It appeared that we were on the far side of the cave, maybe a half mile behind it at the bottom of a steep hill. Ren led me around the hill to the stone steps where we had started so many hours ago.
I was actually happier walking through the jungle at night because I couldn’t see all of the scary creatures that I was sure were watching us, but after about an hour and a half, I didn’t even care if animals were watching me or not. I was so tired. I could barely keep my eyes open and my feet moving.
Yawning for about the hundredth time, I asked Ren again, ‘Are we there yet?’
He rumbled softly in a response, and then suddenly stopped, lowered his head, and peered into the darkness.
With eyes fixed on the jungle, Ren turned into a man and whis-pered, ‘We’re being hunted. When I say run, go that way and don’t look back . . . run!’
He pointed to my left and dashed into the dark jungle as a tiger. I soon heard an impressive, menacing roar shake the trees. Rousing my tired body, I began to sprint. I had no idea where I was or where I was going, but I tried to keep myself going in the direction he’d pointed. I moved quickly through the jungle for about fifteen minutes before slowing down. Breathing heavily, I stopped and listened to the sounds in the dark.
I heard cats, big cats, fighting. They were about a mile off, but they were loud. Other animals were quiet. They must have been listening to the fight too.
Heavy growls and roars echoed through the jungle. It sounded like more than two animals, and I started worrying about Ren. I walked for another fifteen minutes and listened carefully, trying to pick out Ren’s sound from the other animals. All of a sudden, it became deathly quiet.
Did he drive them off? Is he safe? Should I go back and try to help him?
Bats fluttered overhead in the moonlight as I quickly backtracked my steps. I’d gone about a quarter mile in what I hoped was the right direction when I heard a popping, rustling noise in the bushes and saw a pair of yellow eyes stare at me from the darkness.
‘Ren? Is that you?’
A shape emerged from the bushes and crouched down, watching me.
It wasn’t Ren.
A black panther was staring at me boldly, assessing my ability to fight back. I didn’t move. I was sure that if I had, he would have sprung immediately. I stood up as tall as I could and tried to look too big to eat.
We watched each other for another minute. Then, the panther sprung. One moment he was crouching, tail flicking back and forth, and the next he was quickly accelerating toward my face.
The panther’s sharp claws were extended and glistened in the moonlight. Transfixed, I stood and watched the snarling cat’s claws and gaping maw full of teeth draw closer to my face and neck. I screamed, drew my hands up to protect my head, and waited for claws and teeth to rip my throat out.
I heard a roar and felt a rush of air brush past my face and then . . . nothing. I cracked open my eyes and spun around looking for the panther.
What happened? How could he have missed me?
A flash of white and black rolled through the trees. It was Ren! He’d attacked the panther in mid-flight and pushed him out of my path. The panther growled at Ren and circled him for a moment, but Ren roared back and batted the panther across the face. The panther, not wanting to face a cat more than twice his size, growled again and ran off quickly into the jungle.
Ren’s white-and-black shadowy form hobbled through the trees to me. There were bloody scratches all over his back, and his right paw was hurt, maybe broken, causing him to walk with a limp. For just a moment, he turned into a man and fell at my feet, panting. He reached for my hand.
‘Are you hurt?’ he asked.
I crouched down next to him and hugged his neck tightly, relieved we had both survived.
‘I’m fine. Thank you for saving me. I’m so glad you’re safe. Will you be able to walk?’
Ren nodded, gave me a weak smile, and returned to his white tiger form. With a lick of his paw, he snuffed and started walking.
‘Okay. Then let’s go. I’m right behind you.’
Another hour of walking and we were back to the Jeep. Too tired to do anything else, we drank about a gallon of water each, folded the back seat down, and climbed in. I fell into a deep sleep with my arm draped over Ren.
The sun rose too quickly and the car started to get hot. I woke up drenched in sweat. My entire body was sore and filthy. Ren was exhausted too, and still drowsy, but his scratches didn’t look bad. In fact, they were surprisingly almost healed. My tongue was thick and fuzzy, and I had a terrible headache.
I groaned as I sat up. ‘Ugh, I feel terrible, and I didn’t even have to fight panthers. A shower and a soft bed are calling my name. Let’s go home.’
Reaching into the backpack, I checked each of the cameras and the charcoal rubbings and secured them before I pulled the Jeep out into the morning traffic.
Upon our arrival, Mr. Kadam rushed out the door and began peppering me with questions. I handed him the backpack and walked zombie-like toward the house, mumbling, ‘Shower. Sleep.’
I made my way up the stairs, peeled off my dirty clothes, and stepped into the shower. I almost fell asleep standing under the tepid water as it pounded my back, massaged my aches and pains, and washed away all the dried sweat and mud. Rousing myself to rinse my hair, I somehow managed to get out and blot myself dry. I slipped on my pajamas and fell into bed.
About twelve hours later, I woke up to a covered tray of food and realized I was starving. Mr. Kadam had outdone himself. A stack of fluffy crepes sat next to a plate of sliced bananas, strawberries, and blue-berries. Strawberry syrup, a bowl of yogurt, and a mug of hot chocolate accompanied it. I pounced on my midnight snack. I ate every delicious crepe and then took my cocoa onto the balcony. I made a mental note to thank Mr. Kadam for being so wonderful.
It was the middle of the night and cool outside, so I snuggled into a cozy deck chair, wrapped my quilt around me, and sipped the hot choco-late. A breeze blew my hair into my face and when I reached up to push it aside, I realized with dismay that I had been so tired, I’d forgotten to comb it out after my shower. After finding my brush, I headed back to my comfy chair.
Brushing through my hair was usually bad enough after a shower. Letting it dry without brushing it was a terrible mistake. It was full of painful tangles, and I hadn’t made much progress when the door at the end of the veranda opened and Ren walked out. I squeaked in alarm and hid behind my hair. Perfect, Kells.
He was still barefoot, but had on khaki pants and a sky-blue button-down shirt that matched his eyes. The effect was magnetic, and here I was in flannel pajamas with giant tumbleweed hair.
He sat across from me and said, ‘Good evening, Kelsey. Did you sleep well?’
‘Uh, yes. Did you?’
He grinned a dazzling white smile and nodded his head slightly. ‘Are you having trouble?’ he asked and watched my detangling progress with an amused expression.
‘Nope. I’ve got it all under control.’
I wanted to divert his attention away from my hair, so I said, ‘How’s your back and your, um, arm, I guess it would be?’
He smiled. ‘They’re completely fine. Thank you for asking.’
‘Ren, why aren’t you wearing white? That’s all I’ve ever seen you wear. Is it because your white shirt was torn?’
He responded, ‘No, I just wanted to wear something different. Actually, when I change to a tiger and back, my white clothes reappear. If I changed to a tiger now and then switched back to a man again, my current clothes would be replaced with my old white ones.’
‘Would they still be torn and bloody?’
‘No. When I reappear, they’re clean and whole again.’
‘Hah. Lucky for you. It would be pretty awkward if you ended up naked every time you changed.’
I bit my tongue as soon as the words came out and blushed a brilliant shade of red. Nice, Kells. Way to go. I covered up my verbal blunder by tugging my hair in front of my face and yanking through the tangles.
He grinned. ‘Yes. Lucky for me.’