The Forbidden Experiments

Written as an attempt at the short story per week exercise?

An angry sable-furred panther growled as the light from the full moon lit up the darkened world around her. It wasn't a good night to hunt. It would be harder to keep her cover with such bright lights. By this time, though, she had grown desperate. Growling again in frustration, she made her way to the bushes.

Scratch-scratch

Her keen ears picked up the sound of something clumsily lumbering through the twisted vines and crumbling cobblestone. She turned, following the sound and soon picked up the scent of blood. Her mouth watered as she imagined some tasty morsel, some injured dying animal that wandered too far from its herd.

The panther's emerald green eyes focused on the shadow fumbling around in the too-bright night. The silhouette looked like some kind of ape, but it was walking funny, standing upright on two legs. She normally didn't eat apes, but she was hungry enough today to make an exception.

She put herself in position, preparing to lunge at the shadow. After it got a little closer, though, she realized it wasn't an ape at all. It was a human boy. Her mouth watered even more.

Normally, she would run from humans, even small ones, but not this time. They were in her territory and could be hunted like any other prey. She had her teeth and claws ready to snap the child's neck. The scent of blood got stronger as the limping bruised body approached. She was getting ready to deliver the killing blow when-

"Momma!"

That voice. It sounded familiar.

"Mom? Where are you?"

The hungry panther grudgingly left her hiding place and locked eyes with the human boy, staring him down, as she did, she noticed the faint smell of something familiar.

"Adam?"

"Mom! I found you!"

The human boy ran to hug the panther, giving her licks and pats. She responded with a warning growl and gently shoved him away with her paw.

"Why did you leave the den? Where are your brothers?"

"The oldest told me you wanted my help finding food."

She raised her paw and slapped the boy to the ground.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Treacherous little cub! You could have been killed!"

She twitched her tail, met his eyes, and growled again.

"You're too young for the hunt. I certainly didn't need your help. In the future, do not follow me."

The boy turned to leave, and a twig snapped. The boy faltered from his injuries, and the smell of his blood was still heavy in the air. The big cat groaned when she heard all of the noise he was making. She halted him with another low rumbling growl.

"Stop. You'll attract the others. Come with me this once, only this once."

Her jaws grabbed his arm and pulled him toward her. After licking him repeatedly to cover the scent of his wounds, she lay down in the grass and beckoned him with a small huff to climb on her back.

The boy did as he was told.

"Shhh. We have to find food. Keep your nose to the air for freshly killed carcasses. Remember, if there's a strong smell like rot coming from it, it's no good."

The two stalked through the grassy fields of the abandoned town. Around them, once proud buildings hung in shambles. Vines grew through delicate stone work, reducing it to rubble. Steel fixtures stood rusted and crumbling.

The boy, who had never been out of the den until this night, was very curious. He kept asking her small questions.

"What is this place, mamma?"

"It's what they used to call a city."

The panther's feet touched what was once an asphalt road, chunks of blackened brick scattered like cobblestones across a stretch of sandy mud. The acrid chemical smell of petroleum hit both of their noses as they continued their search.

Laughter pierced the night air. The boy was happier than he'd ever been, all of these new sights and smells.

She ignored him for a few minutes, the sound of his voice transporting her to another time, a time when she naively thought humans were safe and kind.

Ump-ump

The whisper of an animal's panicked whimpers brought her back to her senses.

The cat banked a turn and headed into one of the abandoned buildings. Broken glass littered the marble floor of the entrance. Vines had long claimed the carefully carved stonework and other manmade fixtures. She found herself lightly entranced, putting the broken pieces back together in her mind.

"Where are we, mama?"

The boy's words reminded her to focus. She shook her head to clear it. She knew exactly where they were, but now wasn't the time to tell such a complicated story. The cat was hoping that time would never come.

"Shhh. Listen."

They could barely hear tiny panicked cries.

Inside, a deer lay on the floor, bleeding out. The large cat licked her lips, drool dripped to the floor. Before she could pounce, though, the boy interrupted.

"What happened to her, mama?" The boy was standing between the panther and the deer.

"I'm not sure." The panther carefully pushed him out of the way and walked up to her to inspect.

The deer was wounded, but with strange markings. It looked more like a human weapon than anything another wild animal would do. She suddenly felt very afraid. Instead of attacking, she froze in her tracks.

Humans were very dangerous, especially after the great war. They gave them knowledge, and then they destroyed each other. Man and beast with weapons and tanks, against each other. The humans made them into cruel and cunning beasts of war. The memories made her shudder.

The wounded animal whimpered again, bringing her back to reality.

The cat paused and considered her options. She could run away now. If a human caught her, she doubted she would fare much better than the deer. The smell of the deer's blood and her growling stomach, however, forced her to take other measures.

She approached cautiously and made a few clicking sounds to the deer. There was no response either of them could make out, just more whimpering. Slowly, she crept up to the struggling animal and gave it a sniff, then a lick. Blood touched her tongue and she fought to suppress her baser instincts and just rip into the carcass.

More whimpering came from the animal.

The boy hid his eyes as the panther dispatched of her and began divvying her body up into chunks they could carry. The panther directed the boy to grab a small sack so they could carry more meat. No one wanted to be greedy, but she really did not know when they would be eating again.

"This is more than we can carry, mama. Are we going to go back for more?"

"No, it's too dangerous. We'll take everything we can and leave the rest for the other tribes."

Once they had divided the meat, the cat carrying most of it in her mouth in a crudely engineered knapsack the boy found, they made their way back to the den, under one of the abandoned temples.

Inside, the boy was greeted by his brothers and sisters, the older ones butting him insistently for pats and the younger ones whimpering for milk.

The panther lay down in the den exhausted. The older cats undid the knapsack with their claws and teeth and began to feed while the younger kittens made their way to their mother to suckle.

The boy sat between the two groups, not sure where he fit in. He let out a loud sigh to signal his frustration.

One of his brothers looked up from feeding, his face stained with blood.

"Want some?"

The boy nodded and reached for the meat that was offered to him. Before he could put his bloody fingers to his lips, though, he was stopped by a warning growl from his mother.

"Adam, put that down. You're too young to eat meat. Remember how it hurt you the last time?"

Letting out another sigh, the boy dropped the meat on the floor and retreated to the corner of the old ruins.

"When I'm finished feeding my kittens, I'll take care of you, don't worry."

The boy buried his head in his hands and groaned. He watched the older kittens messily digging into the meat while the younger ones greedily sucked milk from the mother panther. A locust flew by his head and grabbed his attention. He reached out, caught it, and ate it whole. Hungry and exhausted from the night, he fell asleep.

Moist scratchy licks from his mother's tongue woke him up. Light was peeking through the ceiling of their den. It was well into dawn.

The boy nestled himself against the panther's belly, planting his face into one of her teets and taking a long suck. Warm milk trickled into his throat. He finished the meal in only a few minutes, because he went almost the whole day without eating. Once the boy's hunger was satiated, he pulled himself away from the panther's grasp.

He looked around the room. The carcass was only bones now. The younger kittens and the older members of the group were still sound asleep.

"It's not fair."

"What's not fair?"

"Some of my brothers who were born after me are already eating meat. Why is it taking so long for me?"

The cat let out a sigh. One day he was going to want to know the truth. Could she really hide it, and if so, for how long?

"Get some rest, Adam. I'll do my best to explain later, but now is not the time."