Stranded With The Snow Leopard

by Jade White

  Smiley was beginning to sweat in the late afternoon sun. Even though he was in the shade of the thick forest, he felt overwhelmingly hot from the exertion, and the nascent fever that was taking hold of him. He began to babble to himself.

  “Man I told you, you shouldn’t have went after her. Should have left well enough alone.”

  “Shut up. That cunt can’t be left to live. She belongs to us and no one else can have her.”

  “But now we’re eyebrow deep in shit and there’s no getting out of this one.”

  “You’re such a fucking pussy. You really need to suck it up and get us out of this mess. Seriously, if we don’t get out of here we won’t ever get a chance to sink our dick into that hot ass again.”

  “Dude, if we even get out of here, I think the only dick that’s getting sunk is Bubba’s in our own ass if the Mounties get us.”

  “They won’t...don’t worry. Just keep walking.”

  “Why did I let you talk me into doing all that anyway?”

  “Because you’re a pussy and you needed to man up. Only way to be a man is to make sure those cunts don’t step out of their place, and you know it.”

  Smiley kept babbling through the delirium, he didn’t even notice how long it had been since he had seen the tawny mountain lion. Maybe they had given up?

  Little did he know, Tony had no problems catching Smiley’s rancid scent. The wounds he had sustained made it even easier to track him through the dense brush. Tony decided that it would feel sweeter to give the man a small sense of false hope as he hobbled through the forest. Tony really wanted to kill this man himself so he sent the rest of the shifters back into the woods. This man had avoided him for well over a month. Sure it would give him prestige to bring this dangerous criminal back alive, but sometimes, justice needs to find a different avenue.

  So Tony stealthily padded next to the delirious Smiley as he ranted and raved. It would almost be a kindness to put him out of his misery, but Tony figured it would be best to let him suffer it out.

  The sun began to set in the west and dusk closed in on the woods. Crickets and frogs cranked up their night melodies as Smiley dragged his broken leg through the pitch black woods. He saw some bright green flashes in the bushes as fireflies set off their mating signals, and an eerie blue glow emanated from lichen that grew in the deep underbrush, giving the nocturnal woods an unearthly quality.

  He jumped as the screech from a great grey owl warned him away from its nest. He couldn’t shuffle out of the way in time so the massive bird of prey swooped down and clawed at his face, catching one of Smiley’s mud brown eyes in the process. Smiley cried out as the raptor plucked one of his eyes out of his head with one of its massive talons. He held his hand to his face as blood poured out of his empty socket, blubbering incoherently. He was beyond shock as he stumbled, now half blind, through the darkness.

  Tony’s nose filled with the scent of fresh blood and his mouth watered. He knew that they were getting close to the road, but Smiley didn’t. He kept hobbling, thinking that he had escaped from the large predator.

  In the distance, he saw the bright headlights of a logging truck barreling down the road. Smiley’s heart soared. He had made it! He escaped that cop and his band of shape shifting freaks! Smiley picked up the pace of his hobbling as he tried to make it towards the road.

  A huge embankment impeded his escape momentarily. Smiley thought for a minute and got on his hands and knees, despite the agony it brought his broken leg.

  Slowly, he climbed up the embankment, grabbing onto tree roots, and rocks to get purchase in the loose soil. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain and his heart sank, as Tony clamped his mouth down on Smiley’s unbroken leg and dragged him down the steep embankment. Tears began to pour from Smiley’s good eye as all hope he had was shattered.

  Smiley rolled over on to his back and stared the tawny feline in his golden eyes, completely defeated. Coagulated blood mixed with dirt stained all his remaining clothes and his face was swollen and gashed from the owl attack.

  “Why did you do it?” Tony’s thought entered his mind. “Why did you kill all those people, why did you burn down the store?”

  Smiley laughed the laugh of a man left with nothing to lose. It was a maniacal cackle that sounded like a cross between a hyena and a jackal, and none too pleasant to hear. “Why did I do it?” he said between guffaws. “Because, she is mine. I own her ass. Her parents wanted her to leave me. Promised to give her a chunk of the inheritance if she left me. I couldn’t have it. I figured if they died, she’d get the inheritance then I’d kill her and I’d get all the money. It didn’t work out that way. So,” Smiley paused to cough. “I had to try to take everything she loved that wasn’t me, and destroy it. Giving her no choice but to come back.”

  Tony recoiled at the twisted logic of this small, smelly man. He was insane. No rational human being would ever think that way. There was no way he would be stopped by going to jail, he would just get out after twenty five years and track Kim down again. He couldn’t allow that.

  But he wasn’t going to give this man a swift death either. He was already approaching death’s door with the massive amount of blood loss, shock and burgeoning sepsis; there would be no way this man would last the night. Tony sighed and took Smiley’s leg in his mouth and dragged him back into the woods.

  When Tony reached a clearing he shifted back to his human form. He sat on a stump, pulled out his hunting knife and began to whittle a branch he grabbed from the ground. He sat and watched Smiley thrash and moan throughout the night as his fever overtook him.

  His wounds began to fester and become hot to the touch. Tony’s sensitive nose picked up a strong whiff of gangrene as it set in. Funny, he thought, gangrene shouldn’t hit so quick. Must be that flesh eating disease. Oh well.

  Tony observed Smiley coldly as the man thrashed on the ground as the infection ravaged his body. His body arched in agony as the bacteria ransacked his flesh, causing it to turn black and ooze from the open wounds. Smiley’s face was completely disfigured by the purulence that infected his empty eye socket. Flies began to swarm around the dying man, attracted to the stench of the flesh that was rotting off the bones while he still lived.

  Smiley lay on the forest floor rasping for breath. “Hey...” he rattled close to death, “Can you get me some water or something? I’m pretty fucking thirsty.”

  Tony stoically got up, without any emotion on his chiseled face, walked over to the dying man. He unzipped his pants, pulled out his dick, and proceeded to piss all over him paying special attention to get it in Smiley’s mouth. “Want a drink? Drink up you sick fuck.”

  Smiley choked and sputtered as Tony’s urine hit him full force in the face. He couldn’t keep up and aspirated some of the acrid liquid into his lungs. Smiley was too weak to cough out the liquid, so he lay there gurgling and kicking weakly as he drowned on dry land from Tony’s piss.

  Tony looked at the decaying man and coldly turned away. He shifted back into mountain lion form and bounded off back to his house through the darkness.

  THE FINAL CHAPTER

  Kim lounged in the steamy bathtub as she soaked in the herb bath Rusty had prepared for her. It was in preparation for the upcoming ritual to find out who the father of her baby was. She had no solid hopes as to who it could be, to be honest. It would make things much simpler for her in the long run, she hoped.

  Kim let her thoughts wander as she soaked in the wonderfully relaxing hot water of the aromatic bath. She breathed in the soft scent of sage and other unidentified herbs as the warm water cradled her body. Her breasts floated in the deep tub, and she noticed they were getting a bit larger. I guess it goes with the territory, she thought.

  Her mind drifted back to the other day when Smiley dragged her between Rachel and Betty’s house and attempted to rape her. She had never seen Tony so angry before. Even though he was in his feral form, his fury was unmistakable. She wondered what had happened after she ran back home to tell Keith
what had happened.

  Keith was furious when she told him what Smiley almost had done. She sobbed on his broad shoulder for hours after the attempted rape, all the while shaking like a leaf. When Junior showed up with the herbs for the bath, his face went flat as Kim told him what had happened. He then turned on his heel and went off to who knows where.

  Betty showed up a few minutes later and gave her a warm, reassuring hug and prepared her some calming tea. She chose some peppermint, chamomile and just a small hair of valerian root, so as not to harm the baby. After Kim drank the tea, she felt much calmer and was able to speak coherently.

  While Betty was calming Kim down, Keith was trying to get in touch with Tony. He became furious when he couldn’t reach his cousin and slammed his phone down on the table, shattering the screen.

  Kim came out and explained that Tony was the one who tackled Smiley and prevented the assault from continuing, which calmed him down some. She didn’t know what had happened after that, or what Tony had planned for Smiley, other than she trusted him to do whatever he needed to do.

  Keith’s anger was tempered for a little while and he decided to stay over to keep watch over Kim while Tony was out doing God knows what. She fell asleep due to the combination of the effects of the stress from earlier that day and the tea, so Keith decided to watch a little bit of TV.

  Tony came slinking into the house at around dawn yesterday. He and Keith exchanged heated words as quietly as they could, so as not to wake Kim but it didn’t work. She came stumbling into the room as their argument was winding down and saw a look of pure shock on Keith’s face. They promptly ceased their conversation as they noticed Kim in the doorway, and looked at each other. She had a feeling she would never find out what they were talking about, and she had a distinct feeling she really didn’t want to.

  Kim felt the bathwater cooling off and decided it was time to exit the tub. She grabbed a lush terry cloth towel and dried her lean, tanned body off as best as she could. She wrapped the towel around her growing breasts and went into her bedroom to get dressed. Rachel had dropped off a ceremonial outfit for her to wear that night.

  It was made from the most supple elk hide she had ever laid her hands on. It was dyed a bright azure blue starting at the shoulders and blended into dark indigo, and transitioned to bright red ochre near the bottom, symbolizing the connection between earth and sky. There were porcupine quills and small bird bones, dyed yellow, sewn onto the dress in concentric circles to symbolize the sun and other stars in the sky. It was absolutely beautiful. Rachel explained it had been Betty’s for years, and now it had been handed down to her to borrow for this important esoteric ceremony. The dress was ancient, but the colors were still as brilliant as the day it was expertly crafted.

  Kim looked at the time on her phone and saw it was getting close to the time for the ceremony. She popped into the kitchen and prepared the tea she needed to drink before the ceremony. Betty was coming over to walk Kim over to her house in about twenty minutes; she needed to get a move on.

  Kim looked at her phone while she waited for the tea to brew. She played a few small games to occupy her time and distract her mind from the ceremony. She wanted to keep her mind clear. She knew she couldn’t influence genetics, but she didn’t want to influence the pull of the spell either.

  The timer went off and she knew the tea was ready. She removed the tea ball from her steaming mug and took a sip. She made a face at the bitter taste and kept on drinking. She knew she had to drink the entire cup before Betty arrived to escort her to the ceremony. She took gulps as big as she could handle, so she could get the unpleasant part over with as quickly as possible. She shuddered as the last drop of tea passed her lips and was finally gone. Luckily, this wasn’t during the morning, when her nausea was at its worst, so she was able to keep the tea down with the help of some soda crackers.

  She got up from the table and went back to her bedroom. She stared at the vivid dress and wondered how she was to put it on without destroying it. She lifted the garment up and looked at it both front and back. She noticed the front of it had laces that could be loosened. She untied the knot and loosened the bodice of the stunning dress. She then lifted it over her head and slipped it on, working her arms into the sleeves. She let the dress fall over her hips and noticed it fit perfectly. She laced up the bodice tightly and admired herself in the mirror.

  The dress was modest and had no open cleavage, which was fine with her. It was knee length on her and the laces just snugged it up enough to give it a somewhat form fitting appearance. The bright colors flashed in the light that streamed in from her bedroom window and she couldn’t help but hope she could keep it after this was all over.

  She sat down and did her hair in two traditional braids, one on each side, low on her head. She took an eagle feather that Betty sent with the dress and put it in the right braid. She was a credit to her ancestors that day, and she couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pride as she stood proud as a First Nations woman.

  She heard a light knock on her front door as she pulled on the soft leather moccasins. It must be Betty, she thought. She opened the door and there stood the wizened old lady. Her silver hair was done in symmetrical braids and she wore a bright red buckskin dress.

  She caught her breath as she took in Kim wearing her old ceremonial dress. She was absolutely stunning. Keith and Tony were in for a treat. Even though one of them would be going home disappointed today, they still were fortunate enough to both know this stunning young lady. “You look ready to go,” Betty said in her usual understated way. “The boys are waiting for you, let’s get a move on.”

  Kim’s head began to swim from the tea she drank earlier. “What was in that tea?” she slurred.

  “Just a bit of this and a bit of that. Don’t worry. It’s not gonna harm you or the baby. I made sure of it.”

  Kim staggered a little bit and Betty took her arm in a firm grip. “I hope I can make it.”

  “You will, child, I’ll make sure of it.” Betty slowly guided the woman to the house. The raven circled overhead, highlighted by the setting sun. She helped the young woman up her driveway and into her home. Junior stood up from the couch and scooped up Kim as she collapsed on the living room floor. “Bring her downstairs, Junior,” Betty said to her giant son.

  Junior nodded solemnly as he brought the prone woman down to the basement. The scent of sage was thick in the air, and traditional lamps, made from stone, deer fat and tendon, burned in the corners of the basement room.

  Rusty, dressed in buckskin trousers and a richly decorated vest, rushed over to Kim and checked her out. “She’ll be fine in a few minutes. She must have chugged that tea. Silly kid, told her to sip it.” He sighed wearily. “Put her down on this cot, Junior. Let her come to. It was just her blood pressure taking a little dip. Prop her feet up and give her a bit of breathing space.”

  Tony and Keith were already in the room, dressed in their ceremonial clothes. Tony’s had eagle feathers sewn into the back in the shape of wings, and Keith’s had the shape of a bear done in porcupine quills. Both their outfits had been handed down by their parents, and grandparents.

  They stayed off to the side and let Rusty do his thing. Kim looked so pale and fragile. Tony and Keith fought with every fiber of their beings to keep from rushing up to the table to check on her. They looked at each other with concern etched on their faces. Both men were incredibly nervous already, hoping each was the father. They both promised to not hold anything against Kim for what the results were this evening. It would be terribly immature to do so anyway, because seriously, the luck of the genetic dice was just that, luck. One man was sure to be disappointed, but at least they wouldn’t be locked in their animal forms for the rest of their lives.

  Kim began to come out of her fainting spell as she lay on the cot. “What...what happened?”

  “Your blood pressure took a little dip because you chugged that tea. Nothing too horrible,” Rusty replied. “We’ll start t
he ritual shortly.”

  Rusty put his wrinkled hand on Kim’s shoulder and turned to the men in the room. “You two need to stand on either side of Kim here.” Each man positioned himself accordingly as Rusty continued with his instructions. “Now you both need to put your hands on her abdomen, here,” he said as he put his hand over Kim’s lower abdomen. They did as they were told by the elder.

  Rusty went over to a leather drawstring bag and pulled out an obsidian arrowhead and placed it over Tony and Keith’s hands, the point facing up towards Kim’s head.

  “Okay,” Rusty began. “I’m going to begin the ritual now. Everyone clear their heads as best as you can.” Rusty rolled up his sleeves and began chanting softly in a language so ancient that it predated the Cree tongue.

  Junior picked up an ornate drum and started thumping on it rhythmically. Betty stood beside Junior observing the ritual intently through her dark, wizened eyes. This was too similar to the first shifting ceremony. The words of the chant matched, and so did the cadence of the drumming. She hoped Rusty knew what he was doing.

  Rusty’s chanting picked up the pace and changed key as he channeled energy towards Kim’s pregnant womb. His eyes closed and his brow furrowed in concentration. He extended his hands towards the arrowhead and the baby underneath, probing the spirit within the child to reveal its sire.

  The arrowhead began to twitch. Keith and Tony held their ground as a sensation akin to static electricity flowed over their hands. They looked at each other and back at the obsidian arrowhead as they felt it twitch.

  The obsidian point began to rotate. First, it moved to the right, where Tony was, then to the left, towards Keith, and then it returned to its original position, pointing towards Kim’s face. Kim broke out into a sweat as she focused on the chanting and drumming, and felt her consciousness slip into the back seat of her mind once again.

  The arrowhead gave one concrete wrench to the left, and remained there, vibrating. Keith was the father. Keith looked at the obsidian point with disbelief as a pained look crossed Tony’s chiseled face. “I’m...so sorry Tony,” Keith whispered.