Chapter 92 *

Chapter 92 Chapter 92
Angelina's POV
Everyone around the campfire froze.
That was Zoey's voice. Then I heard crashing sounds. Branches breaking. Footsteps running.
Kai and Zoey burst out of the tree line.
Kai's shirt was half-open. Zoey's hair was a mess. Her jacket was gone.
They were running full speed toward the campfire.
Behind them, two massive shapes emerged from the darkness.
Mountain lions.
Both were huge. Easily two hundred pounds each. Golden fur. Green eyes that reflected the firelight.
They moved fast. Predator fast.
The clearing exploded into chaos.
"OH SHIT!"
"RUN!"
"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"
Tyler jumped up from his log and sprinted toward the nearest tree. Other people followed.
"Climb! Everyone climb!"
"Where's my phone?!"
"Someone call 911!"
People were scrambling in every direction. Most of them ran for the trees around the clearing.
I watched as Tyler grabbed a branch and pulled himself up. Other guys followed him.
The girls were screaming. Some of them couldn't climb fast enough.
Mia grabbed my arm. "Aria! We need to get up a tree! Now!"
I didn't move.
The two mountain lions stopped about thirty feet from the campfire. One of them let out a low growl.
More screaming.
Kai had reached a tree on the far side. He was trying to climb but his hands kept slipping.
Zoey was still on the ground, frozen in place. She was crying.
"Kai! Help me! Please!"
Kai finally got a grip on a branch and pulled himself up. He didn't look back at Zoey.
She collapsed onto the ground, sobbing.
"Oh my god, we're gonna die! We're all gonna die!"
I counted quickly. Almost everyone had climbed trees or was climbing.
Tyler was up high, clinging to a branch. "Stay up here! They can't get us!"
I spoke clearly. Loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Mountain lions can climb trees."
The entire clearing went silent for a second.
Tyler's head snapped toward me. "WHAT?!"
"They can climb. Better than you can."
"Are you fucking serious right now?!"
But the panic had already started. People kept climbing. Going higher. Some of them were crying.
"I shouldn't have come!"
"Mom, I'm sorry!"
"This is insane!"
Silas was halfway up a tree to my left. He stopped climbing and looked down at me.
"Master! Get up here!"
I shook my head.
Silas started climbing back down. "Then I'm coming down there!"
I looked around the clearing.
Most people were in trees now. Their faces pale. Some of them shaking.
On the ground, there were only five of us left.
Me. Standing by the campfire.
Mia. Still clutching my arm, trembling.
Silas. Jumping down from his tree branch.
Kai. Coming down from his tree, moving slowly.
Zoey. Still on the ground, crying too hard to move.
The two mountain lions started moving forward. Slow. Deliberate.
They knew they had us.
I reached down to my waist and pulled out tactical knives.
Mia's eyes went huge. "Where did that come from?!"
Silas landed on the ground next to me. He looked at my knife. Then at the two mountain lions. I tossed him one of the knives.
His face went pale.
"Master, I..." He swallowed hard. "I've never actually fought anything like this before. Training is different. This is real."
I kept my eyes on the lions. "I know."
"I don't think I can take one down."
"You don't have to."
He blinked. "What?"
"Stay back. Protect the others if they get past me."
"But Master, there's two of them—"
I looked at him. "If I can't kill two mountain lions, I don't deserve to be your Master."
Silas stared at me for a second. Then he nodded slowly.
"Yes, Master."
From the trees, I heard Tyler's voice.
"What the fuck... is she serious?"
Another voice. "She's gonna fight them?!"
"With KNIVES?!"
"That's insane!"
Mia's hand grabbed my sleeve. Her fingers were shaking.
"Aria, this is insane. You can't fight them alone."
Her face was pale. But she wasn't letting go of me.
I looked at her. "Trust me. I've dealt with worse."
She took a deep breath. Her legs were trembling but she nodded.
The two mountain lions were still moving closer. One of them suddenly changed direction. It was going toward Zoey.
Zoey was still on the ground. She'd fallen when they ran out of the woods. She was crying so hard she couldn't move.
The mountain lion reached her in three seconds. It jumped on top of her.
Zoey's scream was ear-splitting. Tears and snot were running down her face.
The mountain lion's paw pressed down on her shoulder. It lowered its head. Growled right in her face.
In the tree above them, Kai was frozen. His hands gripped the branch so hard.
I watched the scene with cold eyes.
"Rehabilitation center animals," I said quietly. Only Mia could hear me. "They were raised by humans. Lost their wild instincts."
Mia stared at me. "What?"
"A real wild mountain lion would have bitten through her throat in three seconds. This one is hesitating."
Mia's eyes went wide. The mountain lion on top of Zoey lowered its head further. Started sniffing her neck. A threatening growl came from its throat.
Zoey was too scared to move. Just kept crying.
The other mountain lion was circling us. Moving slowly. Looking for an angle to attack.
In the trees, nobody was making a sound. Everyone was holding their breath.
"HEY! Over here!" Silas grabbed two cooked chicken wings from near the fire. Started waving them in the air.
The smell of grilled meat spread through the cold air.
The mountain lion on top of Zoey lifted its head. Its amber eyes locked on Silas.
The other mountain lion turned toward him too.
Mia gasped. "Oh god, Silas, what are you doing?!"
She started to shout for him to come back. But her voice caught in her throat.
My hand pressed down on her shoulder. "Don't make a sound."
Mia could only watch.
Silas threw both chicken wings toward the far side of the clearing. Both mountain lions lunged for them at the same time.
He ran toward the one closest to Zoey. "Kai! Get your girlfriend up the tree! Then help me!"
Kai slid down from his branch. He dragged Zoey to the base of the tree. Pushed her toward the lower branches.
"Climb! Climb now!"
Zoey grabbed a branch and pulled herself up. She was still crying but she was moving.
Kai climbed up right after her. He reached his original branch and stopped. Didn't come back down.
From the trees, voices started shouting.
"Holy shit, he's fighting two mountain lions!"
"Silas, be careful!"
"Oh my god, this is insane!"
Silas waited until one of the mountain lions lowered its head to eat the chicken. Then he moved.
His knife stabbed into the side of its neck.
The mountain lion screamed. Blood sprayed out.
The trees exploded with cheers and clapping.
"He did it!"
"Holy crap, he actually stabbed it!"
"That was amazing!"
But I wasn't celebrating. My eyes narrowed.
I turned to Mia. "Stay here. Don't move."
Her face went white. "Wait, where are you—"
I was already walking forward.
Silas was standing over the injured mountain lion. It was on the ground. Blood pooling around it. He was breathing hard, a relieved smile starting to form on his face.
Then the mountain lion moved.
It flipped over so fast I barely saw it. Let out a roar that shook the entire clearing.
Then it launched itself at Silas. Three times faster than before. Its mouth opened wide. Fangs aimed straight at his throat.
The trees erupted in screams.
"SILAS! WATCH OUT!"
"He's dead!"
"SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!"
I was already moving.
My body crossed the distance in less than a second. I appeared beside Silas just as the mountain lion's jaws were about to close on his neck.
I pivoted on my left foot. My right leg came up in a perfect spinning kick.
My boot connected with the mountain lion's head.
The impact was like thunder.