Free Web NovelChapter 44: Chapter 43 - The Girl Raised by Cheetahs(Part 2)
Point-of-View: Aurora Pretorius
———————————————————————————
"Come on, be patient, you’ll burn your mouth," I remarked with a smile, as I blew on a freshly cooked piece of meat to cool it down.
Six years had passed since that day, I’m fifteen now, and I had all but settled into my life with the cheetahs. I made an effort to keep track of the days, and also made a point of talking to them as much as possible.
If you asked me, I wouldn’t be able to give a specific reason for that, but I think a part of it is my desire to hold on to my humanity. Because I’ve definitely changed a lot in the last few years.
Cheetahs usually find new dens regularly, but thanks to me, this group has stuck around the same spot for the past six years. I had built a fence around the place to keep any stronger predators from invading, plus I think I’ve gotten them addicted to cooked meat.
I’ve influenced them, and in turn, they’ve influenced me too. I’ve gotten used to walking on all fours now, I can now walk equally comfortably on either twos or fours. And I’ve also gotten used to killing animals.
At first, the sight of dead animals and blood made me nauseous, but after a while, I got used to it...and then came a turning point. Whenever the other cheetahs would go out to hunt, I’d stay back with the mother and cubs. I was nervous about another animal attacking, so I used a sharp rock to carve a spike at the end of a sturdy branch, to use as a weapon.
But I never actually expected to have to use it...or rather, I sincerely hoped that I’d never have to. That turned out to be wishful thinking though, because after a couple of uneventful weeks where I bonded with the big cats, a different big cat showed up...a tiger.
One that was clearly hungry, and had its sights set on the cubs and I. I was terrified, and found myself standing in front of the cubs with the makeshift weapon, trembling and convinced that I was about to die.
The fact that I didn’t die was due to nothing more than sheer luck. When the tiger pounced at me with a fierce roar, I closed my eyes in terror and held up the spike, and the tiger ended up impaling itself through its open mouth, accidentally killing itself.
Anyway, the cheetahs ended up eating it, I cooked it for them but couldn’t bring myself to eat it. I wasn’t even sure if it was safe to eat a carnivore’s flesh. I instead ended up using its skin as clothes for myself. After that, I decided to build a fence, and also try to learn to defend myself.
I ended up making myself a spear out of a sturdy branch, and messed around with it everyday to get used to wielding it. My biggest interests have always been animals and nature, and six years ago, before my dad and I came here on vacation, I watched a lot of videos about animal trivia and camping.
Mostly the latter, because I had an animal encyclopedia and picture book that I used to read all the time, so I already knew a lot about various different species of animals. Camping videos also led to survival videos, which I found fascinating, but never actually thought that I’d have to use the knowledge I gained from those videos.
My dad couldn’t afford to send me to school, and instead taught me things like math and english himself. He told me that, if I’d gone to school, I’d have been a top student, he said I was a genius. But he might have just been saying that to help build up my confidence.
Anyway, since I didn’t go to school, I used to have a lot of free time in between studying, so my dad would often give me his phone and let me watch YouTube videos, through which I learnt a lot.
Phone...its been a long time since I’ve seen one of those. From time to time, I find myself missing some things from my life before I ended up here, but for the most part, I hardly ever think about the past anymore. Because it’s...it’s just too painful.
And besides, this new life had grown on me. The cheetahs felt like family to me, I’d even named them, and some of them actually responded whenever I call out their names.
I had gotten used to living like this, I mostly ate meat, but I’d also found some edible nuts, berries and mushrooms that I ate from time to time. There was also a small stream nearby, that I used to drink from and also bathe in.
I don’t know that much about plants, so I’ve been afraid of getting hurt or injured, since I don’t really know what plants to use to heal injuries. I might end up using a poisonous plant and making things worse. I was only able to find out which nuts, berries and mushrooms were edible by watching squirrels, monkeys and other small herbivores.
Anyway, today is the 2nd of May, 2016...I think. I haven’t taken leap years into account, and I might have miscounted at some point. But I think it’s close enough to whatever the actual date is...then again, it doesn’t really matter.
I had just woken up, to see the cub that I had first encountered was asleep with her head on my chest, I’d named her Spot. Not very creative, but I decided to give them all simple names, to avoid confusing them. Spot was pretty much fully grown now, and she was definitely the most clingy with me.
And I loved the attention, she’s just so cute! That said, all the other cheetahs acted really friendly towards me too, they let me pet them as much as I want. I let out a yawn, as I scratched the top of Spot’s head, in an attempt to wake her up.
It took a while before she finally woke up, after which I headed for the stream and took a bath, before going back to the den and starting a fire, as the others had brought back a couple of zebras.
They tore it apart for me, and I then stuck the meat onto sticks, which I stuck into the ground around the fire, cooking the meat. The cheetahs hovered around me, licking their lips as the scent began to waft out.
I placed the cooked meat in front of them, as they restlessly waited for it cool down. They’d ended up burning their mouths a bunch of times at first, so after that, they started to wait for the meat to cool down before eating.
Before long, we began digging in. I’ve gotten really good at cooking meat, though I guess that’s only natural, considering that I’ve been doing it every single day, multiple times a day, for six years.
After we finished eating, most of the male cheetahs set out to hunt again, while I returned to the cave and curled up next to Spot, who had followed me in. There were also seven cubs in the den, which were all hers. The mother cheetah that had been here when I first arrived had died three years ago, and Spot had started mating shortly after that.
The first couple of litters of cubs that she gave birth to had grown up, and the females had left to live on their own. Besides Spot, all the others cheetahs staying at this den were males. Very few of the cheetahs that had been here when I first arrived were still alive.
So most of the current group had been born after I’d arrived, meaning that they’d been around me their whole lives. The cheetah that had dragged me back here, who I’d named Drag, was one of the few cheetahs that was still around from back then.
Though he was starting to grow weaker and more feeble, and didn’t go out to hunt as much as he used to. He was also staying back along with Spot and the cubs, and having eaten, he was sleepily lazing about on the ground, closing his eyes as I walked over and stroked his fur, purring slightly.
Alright, I should go get rid of the remains of the zebras we ate, and then close the fence while waiting for the others to return. They had seemed puzzled by the fence when I first started building it, but they soon got used to it.
I stuck thick, tall branches that I’d carved into spikes around the area, and found vines to loop in-between them. I left a wide gap for the cheetahs to exit and enter through, which I close using a door I’d fashioned. Actually, it was more like a raft, a row of thick branches bound together, wide enough to cover the space.
I don’t know if the cheetahs understand the purpose of the fence or not, but it doesn’t seem to bother them or anything. Other animals, especially bigger ones, rarely ever show up in this area, so it hasn’t actually been put to use yet.
And, well, the ’door’ isn’t all that secure, a strong push would be enough to knock it down...I mean, I’m a fifteen year old girl, and I can still lift it myself. I do find it heavy, but not so heavy that I can’t carry it. And there are several animals that are much stronger than I am.
Suddenly, I heard a deep roar coming from outside the den, Spot and Drag both sitting up, their ears perking as the hairs on their back stood up. I could hear heavy footsteps approaching...okay, that’s definitely not a cheetah.
I peered out of the cave and stiffened as I saw...a black bear. It was drooling as it lumbered over to the bones of the zebras and sniffed at them, before it noticed me, letting out a ravenous growl as its eyes hungrily stared at me.
O-oh, no, it’s inside the fence already...no, even if I’d put up the door, this animal could easily knock it down without even trying. Did it get a whiff of the cooked meat? It’s only the second predator to show up here after that tiger a few years ago, so I don’t think that’s what attracted it...it might just have been wandering around and come across this area.
It then let out a roar as Drag came out of the den, snarling threateningly to try and scare the bear away. I then noticed that the bear had several bite marks and scratches all over it...I see, it’s injured and unable to hunt, so it must have been searching for food to scavenge.
It looks really hungry, and wild animals are most dangerous when they’re hungry. As Drag stepped towards it slowly while growling, I hurried back and picked up my spear, my body in a cold sweat as the bear only seemed to get more agitated by Drag’s aggression.
Wh-what do I do? Cheetahs aren’t very physical strong, a single one can’t beat a bear...isn’t there anything I can do!?
As the bear then took another step forward, Drag let out a snarl before pouncing at the bear, aiming to bite into its throat...but he wasn’t as agile as he used to be, and I could only watch in helpless despair and horror as the bear struck him down with a powerful swipe of its paw, knocking him to the ground with a sickening thud, before lumbering over him with a ravenous look in its eyes.
"N-no...not again, p-please don’t-...!" I cried in despair, as the bear tore Drag’s neck open with a snap of its jaws...killing him.
Why...? Why is this happening again? What...what did I do to deserve this? How many more times...how many more times do I have to watch my loved ones get killed right in front of my eyes, huh!? I...I can’t take it anymore!
I let out a furious yell as I began to charge at the bear, before something grabbed my clothes and pulled me back, nearly causing to me fall.
"S-Spot, what are you-...?" I began, as she tugged on my waist.
The bear noticed her and let out a low, deep rumble, stepping over Drag’s body and lumbering over, its jaws dripping with blood. Spot responded by stepping out in front of me and nudging my belly, pushing me towards the cave, before turning her attention to the bear.
H-huh? No...don’t do this...c-come back, please! A sense of desperation and anxiety came over me, as she crept forward towards the bear, warily keeping her distance.
She then glanced back at me, letting an urgent chirp, telling me to go into the cave, but the moment she turned her gaze away from the bear, it immediately shot towards her with a roar, its fangs bared and claws extended...I froze in anguish and distress as, right in that moment, only one thought went through my head...’she’s going to die’.
And that’s when I felt a strange sensation...something surging inside me, changing me. It felt like time was slowing down, as if my eyesight was rapidly getting sharper, along with my other senses, while my body started feeling lighter and lighter. ƒreewebɳovel.com
I felt an indescribable sense of murderous intent as a mix of sorrowful anguish, deep despair and unimaginable rage welled up inside me, the strange sensation continued to surge, and then...it erupted...
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.
Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming Chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:
https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP
