"Mom—Mom, it’s not stopping!" Bill’s voice rose to a terrified shriek. "It’s gonna—oh God, it’s gonna push off!"
Bill backed up until his heels hung over the edge. One more step and he’d fall.
Bullets tore into its flank, shoulder, and hind leg—each impact making the beast flinch, but it refused to stop. Blood sprayed. It snarled, crawled, eyes fixed on Bill like he was the only thing in the world.
"Bill—run! RUN!" Mira scread, tears streaming, emptying the magazine. Click. Click. Click. Empty.
The pistol fell from her numb fingers.
Bill’s heels hit the edge. One more step and he’d fall.
"Mom—!" His voice cracked in panic.
Mira ran forward—straight toward the lion—sobbing hysterically.
"No—no—no—Bill—please!"
Mira was crying—great, heaving sobs that tore out of her chest as she ran straight toward the lion, arms outstretched as if sheer willpower and motherly desperation could stop a half-ton predator. Her face was a mask of terror and grief, tears streaming, mouth open in a continuous wail.
"No—NO—Bill—please—don’t—DON’T TOUCH HIM—!"
The lion—under my silent command—reared up with one final, earth-shattering roar. It sounded like its last breath, lungs emptying in a guttural bellow that echoed off the cliff walls and made the loose stones rattle. Its massive head snapped forward in a surprise lunge, jaws wide, teeth flashing inches from Bill’s face.
Bill flinched hard—pure instinct—and his foot slipped on the crumbling edge.
He fell.
Mira’s scream shattered the air—high, raw, animalistic:
"BILL!!! NO—MY BABY—BILL—NOOOOO!!!"
Ti seed to slow.
I was already moving—Eternal Vitality flooding my veins like liquid lightning, turning every muscle into coiled steel, every reflex into sothing inhuman. I sprinted past Mira in a blur, boots kicking up dirt, heart pounding not from fear but from the perfect execution of the plan.
The lion—on cue—collapsed instantly, rolling to its side with glassy eyes, tongue lolling, chest still in perfect rhythm but playing dead so convincingly that even I almost believed it.
I reached the edge a heartbeat before Bill would have been gone forever. My hand shot out, fingers closing like iron around his wrist. He dangled there—legs kicking in open air, eyes wide with pure terror, mouth open in a silent scream.
"I’ve got you—hold on—!"
I hauled him up with one arm—muscles burning but unbreakable—yanking him back over the lip and onto solid ground. He collapsed in a heap, gasping, shaking violently.
Mira reached us a split-second later, dropping to her knees and throwing herself over him.
"Bill—Bill—oh God—my baby—you’re alive—you’re alive—don’t move—don’t move—let see—let see if you’re hurt—please—please be okay—!"
She ran her hands over him frantically—face, arms, chest, legs—sobbing so hard her whole body shook.
"Mom—I—I’m okay—I’m okay—Mom—he—he caught —he saved —"
I commanded the lion again, and on my cue The lion "stirred" again—rising slowly on trembling legs, bloodied fur matted, eyes fixed on Mira and Bill with predatory hunger.
Mira’s head snapped up. Fresh panic flooded her face.
"No—no—not again—Bill—get behind —!"
I stepped forward.
"Mira—look out!"
The lion lunged—claws extended, jaws open wide.
I threw myself at the lion—shoulder slamming into its ribs with bone-crunching force, arms wrapping around its thick neck like a vice. We rolled together across the dirt in a violent tangle of fur, claws, and dust.
Even though Eternal Vitality kept every scratch from sticking—skin sealing, bones unbruised—I played the part perfectly: grunting in "pain," letting my body go limp for split seconds, coughing wetly as I staggered back to my feet, trembling on purpose like my legs might give out.
I looked up toward the ridge where Mira stood frozen, her face a mask of horror.
"Mira... run away... now...!" I yelled, voice cracking with feigned desperation. "I’ll hold him back—go—GO!"
The lion—perfectly obedient—lunged again, jaws snapping inches from my face. I "fought" it, shoving, twisting, letting us tumble closer and closer to the cliff edge.
Mira’s scream cracked the air:
"DEXTER—NO—STOP—DEXTER!!!"
Bill’s high, panicked cry joined hers:
"Dexter—don’t—! Mom—he’s gonna fall—!"
We hit the brink.
I shoved one last ti—hard—pushing the lion (and myself) over the drop.
The world tilted violently.
Wind roared past my ears, tearing at my clothes.
Mira’s final, broken scream chased down:
"DEXTER!!! DEXTER—NO—PLEASE—DEXTER!!!"
I let the lion fall away into the mist below—Thank you, lion... for helping win her heart.—and in mid-air, I twisted, fingers clawing at the cliff face. My hand found purchase on a narrow ledge of rock.
I hung there easily, body steady, no strain at all, thanks to my power. But from below the overhang, Mira couldn’t see —only hear my voice.
I forced a pained groan, loud enough to carry up.
"Hnngh... don’t worry, Mira... I’m fine... I’m climbing up now..."
Even though she couldn’t see , the mont my voice reached her, her sobbing hitched, then steadied—just a little.
"Dexter...?" Her voice trembled, raw with relief and fresh fear. "Dexter—you’re—you’re alive—?"
I heard her shift, gravel crunching as she dropped to her belly at the edge.
"Bill—co here quickly—help Dexter up—hurry—!"
Bill’s voice—shaky, uncertain—ca next:
"Mom... why do you want to save him? He’s not—he’s not a good person..."
A loud, sharp slap cracked through the air.
"Bill!" Mira’s voice was steel wrapped in tears. "He just saved our lives—your life! Is this how I taught you? This is not the ti—help pull him up once he reaches here. Do you understand?"
I smiled into the rock face, hidden from view.
Heh... this plan will definitely work.
I began to climb—slowly, deliberately, making every movent look agonizing. Grunts of effort. Pauses to "catch my breath." A few staged slips where my fingers scrabbled and I let out pained gasps.
From above, Mira’s voice—frantic, pleading:
"Dexter—hold on—just a little more—you’re almost here—please—please don’t fall—!"
Bill muttered sothing under his breath, but Mira snapped:
"Bill—help —now!"
I reached a point where, if I tilted my head back, I could see them—Mira and Bill lying flat on their stomachs at the edge, arms stretched down, faces pale and tear-streaked.
Mira’s eyes locked on mine the instant she saw .
"Dexter—it’s good—you’re almost here—just climb up—Bill and I will pull you up—!"
Tears dripped from her chin, splashing onto the rock inches from my face.
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