The fourth fish went unfinished. The jaguar, apparently stuffed, left the half-eaten thing in the blood-soaked sand, then moved a few meters away and flopped down.
Mei grumbled. Great. It had decided to sunbath and sleep off its food coma. Right in front of her. And practically on top of the guns. This was not going her way at all. But perhaps it would eventually leave. At least it didn’t seem as hostile anymore. In fact, it didn’t seem to see her as a threat at all. Perhaps she should be insulted. But it could be doing what she’d seen plenty of house cats do, that lack of interest could be only a pretence. Cats thought they were smart actors; they weren’t. She knew it was constantly aware of her presence, no matter how nonchalant it seemed.
She could try to run off now. She really wanted those guns though. She’d need weapons, or perhaps something to trade in the future. So while it dozed on the beach, she watched the cat and backed up until the water was at her chest, swimming and refreshing herself. This was likely as close as she was going to get to a bath for a while.
Hanging out in the bay, waiting for the cat to wake up and depart, she saw more and more creatures in the water around her. Was this what the ocean had been like before humans came along, so alive and full of wonderful things? She spotted fish of all colours, a rainbow under the sea. There were even a pair of sea turtles! Too bad neither was big enough to haul her away to safety. But it was exciting seeing these famous beings for the first time. Feeling brave, and safe enough from the jaguar this far out, she dared to duck her head and take a look under the surface.
The water was so clear! The fish shimmered like jewels. A tiny ray swam by, flat body impossibly graceful. She stood back up, gasping for air and laughed at how beautiful it all was. She might be in prison, but she was seeing sights like this for the first time in her life. Who would have thought.
She looked to shore and saw the jaguar laying on its side, watching her. Well, it could watch all it wanted. She was thankful cats hated water.
As if it could read her mind, the jaguar rolled over and got to its feet. Then it padded down to the water’s edge. Hesitating only a second to sniff the surf bubbles, it casually sauntered into the ocean.
Mei’s jaw dropped as the jaguar doggy-paddled (kitty paddled?) around in the blue water, like it was perfectly at home there. She freaked out. That was crazy! Cats didn’t— Oh, wait, wasn’t there a species of big cat that liked water? Was that jaguars? Then again, hadn’t she seen pictures of tigers swimming, too? Actually, she’d seen footage of lions splashing around in pools and rivers while hunting. Maybe being scared of the water was only a house cat thing.
Lucky for her, the jaguar did not seem inclined to swim towards her. It paddled about, just enjoying the swim. Fish seemed to catch its eye and it watched them go by. But when a sea turtle swam close, the jaguar actually got excited and dove after it.
She actually laughed as she watched the great cat trying to catch the turtle, with no luck. Then she realized that she had an opportunity. With the cat in the water, should she return to the beach and make her escape?
Or, should she try the same thing she’d done with the sailors and try to kill it while it struggled in the surf?
She watched the jaguar dive again, only to come up empty as the sea turtle smoothly swam off. No, she was too soft hearted for that. It was a wild animal. It was only doing what came naturally to it. And it hadn’t even been hostile to start with. The first time she’d sighted it, the great cat had just watched her from up in its tree. Even the second time, when it had come out of the grass and surprised her, it hadn’t necessarily been hostile. She’d been the one to lose herself and shout at it and shoot at it. No wonder it had treated her like a threat after that.
Killing it felt wrong. There must be another way for her to survive. Except…the jaguar was swimming closer. It saw her. It watched her. And it was paddling towards her.
Breathing hard and too nervous to make for shore, she foolishly froze. And saw a dark shape go by underwater.
The cat chased after it. After the damned sea turtle.
She stood there, bouncing slightly in the salt water. The rapier was hidden below the surface in a nervous, iron grip.
The jaguar was so close. All she had to do was lunge forward and stab. It wasn’t even looking at her. Its flank was wide open. She could drive the steel into its ribs or its belly. It would fight back; it might even kill her. Or maybe she could swim off and let it die in the water.
All these thoughts flashed by in an instant. Yet despite the temptation, she stayed her hand. She did not strike.
Maybe it was because she’d grown up in an era of rising environmental awareness. She’d heard the message ever since she was a kid in school that animals were dying out and needed to be preserved.
Maybe it because she was a journalist and all-too-aware that, since only 1970, humans had killed off 60% off all animals, birds, fish and reptiles on the entire planet by 2020, a staggering number that few people could grasp. We’d precipitated a human-assisted mass extinction event, where more and more species disappeared every year. We were more harmful than any virus.
Or maybe it was simply the fact that she was hyper aware of how gorgeous this wondrous animal was. The way this giant cat, nearly as big as she was, swam through crystal clear waters over pristine white sand, the radiant sun making the iconic white-and-yellow, black-spotted coat shine. It was an animal that commanded respect for its power and hunting prowess, and for its intelligence. And it was one that demanded awe for its beauty.
So she did not stab it with her sword. She watched, a bit of a smile on her face, as it passed by, intent on the turtle. And she felt humbled.
Of course, after it had gone by, she did not waste any more time. She pushed off the bottom and headed for shore. It was only as she stepped on dry sand that she noticed that the cat had followed. She raised her head and saw it stood less than ten meters away.
It seemed in no hurry, and it shook, causing a spray of water to fly from its fur, casting a temporary rainbow in the air. Then it just stood there, watching her.
The guns were ahead of her. If she ran, she could pick at least one up before it caught her. And she still had her sword in hand. She brought the blade up horizontally, closer to her chest, as if it might shield her.
A little white dot appeared on the sand near the jaguar’s head. It was the sun’s light reflecting off the long, thin blade.
The great cat’s head snapped in that direction. It was suddenly alert. Muscles tensed.
Mei swallowed. Her hand shook.
And the white dot moved.
The jaguar pounced, big paws plowing up the sand. But the dot had danced away. And it watched. Just like a pet cat would.
She couldn’t help it. A single laugh escaped her. Then she clamped shut. But she fiddled with the sword and the white dot moved.
The jaguar watched, and pounced again.
This time she bit her lips to keep herself from laughing. It was too surreal. But she played some more, and twice more the cat charged and tried to catch the light with its paws. And she giggled.
Then the jaguar stopped and stood straight up. It looked away, in the manner cats do when they’ve either suddenly lost interest or are pretending. Then its head swivelled back. Its eyes flickered to her sword, then regarded her in silence.
Her nervousness returned. She glanced down at the pistols once more, then gave the jaguar her full attention again. It really did seem wary of weapons. It recognized them and did not like them. Not entirely sure she was doing the right thing, she lowered her sword. She held on to it in a death grip, but she pointed it down and held it at her side.
Big, yellow eyes studied her. Then they blinked and looked away, the cat totally calm.
She felt her heart racing.
The jaguar moved. It stepped towards her, moving deceptively languidly, giving every impression it was entirely confident and relaxed.
Mei trembled. But she didn’t move. She didn’t react defensively.
It approached her, just to the side of her. It came close enough that she could have reached out and touched it. The head turned her way and it stopped. Then it sniffed at her leg and hip.
She lost control of her bowels. Warm liquid drained down the inside of her thighs. Despite the fear coursing through her, she felt humiliated as well, like a child.
The predator sniffed at her crotch, investigating it. Then it stopped and looked around, away from her, staring out to see. As if she were no danger. It stood there for what seemed like forever, but was probably only a minute or three. It was hard to tell because her mind had gone fuzzy.
Then the head straightened and it moved forward again, softly walking by, close enough that its shoulder nudged her hip.
She closed her eyes and didn’t move. When she opened them again, the jaguar had gone past. It was all she could do to turn her head and look over her shoulder.
The great cat walked for a dozen meters, then looked back at her. They locked eyes again. Then it moved on, casually climbing the beach and melting into the long grass and bushes beyond.
Her legs wobbled, then bent and she collapsed to the sand. Panting fast and light, she was dizzy with fear and adrenalin. It took a few minutes to fully calm down. Then she looked down at herself.
Better get back in the ocean and wash herself. Bright yellow stains down the inside of her nice, white pants would be really embarrassing.
She spent the rest of the day in a daze, alternating between periods of shock and moments of mad excitement for what she’d just been through. Then she’d follow that with periods of worry and planning. The next thing she knew, it was growing dark. She resolved to spend one last night in her fort and then head out the next morning to try and find a way off the island.
⚓️
Sometime deep in the night, surrounded by sand and the wooden walls she’d built, she came awake. Her awareness quickly focused. Though it was night, it seemed extra dark. And something hung down in front of her. She squinted and frowned.
A tail.
Her heart stopped. Then it took off in a mad gallup. She bent her head back and looked up…up…higher.
The jaguar lay across the roof of her fort, directly above her, head on its paws.
She twitched.
Its eyes opened and saw her. They seemed to glow in the dark. It yawned, and huge teeth gleamed in the moonlight.
She forced herself not to scream.
Then the eyes closed again and the tail swung once.
She lay in the dark, terrified.
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