Jonah Mason sat between his parents on the sofa, swiping swiftly thru a catalog on his tablet.
"This one!"
His dad frowned at his mom and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. He received a scowl in reply.
"The leopard is awfully big, Honey. Shelley wants the fawn. Don't you want something cute? The koala looks nice."
"Mom! I'm nine! And Bobby got an elephant last Christmas. That's much bigger than the leopard."
"Yes, and they had to have all their doorways enlarged. It cost them a fortune," his dad remarked.
"But a leopard will go through our doorways no problem," Jonah pointed out with a child's logic.
***
"But why do you want something horrible like a leopard anyway?" Shelley asked, cuddling the robotic bunny she'd got last year. Flopsy snuffled her neck and licked her cheek affectionately, making her giggle.
"You're six. You wouldn't understand."
"I would so! Anyway, I know why. You're scared of Smelly Melly and his gang!"
"I am not scared of Melvin Tate! I just think that ... something like a leopard will show people I'm not a little kid anymore."
"You're scared of Smelly Melly's gang and you think a leopard will scare them off."
Jonah sighed. Shelley had hit the mark.
"I'll teach it to growl."
"They'll still know it's just a big cuddly toy."
***
Christmas morning was quite an event in the Mason household. All the small gifts had to be opened first so when Mr Mason finally dragged a large box through from the garage, the lounge was already ankle deep in wrapping paper.
Mrs Mason carried a much smaller box in and set it in front of her daughter.
"You go first, Sweetheart. Let's see what you got."
Shelley ripped the colorful paper away and tore open the flaps of the cardboard container inside. She withdrew a sliding tray to reveal a sleeping baby deer against a woodland backdrop. She stroked the toy lovingly.
"I'm calling her Bambi! Wake up Bambi!"
"The switch is inside its right ear," her father said helpfully.
A poke of a finger and the fawn opened enchanting doe eyes that would easily melt the heart of any traffic warden. The fawn struggled to its feet and stood trembling on wobbly legs. Mrs Mason smiled with delight and even Jonah seemed taken with it.
"Mommy ... Daddy! I love her!" Shelley gasped.
"We all love her, Sweetheart," her mom agreed. "Why don't you take Bambi to your room and start teaching her?"
Once Shelley had led the fawn away the Masons turned their attention to the larger box.
"Go on son," Mr Mason said. "Let's see what you get for $40,000!"
Mrs Mason glanced at her husband sharply.
"Robert! You can't put a price on a child's happiness."
"Sorry dear."
Once revealed, the leopard was breathtaking. It had taken all three of them to drag it out of the box and they contemplated the inert beast with awe.
"She's beautiful," Mrs Mason whispered.
"How do you know it's a girl, Mom?" Jonah whispered back.
"Well, I don't see any boy's bits and pieces, so I'm guessing she's a girl. She looks so real."
"So it should for 40 bloody K," Robert muttered. "Why are you whispering? It can't hear us until it's switched on. Go on Jonah. Right ear."
Jonah looked almost afraid to touch his new pet. He reached out a tentative hand and found the switch. The leopard stirred and Jonah snatched his hand away.
"Don't worry. It can't bite. The teeth are made of sponge rubber," his dad laughed.
The leopard raised its head and yawned. Lips drew back over realistically sharp incisors. Amber eyes flashed as if in warning. Then it stood and stretched. A faint whirr and chatter of internal software could be heard as the AI programming began to boot up.
"Quick son," Mr Mason said. "You have to master it."
"I'm Jonah. You belong to me. Your name is ... Blaze."
***
Blaze sat like an oversize housecat gazing around Jonah's bedroom with interest.
"Why is my name Blaze?" she asked.
"You look like fire."
Blaze looked down at her fur.
"What is fire?"
"Just a minute."
Jonah went to his bedroom door and opened it.
"Dad! ... Dad!"
His father yelled back.
"I'm busy!"
"Can you connect Blaze to the Wi-Fi?"
"No, son. You're supposed to teach them everything you want them to know. Like we've always told you, having a pet is a big responsibility."
"Poo on a stick!" Jonah swore under his breath as he closed the door. "This is gonna take forever!"
"I have a ten year warranty," Blaze offered. "Is that enough forever?"
***
Shelley was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV stroking Bambi when Jonah came into the sitting room with Blaze.
"What's on?"
"Scooby-doo. It's really funny."
"It's really funny," Bambi squeaked.
"That's only for babies. I want to show Blaze some nature documentaries."
"Go and watch YouTube videos on your tablet."
"Go watch videos on your tablet," Bambi squeaked.
Jonah frowned at the fawn.
"Does that thing copy everything you say?"
"Don't call her a thing and leave us alone!"
"C'mon Blaze. I'll show you my hangout instead."
***
The ancient California Oak in the Mason's yard was vast. A rope ladder attached to a sturdy lower branch hung close to the trunk.
"Follow me," Jonah said as he clambered up the ladder and disappeared into the thick foliage. Blaze stood on hind legs and put both front paws on the ladder. She scrabbled for a grip.
"I'm sorry, Jonah. I cannot climb like you. I must do it my own way."
In one effortless bound Blaze sprang from the ground and landed on the branch, where she crouched, waiting for instructions.
"Wow! That was amazing!"
Jonah was sitting on a platform outside a roughly nailed together tree house nestling between the branches.
"It seemed the easiest way," Blaze raised her haunches in a humanlike shrug.
"This tree is my hangout. Shelley's too scared to climb the ladder and dad says he's too heavy. Come inside."
Blaze padded silently along the branch and into the tree house. She sat and admired the haphazardly positioned planks forming the walls.
"What is a hangout?"
"It's a place to ... just hang out when you want to be alone."
"I like it."
"Dad made the floor, but I did everything else," Jonah said with pride.
"Can this tree be my hangout too?"
"Of course! We can share it."
***
The next day, Jonah took Blaze to the park. There was still a week left of the Christmas school holiday and the weather in Orange County was sunny and warm. Blaze lay on the grass while Jonah played on a swing. Jonah suddenly stamped his feet down to stop the swing.
"Oh, no!" he muttered.
Four boys approached, slightly older, slightly taller.
"Off our swings, Mason!" the biggest one ordered.
"They're not your swings, Melvin."
Melvin laughed and then pointed at Blaze.
"You think your big toy pussy cat will protect you? One good kick and it'll fall apart. Give it a kick boys!"
"Blaze ...Run home!" Jonah yelled.
Blaze obeyed her master's instruction and loped away across the park.
"You better chase after it, Mason, before we give you a good kicking instead."
Jonah knew he couldn't fight them. He ran for it.
***
Jonah found Blaze waiting on the front porch when he got home. He slumped down on the step next to her and stroked her head. To his surprise, she purred. Maybe she was just an overgrown pussy cat he thought. Melvin's gang hadn't been in the least afraid of her.
"Why did you not stay to play with your friends?" Blaze asked.
"Ha! They're not my friends! They're my deadly enemies!"
"So, you do not like those children?"
"I hate them. I wish they were dead!"
The leopard sat impassively staring into the distance as Jonah ruffled her ears.
***
Blaze sat patiently watching Jonah eat his dinner with the rest of the family. Jonah sneaked a small chunk of meat off his plate and surreptitiously held it in front of his pet's nose. The leopard studied the morsel with interest.
"What is it?"
Everyone turned to look at Blaze and Jonah turned red with embarrassment, realizing he'd been caught in the foolish act of offering food to a cyberpet.
"Ha-ha!" Shelley guffawed. "Jonah thinks his pet is real!"
"Ha-ha!" Bambi repeated.
"You know a robot can't eat, Jonah," his mom said. "And even if it could we would never, ever, feed animals at the dinner table."
"I'm sorry, Mom. But she's just like a real leopard."
"Talking of real leopards, Jonah, there's a documentary about the Serengeti starting soon," Mr Mason said. "Do you want to watch it with me?"
"You bet!" Jonah nodded enthusiastically.
"Can I watch it too?" Shelley begged.
"You know you get upset by those shows, Sweetheart," her father said.
"That was last year when I was five. I'm much more grown up now."
***
Shelley sat on the floor holding the trembling fawn as a lioness clawed the hind legs away from under a galloping wildebeest. The rest of the pride descended on the unfortunate animal in a flurry of tawny brown, ripping and tearing without mercy. Shelley covered her fawn's eyes and looked away from the screen.
"Yuk!" she exclaimed.
"It's natural, sweetheart. The lions have cubs to feed."
"I know, but it's not fair."
"They kill the old and the sick. It keeps the rest of the herd healthy and ..."
The scene on TV had cut away from open savannah to a wooded area and the narrator began to speak.
"Unlike lions, which rely on teamwork, the leopard is a lone hunter, using stealth to creep up on unsuspecting prey."
"Shh! We want to listen to this!" Jonah implored.
"Lions will attack leopards to eliminate competition for food, and for that reason, lions are the leopards' deadly enemies."
Blaze glanced at Jonah as if putting two and two together.
As the leopard crept closer and closer to a small group of impala feeding among the trees, the narrator kept up his description of the unfolding action. Blaze shuffled a little closer to the screen and cocked her head from side to side, examining her double closely. She turned to Jonah and spoke softly.
"Am I the same?"
"Yes, you're the same," Jonah whispered to her.
At that moment, the on-screen hunter leapt forward. The impalas took off like rocket ships, scattering in all directions, except for one small calf that lagged behind. The leopard was on her like a flash.
"No! It's a baby!" Shelley cried.
"Baby! Baby!" a panic-stricken Bambi squeaked as the narrator droned on.
"The leopard crushes its victim's windpipe to suffocate it then carries the carcass into a tree, where it hangs it in the branches, safe from lions and hyenas."
The leopard clamped its jaws on the calf's throat until it stopped struggling then dragged it up into a tree and began to lick the limp body contentedly. Shelley began to sob.
"It's not fair! It was just a baby!"
"Sweetheart, it's the law of the jungle. That's what leopards are supposed to do."
Blaze swivelled her head around and stared at Mr Mason as if processing what he'd just said. Then she turned back and gave Bambi a long, lingering look.
***
Mrs Mason woke Jonah early the next morning.
"C'mon Honey, get dressed we're ready to leave."
"What?" a sleepy Jonah said. "Where are we going?"
"To visit Grandma, like we do every Christmas. Have you forgotten?"
"But ... can Blaze come?"
The leopard, lying on the floor at the foot of Jonah's bed, stirred from standby mode at the sound of her name.
"No, dear, she's much too big to fit in the car and we can't have her wandering around loose in the house. You'll have to switch her off."
The leopard's tail twitched.
"Oh, Mom! Can't I stay here with her?"
"Of course not! We'll be away for three days! Now hurry up!"
"What about Bambi?"
"Shelley can hold Bambi in her car seat."
"That's not fair!"
"Jonah! You wanted a large animal. Now get ready!"
Mrs Mason left and Jonah looked at Blaze. Blaze met his gaze.
"Please don't switch me off," she said.
"I have to. They don't want you loose in the house. They probably think you'll break something."
"I understand. But if you open the window and let me out I can stay in our hangout."
***
"What the hell is going on here?" Mr Mason said as he joined the tail end of a line of cars pulled over by cops. They were almost home, just passing their local park and there seemed to be an unusually large police presence in the neighbourhood. He lowered the window as an officer approached the Prius.
"Evening, Sir," the officer said. "Do you live in the area?"
"Yes, in the next street."
The cop handed over a flyer printed with pictures of four young boys and the word 'Missing' at the top.
"Do you know any of these kids and have you seen them recently? We think they've run away from home."
Mr Mason glanced at the flyer and shook his head.
"We've been away for a few days, but my son might know them."
He passed the flyer back to Jonah.
"It's Melvin Tate and his gang!" Jonah said immediately.
***
As soon as Jonah's dad unlocked the front door, Jonah rushed up to his bedroom and flung open the window. Moments later, Blaze leapt into the room. She must have seen the Prius pull into the driveway.
"Melvin and his gang have run away from home! We can go to the park!"
"Are you happy that your deadly enemies have gone?"
"You bet! I hope they don't come back for a long, long time."
"I'm sure they won't," Blaze stated with confidence.
***
"Mom, can I go to the park with Blaze?" Jonah asked the following afternoon.
"No, Honey. Play in the yard. Shelley is out there with Bambi and Flopsy."
"Ah! Mom, why not?"
"Because the police still haven't found those boys and I don't want anything happening to you."
Jonah considered that.
"But I don't want to run away. I like it here with you and dad."
"Honey, the police are starting to think they've been kidnapped, or something worse. There's a lot of bad people out there. I want you to stay close to home."
"Oh ... okay."
Blaze followed Jonah out into the garden where Shelley was having a pretend tea party with her cyberpets and a Barbie doll.
"Wanna play catch?" Jonah suggested.
"No."
"Hide and seek?"
"Maybe, when we've finished our ..."
Shelley paused when she heard the unmistakeable chimes of an ice cream truck.
"Ice cream truck in the street!" she exclaimed.
"Let's ask mom!" Jonah said.
They both rushed into the house.
***
Mrs Mason was getting more and more paranoid about the lost boys. She insisted that Jonah and Shelley wait at the end of the drive and flag the truck down when it eventually passed. So it was several minutes before they returned to the yard, blissfully licking their cones. Shelley had finished hers before she noticed her fawn was missing.
"Stupid thing probably wandered off somewhere," Jonah said.
"Flopsy ... where did Bambi go?" Shelley asked.
The rabbit turned its head slowly to stare at Blaze, sitting quietly on the grass nearby.
"Took Bambi away."
Shelley put her hands on her hips and glared at Jonah.
"Jonah?"
"Blaze, where is Bambi?" Jonah said.
"In the hangout."
The children ran around to the big oak tree.
"Bambi?" Shelley yelled.
A small nervous voice answered.
"Bambi up here."
"Get her down!" Shelley demanded.
"I can't carry her down the rope ladder. I'll have to get dad."
***
Mr Mason had to fetch his extendable ladders from the garage to reach the tree house and rescue Bambi. He climbed carefully down holding the trembling fawn under one arm and handed it to Shelley.
"There you are Shell, no harm done. But there's a terrible smell up there. Did you leave some food in the tree house Jonah?"
"No, Dad."
"Must be a dead bird. Now, tell your leopard that she must leave Shelley's pets alone."
Jonah turned to Blaze and wagged a stern finger at her.
"Blaze! You must not touch Flopsy or Bambi! Why did you put Bambi in the tree house?"
"Your father said it was the law of the jungle and that is what leopards are supposed to do. But I couldn't hang her up in the branches because she didn't go limp and keep still like the others."
"That's because Bambi isn't real," Mr Mason said. "She doesn't breathe. And you're not real. You don't need to hunt!"
Then the significance of the leopard's words dawned.
"What do you mean; 'like the others'?"
"Jonah's deadly enemies. He wished them dead so he could go to the park."
Blaze gave another one of her humanlike shrugs.
"Now Jonah can play on their swing."