Cougar

Hmm, a new twist is going to arrive yet my fellow bloggers.....

            “Okay. I’ll have grilled sea bass in creamy sauce.” I could never get enough fish to eat. Chef produced this out of thin air too and set it down on the table. Happily I took my fork (which also was supplied by Chef) and dug into my fish. I closed my eyes with satisfaction, flavor singing in my mouth.  The fish itself was succulent and flavorful, but the sauce added to the blend made it divine.

            It has been a while since I’ve had food like this. Not only during my escape, but also while I remained at home. My parents thought that I wouldn’t like fish, and would set it aside for clams (for my octopus cravings), sunflower seeds and mice (for my cardinal/hawk cravings), and American foods (for my human cravings). But really I loved fish and wished that my parents wouldn’t take my mutation so seriously. They always acted like I was the animals that were inserted into me.

            Spark smiled at me, and again his hair crackled. Briefly a wave of electricity passed over him. I laughed.

            “This is really good,” I took another bite. “I didn’t get fish often when I was home. My parents though my appetites would be like the animals in my genes.”

            Spark smiled sadly. “I was fed some sort of mixture made of oatmeal, soup, and corn. It was vile.” Sympathy struck me. I dismissed his shocks, and reached for his hand. Spark smiled at me again.

            “You know, no one reaches for my hand as much as you,” he lifted our interlocked hands.

            “I suppose that it’s because my parents never held my hand.”

            “You talk about your parents a lot.”

            “Well, they were a major part of my life,” I explained.

            Spark sipped a soda Chef had given him before she left for another table. “All our scientists were. But most of us would rather forget them.”

            “My parents cared for me, just never really seemed to…..” I groped for a good word, “love me like other parents I saw.” Spark didn’t say anything, but squeezed my hand more.

            “Well look at you, risking a shock,” a dark voice muttered. Stiffening, I turned to the table behind me.

            A boy with sandy-tan hair was staring at me. His eyes were a deep brown. When he smirked at me, he displayed a row of sharp teeth sided by fangs. The boy was very muscular, and I noted that he had a long, bushy, tan, black-tipped tail like a mix of wolf and cougar.

            Spark tensed, letting go of my hand quickly and looking away from me. Annoyed at the interruption, my wings raised slightly, with ruffled feathers. 

            “And who are you?” I asked coldly, changed my eyes to a dangerously sharp blue. The boy smirked more.

            “I’m called Cougar. Experiment: cougar, wolf, and a bit of bear. Enhanced hunting skills. Bred to kill.” He smiled as if I were to swoon at the title any minute. Instead I remained stiff and cold.

            “Uh-huh, great. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a meal to eat with a friend,” I pointedly turned back to Spark. He was staring at me in disbelief.

            “No girl ignores Cougar,” he mouthed to me. I grinned at him.

            “Well I just did. Besides, I think my food is getting cold, so let’s get out of here.” As we stood to leave, I noticed a lot of the girl experiments were staring at me as if I were even more mutated. Coldly, Cougar rose from his chair and glared at me.

            “My experiment name was E-2,” he snarled. I snarled back.

            “And I am E-3, get out of my way,” I growled. Gasps circled around the room. Even Chef behind her stone counter stiffened. Cougar emitted a sort of snarl you would hear from a cougar before it pounced on its prey, and he jumped at me.

            “Do you know what your parents did to me?” he cried at he took me over. I snapped open my wings, jumped over him, pulled them in tight, and landed on him.

            “How would I? I didn’t even know you existed!” I dodged his punch and kicked his stomach. He wheezed, but spun a kick at me.

            “You were alive alright,” he cried as I fell back with the force of his kick. I coughed the taste of blood in my mouth. My eyes widened. Never before had I tasted blood, and I felt a stir of panic. I wasn’t trained for this. But I also wasn’t one to show weakness. With a roar I ducked his next blow. Then, spinning, I whirled to Cougar’s side. But Cougar dropped onto me with an elbow out. I beat his face with my wings, giving him a mouthful of feathers. He sputtered, his attack faltering. Quickly I scrambled from underneath him and kicked his ribs.

            “I thought you said you were bred to kill,” I taunted as he turned to lunge at me. With a smirk I flapped hard and preformed the move I had demonstrated to a scientific committee not too long ago. Blood sang in my ears. Adrenaline pumped through my veins.

            Cougar raked his hand across my face a heartbeat before I realized he had claws. That tipped the scales a little. My brain thumped with thinking of ways to overcome him while I warded off his attacks.

            Abruptly, there was a cry that stopped both of us. Cougar convulsed, hair crackling. I turned to the person who held a hand over him.

            “Leave my date alone,” Spark rumbled darkly, his hand sparking. He must’ve gone into shock and leapt at Cougar while he was busy. Spark turned to me, holding out a hand. “Let’s go Crystal.” I took his hand, stepped over a twitching Cougar, and walked out of the café.

            “You’re date?” I asked as we left. Spark grimaced.

            “For lack of a better word,” he explained grimly as we left. His gold eyes seemed dark, but they lit with surprise as a figure stood over us.

            “I’m surprised, a newbie defeating Cougar,” there was a hint of amusement to its voice.

            “Hello Elocin,” Spark ducked his head and tugged my along. I felt Elocin’s gaze burn on us until we were out of sight.

            “Who was that?” I asked once we were away.

            “Elocin, she can take the texture and appearance of anything. But she’s really moody and doesn’t like anybody,” Spark was tense. I squeezed his hand in response.

            Later, when we were back at the main area, he introduced me to other experiments, but my brain could not hold them all. Once Spark led me to my area, I smiled, gave him a hug (went into shock with him briefly), and crashed onto a cot-like bed.

            I panted harshly. In front of me was a city that was organized into neat little rows. The hairs on the back of my neck bristled. Next to me was Cougar, and to my other side was a figure cloaked in shadows. Cougar nodded to me, blood-lust gleaming in his eyes. The shadow hung its head. I smiled evilly. Then, I spread my hands.

            The entire city shuddered. Screams rose from the depths. I could smell the blood. Cougar purring, rushing on all fours into the city. The shadow shivered, but remained where it was.

            The city tumbled down. I felt satisfaction as the order was gone, and chaos was well under way.