Chapter 4:
My New Pet
Alright. So, where did we leave off? Oh, that's right. I'm being held down by a freaking LION. It looked like a Mountain Lion, one of those Cougars or related really closely to it, from the corner of my eye. Though, it was quite large, and by quite large, I mean a thousand feet tall and weighing at a billion pounds. Which, in reality, is four feet tall from the ground to shoulders and probably a ton, like a horse, a small, feral horse.
So, I stayed underneath the lion as it looked at me with it's lip curled in a very scary looking scowl of a growl as the sound it made reverberated through my chest and into the ground below me, creating a small, thunderous roar. I would have shit my pants by now, but I've been through worse. I had to keep moving though, if I stopped, I would start to think and . . .
No, I couldn't think of it, not yet, not until I got to Alan. I pulled in a harsh breath. One. I let out the breath, moved my hands along the rough ground of dirt and rocks, so packed, so hard, this wouldn't help in my case.
Two. I pulled in another breath and closed my eyes shut tight, clenching my teeth as the lion's hot breath brushed against the back of my neck, enveloping me in the smell of flesh and wet pennies, of blood.
Three. With a grunt, I shoved off the ground and knocked the hundred-million pound lion off of my back as it growled and snapped it's teeth inches away from my spine. I snarled in pain as it's claws swiped at the back of my legs and got the edge of my calf slicing open my jeans and a little of my skin. I felt warmth and a wet liquid slide down my leg. Blood.
As I dived away and rolled, I heard it behind me give a snarl and heart it's feet leave the ground in a whisper of fur and dust and dirt fly away as it pounced. I turned just in time to see it's claws outstretched and elongated in to deadly weapons.
Spit flew from it's mouth as it was widened, ready to tear flesh and lacerate and consume anything in its way, consume me. It's massive muscles were rippling as it was poised mid-air, flexing and un-coiling in a vicious way.
It was as if everything froze in time as it was lunging. Eyes locked and focused on my eyes as we were locked in a battle of will and strength. We connected. There was a sense of wisdom deep in those eyes and anger and fear and venomous fury that was unleashed in those Lion's eyes, so focused on mine.
I felt my muscles coil as time slowly sped up again, my fists clench in a white knuckled grip as my legs bent in closely, my back hunching up and my spine stiffening as I was crouched on the ground. I felt my teeth grind together as my jaw flexed and clenched. I felt a burning in my eyes as a ringing in my ears started.
I felt power ripple through me, such power, that I opened my mouth and a sound so horrific ripped through my throat and roared around me, splitting my ears and slashing open my heart and soul and tearing and lacerating my very being from the inside out. And then, I collapsed.
I awoke to the sound of a loud engine, like thunder clapping and roaring repeatedly. It was loud and echoed around me. My eyes were closed, though I could tell it was night time since I last passed out. It felt like two in the morning, though I wasn't sure. It was cold, it always got cold at night time out here in the desert, though, not could enough to where you could feel it. It was still warm, don't get me wrong, this was Las Vegas.
Though, I felt a lot of warmth being generated to my right, I was laying on my belly face down on the dirt ground, by the way. My face was averted left, and the warmth being generated like a heater was coming from my right, I could only feel the heat through my clothes, and the noise was coming from there as well.
Metal from a car? Engine roaring? Please God, let them be alive and not think I am a zombie. My dark hair fell into my obsidian dark orbs of eyes, obstructing my view of the slanted ground of dirt and rocks around me. Talk about vertigo.
My thin black tank top felt shredded, and my jeans felt like bits of cloth just barely hanging on to my flesh, of which felt shredded as well. I sucked in a silent breath and felt like my throat had been ripped apart, my voice box absolutely broken and in shambles. My throat was raw, and my insides felt dark, empty.
I huffed out a breath and turned my head slowly. And I came face to face with the mountain lion. The lion looked at me with the most golden eyes I have ever seen, they looked at me with wisdom and calm reassurance. They gazed back, like shining bright stars of light, flecks of silver like ice chips dotted here and there in those bright eyes. They glowed and shined like nothing has ever before. In those depths of stars, I saw loneliness, I saw appreciation and intrigue and I saw happiness. Hope. Love. Courage. Strength.
I saw myself in those eyes. And that scared me. And I realized, there was no car around, nor engine or people. That was purring, and it was the giant cat in front of me that was making that noise. The heat was coming from the lion. And it was laying down next to me, watching me with those perceptive glowing golden eyes while resting it's head on it's front paws, just watching, purring.
I sat up, brushing my hair back with my right hand and propping myself up with my left, and the lion came to sit up with me as well, eyes still locked with mine. Its purring slowed down and it was a dull and not as loud as before, but still pretty loud.
I kept my eyes locked with the lion as I spoke, "Can you understand me?" Its purr came back in full force as it ducked it's head and gently grabbed my left hand in it's massive teeth, throwing it up in the air and started to pet itself as it let go and ducked it's head under my palm. The lion's fur was soft and warm, it felt like the softest of silk and the heat radiating off of a fire. Inviting, comforting, familiar and like home, somehow.
It rubbed it's head under my hand, it's ears pushed back onto it's head in pleasure as it purred whole-heartedly. It was a happy sound, and it's touch full of gentle care and love. I felt my maternal instinct kick in, felt my heart reach out, my whole being pulsate and shove through my chest as I scooted closer and reach out both hands to caress the lion. Somehow, I knew it was male, I knew it was a dominant, and I absolutely knew I had to take care of him.
And I don't know how, or when this started happening, but we were connected, and we understood each other.
What was wrong with me?
A little while later, we we're walking, together, side by side; Lion and Woman. I never consider myself a girl, always more mature than I look. And the strange thing was, it felt natural, complete. Don't ask me how this is, but, it was just as if the world was meant to be like this.
Since my nap, I had discovered that the scratch the lion had given me earlier, was not there, sure, there was blood to prove it, and my jeans were absolutely shredded and covered in dried brown blood splotches, but, there was no cut, no bruising, no lacerations or anything of any kind. Just whole flesh.
There were a thousand scenarios racing through my mind as we walked in the darkness of the moon. Silver beams of light shining down on us was the giant cat's slick and sleek tan fur coat gave off a silver luminescent glow of light, looking silver and white in this light.
I looked down to my shredded shirt and jeans, at all the dried blood and puss and gore, noticing an eyeball had attached itself to my shoe, I huffed a breath of disgust and kicked my foot, shaking it off and watching it fly a few feet away to land behind a rock and tumbleweed.
The hot heat that the ground below still held radiated warmth under my shoes and I saw the faint waves of heat rising off the ground and into the air around me, surrounding me in warmth. I looked to my right to the giant cat, towering at four feet tall paw to shoulders, it was massive and graceful, muscles coiling and rippling with each step.
It's powerful jaw worked silently, opening, closing, grinding, clenching, relaxing. It yawned and roared silently besides me, creating sounds unlike any other. It's ears twitched now and then, flickering forwards and back, listening, watching, waiting.
I looked back forward, to the horizon line, facing East. The sun had not started to rise yet, but it was coming, and I felt I was not ready to face the light. I knew I wasn't ready to face the truth; I was alone. My parents were gone, and I was probably not going to make it to Alan. No. I'd die before I even reached halfway.