“Lance, we need to fucking go,” Ian said, running past him and grabbing a leg off the ground, tossing it on the pile.
“You better fucking keep on watch,” Lance snapped, tossing a head on the pile.
Ian grabbed Lance’s arm, spun him around, and pointed down the ridge. “That’s why so many stinkers came,” Ian said, pointing at a deer’s carcass. “The tigers were eating.”
About to say something, Lance’s mouth froze open as a tiger roared in the valley below them. “Guys, we see the tigers,” Jennifer said over the radio. “Ah, they’re attacking seven stinkers in the field.”
Ian dug in his pocket, pulling out a medicine bottle full of petroleum-jelly-soaked cotton balls. He pulled one out, dropping the bottle and pulling out his lighter. When the ball was lit, he tossed it at the pile, which exploded in blue flame before the cotton ball landed.
Lance just stared at the half-eaten deer carcass. “One full grown tiger could eat that doe, and we have two. Why is there anything left?”
“You want to solve fucking riddles?” Ian said, grabbing Lance’s arm and pulling him toward the buggy.
Yanking his arm out of Ian’s grasp, Lance stopped. “Ian, those stinkers in the valley are here because of this pile we’re burning. We have to go in the valley and burn those.”
“You can suck my nuts, buddy boy,” Ian said, spinning around. “The tigers are killing them, and when they are done, we can go clean up the mess.”
“And wait till the rest get here?”
Ian scanned around them. “You want to drive the buggy down to the field where we know for a fact the tigers are tearing apart stinkers?”
“No,” Lance said, and Ian relaxed. “I’m not driving that buggy through that cedar thicket for shit. Those tigers could be three feet away, and we wouldn’t know it until they jumped us. I’m talking about walking down the slope now.”
Thinking about riding through the cedar thicket, Ian felt his pulse quicken. “So you just want to walk down, run the tigers off, and torch the bodies?”
“You have a better plan that doesn’t allow for stinkers coming to the smell?”
“You got point,” Ian said, checking his AR for the thousandth time.
“Jennifer, can you still see the tigers?” Lance called over the radio.
“Yeah,” she said in a flat voice. “They ripped the seven apart and are lying down near the gate. One is giving the other a bath.”
“Where did they attack them at?”
“Fifty yards outside the gate,” Jennifer answered.
Looking over his shoulder, Lance said, “Moving,” and went down the slope in a quick walk.
“What about worrying about more kitties?” Ian said, following. “Hell, stinkers or gangs for that matter?”
“I’ll take them over mean pussies any day,” Lance said as Dino stepped in front of him. “I know, Dino,” Lance said, walking around Dino.
“When a dog the size of Dino is scared of a cat, you need to pay heed, Lance,” Ian said, glancing back.
“He’s a smart dog,” Lance said, moving quickly down the slope and grabbing his squawk box. “They still there?” he called out.
“Yeah, and Lance, they are fucking huge,” Jennifer said. “I know how tall that fence is. They have to be almost four feet at the shoulder and ten feet long.”
“That bitch needs to shut her fucking mouth,” Ian growled.
Seeing the valley through the trees, Lance slowed. “We should come out near the bodies here,” Lance whispered. “If they come near us, you shoot ‘em.”
Ian grabbed Lance’s arm. “You realize this fucking AR shoots a really small fucking bullet, and you want me to use it on tigers?”
“You shoot them more than once, dumbass,” Lance said. “You cover them while I burn the bodies.”
“Hey, the tigers are looking up at the trees,” Jennifer called over the radio.
“Yeah, they know the fucking idiots have showed up,” Ian said as Lance moved toward the valley.
When Lance stepped out of the tree line, Jennifer gasped, grabbing the microphone. “Are you fucking insane? They are right fucking there!” she screamed over the radio.
Ian grabbed his radio with his left hand, flipping it to voice. “Jennifer, you need to shut your fucking mouth,” he snapped over the radio then put his hand on the rifle, aiming it at the two huge tigers.
Everyone at the cabin watched as Lance, with Dino beside him, and Ian bringing up the rear crept closer toward the bodies of stinkers. “He told me to shut my fucking mouth,” Jennifer gasped, watching the monitor.
“Well, you do need to,” Carrie said, looking at the two tigers watching Ian and Lance.
Ian fought through the fear and the desire to run and followed Lance toward the bodies. He could see the tigers easily fifty yards away and had to admit Jennifer’s assumption on size was pretty damn close but seemed small when he looked at them with his own eyes. When Lance reached the bodies, he started dragging them in a pile, tossing ripped-off appendages on the pile. Dino moved just past the last body and stopped looking at the tigers.
The tigers stood up and started moving closer as Lance pulled another body to the pile. “Hey, kitties, you need to stop, or I’ll light your ass up,” Ian said, aiming at the biggest cat. The smaller cat rolled its head at him, exposing its teeth. “I don’t care how big your teeth are, bitch, I’ll light your ass up, and we’ll eat pussy tonight.” With his radio in talk, Jennifer couldn’t help but grin.
Lance tossed a head on the pile and glanced over his shoulder to see the tigers stopped twenty yards away. “They can close that pretty damn fast,” he said, tossing a leg on the pile.
“Little bullets, Lance,” Ian said, keeping the crosshairs on the big one’s head. When it took a step closer, Ian put his finger on the trigger. “You better lay down, fucker!” The big tiger just fell over on its side, and the smaller one sat down.
Lowering his muzzle, Ian looked at the big cat on its back with its legs in the air. “Did you see that shit?” he said, and Lance tossed the last body on the pile.
“Aim at them!” Lance said, pulling out a soaked cotton ball.
“I told it to lay down, and it did,” Ian said, slowly raising his rifle back up. The smaller one started to move closer, and Ian put his finger on the trigger. “You better go off and play!”
The smaller tiger pounced on the bigger tiger, and then the two started playing. Ian looked over his scope at the two playing. “What the fuck? They’re playing.”
“Let the pussies play. We are gone,” Lance said, tossing the flaming cotton ball on the pile. When it landed, Lance stepped back, brought his rifle up, and stopped, seeing the two tigers playing like kittens. Glancing at the pile, Lance saw the fire start to catch and spread. “Ian, I’m leaving. If you want to play with the pussies, you can stay.”
“Fuck that,” Ian said, backing up. Dino glanced back and saw them leaving. Looking back at the tigers, Dino backed up, never taking his eyes off them.
When they reached the tree line, the fire roared up, and the tigers stopped playing and looked at it. Looking where the boys entered the trees, the tigers looked at each other then bounced across the field into the bamboo thicket where the stream reached the valley.
Lance looked at the cedar thicket then across the valley at the bamboo. Looking at his watch, he said, “We have five hours till dark. Let’s go.”
When he started home, Dino moved in front of him. “Lance, did you see that shit?” Ian whispered, and Lance stopped. When Ian got beside him, Lance reached over, flipping his radio to push to talk.
“No, I was gathering bodies,” Lance said and moved off.
“I told the big one to lay down, and he did. Then, I told the other one to play, and it did,” Ian said with awe.
“Well, you got some big pussies to listen to you,” Lance said over his shoulder. “I suggest you keep an eye out in case those pussies want to play with us.”
They moved up the
side of the draw slowly because of the number of traps. It was close to the road, and this would be the most likely avenue of attack. With the maze of pits and traps around them, it did give them a sense of security. When they were below where Lance thought they left the buggy, he headed up the slope.
Lance felt his phone vibrate and grabbed his squawk box, “Where?” he said.
“Motion detector one oh one at the top of the draw,” Jennifer said over the radio.
Not bothering to answer, Lance picked up the pace. When he saw the buggy, he fought the desire to break into a run and jump on it. “You’re driving,” Lance said over his shoulder. “I got us here.”
Ian just groaned as they neared the buggy. When they climbed on, Dino walked behind it, staring off up the draw. “Yeah, Dino, we are going home,” Ian said, turning the buggy around.
“Wait till we are at the gate before you open the outer gate,” Lance called over the radio. When he let his squawk box go, Lance turned to Ian. “I don’t want the tigers to see the ladybugs exposed. They’re little enough that I think they might try to take one.”
“You think we should’ve just shot them?”
“Nope, you’re right about the ARs shooting small bullets for big game,” Lance said. “Remember when Dad shot that lion on our safari?” he asked, and Ian nodded grimly. “He was using a 470, a bullet ten times bigger, and it still took two shots, and a tiger is bigger than a lion.”
“Let’s bring a bigger gun with us on the next sweep,” Ian said, finally reaching the small dirt road.
“I’ve been thinking, do we really want to kill them?” Lance said but was scanning the area around them hard. “They make great watchdogs. If we can clean up after them fast enough, they could help us.”
“Lance, I almost wet my pants when they started walking toward us.”
“I think I shit mine,” Lance mumbled, being serious. “We’re talking major skid marks.”
Ian looked over with a grin but didn’t comment about it. “I don’t know about letting big pussy roam free; it seems we are playing with some serious fire.”
“Let’s talk it over with the others,” Lance said then grabbed the radio. “Almost home,” he called out.
“They’re outside waiting,” Carrie called back.
Ian pulled over the rise, and they saw Lilly opening the gate with Jennifer covering her. Ian pulled through, and Lance looked at his watch. “That sweep took us seven hours, and we didn’t even cover the south side. It usually takes us four to do the whole area.”
“We have pussy with teeth out there,” Ian said, glancing over at him. “I’m happy with our time.”
When they closed the gates, Jennifer and Lilly jumped in the back of the buggy, and Ian pulled around the cabin. “You two smell like stinker nut juice,” Jennifer said, covering her nose.
“Hey, those puddy cats ripped some of them stinkers to pieces,” Lance said as Ian parked in the shed. Lance got out and explained why he thought they should leave the tigers alive. Then, he said why Ian thought they should hunt them.
“They are both sound theories,” Lilly said. “The question is, do we feel comfortable enough to sweep the area with tigers close?”
“Not really,” Ian said.
“I’m going to agree with Ian,” Jennifer said. “Lilly said we shouldn’t let the little ones open the gates with the tigers around.”
“Lance said the same thing,” Ian said, grabbing the .22 rifle out of the buggy.
“I can say this,” Lilly said as they started to the cabin. “Those cats were someone’s exotic pets. That’s probably why they stopped here.”
Everyone stopped and looked at her. “Come again?” Lance said, taking his helmet off, and turned off his helmet camera.
“The inner chain-link fence around the cabin,” Lilly said, waving her arm around. “It probably reminded them of home.”
Looking around at the ten-foot-tall cyclone fence, Ian shook his head. “We aren’t taking it down.”
“I wasn’t saying that,” Lilly said. “But also they followed commands. The male clearly ‘laid down’ when Ian shouted it out, and the female started playing when Ian said, ‘Play.’ They seemed really comfortable around humans.”
“No matter where they came from, they’ve been around humans,” Lance said and started walking to the cabin.
“Yes, but zoos don’t teach their cats tricks,” Lilly said as they followed Lance.
“Lilly, the damn cats could’ve come from a circus,” Lance said, pulling out his key.
“Yes, and they’ve been trained. I’m just saying they are very comfortable around humans.”
Sliding his key in the door, Lance nodded. “Yes, and that makes them much more dangerous.”
“Well, there is that,” Lilly said as Dino almost knocked them down as he charged past them. “Dino needs a siren to warn of his approach.”
“Hey, Dino did great,” Lance said as he started unbuckling his vest. “Even he was scared of the big puddy cats. I’ve seen Dino charge a full-grown bull.”
“Where?” Jennifer asked, heading to the stove.
“The bull that followed us to the school,” Ian said, walking toward the room.
Jennifer spun around. “You admitted it!”
“To you,” Ian said over his shoulder and stopped. “You’re part of the team,” he grinned and walked in his bedroom.
On cloud nine, Jennifer turned around to the stove, smiling. “Lance, will you and Ian bring out your clothes? I really want to wash them,” she said then started humming softly.
“I’m the only one that moved the bodies,” Lance said, dragging his vest to the bedroom.
“Lance,” Jennifer said then continued humming. Groaning, Lance just walked in the bedroom and shut the door.
Lilly moved up beside Jennifer and hit her with her hip. “Told you that boy had it bad for you.”
Jennifer glanced up, still smiling. “Took him long enough to show it,” she said.
“Remember, their time and our time are two totally different sets of reality,” Lilly said, helping Jennifer with supper. “Should I make something for them to snack on since they missed lunch?”
“In the fridge,” Jennifer hummed. “I made them some sandwiches.”
Ian and Lance went from their room straight to the showers. Not asking, Lilly went to their room and grabbed the baskets with the foul-smelling clothes. She carried them down and put them in the washer. When the washer started, she stepped in the bunker and saw Carrie looking at the monitors and Allie reading on a tablet.
“You guys coming upstairs?” she asked, walking in and staring at the room in awe again.
“They didn’t say we could,” Carrie said, not looking away from the monitors. Not wanting to upset the status quo, Lilly ran upstairs.
“Can the ladybugs leave the monitors?”
Jennifer gasped, spinning around. “I totally forgot to tell them.” Lilly ran back down and told the girls they could go. They all ran back upstairs and found Ian and Lance at the table, eating sandwiches.
Allie moved over and climbed in Lance’s lap. “Those were big kitty cats,” she said, laying her head on Lance’s chest. Lance wrapped an arm around her with a sigh. “Lance, I changed my mind; I don’t want one, and neither does Carrie.”
Relief flooded over Lance as Carrie climbed in his lap from the other side. “Yeah, those cats are scary,” she said. Lilly smiled at the sight as she walked past to help Jennifer.
“Ladybugs,” Lance said, hugging them. “Thank you because those cats even scared Dino.”
“He wouldn’t really have tried to get those kitties for the girls, would he?” Lilly whispered.
With an expression that spoke volumes, Jennifer cut her eyes toward Lilly. “Don’t bet on it.”
After supper and the table was cleared, Jennifer ran everyone to the living room as she ran downstairs. The others watched a cartoon until she called them back to the table. Stacks of poker chips were at each of th
eir chairs.
“Tomorrow is Sunday; we are playing poker tonight,” Jennifer, said putting a bowl of chips on the table. “I have a list of hands in order of rank,” she said, sitting down.
Ian looked at her as he sat down. “You don’t know what hand beats what?”
“I’ve only played once,” Jennifer told him, grabbing the deck of cards.
“Easy pickings,” Ian said, grinning and rubbing his palms together.
Shuffling the cards, Jennifer looked over at him. “I’m sure the ladybugs need them too.”
“Uh-uh, they’ve played with us before last hunting season. They wiped out Dad,” Lance said, sitting down.
Jennifer looked over at the two smiling faces. “Remember, I sleep in the same room with you,” she said, and the smiles fell off. “First hand is…” Jennifer said, picking up a small pamphlet, “…five card draw, deuces wild.”
Lance and Ian grinned at each other as Jennifer started dealing. The game ended at 2 a.m. with Jennifer wiping everyone out.
Chapter Twenty-One
Crawling up to the lip of a gully, Ian pulled out his binoculars as Lance eased up beside him. Glancing to the east, Ian saw the sun halfway over the mountains. After talking about it Sunday, the two decided to head out at midnight and set up the remote camera Lance had put together. They were over two miles outside of their three-mile perimeter, just southeast of Baughman.
The cell tower sat on the top of the hill behind them. It didn’t take long to set the camera up and wire it to the tower’s solar and battery power even in the dark. The most terrifying part had been driving out of the cabin in the dark knowing the tigers were around. Sunday afternoon, they had gone out and burned six more stinkers the tigers had killed.
Ian brought the binoculars up and looked at Highway 25E that stretched out along the valley below them. “Looks like they have cleared the lanes all the way past Baughman,” Ian said as Lance scanned through his binoculars.
“Well, they need to get paid for that service,” Lance grinned. “I wonder if they will like our gifts.”
Forsaken World:Coming of Age Page 29
