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One beautiful, crisp, fall day, when Adam was out walking his dog, Captain, and he came across an old barn with quite a few windows broken in it. He would've kept going, had he not heard tiny little sounds coming from inside. He went in to investigate, and when he went through the doorway, much to his surprise, he saw a mother cat and 4 baby kittens that were only a few weeks old. They were meowing softly, and rolling around. There was a calico, a black kitten, a tiger striped and an orange kitten. They were so adorable, that Adam was instantly smitten with them and decided to take them all home with him.
He had his backpack with him, and gently put the mother in first-A calico-, and then put in the babies in beside her. He would have left them, but they were miles from the road and anyone who would help. And, he knew he couldn't just leave them there. So, he took them with him. His dog sniffed at his backpack, but didn't protest, as they moved out of the barn and trekked the 5 miles toward home. When he got home, he went straight down to the basement, and found a nice, big box, and found some old, soft rags, and put them in. He opened his backpack, and gently took out the kittens and mother cat, and set them in the box. Then, he went upstairs and warmed up some milk and put it in a bowl and took it downstairs. The calico licked it up, like she hadn't eaten much in days, and Adam suspected she probably hadn't; and the nursing babies had probably drained her of most of her energy, too. He made a list of things he'd need to pick up from the pet store (food, litter, dishes, toys, etc.) and called his friend to come over and stay with them while he went to go get the stuff for the cats. When he got back, he got set up everything for the cats, and then took his dog out for a short walk.
The next week proved busy, but, in the evenings, he went downstairs, and held the kittens in his arms for a few minutes, and relaxed for a bit. Their eyes were open, now, and starting to crawl around; so, he decided he should give them all names, now. The calico he called ?Tink?, the black one, ?Percy?, the tiger-striped, ?Tigger?, and the orange cat. ?Garfield?. (Tho, he had no intention of letting him getting too fat!) He played with them for abit and started to go upstairs and they all started to try and follow him up; but, their legs were too short, and they couldn't quite make it, and he laughed. So, he scooped them all up, and Jackie true followed him up, and they all went into the living room and over by the fire place, where he had set up a cat bed for her. She climbed in and the kittens followed, but, crawled right back out. They set off to explore the rest of the house. Captain followed along behind, like a ?guard dog?, and Adam almost wished he could video tape it; it looked so hilarious! He imagined that the cats were going to prove to be an ?interesting? addition? to the household; and at the rate they were going around the house, he figured he was right!
He sat down in the rocking chair and watched Jackie True looking around for her kittens, and thought he saw a look of relief when the kittens finally came back into the living room. He figured a mama cat ?worried? over her kids, just like a ?human? mama did; but, he had never really watched a mama cat so closely until now. It was interesting to see how a mama cat took care of her kittens. She gave each one a bath, as they crawled into the bed, and the looks they gave her (especially the boys!) said: ?Are we done yet? We wanna go play!? lol Then, she nursed them, went into the kitchen, got some food and water, found the litter box, and then came and laid down to take a nap, exhausted. Adam figured those kittens were going to be wearing her out a lot in the next few weeks, and wanted to help her out as much as he could. He'd pick up some kitten food, and give it to the kittens in a few weeks, when the vet said it was okay to do so; then, Jackie True wouldn't be so worn out, and could have as much fun as the kittens.
They woke up to a magnificent sunrise, the call of seagulls, and the smell of flowering trees across the lake. Adam loved sleeping out on the boat and wished he could do it all the time; but, his job kept him so busy, he could only a few weekends during the summer. His Uncle did cruises and fishing tours during the summer and sometimes he got to help him. He looked in the small refrigerator, and was saw that his Uncle had just stocked up on food. So, he fried up some eggs and bacon, and sat out on deck to eat his breakfast. That was a mistake, because all the seagulls in the area smelled his food, and flew in for a landing! He quickly went inside and finished up, and cleaned up the little galley. He took Captain out on deck and put in a fishing pole and waited to see if they could catch any fish for dinner. After a few hours, they had quite a haul and decided to pull up anchor, and go ashore. He called George and told him he was headed home.
He got home, cleaned the fish, and gave a few fish heads to Jackie True to munch on, who loved them. Captain took one sniff, and kinda turned up his nose, which made Adam laugh. And the kittens all gathered around their mama trying to play with the fish heads, batting it around with their little paws, like they were some new toys. They were so fun to watch. It was amazing what little it took to make a kitten happy! Adam was glad Jackie True and the kittens were happy and healthy; and he intended to keep them that way. If only human children could be just as happy. He grew not having any electronic devices. His parents sent him outside to play, and he was happy. He played in a treehouse, went fishing with his Dad and Grandpa, went out on trails and learned about animal tracks and nature with his Dad. Kids just don't know how good they have it, he mused.
They always hunted on moonlit nights.
It eliminated the need for flashlights, which would act like flares in the open, Maharashtra plains. They slowly prowled through the thick, lush undergrowth, using the moon's glow to guide them to the waterhole where they'd laid their trap the previous night.
?Are you ready?? Falan asked softly, hauling a thick duffel bag onto his broad shoulders. Moonlight bathed his figure, highlighting the taunt muscles protruding from his back. ?We're almost there.?
Amol Patel exhaled, surveying the untamed wilderness with a deadly precision. ?Yes,? he finally responded, his voice firm. He'd fought relentlessly for this opportunity, and he refused to let his nerves betray him.
A tiger pelt sold for over twelve hundred thousand Indian rupees. He'd be lucky to make a hundred from this hunt?but even that would feed and clothe his family for months.
Slowly, they emerged from the undergrowth, keeping their footfalls soft lest they startle the skittish nightlife. Amol exhaled approvingly. Even in his predatorial state, he couldn't help but appreciate the untamed beauty before him. Couldn't help but marvel at how the moonlight illuminated the waterhole's stagnant surface, and the way the dragonflies danced atop the translucent water.
But it was so quiet?unnaturally so. As if every rodent and critter had taken refuge for the night, knowing that an apex predator lurked in their presence. Whether that predator was Falan and himself?or something far more powerful, more sinister?Amol couldn't be certain.
But he quickly found out.
Amol squinted towards where they'd planted their trap, his eyes widening as they discovered a limp figure splayed in the mud by the water's shore. It was large, and he couldn't be sure, but he thought he could discern paws as large as dinner plates, and a fierce blend of orange and black hues?
Her eyes were closed, but he could tell from the soft rise and fall of her pelt that she was still alive?at least, barely. It was obvious from the crimson spooling at her chest, soaking her pelt red, that she'd lost an excessive amount of blood from the steel-jawed trap tightly clamped to her paw. It gleamed menacingly, biting into her soft coat like a wild dog devouring its bleeding prey.
As if sensing his presence, the tiger's eyes opened, as golden and round as the rupee he would gain from her death. Amol took a hesitant step backward; despite her shallow breathing and mangled paw, he felt as if she could still down him with one hit of her mighty paws. There was something about the tiger, a poem of liberty in its genes, a sense that it was born to roam and dominate for all its days and nights.
Falan shoved a stone-tipped spear into his hands, and Amol looked at it dumbly.
?What's this?? he asked in confusion, surveying the spear's malicious, gleaming tip.
?B?but, I've never done it before. I?I'll get it wrong.?
Falan shot him a sympathetic smile, mistaking his horrified stutter for nervousness.
?This is how you become a man,? Falan insisted, grasping the spear and firmly wrapping Amol's frail hands around it. Amol glanced into Falan's black eyes, finding not only encouragement?but a threat. If Amol couldn't do this, there would be repercussions not only for himself, but his entire family. He couldn't let that happen. With sudden conviction, Amol gripped the spear, his knuckles white.
He raised the spear's tip to the tiger's maw and made the mistake of meeting her eyes for the final time. Where he'd expected to see pain and desperation, all he found was a keen sense of understanding and intelligence. As if this tiger knew that just as she was trapped?steel clasping her paw and a spear to her throat?so was he. He was trapped. And if he couldn't do this, his family would starve on the unforgiving streets of Maharashtra. He had no choice. He hoped she knew that.
Falan simply regarded him with disgust.
?Go call the truck over,? he ordered distastefully as tears slid down Amol's dirt-streaked face. He opened his lips to respond, but a sob caught in his throat. Instead, Amol nodded in confirmation, suddenly overwhelmed by the need to get out, to be anywhere but this waterhole, where he'd done such dreadful, unforgivable things.
He stumbled through the underbrush towards the truck, his eyes fixated on the grassy floor. Suddenly alone, there was nothing to spare him from the reality of what he had done. He'd committed the deadliest sin. He'd killed.
When Amol finally raised his eyes from the spindle-laden ground, he was greeted by two, familiar orbs of doubloon-gold. Horror cascaded over him like a tidal wave. The eyes were nestled amongst the shrubbery, watching him, assessing his every move. A sob emerged from his chest. Another set of smouldering, chatoyant eyes emerged from the undergrowth, and then another, and another, until there were four sets of golden orbs assessing him, their gazes implacable with their hatred.
It sounded like grief. Betrayal. Loathing.
Amol had committed a sin?and now, he had to pay.
He had the unsettling realisation that the real hunt had only just begun.
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