Deadfall: A Post-Humans Story by Bassett Thurston

Author:Bassett, Thurston [Bassett, Thurston]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction | Superheroes
Publisher: Kalamity Press
Published: 2016-07-23T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Cynthia pressed her ear to the door of the warden’s building.

She was ready to make her final break for the back gates of the Melbourne zoo, but first she had to step out of this building, back out into the grounds.

She remembered from previous visits that there was a direct route to the back gates from the back of the lion enclosure, but it was fairly open with not a lot of cover. She would need to move quickly and if she were attacked she would have to be fast a decisive.

She gripped the cold handles of the two meat cleavers.

They weren’t ideal weapons, but they were heavy and sharp. The best she could do at short notice.

“What are you doing?” The voice was from the sobbing warden who was still hiding under the workbenches.

“You can’t go out there, they have guns.”

Cynthia ignored him and strained her ears against the steel door.

Nothing.

Either the door was too thick, or all the commotion was happening further away.

She unlocked the door and turned the handle.

The man under the workbench started breathing heavily with panic. “Do…don’t do it. P-please!”

“You just get your arse out of there so you can lock it behind me.”

Cynthia gave the door a nudge with her shoulder and peered out into the bright sunlight that formed dappled patterns across the lawn under the trees.

The coast was clear so far. She could just see the gate building through the trees.

“No, no, no…” The warden sobbed as she pushed through the door and closed it behind her.

She made a break for it.

The gate way wasn’t far, maybe four hundred metres.

There was noise coming from everywhere and rustling in the leafy gardens that bordered the lawn in front of her.

She was ready, but she had to hope that whoever was coming wasn’t carrying a gun.

The garden went still and she couldn’t hear footsteps.

After and moment of waiting she began to run towards the gate again, but she was stopped by a barking cry.

It didn’t sound very human.

Something was pushing its way through the large broad-leafed plants to her left.

Not a person, she thought.

It pushed its way out of the mess of leaves and laid back its ears as it stared at her.

It was the leopard.

Like the lions, the leopard looked far larger in person. It must have been five or six feet long. It was beautiful, yet threatening. Its silky spotted coat seemed surreal against the dark green leaves of the garden and the manicured grass. Its piercing green-grey eyes seemed to be calculating.

Cynthia could hear was the thumping of her heartbeat in her ears. The silence of everything else was deafening and she felt transfixed by the big cats gaze.

Suddenly it turned away and trotted along the lawn to find another garden to hide itself.

She was able to breath again.

Cynthia closed her eyes, to try and refocus herself.

“Oh no…” Cynthia muttered and looked back in the direction the leopard had disappeared.

She realized what was happening. They had released some of the animals to increase the confusion in the zoo grounds.

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