Lucy took comfort in the soft warmth of the animals’ fur. Her body was still hurting, fresh tears where rolling down her cheeks but above all that her curiosity was starting to get the better of her again.
‘How do you know which way to go?’ She asked still unable to pin point any familiar landmarks or scenery.
‘I'm sure that smoke will help us find the way,’ said Malcom puffing a little now that he was carrying extra weight. Not that the girl weighed all that much to start with.
‘What smoke?’ Asked Lucy as she temporarily forgot about her pain and tried to crane her neck over the big cats head.
‘Straight ahead on the horizon.’
She kept looking and sure enough once her sight became clear enough she could see thick black plumes of smoke rising up into the sky.
Her awe of the rising smoke began to fade when she turned to look back in the direction they had come from. At first it looked like another black puff of smoke, but as it drew closer she could see it was some sort of animal.
It was black, there was no mistake about that, but it wasn't the same kind of black as Malcom’s fur. No this was much deeper. Blacker than black if that was even possible.
Lucy noted that it seemed to have four powerful legs, much thicker and more muscular than any animal she could ever remember. Its body did not seem to have any kind of defined shape at the current distance between them, it seemed to Lucy like it was constantly changing shape as it moved towards her and her new friend.
‘What's that thing following us?’ She had to ask since she couldn't figure it out on her own.
Malcom glanced over his shoulder and past the little girl. Snow swirled furiously behind them blanketing the landscape. He could see nothing.
‘I don't see anything honey,’ he said, both puzzled and worried.
Lucy could feel her heart begin to beat faster as the shapeless black thing gained ground between them.
‘It’s big and its black and it looks really scary,’ She cried as her heart began to hammer furiously in her chest.
Malcom turned to look one more time and again he could see nothing but a continuous sheet of snow falling from the heavens.
‘I still can't see it,’ said Malcom trying his best not to sound frustrated.
There was just a couple of feet between then and the shapeless black beast. Lucy felt like her heart was going to jump out of her mouth as she began to see razor sharp teeth and piercing red eyes where its head should be.
The beast let out a loud snarl as it leaped high into the air, its claws ready to come down on the little girl and her feline saviour like a set of knives.
‘Run!’ cried Lucy, and just as the words escaped from her lips the shapeless mass that was the beasts body enveloped her and suddenly the constant thumping of heart stopped and she could hear it no more.
Malcom stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of the girls cry. He could feel his own pumping heart speed up as Lucy's limp body slid off his back and landed softly on the snow.
‘What do I do now?’ He asked more to himself than any living thing.
‘Don't worry I think I can help,’ came a voice from the snow. It took only a few seconds before Malcom could see the Cheetah come bounding towards him.
‘I thought I had lost you a mile back,’ Said Malcom sounding relieved.
‘Yeah I followed your tracks when I realised we had got separated. Who is this?’ Asked the cheetah looking down at the little blonde haired girl in the torn pink dress.
‘Her name is Lucy. I found her a little bit further back in the snow. She said something was chasing her and then I could feel her heartbeat stop,’ there was no disguising the tone of worry in Malcom’s voice.
‘Don't worry I might be able to help,’ Malcom watched as the cheetah stabbed the tip of his claw into the crook of the girls arm, piercing her fragile skin.
Both cats watched the girls face for signs of life as the snow seemed determined to bury her. They could hear nothing but the sound of each other's breathing for what felt like an eternity.
Then without warning Lucy's eyes shot open and she inhaled deeply as her heart began to beat again. Tears welled in her eyes as fear and confusion grew. Just as she was about to start sobbing again she noticed that she wasn’t just looking up at Malcom’s face but also a new-comer. Another big cat but this one was very different in the way that it had black spots overlaid on a fine coat of luminous green fur. Again it looked like that reflective stuff her mother had told her workmen had to wear so they were noticed by others around them.
‘Who are you?’ She asked, noticing that this new cat, who was virtually the same size as Malcom, had one of its sharp nails in her arm.
‘I’m Jason,’ Said the new cat, ‘and my friend here has told me your name is Lucy. Is that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, it’s very nice to meet you Lucy.’
‘What kind of cat are you?’ It was a simple question, but the little girl could see the two big cats exchange a look, that if worn by a human face, would be one of confusion.
‘Well, I guess I would be a Cheetah, since I have to move very fast,’ said Jason, beckoning for Malcom to play along, but the big black cat could not bring himself to do it. ‘Malcom would be a Panther. Since he has to be big and strong to be able to protect and help people.’
Lucy smiled. She had never had a chance to see real big cats like her two new friends, and to be here in the snow with the two of them was like a small slice of heaven.
Her smile quickly faded though as the memory of that black shapeless beast chasing her came back to the forefront of her mind and she also noticed that her body and damaged wrist where beginning to hurt really bad once again.
Jason the cheetah noticed the small trickle of blood coming from the girls’ ear and there was a sudden air of anxiety as he spoke.
‘I think we better get moving and take you to some place warm,’ he said, sliding his muzzle under Lucy and using his strength to help her on to Malcom’s waiting back.
‘Will it come back?’ Asked Lucy as she used her good hand to hold on to the big panther.
‘Will what come back?’ Jason padded alongside them, his eye’s always scanning the little girl for any changes in the way she looked or talked. The blood was still oozing from her ear, but it had slowed a little since she was on the ground.
‘That black monster. It jumped on top of me and knocked me to the ground.’
‘No, not now that I’m here. I can stop it from getting you,’ said Jason, trying his best to be sincere since he was well aware how easily children can detect when someone is lying to them. Especially an adult.
The sound of paws crunching into the delicate snow was the only sound to be heard as the trio made their way towards the billowing black smoke.
Lucy would occasionally glance back the way they had come, trying to detect the presence of that black beast which had knocked her to the ground. There was nothing but whiteness, no fast moving shape with sharp claws and even sharper teeth.
She turned her attention back to her damaged wrist. The skin was badly bruised where it was at its thinnest and despite her best efforts she couldn’t seem to move her fingers. Strangely enough the bruising seemed to bother her more than her fingers not moving, after all they were numb and didn’t hurt but her wrist did.
She looked over at Jason the Cheetah. He seemed to know how to make her feel better. She figured if anyone of her two new friends could make the bruise better it would be him, so she decided to ask him but just as she opened her mouth to speak Malcom cut in.
‘Did you find anything on your travels?’ His voice was low and his words guarded. But there was something obviously weighing on his mind that he had to talk about with Jason.
‘Sadly, yes. Lots of extremities with no apparent owners,’ Jason was just as guarded as the Panther and there was a note of sorrow in his voice.
‘That bad?’
‘Much worse. I can’t begin to describe it.’
‘Well, at least we found one.’
Lucy listened intently to their conversation, trying to understand what they were talking about. What she couldn’t quite understand is why this was her dream and yet she was the one in pain. She was the one being chased by a horrible beast that seemed to want to eat her, or at the very least hurt her in some way.
‘Yes, finding the little one is a godsend, and to be honest from what I’ve seen I wouldn’t be too surprised if she ends up being the only one that walks away from this,’ said Jason, glancing at Lucy, concern still on his feline face.
‘Yeah. That smoke should lead us back the way we started. I just hope we can get there before the cold takes its toll,’ said Malcom.
‘We just need to keep her awake long enough to get her to safety,’ said Jason.
Lucy was beginning to feel like a stranger in her own dream. She could tell they were talking about her but not talking at her. She found that very rude and this time she opened her mouth to reprimand them both, but this time it was Jason who cut her off.
‘Where was the last place you saw your mother Lucy?’ He asked, his big brown eye’s looking strangely dull compared to his almost luminous spotted coat.
It was a question the little girl had not expected to be asked again, and this time she found it really difficult to answer. Not because she didn’t want to but more because her memory seemed to be blank. She could remember her mother’s smile, her beautiful long blonde hair which was the same as her own, and those bright blue eyes that always seemed to be glad to see her whenever she got home from school or out playing with friends.
What she couldn’t remember was where she had last seen her. Lucy was certain that it had not been that long ago, but she just couldn’t remember no matter how hard she tried.
‘I can’t remember,’ she said eventually, feeling embarrassed.
‘That’s okay. What do you remember?’ Jason tried to keep his tone neutral but he could not help but see the lack of memory as a worrying sign that something else could be wrong with the little one.
Lucy smiled feeling happy that she was at least being included in the group conversation this time. She felt a little frustrated that her memory wasn’t offering much in the way of details, but it was quickly quashed when one thing did pop to the front of her mind.
‘A balloon. A red Balloon,’ she said proudly.
‘I love red balloons. Red is my favourite colour,’ said Jason, hoping to engage the girl further and hopefully jog her memory.
Lucy wrinkled her nose at him, feigning disbelief.If you enjoy this story and would like me to write more, please consider buying the ebook from Amazon using the link below. Thank you =)
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