Caged - Unleash the Beast

Chapter 5 - Don't Know What To Think

Rider felt splitting back down his back, it felt like his flesh was rotting and immense pain came in sharp short stabs.
"What is wrong with him?" His mother asked, her voice shaking as she sat down so that she wouldn't faint.
"I am not quite sure." Hayley assessed. "What does it feel like?"
"Rotting flesh. Pain in short quick stabs. Back." Rider murmured before another ounce of pain trembled through his body.
Hayley heaved Rider onto his back and lifted up his shirt to reveal the wounds that had begun healing. She couldn't see any rotting or decomposing flesh around or near the wound, there was nothing stabbing him in the back and no sign of a broken bone. Puzzled by what was happening Hayley noticed lower down his backbone it was coloured like rotting flesh but yet there was no wound. Hayley picked up a small dagger and made a cut where the colour was, Hayley fumbled for some bandages as she had finished cutting.
"What are you doing to him?" His mother panicked.
"I need to investigate what is going on." Hayley murmured before wiping the blood off Rider's back.
The blood was its usual colour, nothing suggested any signs of infection or rotting. Puzzled she noticed that slowly the colour began to fade as if opening it allowed to relieve pressure.

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Jackie moaned as her head throbbed and her shoulders ached, her attempt in making a run for it almost worked but in the end she had failed. Now, her and Sam were locked up in separate cages which were drawn high off the ground.
"Sam, are you okay?" Jackie asked as she noticed his head was bleeding.
"I'll... Be fine." He murmured, closing his eyes slightly.
"Sam. Stay with me." Jackie said, sounding desperate as Sam began to close his eyes.
"I just need some sleep." He stated before yawning.
"Don't you quit on me." Jackie murmured to him before resting herself against the cage.
"I won't." Sam yawned before closing his eyes and started snoring.
Jackie wanted to close her eyes but she didn't feel safe to, she hadn't gotten any sleep since they were taken. Occasionally she would dose off but soon she would shoot her eyes wide open.
"Finding it hard to stay awake up there?" Tiren's brother asked, looking up at her.
"Why do you care?" Jackie stated, resting her head on the metal bars.
"Just wondering." He stated as he started to climb the tree.
"Well don't." Jackie snapped at him as she noticed that he had started to climb up.
"It's my job to." He shrugged as he heaved himself up onto the branch beside her.
"Really? I thought you were Mr. Bossman?" Jackie teased him.
"Close to it. Not quite... Mr. Bossman." He said, mimicking her voice and tone.
"Why are you doing this?" Jackie asked, turning her head so that she looked him in the eye.
"Is that any of your business?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It is. I would like to know why this happening before I die." Jackie stated, raising her eyebrows.
"Trust me, you won't die." He reassured her.
"Great!" Jackie stated. "I get to live the rest of my life in this cage."
"Not unless you do as your told." He told her, resting his head on the tree.
"What's the deal with you?" Jackie asked. "I mean you could be doing anything but instead your up here talking to me."
"I can leave if you want?" He said, shifting his position.
"Apollo. You coming down here to help or what?" They were interrupted by a man.
He was younger than Apollo, not as muscular or broad shouldered. Their facial features were similar, Apollo's ember eyes were darker unlike the man's. Both had hair black like coal and wounds covered their bodies.
"Gotta go." Apollo shrugged before sliding off the branch and landing heavily on the ground.
"Making friends are we?" Sam asked as he woke from his slumber.
"No." Jackie snapped at him, she was trying to find out what was going on, even if it meant becoming friends with them.

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Rider woke after immense pain, he didn't know how long he was out for but yet his shoulder's felt better. Rider pulled himself up and slowly but surely lumbered into the kitchen, he leaned against one of the benches as he pulled out some food that hen hadn't eaten for breakfast. His mother was out in the orchard and his father out patrolling waiting for the group to return. Hayley had left to go get some supplies and handle some other injuries, so he was alone. He stumbled into the dining room, almost losing his food when he tripped over one of the chair's legs. Sighing he sat down in the chair and forced himself to eat something, just as he was about to finish he heard something scrapping the door. Koa was inside, sleeping in the lounge room and everyone else was gone.
Rider called Koa over before using him to get down the hall and to the door. Slowly Rider turned the handle before hearing it click out of place, Rider looked at Koa before opening the door slightly. He peered outside, at first he didn't see anything, opening the door up further he was suddenly bombarded by Jet who had leapt over top of him. Startled Rider almost fell backwards only to be caught Koa, Jet had hurried into the lounge room and was now in a defensive position. Before Rider could say or do anything Sam's big cat followed, closing the door behind it. The pair were in the lounge room and were hissing and snarling at Rider and Koa. Puzzled Rider stumbled over to Jet, the panther had a wild look in her eye and her claws dug into the timber flooring.
"Jet." Rider hushed her, stretching out his hand towards her. "Hey Jet."
The panther looked at him, fear gripped her heart and yet remembrance glimmered in her eyes.
"Hey, Jet. Where's Jackie?" Rider asked shuffling closer towards her.
He knew the panther could not talk but yet maybe the big cat had some way to tell him. The panther let out a deep breathe once Rider's rested his hand on the panther's head, doing so caused Thunder to settle down too. Looking closer the pair had wounds that wee fresh and some had started to crust.
"What happened?" Rider mumbled to himself as he assessed Jet's wounds.
Jet's shoulders had been ripped to shreds, 3 deep claw marks on each shoulder and which had hooked deeper into the shoulders closer to the head. Suggesting that they had been in a fight and another big cat had leaped upon Jet, the panther must have stopped suddenly causing the big cat to hook its claws in. Fear gripped Rider, knowing now that Jackie would not have gotten away from an attack as brutal as such.
"Come on Koa." Rider murmured, before stumbling towards the door.
The leopard pounced over Rider's head and waited impatiently at the door, Rider grabbed a bag and packed his things before opening the door. He stopped suddenly when his father was standing in front of him, just about to open the door himself.
"Hey, father." Rider murmured.
"And where do you think you are going?" He mumbled, he looked at Koa, then at Rider.
"Um, just for a ride." Rider said shrugging his shoulder.
"Back inside." His father instructed, before looking behind his shoulder.
Rider looked around his father to find Jake, James, Christian, Brianna and Jasmine. Rider swallowed hard before stumbling down the hall, Jet lowered her head and helped Rider to a chair before looking up to see Jake. Jet growled slightly before lowering herself into a submissive position, it was not like Jet to submit so easily.
"What happened?" Rider asked eagerly, he wanted to help.
"We were following the tracks to find a pride full of lions. We turned around when we saw Chris's lion, before that we had killed a jungle cat that attacked us." James explained.
"Turned out that very jungle cat was Chris' lion's mate..." Jake murmured.
"Which explains why it is still alive." Brianna cut in.
"The pride attacked us. James and I were the first to escape, followed by Scott and Jasmine and then Christian and Brianna." Jake sighed, looking at the floor. "Sam and Jackie didn't make it. They've been captured."
Rider was speechless, he looked at Jet and which the shoulder wounds explained the fight. What he didn't understand was why did Jet and Thunder get released?