Spirit's Journey

CHAPTER 19- Spirit: Caught Off Guard

Rack growled something, but I didn't hear.

The cat was huge, taller and thicker than me and Fallan. He looked well-fed, and had striking dark green eyes.

A nasty gash showed in his side, and I lowered my eyes as he returned my stare, then looked back up as he turned to lick his wound.

I kind of wondered how he hadn't managed to escape, but then figured Slamble would be a decent match for the muscled black cat, and two extra smaller wolves could probably easily over-power him.

His legs were thick, his chest deep and head wide and broad. His paws were also huge, and looked like they came with a deadly blow.

He didn't really have much of a body of a cheetah.

So what was he? I wondered as I gazed, kind of suspicious. Seeing and studying him up close made me wary, the way he looked around as if everything were perfectly fine, a wide gash in his pelt.

Hmm. Well, Fallan had bigger paws then me and Hannah, and was shorter and more stout like him. So maybe he was a cheetah, just a weird black one.

Plus, as I peered a bit more closely, I could see his pelt had very faint dark open spots around his belly.

"Spirit," I heard someone fiercely whisper my name, and snapped out of my examination, immediantly wondering why I'd just stared at the black cheetah so long.

I'd been staring and squinting at him as if he was the most interesting thing in the world, but now my attention was drawn to my pride.

They were all looking at me, but Hannah and Fallan were the only ones with confused faces.

"What are we going to do?" Midnight asked, looking up at me, and then all but Diamond's face turned frightened and worried.

Fallan had lowered herself on the ground, her ears flattened, nervously trying to listen for any sudden movements that the wolves behind us might make. The red wolf, Russet, I believed, sat guard by the black cheetah, and Rack and Slamble beside us.

I was caught very off guard by the question, and didn't know what to say. They all stared as I shuffled my paws in embarrassment.

Well, how was I supposed to know? I was the only one who could decently fight here, really, and I couldn't take on three wolves by myself.

"She'll come up with a plan," Midnight said in my place, looking up at me with certain purple eyes.

"Yeah, you just need to think. Right Spirit?" Hannah said uncertainly, and I nodded.

If I wanted to be honest, I had no idea how to come up with a plan that involved everyone getting away. If I tried to pick a fight with any of the wolves to let my pride-mates get away, chances were one of them would see them leaving, and go for chase. That would only end up hurting someone I cared about in the process.

And with nothing to do, I laid down for a quick wash and felt my stomach growl.

Well, didn't life just suck. Chances were we'd be hungry all day, because the wolves had eaten our prey.

And what did they plan to do with us, anyways? If they'd wanted to kill us, they would of already done it. Ash's pack had been delibertly taught to be ruthless.

If anything, I knew Ash would want to save me, Hannah and Fallan for himself to finish off, because I'd scarred one of his eyes into blindness and all of us had been very lucky to escape. Ash maimed all that opposed him, but since I'd been quick and sly I was able to escape with my sisters.

"Spirit," Midnight said, as I looked up from absent-mindedly licking the soft fur of the inside of my leg.

"He's been staring at you for awhile now," she said and I didn't realize who she was talking about until my eyes ran over the cheetah on the street stump.