Caught in the Moonlight

Chapter Twenty-One

 I aimed carefully and, while exhaling, pulled the trigger. Nothing came out. The lion was still racing toward me, only now it was angry. There was an enraged glint in his amber eyes as he came toward me. Jeffrey and Terrence had gone straight through the pasture, but I didn't have time to think about that. I dropped the gun, throwing it off to the side, and- going out on something similar to what I had learned long ago to do with bears- started running straight toward the lion. It froze, uncertain now, but only for an instant. Soon it began to run forward again and, when we were a couple yards apart, it leapt. I dodged to the side and as it crashed to the ground I slung a leg on either side of it, pinning it down with my palm on top of its head to hold it in place. A deep growl rumbled out of its throat beneath me and I shoved its face down a little harder. Its eyes closed and the growl ceased for a moment. It started attempting to scrunch itself out from under me from behind, but I couldn't help wondering what would happen if it crossed paths with Moonlight. I reached around with my freehand and placed it farther down the lion's spine, near the base of its tail. I held it like that for a few minutes and waited- eventually someone was bound to come down here. Someone that knew what to do.

 Still sitting like that, I thought about what I had just done- I'd taken down a mountain lion without even planning to. I'd only planned on putting up a show- bluffing- until it ran away. Instead, the second it leaped at me, some instinct kicked in and I found myself pinning down a mountain lion, after not sleeping all night. Cool.

 "Ronnie!?" Someone shouted after I'd held down the lion a good five minutes. Both of us were getting restless.

 "Yes?" I called back as the person came into view. It was Beth.

 "Holy-" Beth was cut off by Missy, who came spitting and hissing at the lion. Oh, yeah- Mimaw has a cat. 

 "Um, can you go get someone that knows what to do with this thing? I can't just let it go," I reminded her. She was just standing there, gaping at us like she couldn't believe her cousin was pinning down a mountain lion. Well, she can't believe it either, Beth.

 "Yeah, yeah, I'll do that," Beth finally said, shaking herself and sprinting off. Missy slunk away, back to the shadows of the barn. I held the lion pinned down like that for another ten minutes before Mimaw, fully dressed, came walking down with Jeffrey just behind her and Beth in the lead. Once they passed through the barn I could see Mimaw deep in thought, trying to decide what to do.

 "Jeffrey, go get the... The stuff. My brain ain't awake yet. You know what I mean," Mimaw commanded. Jeffrey ran off and Mimaw cautiously approached us.

 "How in the world did you manage that, girl?" Mimaw asked, astonished and proud. 

 "Honestly, I have no clue," I answered, laughing. She just shook her head in amazement. After a moment, Jeffrey returned with a bottle of something liquid and a small needle. What were they about to do?

 "Alright, you keep him still for another minute, Ronnie-Ann, and Beth- go get the number for the nearest wild animal reserve," Mimaw demanded, taking the bottle and needle from Jeffrey. Wait, where's Terrence? Mimaw prepared the needle before injecting the liquid into the lion, just behind its ears. After a couple seconds it drifted into a deep sleep, going completely limp beneath me. I happily climbed off; I was a little saddle-sore and straddling a lion wasn't the most relaxing thing in the world.

 "Woo, I feel so much better," I declared as I stretched, raising my hands high above my head and stretching to the very tips of my toes.

 "Alright, well, let's go get this somewhere," Mimaw decided. I grabbed its hind legs and Jeffrey got the forelegs, Mimaw supporting the head and leading the way. We went inside the house through the back and set it down near the couch. Copper was a little scared of it and ducked into Mimaw's room. A small noise somewhere between a soft poof and low thump let us know he'd jumped onto her old featherbed, which means he'd be asleep within minutes and we'd hear soft muffled snores echo throughout the house.