Fiction: Until Next Month

This month's Words for Wednesday prompts are provided by River at her blog over here. This week's prompts are: olympian, support, tabby cat, mountain, fireplace, clothesline.

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Fiction: Until Next Month
Cody was no olympian god but he had the strength of one. He lifted the end of the station wagon and pulled until its front wheels were on solid ground then he dropped it. Hasty, he pulled the car door open and pressed the driver's neck. Assured that there was a pulse, he took out his phone and called for an ambulance. After he tucked the phone away, he looked around. It was nearly dawn and the sky was still dark. He veered his eyes toward the water. If he had been one second later, the car would have gone into the lake and he would have to swim. Cody hated swimming especially in winter.
    A giggle sounded. Cody bended to peek in the backseat. The toddler was grinning with drool down his chin. Cody waved at the boy. The boy waved his pacifier. Cody heard a moan and peered at the driver. He opened his eyes and started to speak but no words came out. 
    "Hey, what are you doing?"
    He didn't turn to see who spoke. Instead, Cody ran. Explaining his presence never resulted in anything good. Plus he looked a bit homeless with his tangled beard, hairy eyebrows, cap and winter coat that were none too clean-looking.
    A while later, when he was near his neighborhood, he slowed down. At an alleyway, he stopped and leaned against the wall for support. His legs were like jelly. Slowly, he slid down and sat on the ground. His heart was quaking away.
    A meow made him looked around. An orange tabby cat sat on the cover of a trash bin. Weak morning light fell exactly where she sat. She yawned almost as if she was bored. It was she who scratched him and made him angry enough to come. But he wasn't mad, he was just mildly enraged. Sometimes he didn't know where to place his anger aside from using it to help people like a superhero except he didn't like superheroes. Besides that, he was old. But forty wasn't old, not to Tabby who admitted to being a little over 50 and that was in cat years. The first day the cat appeared on his windowsill, she said to call her Tabby which made him laughed. That was the ingenuity of a cat who spoke as if she had a couple of PhDs and maybe a few years as a pompous professor. 
    Today was rare. He will never do it again no matter what the damn cat says. But as he let his male form slipped away to her female form, she thought it wasn't too bad. She pulled the cap off her pile of black curls and fanned her face. Such a good disguise but Cody didn't like using it too often. Male Cody was rather heavy, like she was wearing a coat with too much bulk and yet, sometimes she was too comfortable being him that she forgot she wasn't him. 
    Tabby meowed and Cody scoffed. The creature could speak like a human. Why did she bother to pretend to be a cat? Cody knew Tabby for three months but she still didn't quite know what Tabby was. A cat, yes but more which she refused to specify. Something about keeping the universe in balance and that it was better Cody didn't know. She still didn't understand why she was taking orders from a cat. It was as if Cody had no will to say no and yet, Tabby never made Cody do anything Cody wouldn't do. Tabby's only rule was, Cody must never kill. Death, Tabby said, causes a lot of imbalance and it is best Cody follow the rule.
    Cody studied the mountain in front of her - an advertisement for lemon tea. She imagined being at home and sitting in front of the lit fireplace and drinking hot tea with lemon, perfect for this winter morning. Cold wind blew over her and she put the cap back on. If only Mrs. Roman would allow Cody to use the fireplace or the livingroom.
    Somewhere an alarm clock beeped. Cody covered a yawn. Above her, the sky was a pale blue but it was blocked by the clothesline with two white shirts and a towel. Why was her nerves getting to her? And Male Cody's clothes - she tightened the belt so her pants wouldn't fall off. Cody's five-feet-five-inches frame barely filled Male Cody's six-feet-six-inches clothes. It was a shame she had no flair for resizing clothes. Much of her abilities such as her strength, speed and talent for changing forms, seemed to be random but as her granny used to say, random isn't all crap. 
    She stood up to make her way home. Passing an old man carrying a large crate on his shoulder, she gave the crate a lift until the crate was in the back of his van. She ran off before the man could say anything. 
    As she walked, she could hear Tabby's soft padding steps behind her. Cats are always so calming she thought but then again, this cat was extra serene and Cody didn't like it. She turned a corner and then another. This day was rare and she will never do it again. Not until next month.