A wild noise, unlike anything I`ve ever heard before, tears through the air and the man is so startled that he freezes. I could have taken that opportunity to jump into action and run away but I`m startled too. I didn`t expect anything to happen and I can`t move as a white ball of light throws itself onto my lid. The hissing noise is coming from it, I realise. And it`s standing weirdly. It`s holding itself tall, its hair standing on edge.

　　It`s my friend! I took too long to realise but now I can see that it`s the creature from before. It`s the cat who was nice to me and rode home with me!

　　Hope increased, happiness increased.

　　Speed

　　1/10

　　Hope

　　3.7/10

　　Determination

　　6.7/10

　　Happiness

　　7/10

　　Pride

　　4.7/10

　　Battery

　　92%

　　The man recovers finally, his face changing from a mask of shock to irritation and I roll backwards. I`m scared of how the angry man will respond to the cat interrupting his attack. Will he turn his anger on it? I just don`t know. The cat is small and fragile, its body nothing more than bones and fluff. The man is huge. He could easily destroy the cat.

　　I`m terrified as the man stalks towards us again but the cat isn`t. It`s hissing still, the noises vicious and fearless. I almost wish that I could be as brave as the cat but I`m not. I am so scared.

　　"You little shit," the man spits. "How dare you?"

　　I keep backing away, moving as fast as I can but I`m scared of moving too fast and dislodging the cat. It`s not enough, the man catches up with me again. I don`t know what to do. It`s clear that the voice won`t help me and there`s still no one around. I need to protect this cat but I don`t know what I can do!

　　The man moves too quickly. I try to roll out of reach but I`m too slow. His hand shoots out towards the cat, his fist clenched and his face furious. I can`t do anything but watch as he attacks. But the cat is faster, faster than the man and me. I barely even see it move and the man doesn`t have time to react. The cat may be out of reach but its claws aren`t. They rake across his knuckles leaving a trail of red behind.

　　The man stumbles, his expression morphing into shock again.

　　"What the fuck," he mutters, looking down at his hand.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

　　The claws must have gone in deep because blood is already dripping down his fingers. He stares at it in confusion and I`m not sure if he`s surprised that the cat managed to avoid his hit and hurt him or if he`s just surprised that he`s bleeding but I don`t stick around to find out. I surge backwards away from the man again, moving as quickly as I can.

　　I flick between my front and rear-facing cameras, trying to make sure that I avoid as much of the ice as possible whilst still keeping an eye on him. I don`t trust him. I`m scared that, at any moment, he will start to move again. He could run forwards and he`d be on us in an instant.

　　"You are deviating from your destination, please return to your route," the voice tells me.

　　"I know," I shout back. "A man tried to attack me and I`m running away!"

　　I look back at him again, timing it badly and crashing through a mostly frozen pile of snow. He`s not moving but he`s staring at me again. I can`t make out his expression but I`m still scared. He was terrifying. He was going to hurt my friend. I need to protect it, even though it clearly doesn`t need my help. It managed to fight off the man just fine. If anything, it is stonier than me even though it`s made out of fragile bones and flesh and I`m made out of&

　　I don`t know actually. I assume that I`m made out of metal and plastic but I`m not sure. I think I must be but I don`t know. I can`t even ask right now anyway. I`m too busy trying to escape. The map hasn`t updated yet. It keeps telling me to move forwards again, to continue along the road towards the scary man who wants to attack us both but I can`t. I won`t.

　　I come to a turning and look back at the man. He`s looking down at his hand again. I don`t know how long he`s been standing there, unmoving, but it feels simultaneously like no time and yet an eternity. I don`t know what to do but I check my map. If I take this turning, I can get to another main road which loops around to church street. That will get me to my destination.

　　I feel bad though. I can see that the customer keeps checking my location so they must be desperate for my delivery to arrive but I can`t follow the route on the map. I need to take a different path, even if it is longer. I need to do what is right for the cat.

　　Determination increased.

　　Speed

　　1/10

　　Hope

　　3.7/10

　　Determination

　　6.9/10

　　Happiness

　　7/10

　　Pride

　　4.7/10

　　Battery

　　89%

　　My decision is made. I turn, starting down the road as I wait for my map to update. It doesn`t take long. The route changes and I can see that it`s alerted the customer to the delay. They must be disappointed but I can`t do anything about that apart from move as quickly as I can. The cat sits slowly and I speed up slightly. I had been worried about moving too fast and throwing it off of my lid by accident but now I feel better.

　　After a little while, it lies down on me, its head resting on its paws. I like to think that it is resting after the attack but I know it isn`t. Its ears move around too much. They flick often and, when I finally come across people again, it looks up. Its eyes are fixed distrustingly on the people as they walk past, commenting on how cute we are.