Deceived

Her

"So why did you and your family run off into the woods?" I ask.

"It's a long story," says Max.

"Please tell me," I beseech, "I haven't heard someone speak so nicely to me since I was eleven. I yearn to hear another story like my mother's."

"Ok fine. So it was a dark and stormy night. A storm was brewing four years ago."

"Four years ago a storm separated me from my family!"

"Really? Tell me more."

"Alright, but as long as you tell me yours when I'm finished."

"Okay," says Max reaching into his pocket.

"So I was eleven years old, and a storm was brewing. People thought El Niño was even more severe this time." At this sentence, a grin flashes across his face. "So we all hid in the basement because there was a tornado warning. But then, the basement started flooding. The only thing was that the tornado sirens were still blaring. I looked outside a small window and saw it. A tornado. But, there was a hurricane at the same time. There was no hope for us. I lost everyone, even my brother Eric. I don't know how I made it out. My attempts to grab my family were useless. I was screaming and crying. My salty tears washed away as even more saltwater covered my face. My eyes were burning from both the salt at the tears. I thought I was holding them when I finally got upstairs-somehow. But I was only holding wet suitcases. I ran out of the house and into the woods. The whole time I felt someone behind me. I didn't look back. I ended up in that city, hungry and homeless. I cried for a straight week, and it wasn't really a good thing considering the fact that I had no water. Yep, that's what happened."

"Whoa. That's horrible."

"Alright I told you my story, now you tell me yours."

Max hesitates, then slowly begins. "Alright. So during the same storm you lost your family in, I was-" A loud roar cuts him off. I yelp. Then Max grabs me and takes me to hide behind a bush. He tells me to be quite. There's another roar. I'm scared out of my mind. Lions. Lions in New York? Ignoring Max's warnings, I look behind the bush. What I see scars me for life. A giant lion, almost ten feet tall stands in front of me. It has a shell. Yes, it has a turtle's shell. That's more protection than necessary. It seems to be able to go inside its shell at will as well.

"Max!" I whisper urgently.

"Shhhh," he says.

Finally, I have had enough. I run out form behind the bush yelling. The lion thing is stunned, but quickly recovers and brings his paw down to squash me. I roll out of range. I don't see any sharp rocks anywhere. The only thing I have to throw is my hair bow. It's the only thing left that I have from my family. But if they were here now, they would tell me to throw it. I think. What would it do? It could distract the lion long enough for my to hide again. I loosen my grip on the bow. Then the most bizarre thing happened. It turned around like a boomerang and back into my hand. Then, grey metal opened up from inside at and repositioned itself into a bow. The weapon kind. I stare. Then I realized the lion's paw is inches from my body and I run. Suddenly I realize there is a sheath of arrows on my back. They had just appeared, maybe when the bow transformed. I grab an arrow, and surprisingly I have a very good aim. It lands at the desired target; the lion's eye. It roars so loud I have to cover my ears. Then I know what to do. I climb up the lion as it is distracted with the arrow. I drop into the shell. My arrow flies into where I think the heart is, and the lion lets out one last roar before it falls over with me still inside it.