Silent Heroes: Wildcat

Chapter 7: Cat Fight

There were two of them.  I had no idea who or what they were, exactly.  They most closely resembled big cats.  Like lions or jaguars.  Only they did not belong to any species of big cat I had ever seen before.  They appeared to be altered, exaggerated versions of those animas.  They almost resembled something out of a fantasy story.

I crouched down low as the two creatures walked in circles around me.  Slowly.  Deliberately.  Like the predators they were circling their helpless prey.

The first was obviously a male.  He was absolutely massive, his shoulders easily level with those of a small horse, with rounded paws the size of dinner plates.  His coat was the golden colour of wheat and his huge, shaggy mane was a deep, russet red.  His mouth hung open slightly, revealing a bring pink tongue, heavy jowls and very long, sharp canines.  His amber eyes were fixed on me with the eerily intense gaze of a human.

The other appeared to be female, but she was only a little smaller than the male.  Closer to the size of a large pony.  She had a long, slender body and her every movement expressed liquid strength and lightning speed.  Her coat was a fascinating mosaic, covered in overlapping shards of pure white, pale silver and deep, graphite grey.

They continued to circle, not allowing me any avenue for escape.  The human side of me was terrified.  The new, animal side of me was scared too, but it was also furious at being cornered and corralled like this.  And it responded to the perceived threat with pure aggression.

A growl rumbled deep in my throat.  I flattened my ears and bared my teeth.  My back arched and the hairs all along my spine stood on end.  As the female passed by my right shoulder, I hissed and swiped at her face.

She dodged neatly out of the way, then swept her long body around to face me.  Her eyes were crystal blue and stood out dramatically against her pale fur.

Calm down, Eve.

I leapt straight into the air, completely stunned by the sound of a disembodied voice speaking inside my own head.  Once I landed back on the ground, I twisted around in frantic circles, trying to locate the source of the noise.  But I was completely alone with the two huge wildcats.

A quiet laugh echoed through my mind.  I whipped around to stare at the female cat, instinctively backing away at the same time.  I didn't like this.  My human side considered hearing voices a clear indication of insanity and my animal side didn't care much for it either.

I know this is probably all very strange to you the voice said.  But we're here to help.

The growl in my throat rose to a snarl.  The animal inside of me wanted to lash out at his bizarre sensation that it could neither comprehend nor control.  I was nothing more than a spectator to its anger.

Eve, listen to me.  You're letting the animal form take over.  You can't do that.  You have to get it under control.

My snarling grew more vicious still.  I lunged forward as if to attack, but the female cat wasn't fooled by my bluff.  She didn't move an inch.

Eve she sounded perfectly calm, which only agitated me further.  I need you to focus, here.

I attacked her in earnest this time, claws extended, slashing with blinding speed through the air.  The female still hadn't moved, but before I could reach her,  a massive weight crashed into my right side.  I let out an angry yowl as my body went tumbling end-over-end across the forest floor.  My long, sharp nails tore up the ground as I scrambled to get back on my feet.  I launched myself at the huge male, not even caring that he was twice my size.

The big male simply lifted one enormous paw and swept my feet out from under me, flipping me onto my back.  Then he pounced on top of my chest, using his superior weight to pin me down.

I was now positively howling with fury.  The noises coming out of me did not sound like they belonged to any earthly creature.

I don't think that's helping, Shane the female said.  Or, I supposed thought would be a more accurate description.

You were going too easy on her, Deanna. Let me handle this, the male said.  Okay, Eve, his voice was deep and commanding inside my head.  We'll make this simple.  I'm not letting you up until you calm down.

In a rage, I clawed at the big male's shoulders.  I kicked him with my back paws.  I tried to bite his neck, but only ended up with a mouthful of thick, coarse mane.

I don't consider that calming down.

The animal kept fighting.  His words meant nothing to it and my human brain was far too confused to bother trying to bring it under control.  Who were these... creatures?  Where had they come from? How were they talking inside my head?  How did they know my name?

The animal was working itself into a frenzy.  I tried thrusting the male off with all four paws.  I tried to squirm out from underneath him, but he was like a gigantic boulder.  Solid and immoveable.

He held me there for what felt like hours while I kicked and flailed with all my might.  Gradually, it dawned on me that this confrontation was going nowhere.  The animal was behaving instinctually, not rationally.  As long as it was in command of my body, I wasn't getting any answers.

I went deep inside myself, concentrating hard.  It was a strange sensation, fighting for control of my own mind.  It was like a mental wrestling match.  My outward struggles faded as all my energy was turned inward. 

The animal resisted my attempts to take it over.  I would push hard against the mental cage it had trapped me in, and it would push me back just as forcefully.  At first, I had to struggle for every micron of control.   But, as I forced my way back in, bit by bit, the animals grip on me began to weaken.  Finally, it retreated grudgingly to a far corner of my mind, where it had been holding me captive for hours.

Suddenly, I found that I was once again able to regulate my own actions.  I realized that I was still fighting half-heartedly with the big male and immediately ordered myself to stop.  As my body went limp, I found myself consumed with exhaustion.  My limbs grew heavy, as if my veins had been filled with lead.  My thoughts began to blur into each other.  It was like all the physical exertion of the past few days had finally caught up with me.

The weight lifted from my chest and I struggled drunkenly to my feet, lurching from side to side with fatigue.  I stood with my front legs splayed apart, my head forward and my ears sticking out to either side of my face.  I sensed that my fur was ruffled, agitated and flattened into a huge mess that probably resembled my hair in the morning.

I could only imagine how disgruntled I appeared to the creatures watching me.

See, that wasn't so hard, the male said cheerfully.

I looked from him to the female, standing quietly at his side.  I had about a million different questions running through my head, but I wasn't sure how to communicate any of them.  My mouth was incapable of creating any noise beyond snarls and growls.  But, perhaps I could talk to them in the same way they were talking to me...

I focused my thoughts on the first question that came to my mind.  The only one my addled brain could really articulate at the moment.

Okay, seriously.  What the bloody hell is going on here?