the same time, it also upped the ante on how irritating she could be.
“ Well, no. Exactly could mean nothing more than ‘it ain’t exactly Smokey the Bear’,” I said, glancing back at the beast that regarded us warily as it regained its footing. It would be back for round two at any moment. “In fact, I don’t think it’s a bear at all.”
“ It looks like a big dog or a cat,” said Ishi, nervously. “It’s too big to be a jaguarundi”
“ A what?” said Marie, inching closer to me, to where her light perfume filled my nostrils. “All I know is that thing’s huge!”
True. It certainly wasn’t the cougar-sized jaguarundi. The monster was far too big. But once it focused its luminescent yellow eyes upon us, I could tell it was the bigger cousin of the aforementioned jaguarundi. A panther. Black as midnight with a blue sheen running through its fur. And, bigger than any other panther I’d ever come across.
“ Well…what in the hell is it?”
The shrillness was back in Marie’s voice.
“ You should know, since it’s the creature depicted on your papa’s treasured disk,” I said, finding it impossible to not snicker. It’s a nervous tic of mine. “And before you try to tell me this ain’t a jaguar, think again—”
“ Yeah, I know, Nick—they’re part of the panthera family of big cats,” she said, interrupting me. Her tone sounded even more worried. “But I never expected to encounter anything quite that big. Papa said to watch out for the jaguars that guard the entrance to the ‘treasure cave’.”
“ What?! So, you knew about this damned thing and never said a word about it? And, there’s more than this one??”
“ Yes. But, if we move quickly, we should be able to get inside before anything bad happens.”
“ Bad? What do you mean by ‘bad’??”
Ishi’s voice cracked as he said this. Meanwhile, the enormous panther began to creep toward us. Its yellow eyes were tinged with orange halos around the edges, as if the very fires of hell had ignited them. No, I didn’t think that thought right away...it was what popped in my head for a brief moment as I turned to follow Marie as she sprinted toward a group of gnarled trees near where our jaguar friend had originally been peering at us.
“ Where in the hell are you running to?” I called after her, after urging Ishi to quit staring stupidly at the big cat and hightail his ass to join mine in pursuit of our more athletic female companion. “Shit! ...Ishi, damn it let’s go!!”
“ I’m coming, Nick! I’m—ah, shit, it’s coming after us!!”
As if the jaguar’s menacing growl hadn’t already announced that fact. As much as I worried that we were chasing a mad woman into our death trap, the reality that an animal large enough to devour my diminutive companion in a couple of bites and me in under five provided all the incentive needed to for us to sprint into the shadowed foliage ahead of us.
“ Nick—get ready to dive!”
“ Huh?! Are you frigging serious? Dive where??”
“ Both of you need to dive headfirst when I tell you to do it!” Marie shouted back toward me. I couldn’t see her, and I started to slow down so I could get my bearings. It seemed like the smartest thing to do.
“ No! Nick, keep running! You’re almost there! I remember it...everything’s coming back to me. Get ready to— oh shit!”
“ Marie?! What in the.... Are you all right—”
“ Dive, damn it— do it now!”
But there was no response. Nothing. Well, check that...I heard several low growls in the deep shadows within the shade from the native palms, shrubs, and other broad-leaved plants. It sounded like there were a dozen big cats, although I only caught a glimpse of another pair of luminous eyes—this time orange. It seemed odd that the jaguar had companions, since they are solitary critters. But, when the eyes disappeared from view, none of that mattered. I knew instinctively that this particular cat was circling
“ Well, no. Exactly could mean nothing more than ‘it ain’t exactly Smokey the Bear’,” I said, glancing back at the beast that regarded us warily as it regained its footing. It would be back for round two at any moment. “In fact, I don’t think it’s a bear at all.”
“ It looks like a big dog or a cat,” said Ishi, nervously. “It’s too big to be a jaguarundi”
“ A what?” said Marie, inching closer to me, to where her light perfume filled my nostrils. “All I know is that thing’s huge!”
True. It certainly wasn’t the cougar-sized jaguarundi. The monster was far too big. But once it focused its luminescent yellow eyes upon us, I could tell it was the bigger cousin of the aforementioned jaguarundi. A panther. Black as midnight with a blue sheen running through its fur. And, bigger than any other panther I’d ever come across.
“ Well…what in the hell is it?”
The shrillness was back in Marie’s voice.
“ You should know, since it’s the creature depicted on your papa’s treasured disk,” I said, finding it impossible to not snicker. It’s a nervous tic of mine. “And before you try to tell me this ain’t a jaguar, think again—”
“ Yeah, I know, Nick—they’re part of the panthera family of big cats,” she said, interrupting me. Her tone sounded even more worried. “But I never expected to encounter anything quite that big. Papa said to watch out for the jaguars that guard the entrance to the ‘treasure cave’.”
“ What?! So, you knew about this damned thing and never said a word about it? And, there’s more than this one??”
“ Yes. But, if we move quickly, we should be able to get inside before anything bad happens.”
“ Bad? What do you mean by ‘bad’??”
Ishi’s voice cracked as he said this. Meanwhile, the enormous panther began to creep toward us. Its yellow eyes were tinged with orange halos around the edges, as if the very fires of hell had ignited them. No, I didn’t think that thought right away...it was what popped in my head for a brief moment as I turned to follow Marie as she sprinted toward a group of gnarled trees near where our jaguar friend had originally been peering at us.
“ Where in the hell are you running to?” I called after her, after urging Ishi to quit staring stupidly at the big cat and hightail his ass to join mine in pursuit of our more athletic female companion. “Shit! ...Ishi, damn it let’s go!!”
“ I’m coming, Nick! I’m—ah, shit, it’s coming after us!!”
As if the jaguar’s menacing growl hadn’t already announced that fact. As much as I worried that we were chasing a mad woman into our death trap, the reality that an animal large enough to devour my diminutive companion in a couple of bites and me in under five provided all the incentive needed to for us to sprint into the shadowed foliage ahead of us.
“ Nick—get ready to dive!”
“ Huh?! Are you frigging serious? Dive where??”
“ Both of you need to dive headfirst when I tell you to do it!” Marie shouted back toward me. I couldn’t see her, and I started to slow down so I could get my bearings. It seemed like the smartest thing to do.
“ No! Nick, keep running! You’re almost there! I remember it...everything’s coming back to me. Get ready to— oh shit!”
“ Marie?! What in the.... Are you all right—”
“ Dive, damn it— do it now!”
But there was no response. Nothing. Well, check that...I heard several low growls in the deep shadows within the shade from the native palms, shrubs, and other broad-leaved plants. It sounded like there were a dozen big cats, although I only caught a glimpse of another pair of luminous eyes—this time orange. It seemed odd that the jaguar had companions, since they are solitary critters. But, when the eyes disappeared from view, none of that mattered. I knew instinctively that this particular cat was circling
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