Tiger's Blood

I don’t know how this is going to work out at all. For once, I am having doubts. Tiger’s aren’t supposed to have doubts. They are supposed to be confident, focused, and independent. I’m usually doubtful, scared, and dependent on others. How am I a Tiger’s Blood again? I am the complete opposite. I’m weak and I make stupid mistakes. I feel like I have to live up to my Tiger’s Blood name. Noah and I have to escape and cut the rope on that hanging post to save Ethan, but how? We need someone on the inside to help us.

“Beep. Beep. Beep,” I turn towards the door to see a dark figure standing in the doorway. I blink my eyes and see his finger go to his lip. He walks in slowly and unchains my arms with a key. He motions his hands telling me to follow him. Without hesitation I walk towards him slowly, leaving Noah asleep on the floor. I’m sorry Noah, but this guy is helping me escape. I’ll come back for you. Sweet dreams. I approach the unfamiliar face and he pushes buttons on the metal box and the door closes behind me.

He stands a foot taller than me with dirty blonde hair on his scalp. He greets me with a friendly smile and his blue eyes glimmer at me. He wears a dirty brown apron around his waist and his hands are covered with black gloves. He quickly pulls me to the side as a Lion guard walks past us. “Hello my lady, my name’s Chase,” he says slightly over a whisper. “Hi…” I say nervously. He chuckles. “You must be Kira,” he says. “How do you know who I am?” I ask curiously. “Well, I don’t normally listen to rumors, but apparently you are a special Blood,” he says.

“Yes, I’m a Tiger’s Blood,” I confirm. Great, now rumors are spreading about my existence. Just great. “What? No that’s not what I meant. I meant you are a White Tiger’s Blood. Those are extremely rare. Actually, I think you may be the only one existing. That’s what got me so excited,” Chase exclaims. Again with the White Tiger. What is so special about it? It’s just a color. I raise my eyebrows and chuckle a little bit.

“You know I’ve never thought of that. Being a White Tiger Blood instead of Orange never really bothered me. I don’t know why everyone is so intrigued about it,” I confess. “I’m glad that it doesn’t bother you. Most people who have something unique about them normally like to gloat. It’s just unusual that Orange is the normal color for a Tiger Blood, and you turned out White. It’s like if we had a Purple Lion or a Blue Bat Blood. It’s funny how the most unusual things can be so fascinating,” he says. “Hahaha, Blue Bat Blood. That’s fun to say,” I say.

“Try saying that five times really fast without messing up,” I bet him. “Blue Bat Blood. Blue Bat Blood. Blue Blat Blood. Dang it I messed up,” Chase laughs. I laugh along with him. Chase then stops laughing and he tells me to be quiet. I nod at him and he starts walking to the right. I walk to the left side of him and follow swiftly.

“You are probably wondering why I let you out of your holding cell,” he says. “Yes I am,” I reply. “Well, just keep following me. It’s like one in the morning. No one knows you’re out. King Andrew reduces the number of guards at night, which is a stupid idea on his part,” he says. “That is stupid. That’s probably how Noah and I got in here so easily,” I laugh. We keep walking down a narrow hallway and turn left into a gigantic room filled with weapons of all kinds. Older weapons, small weapons, even weapons I’ve never seen before. I just stand there in awe. Is it my birthday already for me? “I’m an Eagle’s Blood by the way. I work as the Lion’s head weapon designer and creator,” he explains.

“But, you’re like fifteen!” I exclaim. “Seventeen, and that doesn’t mean I can’t design weapons. Age doesn’t matter as long as you know what you’re doing and you do it well. Believe it or not I started designing most of these when I was eight,” he smirks. “Very impressive,” I nod and examine the weapons around me. “And how old are you miss Tiger’s Blood? Twelve?” he says humorously. “Very funny, I turn seventeen soon. My birthday is in the coldest season. The last month of the year. I wish I had a calendar to look at. I’ve been traveling for so many years now that I lost track of the dates,” I tell him.

“I have one over here, here you go,” he bends over and hands me a large calendar. “It should be the cold season now. The snow has started to fall already outside the Kingdom,” he shrugs. “Huh, my birthday could have passed and I wouldn’t even know it. What day is it today?” I ask. “I believe December 2nd,” he says. “Oh my birthday’s next week on December 12th. Sweet, I’ll be seventeen,” I exclaim. “I would say happy birthday but I don’t think you’ll have one if you’re living here,” Chase says.

We sit in silence for a moment before Chase walks out the door again. “Can you help me carry this barrel Kira?” Chase asks. “Yes,” I say and help him pick up this brown barrel with what feels like tools inside it. I follow him until we stop at the end of the hallway. A sign read, “Non-Lion Bloods,” with an arrow pointing downwards. “Come on, this is where I live besides the shop,” he explains and we walk together down the stairs. We walk on the worn down stairs and at the end was a large door with an electric lock on it. Chase punched in a bunch of numbers and the door slowly opens up. A stream of barely lit lanterns flows down a line of ginormous caves of rock and dirt. Each cave has different symbols above them. We put the barrel in the middle of the area and Chase thanks me.

“This is where the Non-Lion Bloods live and the Bloods who are captured by the King’s rule. If different Bloods aren’t useful for the King in any way, then they go here,” Chase explains. “What are those symbols?” I ask pointing above the cave. “Those are the symbols of the different Bloods who are here. Over there to the left are all Bird Bloods, but since I work here, and King Andrew somehow trusts me, I get my own cave with my family,” he says. “That’s nice,” I say and he nods. “Hey Chase, how did you discover your Eagle Blood?” I ask curiously,

“Hah, well it’s nothing special. I was here in the Kingdom and I hadn’t made a new weapon in weeks. I was stuck and I couldn’t think of an idea. I went on a walk one day and it was really windy. I climbed up a tree, when the wind knocked me off the branch. I screamed and I was afraid, when I opened my eyes I was soaring through the air as an Eagle. I flew around and glided through the air. I looked at the beautiful scenery and I hunted small animals. I was so inspired by my flight that I created the bow and arrow, which is my favorite weapon,” he says. “That’s really cool story!” I smile. “Thanks, you’ll have to tell me the story on how you discovered your Tiger’s Blood one day,” he says. “If I somehow live in the next two weeks, I’ll be happy to tell you,” I laugh. He laughs along with me.

“Alright what’s with the barrel of tools?” I ask. He takes the small bag of tools out and underneath was piles of food. “Supper!” Chase screams and walks away from the barrel. Multiple Bloods run towards the barrel and take food from it. “King Andrew lets me eat full meals since I work for him, so I go to the buffet three times a day and get enough food to fill this barrel. Since I don’t eat much, I bring the barrel here for the poor Bloods who live with me down here,” he says. “That’s awesome,” I say and smile. He leads me to his cave with a tiny lantern shimmering above it. I look around and see nothing but dust and two large blankets. A little body shivers in the corner. “This is Claire, my little sister,” he says and pulls the blanket over just so I can see her face.

My heart sinks down into my stomach when I see her. Short, straight hair runs down her neck. Her miserable eyes blink at me. Her skin was thin enough for me to see her bones. When Chase walks over to her, she runs into his lap. He strokes her hair as she shakes violently. I could see my baby sister’s face when I stare at her. She sniffles lightly as I brush my thumb across her cheek, wiping the tear from her eye as I hold in my tears. “I’m so sorry that you guys have to stay here,” I say. Chase looks in my eyes hopingly. He kisses his sister on the cheek then walks out of the cave

with me.

“I will get you guys out of this hell hole as soon as I can. I’m going to need your help though,” I say to Chase. “What do you need my help for?” he asks. “Do you know a Lion named Ethan?” I ask. He smiles at that name. “Yes, my best friend. He’s a great Lion, unlike the rest of them. He is being hanged in a day or two,” he says. “No…he won’t,” I say softly and smile. He looks at me strangely. “That hanging machine is just rope right?” I ask. He nods. “Rope can be cut. All I need are some sharp knives,” I say. “No, you won’t be able to do it when he is getting hanged. If we cut it off earlier it would be useless, Andrew can easily get more rope within minutes. Let me get to the noose early and loosen some threads so it won’t hurt Ethan while he’s being hanged, but I’ll need a distraction,” Chase says.

“That’s where I’ll come in. You already helped me escape from my cell. All I need to do is find a good hiding place and King Asshole will know that I’m missing. He will have his guards search for me then you can loosen the rope before he even gets there,” I say. “Smart, but where are you going to hide?” he asks. “I’m a Tiger, I’ll figure that out,” I say. “I’ll help you with that, I know my way around this place,” he says. “Sweet,” I say. “Awesome. Let me show you around here,” Chase offers. I nod and he leads the way.

“So this is where all the Non Lion Bloods live?” I ask. “Yes, since I work for the King I get special privileges. I get all the passwords to the Kingdom and extra meals like I said before. I knew your cell lock because since King Andrew has no use for the prisoners, I have them help me model and test my weapons and tools. A Blood is a Blood to me, no matter who they are or what they have done in the past,” he says. “I like your thinking and I agree with you too. A Blood is a Blood. We are all equal.”

He takes me on a nice tour of all the different caves with different Bloods in them. There are Snakes, Cheetahs, and Owls like my mother. There are so many unique Bloods like Hawks, Coyotes, Bats, and Horses. It is so interesting to meet new Bloods.

“Over here are Fox Bloods,” he points to the right. “Have you met any Blue Bat Bloods down here?” I ask jokingly. “No, but if you find one let me know,” he laughs. “Are you the only Eagle Blood around here?” I ask. “Yeah, I haven’t met any other Eagle Bloods besides my dad. My mother was a Falcon. When I started making weapons, King Andrew told my parents that he was going to take me to the Kingdom and put me in charge of weaponry. My parents fought with him about that, but Andrew just said he could do what he wanted since he is King. I told him I wouldn’t go without my little sister, so he took us here. I never saw my parents again. I don’t know if they are dead or alive. It probably would have been better if I left Claire with my parents. They would have taken care of her better,” he says.

“Who knows, maybe Claire could discover who she is and she could be an Eagle Blood as well,” I say positively. “Well if she discovers it,” he pauses. “What do you mean if?” I ask. “She’s really sick. I don’t know if she will make it in a few weeks,” he says softly. I swallow deeply. I lost my little sister, I would be upset if you lost yours too. Especially in the condition that she is in, its horrible. I would rather put Claire out of her misery than watch her slowly die like that. I guess that’s up for Chase to decide.

“I’ll help you,” I say determined. “I’ll help all of you living down here, whether it takes me a week or a year, I’ll help,” Chase smiles at me. “How are you going to help?” he asks. “I don’t know but I won’t stop until all of you are treated better than trash,” I promise. “You are a really good-hearted person,” he says. “Thank you, I just want to make things right. That’s the whole reason why I wanted to find the Kingdom, to make it right again,” I say. He nods then continues walking.

We walk for about a minute when something catches my eye. A symbol with a familiar animal paw stands out above an open cave. “What Blood is that?” I ask. “Oh those are Bear Bloods. They don’t do much but sit there and come out when we get food,” he explains. “I’ll be back,” I say walking over to them. Maybe they know about what happened to my father. “Wait Kira, they are really assertive, so I would just leave them alone,” Chase says. Hah, yes they are, I lived with one for twelve years. “Chase, I’m a fucking Tiger Blood, they can bicker all they want. I would like to talk to them,” I say. “Alright, just be careful. Meet me back in my cave when you’re done and we will discuss our plans,” Chase says.

I walk slowly towards the entrance of the Bears cave. I stand in front of the dimly lit lantern hung next to me and my shadow cast down upon the dozen men in the cave. Two woman sat silently in the back. They all have scowls on their face as I walk closer. They seem like a friendly bunch. One of them mutters quietly to another. I get startled when a thirteenth man comes stomping in behind me. I turn to face him and he holds three bruised green apples in his hands. He has a scrawny body with short, black, ruffled hair and angry brown eyes.

“What are you doing in he-“ he cut off his sentence when he looks at me with his dark brown eyes in shock with a trembling lip. He drops the apples and he stares at me intently. My eyes widen and I look to the ground and say nothing. Oh no. He walks up so close to me that I could feel his warm breath on my head. He brushes his bony fingers across my forehead and pushes a strand of hair out of my face. My cheeks turn bright red. No…He isn’t. Is he? He let out a sigh and wraps his shivering arms around me. “K-Kira…” he whispers. I swallow nervously and look up to him with a warm tear sliding down my face. “Hi dad…”