Caged - Unleash the Beast

Chapter 3 - Hunter Becomes The Hunted

Jackie woke at sunrise and began packing her things for the day of tracking. She creeped down the stairs and stopped in her tracks as Rider woke.
"Where you going?" Rider asked, wiping sleep from his eyes.
"To the forest." Jackie sighed.
"You gonna track that beast down?" Rider asked as he sat up.
"Yeah." Jackie murmured shuffling her feet.
"Well if it helps, I was attacked by the river. The lion headed towards the waterfall." Rider told her.
"Thanks, we will start there." Jackie nodded her gratitude before saying good-bye to Rider.
Outside Jake had just mounted his snow leopard, "Ah, I thought I was going to leave without you." He teased her as she mounted Jet.
"I am not that forgetful." Jackie scolded him before leading the way to the edge of the camp.
At the edge of the camp Sam and Scott waited while behind Jackie and Jake was the rest of the group.
"Thought you all forgot." Scott joked, which caused everyone to glare at him.
"I was given a lead." Jackie informed them, remembering to keep the attack on Rider quite.
"Really? By who?" Sam asked, as he made a gap for Jackie to pass through.
"A tribes mate." Jackie growled at him, his curiosity clouded his judgement at times.
"Oh, of course." Sam murmured to himself.
"They said that they saw the beast by the river and it headed towards the waterfall." Jackie informed them as she beckoned them towards the forest.
"Why would they go to the river? Especially when everyone was told not to go into the forest alone?" Scott questioned.
"They didn't go alone. They went to the river to collect water." Jake scolded, cutting Jackie off before she could say anything.
"Right, we will start at the river and follow the lion's scent from there." James nodded.
Glad that the lead explaining was over, Jackie lead the way with James by her side.
"It wasn't what you hoped." James murmured to her when they went ahead the group.
"What wasn't what I hoped?" Jackie asked, puzzled by James' inquiry.
"That the beast is still alive." James murmured once more as they stopped outside the forest edge.
"I had hoped that it was an untamed big cat that had grown hungry for the thirst of the bond between rider and big cat." Jackie sighed as she watched the group race to was them.
"Chris' beast still lives." James murmured before the others could hear.
"Who's beast still lives?" Brianna asked as she pulled up.
"No ones." James cut in before anyone else could ask questions.
"Come on, let's get to the river." Jackie beckoned them as she entered the forest first.

Looking from the outside the forest seemed alive, green and welcoming but from inside the forest seemed to be riddled with disease, death and no life seemed to roam. No sunlight came from above and of rotten carcasses filled the air, Jackie looked up hoping to see the sun but instead branches covered the sky.
"Creepy." Brianna murmured as she looked around.
"You took the words right out of my mouth." Sam murmured as he looked for any sign of movement.
"We have to be quiet unless we see the lion." Jackie warned them.
They wandered to the river to find blood had been spilled, not just anyone's blood but Rider's blood.
"I'm guessing that the tribes folk came upon the beast feasting." Christian inquired as he looked at a dead deer carcass.
Claw marks scraped down the trees that surrounded the area, blood patched the dying grass and flies feasted. The area reeked of death and rotting, decomposing flesh.
"I have a scent." Sam said as his leopard sniffed the air.
Suddenly a sleek tawny coloured big cat leaped out just missing Sam and his leopard, James and Jake were the first to respond and pulled out the spears everyone had been given. The jungle cat lashed out hitting the spear that was held by Jake, her brother's snow leopard let out a low growl. Something seemed different about the jungle cat, it's eyes were different. Instead of a jungle cat's normal golden/ember eyes, this she-cat had pitch black eyes, its pupils hidden and no white showed. Jackie loaded her bow and fired an arrow that made impact on the jungle cat's shoulder, a loud snarl filled the air.
"Keep you distant!" Jackie ordered them as she loaded her bow once more.
"What is wrong with it?" Sam asked as his spear was nearly flung out of his hands, as he to noticed the difference.
"No idea. But it is either kill or be killed." Jackie murmured to them.
They nodded realising that they had to put the cat out of its misery, it obviously had no idea what it was doing as it was blinded by something. The jungle cat snapped its head around as Christian stabbed his spear into the jungle cat's ribs, it growled before lunging only to be brought down by James who had stabbed his spear into the cat's other side and pulled.
"End it quickly." Jackie sighed as Scott waited for the order.
He simply nodded before his big cat landed on the jungle cat's side and finished it off with his dagger. Everyone bowed their heads as the jungle cat went limp and finally gave in.
"I want to see." Jackie instructed them.
Scott and his big cat stepped off the big cat's body and stood beside Christian and his tiger. Jackie dismounted Jet before kneeling down at the big cat's belly, she grabbed her dagger and lifted the jungle cat's head up to reveal bite marks underneath.
"A submissive wound." Sam murmured.
"Something is controlling this cats, causing them to blindly obey to its power." Jasmine murmured.