My mouth went dry as the glittering golden eyes of the lion bored into me dangerously, seeming speculative.
"Oh, no." I whispered, taking a step back. Then my limbs froze up and I couldn't move.
I couldn't move!
The lion stepped towards me slowly, as if it knew I couldn't get away and was torturing me with my own helplessness. It licked its chops, happy at the prospect of a warm meal.
"Whoa there, Mufasa." I mumbled weakly. "You don't want to eat me. I taste really bad. Stringy. Tough. You wouldn't like that."
'Mufasa' didn't seem to be listening. He was coming towards me faster now.
"Emily!" I heard the call as if through a long tunnel.
The lion was loping now, bounding across the marble floor towards me. His sharp, huge teeth were bared in a ferocious growl, and now, a few tees away from me, he gathered his haunches beneath him and leapt powerfully, while I stood there paralyzed and wondered if his teeth would be the last thing I saw.
Then, all at once, something was knocking me out of the way. I stumbled sideways and hit the ground hard as someone put himself between me and the springing feline, shielding me with his body.
The someone was Ahk.
The lion, unable to correct his leap in time, sailed straight over our heads and hit the ground out of control, sliding across the slippery floor and yowling in surprise.
Apparently, Rexy wasn't the only one struggling to keep his balance on this floor.
Speaking of Rexy, he had gotten up and was making his way back across the hall towards the male lion, who saw him coming and lowered his ears, gaining control again and racing back towards the African exhibit with his tail between his legs like a cowering dog.
Ahk was staring at me, looking shaken. I was on my knees on the floor where he'd pulled me, and he was right up against me, arms around me like they'd been as he grabbed me out of the way. Our faces were very close.
"Sorry," he whispered, letting go. "I..."
I was trembling like a leaf in an autumn gale.
A shout sounded from the African exhibit, and I jerked my head around to see that Larry was backed up into a corner with the entire pride advancing on him. His spare keys were on the floor, yards away.
Ahk sprang to his feet, helping me up. We raced to the door, staring in with wide eyes. I glanced at the keys in my hand, having forgotten I had them. My heart was racing and terror pumped through my veins. "Larry!"
He looked up, eyes wild. I saw fear in his eyes.
Wait a second. Where was Dexter?
I saw the monkey at the top of a fake tree inside the African exhibit, chattering away excitedly at what was probably a female monkey.
No help at all.
Suddenly, my eyes lit on one of the giraffes in the corner, grazing away peacefully at the... fake leaves. An idea formed in my head. "Larry!" I called again. "Go to a giraffe! The lions are afraid of them!"
Ahk turned to look at me questioningly.
"I read somewhere that lions don't try to hunt giraffes because they're too big." I whispered to him.
"Ah." He nodded, trying not to look worried.
Larry heard me and, in desperation, dived towards one of the giraffes just as a female lion pounced. She missed, and by now Larry was right underneath the giraffe.
The pride stopped, turning to state at their leader. He surveyed the giraffe for a moment, then shook out his name and let out a terrifying roar.
I shivered as the lions roared back. I felt sick.
They were going to take down the giraffe.
* * *
One bold male lion pounced at the giraffe's long leg, tearing into its flesh with his claws. The giraffe stumbled, eyes wild with pain, and let out a low moan.
The rest of the lions began to attack, becoming braver as they saw that the giraffe wasn't going to fight back. Larry looked to us in desperation.
A loud screech sounded from the top of a tree, and Dexter clambered down, looking furious. He scampered across the floor, grabbed Larry's spare keys, and then climbed back up, springing from his tree to the one above Larry. Then he leapt down into Larry's arms, holding the keys up proudly.
By this time, the lions were no longer focusing on him. The other giraffes had noticed the pride trying to take down one of their own, and some had come to help their clanmate. They bellowed and stomped, forming a protective circle around the injured giraffe.
Larry chose that moment to turn and run for his life, practically flying to the door on the other side. Then he turned around, closed the metal barriers, and locked the door firmly. Ahk did the same on our side after realizing that I was in no state to think rationally and therefore hadn't done it yet.
And just like that, the danger was over.
I was breathing hard as the realization sunk in.
I had almost been killed.
I began to tremble again, even harder than before. My breathing was short and sharp, and I felt my head throbbing dazedly. The blood rushed from my face, and I turned stark pale. No tears came, but I began to sob quietly. Ahk engulfed me in his arms tightly.
"Shhh..." he soothed, rubbing my back. "It's okay, Emily. You're okay." His voice shook slightly. I think he was trying to convince himself as well as me.
"It's so odd." he whispered softly, half to me, half to himself. "I haven't known you long, Emily, but... I already feel as if I know you better than I know anyone else." His expression fell a little. "Not that I know many people; in fact you, Nicky, and Larry are the only real people I see... But still. You feel like -- like home."
My heart warmed slightly. I looked up from my shivering sobs. "Th-thanks." I managed to get out. My voice was low and quiet. "I... I think I know what you mean. Because I feel it, too."
Ahk smiled. "I hope so," he whispered softly. "I hope so."
At that moment, Larry barged into the hallway with Dexter on his shoulder. He saw us hugging and turned around again. "Okay. Sorry. Leaving now."
Ahk let go of me quickly. His face was red again. "She was in shock." he explained, speaking almost too fast. "I was trying to warm her up."
I had turned bright pink. Why did this always happen? Why was I blushing, anyway? Why was he blushing?
"Mmm-hmmm." Larry nodded, straight-faced. "I see. I believe you, Ahk. I believe you." His tone contradicted his words.
What was going on? I hated being confused about things.
"Well." Larry finally lost the teasing glint in his eyes. "Good work, you two."
Dexter shrilled out a protest.
"And you." Larry was smiling slightly. "I told you you liked me."
Dexter made a derisive noise that seemed to say, Nah. I just kept you around for the comic relief.
"And good job, Rexy!" Larry called to the canine-ish dinosaur skeleton, who was in a jumbled heap on the floor, trying to get up. Rexy's claws scrabbled at the slippery floor as he attempted to stand, but they slid out from beneath him and he collapsed again. He threw his head back in a howl of frustration.
I couldn't help it. A laugh escaped me.
Ahk looked slightly amused. He touched my arm lightly. "Come on. Let's go help him out."
After a rather long, difficult effort, we finally managed to help Rexy up and get him downstairs. When everything was back to normal, I heaved a sigh of relief and blew out a breath. "Well, that was eventful."
Ahk laughed. "You could certainly say that."
"Mm-hmm." I mumbled. "I just did."
He laughed again.
Larry gave the both of us a curious look, then shook his head. "Well, Emily, I hope you're getting the hang of this. Because I'm not going to be here tomorrow to help you."
"What?" I turned to look at him.
"Or the day after that, or the day after that..." Larry trailed off. "This isn't actually my job anymore, Emily. I'm an inventor."
"Since when?" I tilted my head.
"Since awhile ago." Ahk answered for him, gazing into space. "Larry isn't the official nightguard anymore. When he stopped, Nicky took the job for a bit... but he's getting behind in school. That's one of the reasons Larry mentioned this job to you."
I groaned. "So I'm going to be all alone tomorrow?"
"Not quite." Ahk looked at me in mock offense. "You'll have me."
I stuck my tongue out at him, then covered my mouth as I realized what I'd just done. My cheeks flushed. "Oh. Sorry.... I do that to my friends I know really well sometimes.... I didn't..."
He grinned. "In that case, I'm flattered."
Larry sighed. "Anyways. I just wanted to let you know that you're the only night guard now, after tonight. I'll give you my keys and stuff in the..." He looked up suddenly, then checked his watch. "Oh. Wow. It is morning. Or pretty much, anyway. Ahk... you might want to get back to your room. Dexter, you too."
Ahk nodded and inclined his head at Larry. "Good luck with your... inventing." His eyes sparkled with a slight hint of amusement.
Larry smiled ruefully. "Thanks, Ahk. And good luck with Emily. She's a handful. Very hard to figure out."
I glared at him indignantly. "Am not!"
The way Larry was looking at Ahk, though... it made me think he was meaning it in a different way.
Ahk met his gaze meaningfully. "I see. Thank you." His voice was grave, but there was still that little hint of fondness as he glanced over at me. He smiled.
I stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do. Smile and wave? Just say, Bye, Ahk, and then be done with it?
Ahk's smile widened a little bit, his eyes glinting as if he knew something I didn't, and he stepped in and pulled me into a long hug.
Something twisted inside me, stirring, growing, a little flame glowing. It made me feel queasy and unhinged and light-headed and nervous and... shy. What was it? I had never felt it before. I swayed as Ahk stepped back, unsure if I could remain upright without him.
He took my shoulders and held me steady, laughing softly. His eyes shone like stars. So fascinating, those eyes...
I glanced down, away from their mesmerizing, endless depths. Why did I feel so shy all of a sudden?
In that moment, his hand reached out, straying to touch a strand of my hair and brushing it gently behind my ear. Had I imagined that? I couldn't tell. Everything was so dizzying and confusing right now that it was hard to tell the difference between reality and fantasy.
Was there a difference?
Haziness caressed me in tendrils of echoing light and dark, the afterimage of nothingness burning in my eyes. For a moment I saw nothing, did nothing, said nothing. For a moment, it almost seemed I ceased to exist.
Then it was gone, and he was there, and everything was new and different. He touched my cheek lightly and whispered. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Had he just touched my cheek? I didn't know. I couldn't tell. My senses were messed up and I was seeing scents, hearing color, feeling music.
Then, just like that, he was gone.
Had my mind stopped time for a moment, had he simply turned and walked away?
Time caught up with itself and I was breathing hard, staring hard at the floor as the echoes still lingered, fading, in my peripheral vision. Colors swirled, lights flickered, and I turned to fix my gaze on Larry. "What just happened?"
He said nothing. His eyes told me the answers wouldn't come so easily, that I would have to find them, not ask for them.
Slowly, slowly, I allowed my racing pulse to slow... or perhaps I allowed my barely-there pulse to speed up. I blinked, and everything was normal again. My hands opened and closed as I watched them. I glanced at the now-frozen skeleton that was Rexy, standing on the pedestal of the room lifelessly.
The sun had come up.
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All right, guys!! Hope you liked this chapter, and if you did, please vote! Thank you all for reading!
Coming soon -- Chapter Seven: "Speak At My Funeral?"