Page 36 of Sanctuary

“How did he know to come here?” Misty asked.

“Even in the rain, he can smell my scent,” Simon told her. “I keep them safe and they know that.”

“That’s cool,” said Sarah. “You’re like the cat whisperer.”

Simon had no idea what she was talking about, and his attention was on Summa. The cat panted heavily. With his fur wet, it was hard to see where he was injured. Indra paced back and forth twice before he lay down.

“Are they friends?” Misty asked.

Simon shook his head, looked at the floor dubiously, and sank down, stretching out his long legs in front of him to get comfortable. “No. In the wild, they live in different parts of the world and rarely come into contact with each other. Here they do, but they’re leery. Summa was raised by people, and he’s a little better than the other lions around Indra.”

“You know so much about them,” Sarah said. “How did you learn?”

Misty watched as Simon’s shoulders straightened. He ran his hand gently over the lion’s fur as he spoke, “Mrs. Miller at the library helps me. When she sees interesting articles about big cats, she saves them for me, and she reads them to me if I can’t do it myself. She says I’m emp—” Simon thought about the word for a moment. “Empathic,” he shrugged, “I think that’s what she calls it.”

Misty wasn’t familiar with the word, but Paige was.

“So you really do talk to the animals?” she asked.

“I always talk to them,” he said. “They understand.” He moved his hand around Summa’s flank area until the cat lifted its head and bared his teeth.

“I think he was stabbed here,” Simon told them.

“Is there anything you can do?” Misty asked.

“What I need is back in the hut.”

“Will you tranquilize him?” Paige asked.

“Yeah, but I can do that with a dart from the gun. I need my stitching tools and a light.”

“I’ll go with you,” Sarah said.

He looked at her skeptically. “It’s a long walk and you would be safer here.”

Sarah looked at the other girls. “I want to help Simon.”

“It’s freezing out there,” said Paige as she cautiously watched the lion. She looked up at Simon. “Do you plan on leaving him with us?”

“Indra will be here, and he won’t let Summa hurt you. I think Summa will be okay, though.” He looked at Sarah. “I need to put the other cats back in their cages, and it won’t be safe. You need to stay here.”

Sarah sighed dramatically. “Okay, I’ll take care of Summa until you get back.”

Simon gave his own sigh, and Misty knew it was relief. She didn’t think he was accustomed to girls other than Mrs. Miller who helped him learn. She had a feeling that Simon wasn’t as dumb as he thought himself. His knowledge of the large cats was remarkable. She agreed with Paige, though. Being here alone with Summa was worrying. They’d grown accustomed to Indra, and he’d proved he wouldn’t eat them. She was still weary and wanted nothing more than to lay back down and sleep. Thinking about the danger and getting caught was too much. They had no choice but to leave their safety to Simon. If he thought they were safe with Summa, they most likely were.

Simon’s injury didn’t seem to bother him much, and Misty knew he’d been concerned for the cats all night. “Be careful,” she told him.

He gave her a strange look before he nodded and grabbed the dart gun leaning against the wall. “If you are in danger, the door leading to the light is unlocked and you could go in there. Take Indra with you and leave Summa out and you can lock the door from the inside.”

“Thank you for helping us, Simon,” Misty said. “It would be really bad if you weren’t here.”

“You are my friends,” he told her. “I help my friends.”

“Here,” Sarah said and handed him the rain slicker. “I’m warm now and this will help keep you dry.”

Simon put the slicker on, and they watched as he lumbered down the stairs. Indra tried to follow, but he told him no. Indra walked back over and lay down next to Misty, his eyes steady on the lion. Sarah moved into a more comfortable position and placed her hand on Summa’s back. He didn’t move or growl, so she left it there.

“I didn’t know I liked cats so much,” she told the others.

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