Star-Crossed ~ An ISITL Novel (On-Going)

7: Panther

I don't know what it is with his eyes, but I saw my reflection on them.

Those green leonine depths shone with determination; a fierce clinging to life. Blood-soaked black fur, one ear chewed to the bone, a long scar ran from his nape to his stomach... blood dripping slowly on the pavement; but the unwavering strength of his stare captured my attention. I can't believe how something so small and fragile can muster such a defensive stance.

He didn't even blink once. Not when I reached down and slipped the knife from the back of my left boot, sweeping it out in an arc to bring him out of arm's way. He never even gave a growl or a squeak when he was squashed between me and a low wall while bullets rained down on us.

Yeah, shit. I should have known.

My whole shoulder burned with pain from the shrapnel. That asshole Hernandez set us up! My communicator's dead. I should have said something to my buddy Rika before I left to follow him tonight but I was too anxious to prove my theory that I went out by myself.

I felt a sharp pain on my leg. Miniature claws clung to the fabric on my left leg; the little one refused to budge without a fight. His long tail, almost too long for a feline, curled like a black fern frond around my ankle.

I felt a smile lift the corners of my mouth.

"It's okay, we wont die. Not like this."

Tangina, I'm Alistair Zabala.

I felt something wet land on my nose, then another. Huge droplets. The sky opened up and started pouring. The cold started to invade my extremities first; the tips of my fingers and toes started to numb. The kitten blinked its huge, bright eyes at me.

The cold steel of the night glinted with silver droplets. The rain...

I lifted my face and felt the rain soak my skin. Kung pinagpapala ka nga naman...

The sound of the intermittent thunder cut through the steady pattering of the rain. The world went bright for a second before returning to steel gray. That short flicker was all I needed.

The knife sang through the air in a clean arc before it reached its destination. I could hear the soft thud as the blade hit flesh and sank there, then the sudden harsh scream from the traitor that I just pinned to the door behind him.

I bit my lower lip as I staggered on the low wall in front of me. I sank down on the wet pavement with a groan that I could no longer suppress.

"Fuck you Zabala!" I could still hear Hernandez trying to pry the knife off his shoulder. Gunshots were fired near the top of my head. Napangiti ako. Those were the last of his bullets.

I counted.

The tiny battered kitten gave a plaintive meow.

You are one brave, beautiful creature.

Kung hindi niya sinakmal si Hernandez kanina sa eskinita, hindi ko malalaman kung nasaan siya and he could have just blasted my head off.

I breathed deeply. I hope someone, maybe the guy on duty saw something in the security camera or I'm screwed. I picked up the scruffy creature by his neck. Those eyes are mesmerizing.

He deserves it, Alistair.

"Well then, I'm Jaguar and you'll be..." I stopped for a moment to think.

"Panther."

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