My head whipped around at a crack in the brush at the edge of camp.
“Hello?” No one answered. I strained my ears to hear anything else. Perhaps someone else had gotten up during the night to use the latrine and stumbled over a twig on their way back. Something told me that wasn’t the case.
“Hello?” I stood from my seat at the fire pit and looked around for any sign of a human being. I was about to return to my tent when I felt the hair on the back of my neck prickling. From far behind me I felt, more than heard, a deep snarl that made me shiver. Turning slowly, I saw the bright yellow eyes of a panther. The name wasn’t really appropriate for the animal. These were no bigger than a large bobcat. The danger they posed lay in the massive claws dangling from their front paws. Gifted with powerful back legs and fangs half the length of my fingers, the cats posed a formidable threat even to a well armed human. The nearest tents were further away than I cared. The better choice was going to be to back away slowly and keep eye contact with the beast. If it decided that I was too big of a hassle it might leave me alone. That was what I hoped, at least.
The cat creeped closer, staying low to the ground. Something on its face glinted in the soft reflection of the camp lighting and the smell of it drifted over to me.
Fresh blood.
Clearly kitty had already eaten dinner and I was on the menu for dessert. Shit. I spread my arms wide to make myself look as huge as possible. Was I supposed to make myself as big as possible? Was I supposed to play dead? My breath sped up and I was certain that the panther would smell my fear. The creature’s eyes narrowed as its pupils expanded to find me in the dim light. I bit my lip to keep from yelping as I hit the ground hard, twisting my ankle as I stumbled over a rock on the ground. The panther took my injury as his opportunity to run forward. Almost as if it was in slow motion, I saw the predator leap, claws outstretched, lips pulled back in a roar that my ears couldn’t hear. The last thing I thought was this is such a stupid way to die.
The beast fell to the ground in a heap. Seconds later the reason why I didn’t hear the animal roar became clear. My head bashed against the dirt as I clutched my hands over my ears. A shotgun blast ricocheted through my skull, the noise making me nauseous. For a minute I wasn’t sure if it was me or the animal that had been shot. A hand pressed against the side of my face and I turned my head to see Eliza above me. Her lips were moving, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying. I blinked hard and tried to sit up but I couldn’t. Even the smallest movement of my head sent electric shocks across my vision. I pushed myself to my elbows and wobbled with the effort. My mouth had been open when I fell and I spat, trying to clear the taste of blood and dirt from my tongue. Slowly, the sounds of the environment around me returned to my awareness.
“Don’t move, love.” Eliza’s eyes were wide. Behind her I could make out the shape of the shotgun. I didn’t even know we had any guns with us. “Lay back down.”
“Whaaa?” No matter how hard I tried, my tongue and lips couldn’t seem to form the words.
“You’re all right, you’re all right.” Her hands patted me, starting at my head and heading down to my feet. If I was so all right, why were her eyes so wide? Why did they shine with worry?
“I’m…all right.” I rasped, and coughed. She glanced up at me from a through inspection of my calves. “What the hell…?” There were a number of people gathered behind her but they stayed well back.
“I woke up when you left the tent. When you didn’t come back I figured you had gone for a walk so I stayed up. I’m not sure what happened but something told me to get up, so I hung out outside the tent for a while to get some fresh air. I might have been watching you at the fire.”
“Perv.” She smiled at the humor.
“Next thing I know, you’re being cornered by a fucking panther. What the hell, Fiona?!”
I swallowed hard. “I guess it ran out of tuna fish?” Eliza barked a laugh and started to cry. She reached a hand down and helped me up. “The fuck did you get a gun, beloved?” The end of the firearm sat in the dirt, the end of it still radiating heat.
“Your father and I had some printed up ahead of our leaving. We thought it best to keep their existence secret until absolutely necessary. Thanks to you, I guess that cat is out of the bag.” She smirked. “All right, bad choice of words.” The panther lay on the ground in a heap, its paws crossed over each other unnaturally. I tapped the beast with the end of my boot. Even with the hole in its chest, I wanted to be absolutely sure it was dead. Its claws were upturned, paws splayed wide, frozen in the final pounce. I tapped the end of one and hissed as it pricked through my skin. The cat’s face was fixed in a final rictus, its snarl preserved for all eternity. I swiped at the blood that coated its face and sniffed. “What the fuck are you-“ Eliza reached a
