Page 45 of Tiger's Curse
I pulled out the digital camera and started taking pictures of the structure. Then I took some more with the disposable camera for good measure. Next, I grabbed the paper and charcoal and made a rubbing of the handprints on the stone and the door. I had to document everything so Mr. Kadam could figure out what it all meant.
I wandered around the monolith trying to make out some of the symbols and then heard a yelp from Ren. I saw him pick up his paw carefully and set it down again gingerly. The golden acid was seeping out of the basin in little rivulets and moving across the stone floor, filling in all the cracks. I looked down to see that my shoelace was steaming where it lay in a golden puddle.
We had both just leapt over to the sandy part of the floor when another great rumble shook the maze. Rocks began to fall from the high ceiling. They dropped to the stone floor and shattered into tiny pieces. Ren nudged me back against the wall, where I ducked down, sheltering my head. The shaking became worse, and with a deafening crack, the monolith split in two. It fell with a mighty boom to the floor and broke into large chunks. The golden acid bubbled through the broken basin and started to spread across the floor, slowly destroying the stone and everything else it touched.
Acid crept closer to us until there was no place for us to go. The doorway had been blocked, sealing us in, and there appeared to be no other way out. Ren got up, sniffed the air, and walked a short distance away. Standing up on his hind legs, he put his claws on the wall and started scratching furiously at something.
Approaching him, I saw that he had opened a hole and that there were stars on the other side! I helped him dig and pulled out rocks until the hole was big enough for him to leap through. After he was out, I tossed out my backpack and shimmied my way through until I fell out the other side and rolled across the ground.
At that moment, a huge boulder fell with a thunderous boom, sealing off the hole. The quaking slowed and then stopped. Silence descended in the dark jungle where we stood as a light, powdery dust filtered down from the air and fell gently upon us.
12
durga’s prophecy
igot up slowly, dusted off my arms, and found my flashlight. I felt Ren’s hand grasp my shoulder as he spun me around and looked me over.
“Kelsey, are you alright? Did you get hurt?”
“No. I’m fine. So, are we done here? The Cave of Kanheri was fun and all, but I’d like to go home now.”
“Yes,” Ren agreed. “Let’s head back to the car. Stay very close to me. Animals that were sleeping when we came into the jungle are awake and hunting now. We must be careful.” He squeezed my shoulder, morphed into tiger form again, and headed into the trees.
It appeared that we were on the far side of the cave, maybe a half mile behind it at the bottom of a steep hill. Ren led me around the hill to the stone steps where we had started so many hours ago.
I was actually happier walking through the jungle at night because I couldn’t see all of the scary creatures that I was sure were watching us, but after about an hour and a half, I didn’t even care if animals were watching me or not. I was so tired. I could barely keep my eyes open and my feet moving.
Yawning for about the hundredth time, I asked Ren again, “Are we there yet?”
He rumbled softly in a response, and then suddenly stopped, lowered his head, and peered into the darkness.
With eyes fixed on the jungle, Ren turned into a man. “We’re being hunted,” he whispered. “When I say run, go that way and don’t look back . . . run!”
He pointed to my left and dashed into the dark jungle as a tiger. I soon heard an impressive, menacing roar shake the trees. Rousing my tired body, I began to sprint. I had no idea where I was or where I was going, but I tried to keep myself going in the direction he’d pointed. I moved quickly through the jungle for about fifteen minutes before slowing down. Breathing heavily, I stopped and listened to the sounds in the dark.
I heard cats, big cats, fighting. They were about a mile off, but they were loud. Other animals were quiet. They must have been listening to the fight too.
Heavy growls and roars echoed through the jungle. It sounded like more than two animals, and I started worrying about Ren. I walked for another fifteen minutes and listened carefully, trying to pick out Ren’s sound from the other animals. All of a sudden, it became deathly quiet.
Did he drive them off? Is he safe? Should I go back and try to help him?
Bats fluttered overhead in the moonlight as I quickly backtracked my steps. I’d gone about a quarter mile in what I hoped was the right direction when I heard a popping, rustling noise in the bushes and saw a pair of yellow eyes stare at me from the darkness.
“Ren? Is that you?”
A shape emerged from the bushes and crouched down, watching me.
It wasn’t Ren.
A black panther was staring at me boldly, assessing my ability to fight back. I didn’t move. I was sure that if I had, he would have sprung immediately. I stood up as tall as I could and tried to look too big to eat.
We watched each other for another minute. Then, the panther sprung. One moment he was crouching, tail flicking back and forth, and the next he was quickly accelerating toward my face.
The panther’s sharp claws were extended and glistened in the moonlight. Transfixed, I stood and watched the snarling cat’s claws and gaping maw full of teeth draw closer to my face and neck. I screamed, drew my hands up to protect my head, and waited for claws and teeth to rip my throat out.
I heard a roar and felt a rush of air brush past my face and then . . . nothing. I cracked open my eyes and spun around looking for the panther.
What happened? How could he have missed me?
