The First Tiger (Countryhumans Fanfic)

Chapter 2

Indo opened the rusted bars with a loud creek, they weren't even locked. Thailand lead the way as he opened the door and began to carefully descend down the stairs. At the end of the stairs was yet another old rusted door, locked. Thailand slammed his body against the door and it was torn from its hinges easily. What can one expect with such an old door. It must've been at least a hundred years old. The room was rather dark, even with their flashlights it was difficult to see. At the end of the room was a cell made up of both wooden and metal bars, reinforced against one another to truly make sure nothing gets in or out.

" Oh god," Thailand whispered as the flashlight shone over the dirty orange coat of the beast. Its body lie still upon the hard concrete ground, chains wrapped around all four legs and around his neck.

" You, really did have a tiger..." Indo muttered. Thailand glanced around the room, there were all sorts of knives and torture devices hanging on the walls. Just what the hell did his family do to this tiger? Phil couldn't take his eyes off the beast. He pitied its many clear scars, especially upon its left side. Some long needles were visibly sticking out of the vital points of its body. " Is it dead?" Indo wondered as Phil neared the still creature. It didn't look like it was breathing but there wasn't any rotting smell either.

" I'm not sure." Phil said to Indo. " It looks so, painful." He symphathize with the tiger. He was instantly reminded the time his own father, Katipunan, had been locked up like this by Spanish Empire. Perhaps not as severely but still, the thought of being locked up like this without any food or water must've been difficult. He hadn't realized how dangerously close he was to the cage, as one of the tiger's huge paws swiped at him from within the cage. Phil fell back as Indo managed to pull him away from the tiger's claws and shielded him with his golden wings. Indo rarely ever needed to use his Garuda wings. The tiger stood taller than an average man, it growled and roared loudly.

" Phil, you okay?" Thailand asked him as Indo kept his eyes on the tiger and raised his wings menacingly.

" We should go." Phil managed to say even though he was trembling from head to toe. The tiger watched them with a deadly look, its eyes were a dull orange color and it was just as vicious as Siam had described. " Come on, guys. Let's wait until Mal gets here tomorrow, he'll know what to do." Indo tucked his wings away and flicked his tongue out at the tiger before leaving.

" You guys, okay?" Indo asked them both as the exited the old house. " That thing was huge. Be more careful next time, Phil." Phil nodded quietly and got into the car. " Oh, and Thai?" Thailand lifted his head in attention. " It keeps looking at you a lot."

" You think it knows that my great grandfather put him in there?" Thai guessed. " I had that feeling too." They decided to stay at a nearby hotel where they'd meet up with Malaysia the next morning.

" Hey, guys." Mal greeted them happily. " Woah, you guys look terrible. Did something happen last night?" With messy bed hair and baggy eyes, they're a mess.

" We look awesome. It's nothing." Indo brushed him off. " You ready to see that tiger? It tried to attack Phil yesterday." Mal asked if Phil was alright and was reassured that he's fine. " Anyway, it's huge. I don't even know how it got so big. It can't be like your Bujang Senang now could it?" He asked the Malaysian. Bujang Senang was an ancient saltwater crocodile with a terrible temper, it could wreck large ships with just a wave of its muscular tail. The bite was much worse. It's also Sarawak's nickname.

" Hope not. I'm sure I could calm it down, I'm like the Tiger King." Mal said with a confident smile.

" There's only Lion King, you Malon." Indon teased him.

" Then I'm an emperor." Mal concluded and got into the car. Mal was born with the inherited ability to turn into a tiger, he could also get other tigers to listen to him. This works best with Malayan Tigers, their like his people, they wouldn't disobey their king. He wondered how a tiger could live through centuries and was anxious to see the tiger for himself. Thai already had sleep darts loaded and the keys ready for the transport. Malaysia never felt quite comfortable with the use of sleep darts on the animals. It helps keep them calm during transport, which was helpful but it always made him uneasy. At least it wasn't a bullet to kill the creature. " Thai, that's not a tiger."