Stranded In The Swamp by Jim Riley

Author:Jim Riley [Riley, Jim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gumshoe - A Next Chapter Imprint
Published: 2020-11-23T22:00:00+00:00

26 Tuesday Afternoon

Atchafalaya Basin

Wade tried to watch every twitch of every muscle in the big black cat and search for an escape route at the same time. His eyes darted left and right, but he didn't see an apparent escape route from the trap the jaguar had laid for him. The cat was slightly above him and could easily close the small distance between them in an instant.

Wade yelled at the cat and waved a stick he had just cut in its face. The black feline growled and pawed at the stick as it passed its nose, but the distance was a little too far to knock the stick out of Wade’s hand. Wade took a small step to his right, and the cat mirrored his movement. He took a step back to his left, and the cat growled and mirrored his movement again. Each movement Wade made was met with an equal step by the cat and a visceral growl deep within its body, sending shivers down Wade’s back.

He turned his head slightly and looked behind him, searching for any escape route. There was none.

He can outrun me. He can climb better and faster than I can. He can swim better and faster than I can. Other than that, I have him right where I want him.

Wade stared at the long sinewy body of the black cat and admired how it was constructed. It was built for speed and power, with incredible agility and balance. It was a killing machine designed by nature to dispatch its prey quickly before the prey could harm it.

That’s probably why it hasn’t already attacked me. It's accustomed to a deer or pig running away from it and chasing the game animal down, leaping on its back and sinking those long teeth into its neck and crushing the vertebrae.

Each time the big cat growled, he displayed the long front teeth he used to tear away the flesh from the body of his prey. When Wade waved the stick in front of its face, he showed the long talons on his paw he used to grip the hide of the prey animals. Wade knew this predator could lay waste to him in no time at all, shredding his skin and muscles down to his sinews and bones. The cat sat back on his haunches, content with letting Wade continue to wave both of the sticks in front of him.

How long is this big rascal gonna toy with me before I become his next appetizer? I know he can charge me whenever he wants to, and there’s not much I can do about it. He can push aside these puny little sticks with no problem.

Wade looked down at the little fire ax trembling in his right hand at the moment. He glanced back at the cat.

Damn. This little ax is smaller than one of his paws. This won’t a fair fight or a long one either. Maybe I can make one good lucky swing when he leaps and if I can time it just right.

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