Hunted - ON HOLD

Hunted - Chapter Two

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CHAPTER TWO

Angie stopped and fanned herself for the fourth time to take a breather. It had been years since she had been allowed to go this far into the jungle, and had forgotten how dangerous it could be. Already she had run into a bog because she couldn't see, and nearly grabbed a snake thinking it was a vine. With her breath caught up, she continued on.

Suddenly, she felt as though she was being watched. She stopped and looked around. She could see nothing, but the hairs on her neck still stood stiff. Angie turned forward again, puzzled and nervous. She walked for a little while more, her senses trying to catch any sound that might revealher stalker. A sharp crack of a twig behind her caused her to whirl around. A flash of orange darted away. Trembling with nervousness, she glanced behind her every so often, hoping to glance the spot of orange she had seen before.

After about two hours a sound came from up ahead. She crept closer surreptitiously toward the sound. As she got nearer, she was able to identify the sound as a whining growl, similar to that of a dog, but deeper. A large leafed plant was in her way, she moved the leaf slowly to the side, when she saw the same orange she had seen before, but with black stripes. Two tigers were sitting leisurely in the sun patches of the clearing they were in. 'TIGERS! OHMYGOD! I'M BEING STALKED BY TIGERS!' was the first thought that came to her mind. Hoping the tigers hadn't seen her she tiptoed backwards as fast as she dared and hid behind a tree. 'Thank goodness I am upwind, so the tigers won't be able to smell me.' She waited; barely breathing for what seemed hours, then, not hearing anything, she gathered her courage and went carefully back to get another look at the creatures. They are jaw dropping magnificent! She thought to herself. Their bodies were muscular and graceful, their coats shiney and soft looking. Thier paws were bigger than her head and she knew instantly that with one swipe these tigers could kill her. As she gazed at them in wonder and awe, she didn't notice the two tigers open their yellow eyes and look at her until one of them growled softly. Angie froze. Her heart practically stopped when the one on the left spoke with a feminine voice, "Hello Angelica."

Angie's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, but she stayed still and silent.

The tiger on the right rolled its eyes, then looked at its companion and said with a friendly deep, gravelly voice, "You know, we can't really expect her to talk to us right away. She's never had an animal speak to her before."

"Yeah, I can see that, Kogee," the female tiger retorted with a hint of annoyance.

Angie decided to speak up, "W-why can I understand what you're saying?"

"Well-" the male tiger began.

"Wait, don't answer that. I'm probably dreaming. I fell asleep in the jungle and now I'm dreaming that you two can talk," Angie said desperately with a determined and slightly crazy expression on her face.

The two tigers chuckled at her desperation. The female spoke up, "My dear, you are most certainly not dreaming. Pinch yourself if you want proof."

Angie did so and yelped. Scowling, she admitted, "Fine then. I guess I'm not dreaming. But the question still stands, why can I understand you?"

"Why don't we introduce ourselves to you first. I'm Kogee, and this is my sister Keeto," Kogee said. "We are the only two tigers left in the world. We have both had dreams of a girl with the power to speak to tigers. Prophesies said that she would come at our greatest time of need. We know that this is that time."

Angie nodded. "So what am I supposed to do?" she asked.

"We will have plenty of time to talk about that later, Angelica. For now, you need your rest. It will be dark soon and I am sure that you want to get your sleeping supplies out before night fall," Keeto said.

Angie agreed. She twisted around to take off her sack. As an after thought, she turned back around to face the tigers and said, "You can call me Angie, by the way." After this Angie turned around and proceeded to open her sack. She started to pull her bedding out, when she realized she didn't know where she was going to sleep. She glanced around to find a spot to sleep that didn't have any weeds.

Kogee noticed her puzzled face, glanced at her blankets, and said quietly, "Angie, why don't you sleep next to us. We are the top predators in the jungle. By sleeping near us, you would be very safe."

Angie smiled gratefully at him, "Thank you." This remark was then followed by a very big yawn as she laid out her bed. She crawled in and snuggled the blanket close to her. Within a minute, she was fast asleep.

Kogee and Keeto watched this scene with a tenderness that seemed out of place for these powerful tigers. When Angie had fallen asleep, both Kogee and Keeto stood up and softly padded over to her. Keeto laid herself down to the right of Angie, while Kogee curled up on the left. Keeto looked at Angie, who was smiling in her sleep, before lying her own head down and closing her eyes.