Point-of-View: Aurora Pretorius
———————————————————————————
I let out a cry as I tripped and fell, scraping my left knee as I painfully skidded on the ground...I slowly got back onto my feet with a slight groan, my legs shaking as I stood up, before freezing as I noticed sothing in my left peripheral, a herd of deer being chased by...cheetahs.
There were four or five of them, and they were far enough that they hadn’t noticed , but not so far that I could get away if they do notice , cheetahs are just that fast. There were so trees and bushes to my right, I better hide!
I strayed off the trail and moved past a tree, heading deeper into the greenery...before coming in between a large bear and a cheetah cub. Give...give a break.
Th-this is a nightmare...a-am I going to die now too? I don’t understand...I thought there weren’t any bears in Africa.
And why is a cheetah cub here, I thought they stay hidden in their dens until they grow up? I feel like laughing and crying at the sa ti...I’m about to die, my dad is dead, and the first thing that cos to my mind right now are animal trivia facts that I’ve read about?
Before I knew what I was doing, I was standing in front of the cheetah cub, which growled at in response, while the bear began slowly lumbering towards . It’s a black bear, i-it’s so scary from close up.
There’s a saying about how to deal with bears, what was it...? I rember, ’if it’s brown, lay down. If it’s black, fight back. If it’s white, goodnight’...wait, I’m supposed to fight this bear if I want to chase it away?
I-I don’t think that’ll work! H-how am I supposed to intimidate a creature like this when I’m the one who’s terrified? Trembling, I shakily picked up a rock and flung it at the bear...but I missed, the rock narrowly missing the side of its head, as it flew past its ear.
The bear responded by letting out a vicious roar, before moving towards at a much faster speed, as the cheetah cub let out a loud...roar? ow? I’m not sure what to call that, but it was really loud. Is it a cry of fear?
Without thinking, I found myself turning around, picking up the cub and holding it close while I crouched, my back to the bear...m-maybe this way, it’ll only kill , and this baby animal will survive. That’s better than both of us dying, right? B-but, I...I don’t want to die...
The cub didn’t struggle or resist as I held it, I could feel it trembling...poor thing, it must be really scared too. As I braced myself to feel pain, I felt sothing...sothing was welling up inside , starting to surge...it was a strange, unfamiliar feeling...
Suddenly, I was snapped out of it as vicious snarls and growls echoed out behind , that surging feeling vanishing as abruptly as it had appeared. I slowly turned around in surprise, to see two cheetahs attacking the bear ferociously.
And before long, the bear ran away, covered in scratches and wounds as I let out a roar, the echo of its heavy footsteps growing quieter and quieter. But it was too early for to let out a sigh of relief...because the attention of the cheetahs was now on .
Cheetahs are one of the most docile big cat species...I-I need to let them know that I an them no harm. I slowly put the cub down, lightly petting its head as I did...if I’m going to die, I might as well pet a cute animal while I still can, r-right?
It’s no use, I can’t think straight right now...I’m so emotionally overwheld. I then put my hands on the ground, with my palms facing upwards, before eting the gaze of one of the cheetahs, trembling in fear. The cub was still staying near , I could feel it sniffing my hands.
As the bigger cheetahs stared down, I felt an unbearable tension, beads of sweat running down my face as I struggled to keep my breathing from getting panicked. I then heard a sound, like a quiet, steady vibrating. Is the cub...purring?
One of the cheetahs then approached , leaning down as it closed in and sniffing the cub, before shifting its attention back to and sniffing my face. Without realizing it, I was holding my breath as it looked at with a piercing gaze...it’s so close, its nose was literally touching my face.
And in that mont, fear wasn’t the only emotion that I was feeling...there was also a sense of awe and admiration for the beautiful, majestic creature in front of . It let out a slight growl as I slowly raised one of my hands, in an almost trance-like state.
What I’m doing is probably really stupid...but sohow, it didn’t feel like I was in danger. The growls grew louder and more threatening as my fingers touched the bottom of its jaw, the cheetah baring its fangs at . I didn’t look away, continuing to maintain eye contact as I slowly started to gently scratch it.
I’ve petted a lot of stray cats near my ho, I just hope that a bigger cat has the sa weak spots. After a few seconds, the growling grew quieter, before subsiding...and then, it began purring. I...I did it! I could barely understand it myself, how I’d managed to stay so calm in the face of it.
Maybe it was because I was in a situation that almost guaranteed death, and that ant that I had nothing to lose, and therefore, no reason to panic? Wait, what now? Will they leave alone so that I can get back on the trail?
It’s either that or eating -...suddenly, the cheetah that was sniffing walked around behind , before I felt its breath on the back of my neck, as it grabbed the back of my collar between its teeth.
Huh?
The next thing I knew, it was dragging away, deeper into the greenery, the other cheetah and the cub following along. The cub bounded over towards , sniffing , while the other cheetah was apprehensively keeping its distance. Uh...what is happening?
Okay, that settles it...today has been nothing but a crazy nightmare. It has to be, I can’t think of any other explanation that makes sense. There’s just no way that any of this is real. My dad isn’t dead...I’m not being dragged away by cheetahs...it’s all in my head, just a bad dream.
Any minute now, I’ll wake up in the bed at the room in the inn-...or maybe this entire vacation has been a dream, and I’ll wake up back in our house in Zimbabwe. Yeah, any minute now...
.
.
.
.
.
.
Why am I not waking up? The cheetahs have dragged all the way to a large cave, which was partially hidden by shrubbery...my trousers had gotten worn down from being dragged here, and my knees were hurting a bit too. But it’s supposed to be impossible to feel pain in a dream...right?
There were a lot of other cheetahs, so of them growling as they caught sight of , their jaws dripping with blood. On the ground, by their feet, were a couple of dead deers...I felt a wave of nausea as the heavy scent of blood wafted into my nostrils, but I didn’t let myself gag...any sudden movents and I might get attacked.
The cheetah that had dragged here then let go, dropping onto the ground, before nudging my back with its snout and then heading for the cave entrance. Does it want to follow...him? Her? I glanced at the spot below its tail and-...it’s a he.
Wait, that’s right, I rember reading that only male cheetahs live in groups, females live alone except for when they’re in heat and when they take care of their cubs-...huh? Then what about this cub? Why is it-...?
I was snapped out of it as the cheetah that dragged turned around made a chirp-like noise...okay, I better follow him. Without really thinking, I followed on all fours, sticking close behind as we walked past the other cheetahs.
Maybe it was because they had food right in front of them, or maybe it was because this cheetah was treating in this manner, but whatever the reason, none of them attacked . I kept my gaze away from the bleeding corpses of the deer they were eating, doing my best not to puke.
As I entered the cave, it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust...before I saw another cheetah, curled up at the back of the cave with two cubs. The cub that I had encountered then bounded towards that cheetah, who perked up as it saw the cub. Oh, looks like that cub is a female.
The other two cubs had their faces buried in the adult cheetah’s belly...are they drinking milk? Then, that’s a female cheetah? I thought that adult males and females don’t live together-...I then noticed the female cheetah’s left hind leg, which was unnaturally bent.
Oh, I see, it must have broken its leg, to an extent where the damage was permanent. It looks older and weaker than the other cheetahs around...maybe they’re her cubs too? This is different from what I’ve read about how cheetahs live, but maybe there are exceptions to the rule.
The cub that I ca across then walked towards , sniffing my right hand again. I then petted her, stroking the top of her head before lightly scratching the side of her jaw. She began purring, before pressing against my touch and flopping down onto her side, stretching her head up and letting pet her neck.
Aww, so cute! Her fur is so soft and fluffy, and that purring is adorable! I then glanced up, to see that the mother cheetah had relaxed, and so of the cheetahs outside the cave, who had been peering in, seed to be less tense too.
The cheetah that had dragged here then headed out of the cave and tore off a piece of flesh off of one of the deer, before picking it up in its jaws and walking over to , placing the chunk of at in front of .
Huh? Am I supposed to eat this? It’s too dangerous to eat raw at though...they all seem less wary of , so maybe I can start a fire and cook this. I learned how to a few days ago, while I was camping with...w-with my dad.
I...I can’t believe that he’s really gone. I have to accept it, I can’t keep denying reality...this isn’t a dream. This is really happening. I then picked up the at and walked out of the cave, the cheetah that dragged following , while the other cheetahs tensed up a bit.
Even though I’m feeling miserable, I need to eat...I’m feeling hungry now that I no longer feel like I’m in danger. Dad always said that it’s always important to take care of yourself, especially when you feel sad.
I then gathered so dry fallen branches, piling so up along with dry leaves, while using one to pierce the at onto, while using two sticks to start a fire. I’m good with my hands, and my dad taught how to start a fire by rubbing two dry sticks to create sparks.
It took a few minutes, my arms starting to ache badly, but I eventually managed to create a spark and set the pile of sticks and leaves on fire. So of the cheetahs began growling and snarling in response, while the one that dragged stiffened, the hairs on his back standing up.
I then raised the at over the flas, cooking it slowly. After a few minutes, a pleasant sll began to waft from the half-cooked at. The cheetahs began to perk up at that, the tension in their shoulders relaxing, their noses twitching as a slight breeze picked up and they caught a whiff of the scent.
Once it was cooked, I took it off the fla and began tearing it into small chunks, blowing on one of them to cool it down and then eating it. It’s so soft and tender, though it’s a bit bland. I then placed so of the other pieces in front of the cheetahs, they sniffed the at while licking their chops, before they bit into them and began chewing.
As they ate the small pieces of at while I wolfed down the rest of the cooked at, one of them then dragged one of the deer bodies towards , before dropping it in front of and letting our a chirpy ow. Oh, does it want more cooked at? I guess I don’t have a choice...
...
...
A few hours later, after the sun had set, I was inside the cave, curled up between two of the cheetahs while the cub was sleeping on my legs. After giving them cooked at, pretty much all the cheetahs had ward up to .
I know this is a really happening, but I still can’t believe that this entire day hasn’t been a dream. But, then, a big part of that is because I don’t want to believe that everything that happened today was real. A tear ran down my face as the sight of my dad being shot in the head flashed through my mind, my body trembling.
I then shifted my gaze down as I felt the cub move, she walked over my stomach and chest before letting out a quiet purr as she bumped her nose against my cheek. I let out a slight laugh before smiling sadly and stroking her head softly.
I could go back...it shouldn’t be too difficult to find the trail and get back to the entrance of the reserve, but...what’s the point of that? Both mom and dad are dead now, there’s no reason to go back. No, it’s more accurate to say that there’s nothing left for to go back to. I think...I think that I’ll just stay here instead...
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comnt, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.
Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming Chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:
sdiscord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP
Reviews
All reviews (0)