"See, Sue? Just a big kitty. You're a pretty kitty, aren't you? A big, pretty kitty cat." He kept inching forward. "Get the camera ready, Sue."
Every instinct told me to run. Cat instincts. Wild animal instincts. But I was still human. I didn't need to surrender to those. So I slitted my eyes and forced myself to stay still while this idiot approached a 120-pound cougar with his hand out, ready to scratch it behind the ears.
Wild animal attacks on humans are rare, but of all the predators in Canada, the cougar may be the one most likely to do it. Obviously, this guy never got the memo. After this, he'd probably be going to zoos, climbing the enclosure, saying, "Here, watch this. . . ." Famous last words, as yet another unfit human is removed from the gene pool.
His wife had gone silent, clutching her phone as she watched. Ash's chin bobbed, nodding encouragement to me. Just get through this. Let him pat me. Let him get his damned photo and leave.
"Nice kitty," he said. "Such a nice kitty. Sue? Are you ready?"
His wife hesitated, then lifted the phone for a picture. He glanced back at her.
"Good. We're going to get the photo of a lifetime. Bill Wilson taking down a cougar bare-handed."
"Wh-what?" Ash said.
The man lunged. He tried to grab me in a choke hold. I twisted out of his grip. Panic shot through me like wildfire, consuming all thought.
I was cornered. I had to fight back. Attack the threat. End the threat. Eliminate the threat.
When he came at me again, I felt my back legs bunching. Heard myself snarl. Felt my lips curl back, fangs flashing. It was like I was outside my body, watching it prepare for attack. Prepare for the kill.
"Bill, stop!" The woman's shrill voice knifed through my skull.
"No way. I'll teach this mangy cat to respect humans--"
Ash grabbed the guy by the jacket and yanked him so hard he stumbled. But he wrenched free and came at me again. That split-second interruption was all it took for my human brain to snap back to life and when he rushed me, I took a swipe at him. It was a good swipe--with a paw the size of a lunch plate--but my claws were retracted and I didn't plan to make contact. Still, it was enough. He saw that swat coming and he jumped back. Ash caught him by the collar and heaved him out of the way as I squeezed under the SUV.
"I'm calling 911," the woman babbled. "I don't care what you say. I'm calling."
I lay under the big vehicle. It was a tight fit and I was flattened against the pavement, ears smashed against my head. The woman reached the dispatcher before Ash could get to her.
"There," she said. "The police will come and shoot it."
"Hell, no," her husband said. "I've got my rifle from last weekend. I should have remembered that earlier. Forget a photo. I'll get a real trophy."
The man opened the hatch of his SUV--the one right over my head.
"You're going to shoot her?" Ash said, his voice wavering, as if he was struggling to stay calm and reasonable. "Do you know how much trouble you'll get in? They're an endangered species."
"Not in BC they're not." He rummaged through the back of his truck. "I'm a hunter, boy. I know what's what, and this beast just attacked me--I hope you got a picture of that, Sue. I'm within my rights to shoot it."
"In a parking garage? After your wife called 911?"
"Couldn't be helped." A rifle case clicked. "It went after her, too. Right, Sue?"
His wife said nothing.
"Huh," the man said. "Looks like I forgot to unload it. We're all set, then. I'll just--"
I heard Ash let out a snarl and watched his running feet disappear as he jumped the guy. The man fell back. Ash took him down as the woman screamed. Ash leaped to his feet first. He kicked the man, hard enough to make him wail. Then he kicked him again.
"Run, Maya!" Ash shouted.
I was already squeezing out the other side of the SUV. I raced into the lane and heard a rumble. I looked over to see headlights, so bright they blinded me. Tires squealed. Someone shouted. I saw the man lying on the ground, his wife running to the car, shrieking and sobbing. There was no sign of Ash.
"Run!"
Ash tore from between the SUVs, my clothes bundled under his arm. "Run!" he yelled again.