Chapter 5 - AN UNLIKELY ALLIANCEThe lioness roared in agony as three high-caliber rounds struck her flank. She tumbled off the ridge, crashing hard onto the muddy ground just feet away from us.
"Thermal contact hit!" a tactical voice yelled through the woods nearby. "Move in! Finish the subject!"
"Run!" I screamed, pulling Leo by his jacket.
We scrambled up the steep incline, but the mercenaries were fast. Beams of high-powered tactical flashlights swept across the trees behind us, cutting through the fog.
"There they are! Two civilians! Take them down!"
Bullets whizzed past my ears, snapping branches and thumping into tree trunks around us. I kept the lion cub pressed tightly against my chest, protecting him with my body as I ran wildly through the darkness.
Suddenly, Leo tripped over an exposed root and fell hard, tumbling into a shallow ravine.
"Leo!" I shouted, dropping to my knees at the edge of the ravine.
He groaned in pain, clutching his ankle. "It's broken! I can't walk! Go! Leave me!"
"I'm not leaving you!" I shouted back, frantically looking for a way down to help him.
Footsteps were approaching fast. Three mercenaries burst into the small clearing, their rifles aimed directly at us.
"End of the line, kids," the lead mercenary growled, raising his weapon toward my head. "No witnesses."
I closed my eyes, holding the tiny cub tightly, waiting for the inevitable gunshot.
ROOOOOAAAR!
A golden blur erupted from the darkness of the heavy brush.
It was the lioness. Despite her severe bullet wounds, the lab-altered beast was fueled by absolute, unstoppable rage. She slammed into the lead mercenary with the force of a speeding truck, throwing him twenty feet through the air into a tree trunk.
"OPEN FIRE! OPEN FIRE!" the second mercenary screamed in panic, turning his assault rifle on the beast.
The lioness swiped her massive paw, shattering the man's weapon and sending him crashing to the muddy ground. The third mercenary panicked, dropping his rifle and running frantically back into the woods.
In less than ten seconds, the threat was neutralized.
The clearing became dead silent again, save for the sound of heavy rain pounding on the forest floor.
The lioness stood over the fallen mercenaries, her heavy chest rising and falling, blood pouring from her wounds. Slowly, painfully, she turned her head toward me.
My heart slammed against my ribs. I was completely at her mercy. I had nowhere to run.
Slowly, gently, I lowered myself to my knees in the mud. I unzipped my sweater and gently set the little lion cub down on the grass between us.
"Here," I whispered softly, tears mixing with the rain on my face. "Take him... He's safe."
The little cub let out a soft cry and scampered toward its mother, rubbing its head against her wet leg.
The massive lioness lowered her head. She sniffed her cub, licking the rainwater off his fur. Then, she raised her terrifying yellow eyes and looked directly into mine.
For the first time, the predatory madness in her eyes seemed to fade, replaced by something deep, intelligence, and almost... grateful.
May you like
She took one slow step toward me. I held my breath.
🔥 FACEBOOK HOOK: The killer lioness saved their lives from the hitmen! But what will she do when she comes face-to-face with the girl holding her cub?
