Mutant

Preadator

That night, the oldest cub snuck past his mother. He slipped under a rock and into the den of the eighth cub. The air was damp, and small patches of moss grew on the walls. At the far end, the mutant cub was sleeping softly, laying with her back against the wall. The panther cub smiled a horrible smile. He would make his father proud. He would destroy this monstrosity and be loved like the powerful hunter he was. Crouching, he unsheathed his claws. His first real prey was about to fall. He lunged, curving through the air like a well-thrown spear. Time slowed. He saw his paws reaching toward the sleeping cub. He could imagine his jaws closing over the animal's windpipe. He slowly came closer. He was only about half a foot away, coming in fast, when the creature's eyes snapped open. He stared into her perfectly blue eyes for only a split second, before she kicked off the wall and slid underneath him. The panther suddenly realized that this was no ordinary prey. This was an expert survivor. He lunged again, and she jumped up perfectly, flying over his head. He realized, with horror, that he was no match for his sister. He slowly backed away, mainly in fear. His sister looked at him in sadness. "Our father loves you." She said. He nodded dumbly. "Please," she said sadly. "Tell him I still care about him." The panther was in shock at the whole scene. Even after all his father had done to this animal, she still loved him. Even more shocking was his own thoughts. He had just tried to murder his own sister, who was just as animal as he was. "I-I...." He said, unable to finish. "I-I will." Their eyes met one more time before he fled back to his own den.