To Breathe or Not to Breathe (Night at the Museum fanfiction)

Chapter Six: I Should Have Gotten Life Insurance....

My mouth went dry as the glittering golden eyes of the lion bored into me dangerously, seeming speculative.

"Oh, no." I whispered, taking a step back. Then my limbs froze up and I couldn't move.

I couldn't move!

The lion stepped towards me slowly, as if it knew I couldn't get away and was torturing me with my own helplessness. It licked its chops, happy at the prospect of a warm meal.

"Whoa there, Mufasa." I mumbled weakly. "You don't want to eat me. I taste really bad. Stringy. Tough. You wouldn't like that."

'Mufasa' didn't seem to be listening. He was coming towards me faster now.

"Emily!" I heard the call as if through a long tunnel.

The lion was loping now, bounding across the marble floor towards me. His sharp, huge teeth were bared in a ferocious growl, and now, a few tees away from me, he gathered his haunches beneath him and leapt powerfully, while I stood there paralyzed and wondered if his teeth would be the last thing I saw.

Then, all at once, something was knocking me out of the way. I stumbled sideways and hit the ground hard as someone put himself between me and the springing feline, shielding me with his body.

The someone was Ahk.

The lion, unable to correct his leap in time, sailed straight over our heads and hit the ground out of control, sliding across the slippery floor and yowling in surprise.

Apparently, Rexy wasn't the only one struggling to keep his balance on this floor.

Speaking of Rexy, he had gotten up and was making his way back across the hall towards the male lion, who saw him coming and lowered his ears, gaining control again and racing back towards the African exhibit with his tail between his legs like a cowering dog.

Ahk was staring at me, looking shaken. I was on my knees on the floor where he'd pulled me, and he was right up against me, arms around me like they'd been as he grabbed me out of the way. Our faces were very close.

"Sorry," he whispered, letting go. "I..."

I was trembling like a leaf in an autumn gale.

A shout sounded from the African exhibit, and I jerked my head around to see that Larry was backed up into a corner with the entire pride advancing on him. His spare keys were on the floor, yards away.

Ahk sprang to his feet, helping me up. We raced to the door, staring in with wide eyes. I glanced at the keys in my hand, having forgotten I had them. My heart was racing and terror pumped through my veins. "Larry!"

He looked up, eyes wild. I saw fear in his eyes.

Wait a second. Where was Dexter?

I saw the monkey at the top of a fake tree inside the African exhibit, chattering away excitedly at what was probably a female monkey.

No help at all.

Suddenly, my eyes lit on one of the giraffes in the corner, grazing away peacefully at the... fake leaves. An idea formed in my head. "Larry!" I called again. "Go to a giraffe! The lions are afraid of them!"

Ahk turned to look at me questioningly.

"I read somewhere that lions don't try to hunt giraffes because they're too big." I whispered to him.

"Ah." He nodded, trying not to look worried.

Larry heard me and, in desperation, dived towards one of the giraffes just as a female lion pounced. She missed, and by now Larry was right underneath the giraffe.