Page 17 of Midlife Tiger’s Last Chance

CHAPTER TEN

Brock

The screams come from people staring up at the steep slope of the mountain. I see the teenagers sliding down, out of control. They’re screaming, too. They probably got too close to the edge holding hands or something. One slipped and then they started sliding. In a few seconds, that slide will turn into a fall. They’re two or three hundred feet above the ground.

They’re going to die.

As if by a miracle, they hit a ledge on the slope and stop but I can see it crumbling beneath them.

Melanie looks at me. She knows what I’m thinking. “Do it, Daddy,” she says.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Do what?” Minnie asks.

“I need to tell you something,” I say.

“What? Now?” Minnie asks. “Are you kidding?”

“You’re about to find out,” I say, “and I’d rather I told you first.”

“It can’t be the right time to tell me anything,” she says. I can understand the disbelief in her voice.

“I’m a shifter,” I say.

I turn to look at her and she frowns. “What? Stop playing around. You’re too famous to pretend something like that. Will you…” As the realization I’m being honest comes to her, her face changes completely. “And that’s why you keep it a secret.”

“Whether or not we announced ourselves to the world,” I say, “Not much of the world accepts us.”

“I would,” she says. I can see the hurt in her eyes.

“I know you’re upset I’m just telling you this now,” I say, “and we’ll talk about it but…” I glance at the mountainside. “I need to help them.”

She nods and says, “Go.”

I nod and take a step toward the mountain. For a full shift like this, I like to be naked. I have all of my clothes made so they will accommodate a shift to my half tiger form without damage but there’s no way to accomplish that with a shift to a full tiger. The money doesn’t matter to me, of course, but it will be awkward when I shift back completely naked. I hear Minnie ask softly what kind of shifter I am but I don’t answer. Instead, I shift.

It's not surprising that the shouts and murmurs from the crowd instantly cease in stunned silence. A tiger the size of a steer just appears in front of them where the town’s favorite son stands a moment before. It’s not surprising but it means a secret kept for generations. I think about how my daughter doesn’t hesitate to let that secret go when I do. I hear gasps and I hear the word shifter. Then, I’m almost thirty feet away as I take my first leap up the mountainside. Though I’m a natural climber in a heavily wooded area like this, the climb isn’t simple. If this were my natural habitat, I would already know which rocks and mounts can support my weight. Now, it’s trial and error, and that makes things harder on me. I slide down a few times on my way to the teenagers.

They don’t notice me yet. They’re too busy hanging tightly to everything and doing all they can to not look down. There are two slight girls and two boys. One of the boys looks like a jock and one looks more mid-range. In any case, I’m certain I can carry all four of them if they don’t panic. I stare up at them and the ledge they’re on shifts a little, sending dirt and gravel down the slope. There are a few screams from below and one of the teen girls looks at me and screams.

She points in panic and falls. The scream from below is terrible, filled with despair and fear. For all I know this leap is going to land me on soft ground and end any chance of rescuing them but I don’t have time to think. Instead, I propel myself forward and keep my eyes on her, trusting instinct and luck to let me land. I’m not sure the timing is going to work and she’s almost to me when I shift to half form. I land on my knees and she sails down past me but I throw my arm out and grab hold of her, pulling her in and wrapping both arms around her as I lean against the steep slope. She’s too stunned to scream at the sight of me.

I hate to do it but I shift fully human and then take a step back. She turns and looks at me and when her eyes glance down as anybody’s would, I turn so I’m against the mountain. “I’m not going to hurt you. Wait here. Yell to your friends. Tell them to trust me. Tell them to climb on my back when I get there and hold on for dear life. Will you do that?” She nods and I say, “You can’t get down from here. I’ll be back for you, okay?” She nods again. I say, “I need you to tell me what you’re going to do.”

She swallows hard and says, “I’m going to tell my friends you’re going to help them.” Her voice is very nervous but she gains confidence and adds, “and they need to climb on and hold tight. Then, I’m going to wait here for you to get me.”

“Good girl,” I say.

“One more thing,” she says.

“One more thing?”

“Nice package.”

I groan, shake my head and say, “Can you please forget you ever saw it?”

I hear her say, “No chance of that,” as I leap into the air and shift at the height of my jump. I dig into the mountain with the claws on my front paws and lift my back legs up and do the same before propelling myself upward as hard as I can.

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