Page 28 of Sanctuary

Simon’s expression suggested they might. His eyes jumped around the room, not looking at the girls. This time it was Paige who moved closer.

“How can we help you?”

Chapter Eighteen

Savage Sanctuary Island, Misty

The girls changed into their wet clothes. They were cold and miserable as soon as they pulled them on. After they left the bedroom, Simon gathered a stack of blankets and the tarp while the girls stood with their arms around their shivering bodies.

"Will you keep Indra? He’ll protect you," Simon asked nervously, not looking at Paige.

"What if he eats us?" Paige interjected, her tone edged with snideness.

"You would be dead," Simon replied earnestly before he turned back to Sarah. "He likes you and he won’t eat you. I’ll give you snacks you can feed to him. I dry the meat myself."

Simon worried about his tiger friend and it angered Misty that Paige continued being mean. He was doing everything he could to help. Without him, she doubted they would have survived the hunters or the large cats.

Misty had never seen a person his giant size. His graying beard showed he wasn’t young but when he talked, Simon reminded her of her brother, Noah. It was the innocence of his thoughts. She didn’t fool herself in thinking Simon wasn’t dangerous but she knew in her heart that he was not dangerous to them. He’d proved it and if Paige didn’t stop acting up, Misty might turn to violence and knock her upside the head.

"What about our candy bars?" Sarah asked with a soft smile and a slight tip to her head. "Can he eat those?"

"He doesn’t like sweets," Simon replied. "But chips and sandwiches he’ll gobble in one bite."

"We’re fresh out of chips and sandwiches," Paige said, holding a hand up and twirling her finger.

"Paige," Misty scolded, drawing out her name. "Be. Nice."

Paige deflated and Misty would swear her eyes teared.

"I’m sorry," Paige said. "I’m cold, tired, and worried." It was her turn to look down at her feet.

"We’re in this together," Misty assured her. Paige wasn’t as tough as she made herself out to be, and her bark was much worse than her bite, as Misty’s grandmother would have said. Misty also suspected Paige used these tactics to hide her fear.

"We should walk together and wrap the tarp over our heads and shoulders," Sarah suggested, breaking into Misty and Paige’s moment.

Misty looked at the tarp and thought about walking on the trail wrapped together in it with the other girls. It wouldn’t work.

"We had trouble keeping hold of Indra on some parts of the trail," she said. "I don’t think we can stay under the tarp the entire way. The clothes we’re wearing are wet, and it’s the T-shirts we need to keep dry."

"I’ll carry the blankets wrapped in the tarp. Fill it with whatever you need including the shirts," Simon offered. He laid the tarp out and placed the blankets in the center. Misty walked around the hut and looked for anything that might help them.

"What about the knives?" Paige asked from the other side of the room. She stood at a large metal table.

"Those are the knives I use to cut up the cats’ food. They are very sharp," Simon warned.

"Do you have sheaths for them?" Paige asked.

"No, but I have a few small towels you can wrap them in."

Paige picked up one of the medium knives and stuck it through her belt loop, being careful not to slice it. The pommel kept it from sliding through. "This will do, and hopefully I won’t cut myself."

Misty looked on dubiously. One swing of Paige’s arm and she’d be missing a section of skin.

Simon went into his bedroom and came out. "That is dangerous." He placed his huge hand out with a pocketknife resting on his palm. "This will work better and you can hide it in your pocket. I keep it sharp too."

Paige swapped knives with him and put hers in her pocket as he suggested. Simon pulled hand towels from a shelf and wrapped two knives up which he gave to Misty and Sarah.

“Those men are bad. They pay to hunt the cats and kill them.”

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