{ELEMENTISTS OF WILLOW FOREST BOOK I} The Path of Fire

Alone With A Lion

16:  Alone With A Lion

Sasha paused at the edge of the fence.  Step out there, and she would be out of her home territory.  She would be exposed to the Death Wolves.  But hey, what other choices did she have?

She climbed over the fence.  She waited for some strange sensation to symbolise that she had left safety behind, but none came.

The mile-counter beeped.

A message was played.  It was Ash's voice.  "You have officially left Willow Forest.  Personally I'd start on the walking now.  The mile-counter will point you in the right direction when you here the beep at the end of the recording.  Beep.  Ha ha!  You thought that was the beep, didn't ya?  It wasn't.  This is the beep.  Beep."  The recording stopped this time, leaving Sasha in silence.

Two icons appeared on the screen.  One was a compass, one was Flappy Bird.  Sasha selected the compass.  The screen now showed a map of the surrounding area.  There was a red line across a footpath.  Another recording played.  "Welcome to the navigation bit!  Top right, you'll see how many miles you've walked.  Just follow the red line.  And you can't get away with sitting on the train and hoping this will count those miles as walking ones.  The technology is so awesome it will only register the miles you actually walk.  Important things such as your destination, train stations, the zoo you can take the lion back to, McDonald's and Death Wolves will also come up on the map.  Have a nice day!  Beep."

Lion?

As if on cue, a twig snapped behind her.  A flash of gold appeared between the leaves.  Then another.  Sasha could hear heavy footsteps come closer and closer.   A magnificent male lion emerged from the trees.  Sasha's heart pounded in her chest, the lion strode forward and raised its haunches.  It moved further forward, Sasha shut her eyes...

The lion purred like a house cat and walked around her legs, nearly knocking her over.  The animals at Willow Forest were sure strange.  Here was a muscular, golden male lion acting like a tame little pussy-cat.

"Err, hi?"  Sasha felt a bit self-conscious talking to a lion, but it wasn't as if people were listening.  "I'm Sasha.  And you are..."

The lion did not reply.  It just sat down and gazed up at her, like a dog waiting for his treat.

"Okay then.  I'll give you a name.  What's a good name for a lion, err, Leo?  Aslan? Simba?  Mufasa?  Timon?  No, that's the meerkat, isn't it.   Alex?"

The lion responded to Alex.  His ears twitched and his eyes lit up.

"All right.  Alex it is.  You're only with me for a bit.  Then I'm going to take you back to the zoo so you can see Marty, Gloria and Melvin.  No French pest control women involved.  But then Olivia's going to summon you back to Willow Forest, so everyone's a winner.  I get money, you get a lovely big forest to live in, and Olivia gets her furry friend back.  Okay?"

Every time Sasha said 'Olivia', Alex purred.  Huh.  The cat showed favouritism.  Offense taken.  Not for much longer.  Sasha scratched Alex behind his ears affectionately.  He seemed to like that and purred again.

Sasha began walking.  She had to keep to the wooded areas because most humans probably weren't accustomed to seeing twelve-year-old girls walk down the street with a potentially dangerous lion in toe.  Even after about ten miles Sasha didn't tire.  She had walked much further distances like this when she was with Les Serpents Rouges.

It was quite calm and peaceful.  The woods she was walking in weren’t quite as interesting as Willow Forest, but they were interesting.  Birds sang from somewhere above.  Alex walked loyally beside her, inspecting the scenery as he went, and occasionally stopping to chase a squirrel or two. 

There was a rustling in the undergrowth.  No big deal.  It was probably just another squirrel, or pigeon.

More rustling.  Sasha waited for Alex to dive into the bushes, but he didn’t.  He stopped, turned to face the noise and growled.

Now concerned, Sasha came to attention, spun round gasped as she saw what is was.

The Death Wolves.