Tiger's Blood

I see a small critter ahead of me, about a couple of yards in front of me. My ears twitch to the sound of its small feet hopping around. I try not to make any movement or sound so I won’t scare it off. I slowly crawl then I pounce at my prey. I take one crunchy bite of it’s neck and I kill it instantly. The blood of the rabbit drips down my jaws. The flavor of the meat tingles my tongue. I can’t eat it now, food is scarce for me. I mutate back into my human form and take my knife out and skin the rabbit.

I have been out here on my own surviving for four years. I discovered my Tiger Blood when I was 12, and now I’m using it to keep me alive. I almost didn’t leave my home, but there were too many reasons for me to go. One, I didn’t have any family to go back to. My mother and sister are both dead and my father is missing, I assume he’s dead too. Two, the note that my father left me filled me with suspicion. He never left me a note before and when he did, he never came back. Finally, I am set on a new goal, to find the Kingdom of Lions and kill their leader King Andrew. Our world, Bitotem, has been taken over by a strong army of Lion Bloods, well almost taken over. The leader of the Lions is Andrew Kingsley, and he has one son I know of named Jett. If I get rid of the son, there will be no bloodline to continue the idiotic rule that is the Kingsley family. They are very well known around the world for the wrong reasons.

The first Kingsley who ruled the Lion’s Pride was Alfred Kingsley. He was called the “Skull-crusher King,” because of the way he had his enemies killed. He had their head put on a block and he would hammer their heads until the block breaks beneath him. Then there was King “Ralph the Ripper,” who would, as you guessed, rip his enemies limbs off. There was “Hugh the Horror,” and “Malcolm the Mad.” After Malcolm, King Andrew was born, and he doesn’t have a nickname yet. The Kingsleys are determined to kill all of the Bloods who are not Lions, or who are against them. King Andrew is the first king to try and take over all of Bitotem.

Their goal is to be the last Blood standing. So far they have controlled the western side of Bitotem. The funny thing is they think that Lions are the most powerful Bloods in the world. Before the Lions took over, there were about 45 to 50 Tiger Bloods roaming the world. They were so rare that no one would think of another one being alive, until now.

Tiger Bloods are more powerful than Lions. The Lions had known that they couldn’t win against the Tiger Bloods, so they did something tragic. They managed to find the only tribe of Tigers, trick them into making peace with them, and ended up killing them. One night, King Andrew sent a small group of Lions to light their territory on fire. I would imagine that being the most powerful Blood that they would have been able to survive, but even the most powerful Bloods die. What Andrew Kingsley doesn’t know was that he didn’t kill all of the Tigers. Fifteen years later from the fire, and four years from my dad’s disappearance, I am the last Tiger Blood standing among this world. The Lions have no idea. Won’t they be surprised?

Nowadays, I do things on my own. I hunt; I’m good with knives. I use abandoned places for shelter, since most of the Bloods in this world are dead or either living in the Lion’s Kingdom. I am heading west. That is where supposedly the Lions are hiding. I’ve talked to some Bloods along the way about the Lions’ territory and almost all of them say the same thing to me, “You can’t see them hiding; they come out of nowhere,” I believe most of them.

I have heard that their Kingdom is hidden, and I am determined to find out where. Every now and then, I might be sitting in an old shed eating squirrels or rabbits that I’ve hunted wondering if it’s really worth to risk my life for this mission. For someone like me, it’s worth everything, so I can make this world right again.

I walk through the deep dark forest and look up to the cloudy sky. The tree’s brown leaves begin to float down to the ground. If the leaves are falling that means that the seasons are changing. I like the colder season the best. The trees are the nicest in the cold. All their branches are shown and it makes it easier to climb up, hunt the birds, and take their eggs. The most beautiful trees are covered in snow, in my opinion. I feel small drops of rain fall on my face. I have to find shelter before it starts pouring.

I come across an old house and slowly open the door. I grip my knife in my hand in case a threat is in there. I look inside and I see nothing, not a speck of life. I immediately walk towards the fridge and see if there is any leftover food. I see soda cans, water bottles, canned foods, and some bread on the counter. Not what I was expecting, but I have to take what I find. I open a can of corn, and I take a slightly bent spoon that I find and eat up. I drink some water, and I sigh loudly. I decide to call it a night and check out upstairs.

I walk into the biggest bedroom and look into the closest for some not ripped clothes. I shuffle around the pile of clothes on the floor and find a plain grey shirt with no sleeves. No sleeves? Oh well it’s clean and that’s what matters. I slip my ripped up, bloody white shirt off and put the grey one on. I find a clean pair of jeans and slip them on. They were a little tight, but still fit great. After that, I curl up into the covers of the bed.

Flashbacks dance in my head with dad and Lily. Lily giggles as dad picks her up and flew her around the room like an airplane. I remember when he used to do that to me. He used to be so happy with us, what happened? Death tore us apart from each other. The door suddenly bursts open downstairs interrupting my fantasy. Heavy panting echoes in my ears. I swiftly get out of bed and take out my pocket knife. I slowly crawl out of the room on my hands and knees and peek down the stairs. A tall, skinny male is looking out the window through the blinds. Shit… I hope he’s not a Lion. He doesn’t seem to notice me, until I move my leg and knock over a small jar. He looks around the room startled.

“Who’s there?” He says in a deep voice. He then turns around and looks me straight in the eyes. He has grey eyes like the sky on a rainy day. Chocolate brown hair sits on his scalp. “I see you, come out,” he says. I stand up and walk down the steps slowly with the knife in by back pocket. “Who are you?” He asks curiously. I watch his movements closely.

“Kira,” I say. He holds out his sweaty hand. “Ethan,” he says. I shake his hand then step back. “What were you running from?” I ask. “Umm…Lion Bloods,” he says hesitantly. I don’t take my eyes off of him. His clothes look very fancy for a normal Blood. He has a dark purple shirt with blue buttons and jeans. Normally purple dye is used for royalty and for wealthy people. He also has black running shoes. “Are you one of them?” I wait for his answer with my right hand on my knife. Before I know it, I am against the wall with a knife at my throat. He yells, “What are you? A Wolf? Fox? Some kind of Bird??”

I say nothing and take my pocket knife and slash his hand. He steps back and drops his knife. I pick up his knife. He holds his hand tightly and groans in pain. His blood drips down and gets on the carpet. “Why do you want to know what Blood I am?” I ask taking the knife that he dropped, threatening him. He looks back to me then walks in the living room and sits on the couch.

“Forget it, I won’t kill you. Do you have anything for this?” he asks holding up his bloody wound. “I don’t trust people easily,” I tell him. “Oh hey, we have something in common. Now before I change my mind about killing you, can you go get me some gauze or something?” He says sarcastically. I groan disgusted and walk up the stairs to get the gauze from my backpack.

I come back to see him still on the couch. I hand him the gauze and I sit next to him holding my knife. “So are you a Lion or not?” I ask directly. “Yeah I am, but I don’t want to kill anyone.” He wraps the gauze around his hand. “Then why did you just attack me?” I ask confused. “I was just trying to scare you, I wasn’t actually going to kill you. I wouldn’t want to hurt…” he pauses. I look over and see him staring at me. “…A girl anyway,” he finishes. I watch him closely then stand up. “Where are you traveling to?” “The Lions kingdom,” I say. He flinches when I say that. “May I ask why?” He asks. “I don’t like how your Blood treats other Bloods,” I say.

He stares at me for a minute then half smiles. I start walking upstairs and I hear him stand up. “Wait, can I travel with you?” He asks. I look into his cloudy eyes. He is a Lion, I shouldn’t trust him. “I don’t know. I don’t normally trust people easily, especially Lions,” I say. “Can you at least think about it?” He asks me. “Yeah,” I say. I walk into the bedroom I was in and get back under the covers. “Goodnight,” he says loudly. It was a good night until you came here. I bury myself in my soft blanket and fall fast asleep.

“Hey get up,” Ethan says shaking my shoulder. “What is it Lion?” I groan. I could hear him growl. “Don’t ever call me that again,” he hisses at me. “C’mon we have to get out of this area immediately,” he shoves my shoulder again. I hop out of bed and grab my backpack. I walk downstairs and peek out the window. Three men covered in armor walk by the house. “Why didn’t you tell me that there were more Lions here?” I say angrily. “Because you were sleeping. And they are looking for me, calm down,” he says. Why would Lions be looking for another Lion?

“We could fight them,” I suggest. He nods his head then shuts the blinds. “But what Blood are you? How can you fight?” he asks. Don’t tell him. If he knew then he will probably tell King Andrew. “I haven’t discovered mine yet. I normally just use my knives when I fight,” I lie. “Ok, I’ll fight them then. You can help me out if I need it,” he takes out a knife. If I even want to help you. I wanted to say.

I watch him as he hides behind the brown bush in front of the house. The Lions search around and talk to each other. I look back at Ethan and he has his knife in his hand ready to throw. He looks hesitant at first but then he lets it fly. The knife goes into the skull of the blonde haired Lion. The other Lions gasp shockingly as Ethan mutates and pounces on the second Lion. Ethan bares his teeth to the Lion he is attacking, and he claws and bites at his neck. He bleeds out within seconds.

My eyes widen when the third Lion mutates and jumps on Ethan. Ethan tries fighting back but this third guy is stronger. He whacks Ethan on the ground with a single hit of his paw. Next thing I notice, I am mutating and stumbling out the door. I run and tackle the Lion on top of Ethan. I claw and bite at his neck with my fangs and I can hear his heart stop beating. I growl intensively and take one final bite to snap his neck. I shake his body around to make sure that he is dead. I crawl off of him and turn around. The blood tastes good against my lips as I lick it off my whiskers. I look up and see Ethan, back in his human form, in awe. I mutate silently and I run away from him as fast as I can.

“Kira!!! Kira get back here!!” Ethan screams at the top of his lungs. I keep running, tears forming in my eyes. Wait… I forgot my backpack. I stop running when Ethan tackles me ferociously as a Lion. He growls and snarls at me then backs me into a tree. My heart beats loud and fast. I knew it, he’s going to kill me now. A purple leather bag dangles between his teeth. I groan and take my backpack from him. He mutates and he stomps around angrily. I stand up and try to walk away when he starts talking.

“Kira, why didn’t you tell me that you were a fucking Tiger Blood?” He asks. I give him an irritated look. “Why do you think dumbass? I thought you were going to kill me!!” He walks closer to me. “We are enemies, I shouldn’t be trusting you with this secret.” I say. “I wouldn’t tell anyone about this. Just because I’m a Lion doesn’t mean I’m unreliable.” He says. I sit down on a log and don’t say a word.

“I’ll just leave then if you don’t want me to travel with you.” He says. I don’t reply. “Fine,” he walks away. “Next time I see you around here I will kill you,” he says angrily. He hasn’t killed me yet, even now that he knows I’m a Tiger Blood. “You wouldn’t kill someone you care for. Even if they are your enemies,” I say. He turns and looks me straight in the eyes angrily, hesitates for a moment, then vanishes. I get up, brush the leaves off me, and continue to go on my journey alone.