes next to the fountain, he found some rather large beetles, but they managed to escape into the ground before he could get his paws around them. Moving onto the open grass, Marvin hopped by one of his stashes, toward a large black blob that glistened in the sun like a pool of water. He was heading towards a patch of mint when he saw the glowing eyes of the enemy in the bushes behind him. Marvin did not have enough time to make it to the closest tree so he bolted for the only cover in sight.

Underneath the black beast, he could only find one small crevice to wriggle into. Barely escaping, the cat swiped at his bushy tail as he found his freedom in the close quarters of the cold machine. He could hear the cat lingering outside and could tell it did not intend to leave him there unguarded. Noticing his situation, Marvin surmised that if he was to be here for some time, he would need to find a snack, and possibly another way out.

Looking around, Marvin realized that he did not have many options. The space he occupied was dark and cramped.  There wasn’t much space to move around in, and he only had one place that looked like a possible option. The wall above him smelled strange and unfamiliar, but it looked like it may be thin enough for him to break through. He started gnawing on a corner with his teeth and found that the wall seemed to be made of something much thicker than the walnut husks he was used to, but it did bend if he bit hard enough. As he slowly chewed through the wall, the smell got stronger. It was a pungent odor that burned his nostrils and almost made his eyes water. When he thought he was getting close to breaking through, he decided to poke his head out and see if the cat was still lurking outside.

Wriggling and contorting his limbs around the small space, Marvin managed to turn around and get a good look at the surrounding area. Almost immediately a paw came out of nowhere, swiping by his face and taking a few of his whiskers with it. He jerked his head back into the space, whacking it on the metal wall above creating a hollow ping that seemed to ripple through the surrounding space. Slightly stunned and stricken by fear, Marvin decided that up through the tank was his only option. After re positioning himself again, he began work on the wall. After a few more minutes of teeth gnawing drudgery, he made the final incision and got a hole through. “Success!” He thought. But almost immediately upon biting down, he was covered by the source of the smell. A dark oily liquid that burned his face and covered his body in mere seconds.

Marvin had no desire to stay where he was, drenched in this foul liquid and cramped against the cold walls of the metal monster. He decided that he would rather make a break for the nearest tree and take his chances against the predator. Jumping free of the beast, he landed in a puddle of the pooling liquid only to see the cat taken aback by the foul odor and burn of the dark liquid against its paws. Not wasting time, Marvin high tailed it to the closest tree, through the fence, and past the barking dog that had been trying to get the cat through the gate.

Safe in the high branches of the oak tree, Marvin set about cleaning himself off, hoping that the clouds above would bring rain soon.