Wrong Direction

Chapter 17: Roar

I grabbed a handful of the back of Harry's jacket, my other hand still forcefully pressing against my mouth. I couldn't scream, I had to calm down. The Lion had seen us, but it continued to lay on the rock in the sun, watching us closely.

"Don't... make any... sudden... movements," Harry whispered, slowly pushing me further behind him. The Lion was now out of my sight, but I still clung to Harry's jacket. I couldn't help it, it was the only thing keeping my hand from shaking.

"You know how... you told me... to trust you?" My voice quivered, as I peeked around Harry to meet the vicious black eyes staring back. "Well... now I know why... you don't have a girlfriend."

He half turned his head and I could see him raise his eyebrow. "Really... Candice?" He whispered back. "You want to... discuss that... now?"

"That's a... Lion, Harry!" I angrily whispered. "You brought us into... the lion en closure!"

"I can see that, " he quietly said through gritted teeth, clearly scared. "Listen to me... take my phone and call Weldon... back pocket."

I slowly released his now crumpled jacket and gripped the edges of his iPhone sitting in his black jeans back pocket. I tried my hardest not to touch him, but my shaking hands basically forced me to make contact with his bum.

"Are you tickling... my bum?" He tried to joke through his fear.

"Shut... up," I whispered back, swiping the screen. "Password?"

"My mum's name," he murmured, keeping one eye on the lion at all times.

His mum's name? Seriously?

"Harry... I don't know your mum's name," I said matter-of-a-factly. Of course I didn't know his mum's name!

"Oh... right," he sounded surprised. I raised an eyebrow at his back and shook my head. Obviously me not caring for his band, had briefly slipped his mind. "Two... double five, three."

I wondered what that spelled. I then quickly scrolled down to W and called Weldon.

"Where the hell-"

"Weldon!" I said too loud. Harry reached back to squeeze my arm in warning. "Sorry..." I very quietly apologised to Harry before returning to the phone. "It's Candice. We need help."

"Where are you?" Weldon was serious.

"In the... Lion enclosure."

"Did you say, in the Lion enclosure!" He shouted into my ear.

At that moment, the Lion gave a grand roar. The air trembled around us and I jumped in fright. Harry's grip lowered and found my hand, squeezing it either for reassurance or out of fear. The Lion's eyes then rested back on us. "Please hurry!" I hung up then and slipped Harry's phone into my pocket, refusing to touch his bum again.

We remained frozen behind the large rock, only visible to the Lion's piercing gaze. The chatter of onlookers was beginning to increase, obviously excited that the Lion was actually doing something. If only they knew that they were about to witness a live feeding frenzy. I threw the thought from my mind. No, this was surely a tame lion. A tame lion that loved to stare at humans as if about to pounce. Oh I wished Weldon would hurry up!

"You okay?" Harry whispered over his shoulder.

I leaned my head on his back and tried to take a deep breath, yet only his scent filled my nose. "No."

"Sorry... about this," he apologised genuinely. "But... it could have been worse."

I was about to sarcastically laugh out loud, except I remembered that I valued my life. "Yeah? How?"