Endurance

“Where’s Kelly?” Florence asked.

“She disappeared with JD and Cam.”

“They must have gone through here,” Mal said, poking his head into the room with the suitcases. “Maybe they found an exit.”

Letti hefted a particularly heavy box of pills, dropping it on the pile. “Okay, let’s go. Right now. Come on, Florence.”

“No,” Florence said.

Letti stopped and stared at her mother. “What do you mean, no?”

Florence came up to Letti, and did something completely out of character. She held her daughter’s hands.

She hasn’t done that since I was a kid.

“Someone has to stay here and hold them off so you can get away,” Florence said.

Letti shook her head. “No way. We don’t have time for this. You’re coming with us.”

Florence smiled, but it was a sad smile.

Oh, no. This isn’t happening. She isn’t going to do what I think she’s going to do.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Letti. I was stubborn. I thought I knew better. But the fact is, you’re more important to me than anyone else on the planet. I wish I realized that sooner.”

“We can do this later, Florence.”

“There’s not going to be a later, Letti. Not for me.”

Letti took her hands back, folding her arms across her chest. “If you stay here, then I’m staying with you.”

Florence shook her head. “You need to be there for your daughter, Letti. Like I should have been there for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t at your husband’s funeral. It’s my biggest regret.”

A lump grew in Letti’s throat.

I waited so long to hear her say those words. But not here. Not now.

“Florence...”

“Tell Kelly I’m sorry I wasn’t a bigger part of her childhood. And I’m sorry I won’t get to see her grow up into the amazing woman I know she’s going to become, because she has you as a mother.”

Letti’s eyes got glassy. “No. You can tell her that yourself, when we all get out of here.”

The door shook, toppling some of the boxes.

“I’m not going to get out of here, Letti.” Florence said. “But you are. And you’re going to live a long, wonderful life, taking care of my granddaughter.”

She’s not doing this. Don’t let her be doing this.

“Florence... please...”

Florence touched Letti’s cheek, wiped away a tear.

“Of all the things I’ve done, Letti. All the soldiers I helped to heal. All the hungry I helped to feed. The vaccines I gave. The dams I built. The villages I helped to save. Of all the things I’m proud of, the thing I’m proudest of most of all is you. You’re the best thing I’ve ever done with my life, Letti.”

The tears came fast now.

“Oh… Mom…”

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

They hugged. A final, desperate, loving hug.

“I always wanted to grow up to be just like you,” Letti said, sniffling.

“You grew up to be even better.”

More boxes toppled, and the door opened a crack.

“Let’s go!” Deb implored.

Mal shook his head in agreement. “We really gotta get out of here.”

Letti tried one more time. “Mom... please... don’t do this.”

Florence gently pushed her away. Then she winked.

“It beats dying of cancer. Now go find Kelly, and let your old mother kick some ass.”

The door opened halfway, and the freaks began to slide through. Letti watched Mom turn around and face them, knife in hand, standing tall and proud.

Then Letti followed Mal and Deb through the door, not looking back, not able to see even if she did because her eyes were blurred with tears.

# # #

Kelly had seen big cats before, at the zoo. Lions and tigers and cheetahs. But she’d never seen one in the open, without some sort of barrier to protect her.

JD was a large dog, over a hundred pounds. But he was friendly, and never killed a single thing, not even the rabbits and ducks that hung around their house.

The cougar was almost twice as big as her German Shepherd. Big and muscular and wild. It looked like it could bite JD’s head off.

“We need to run,” Cam said, taking Kelly’s arm.

“Not without my dog. JD!”

Cam put his hand over Kelly’s mouth. He whispered, “Do you want that thing chasing us? Let’s go.”

Cam pulled on Kelly, but she resisted.

I won’t leave JD behind.

The mountain slunk closer to the dog, ears flat against its head. JD growled, then charged, biting the cat on the paw.

The cat rolled, cuffing JD across the muzzle, sending him rolling into the woods. The German Shepherd whimpered, and the cat stared at Kelly, right in the eyes. It made Kelly’s stomach do flip-flops.

Cam’s right. We should run.

She and Cam took off, sprinting away from the creature, heading for a copse of trees. When they reached them, Kelly hid behind a thick one, sneaking a glance behind her.

The mountain lion was bounding toward them.

Kelly gasped, feeling just an instant jolt of terror that she couldn’t move. Then, out of the bushes—

JD!

The dog slammed into the cat’s side, clamping its jaws onto the larger animal’s neck. They rolled in a tangle of limbs, teeth, and claws, JD growling, the cougar roaring.

Then JD yelped, and was still.

JD! Oh, no...

The cat shook its head, then once again looked in Kelly’s direction.

Kelly took Cam’s hand, and they ran like hell.

It was dark, and they couldn’t see where they were going. Kelly’s feet kept slipping, and branches whipped at her face and hands. She stumbled a lot, and fell twice. Her finger still hurt. So did her heel, where the rat bit her. But she ignored the pain. She ignored everything except the overwhelming desire to get as far away as possible.

Kelly wasn’t sure how far or how long they ran, but Cam got winded before she did. Then Kelly took the lead, urging him on. They darted through the trees, plowed through bushes, traversed a deep ditch, and eventually the ground became rockier and they began to run uphill.

“I can’t,” Cam finally said, heaving. “I need to rest.”

“It might still be behind us.”

Kelly knew Cheetah’s could run over sixty miles per hour. She didn’t know the land speed of cougars, but she knew they were faster than humans.

“Just gimme a minute,” Cam said. “My lungs are gonna pop.”

Kelly stared into the forest, listening for movement. She closed her eyes to tune in better. There were normal