A Tale of the Other Kind

  ‘Isn’t it beautiful?’

  ‘It truly is,’ she said as she walked over to the pool and ran her fingers through the cold water. ‘It's so refreshing.’ She looked around her, taking the scenery in and looked up at the overhang of the waterfall. ‘It's pretty high.’

  ‘Makes you dizzy just looking at it,’ he replied. He motioned over to a large rock out of the way of the spray from the falling water. They climbed on top of it from where they could see the forest stretch out for miles ahead of them.

  ‘This is so nice,’ she said moving close to him and drawing her legs closer. His arm went around her small frame, holding her tight. ‘I could never have imagined this, you and me, here.’ She smiled as she lay her head down against his shoulder. ‘Why did you bring me here?’ she questioned. ‘Why this place?’

  Kai smiled, ‘It’s my place. There’s no one around and all you truly have is yourself and the sound of the water crashing down at the base of the waterfall,’ he said.

  ‘It’s also a great place to vent anger. Scream and get frustrations out,’ he laughed. ‘You should try it some time.’

  ‘Mmm, I think I might just take you up on that,’ she laughed.

  They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the sound of the waterfall and simply being in each other’s company. Sienna broke the silence first.

  ‘When you helped me, at the game - why were you there?’ she said softly. ‘I mean … how did you know?’

  Kai thought for a second, ‘I don’t know. I guess I could sense something was wrong. I felt like I had to be somewhere, but, I didn’t know where exactly that was,’ he said, recollecting the night he tussled with James.

  ‘On my way home I took a shortcut behind the bleachers towards the parking lot...’

  ‘And that’s when you saw James and I argue,’ she said, looking down.

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘I expected him to be angry; I mean, I didn’t expect him to attack me like that, but I knew he would be mad that I wanted to end things between us. It all happened so fast,’ she explained.

  ‘The thing I can recollect is how frightened you were and James holding onto your arm so tightly; shoving you against the wall. I didn’t give myself time to think. All I wanted to do was help you,’ he said, looking down at her.

  ‘I don’t know how I got myself into this mess. I’ve always promised myself that I wouldn’t date jerks like that, but things went so wrong so fast. Before I knew it, I was unable to leave. But, even though I stayed, the situation wasn’t as clear-cut as it might seem. I kept telling myself that I was in over my head and that I should leave, but I didn’t.’

  ‘So what made you decide to finally try break it off with him?’

  ‘You did,’ she whispered.

  ‘Me? Why?’ he asked, confused.

  ‘Well, you made me realise that I was playing with fire,’ she said.

  Kai smiled and leaned down, softly brushing his lips against her forehead, pulling her closer into his warm embrace.

  ‘So, why do you and your mom live so far away from town?’ she asked, suddenly changing the subject.

  ‘History,’ he smiled. ‘My dad built the place. My mom doesn’t really like it there though. She literally gets a fit if she sees a Daddy-Long-Legs spider. She is so not equipped for the bush,’ Kai laughed.

  Sienna giggled, but suddenly her face fell when Kai questioned about her parents. ‘My parent’s … are nothing to write home about. I don’t know when last my parents had a conversation. We basically live past each other.’ She threw a small stone into the water. “And your dad?’

  ‘He left before I was born.’

  ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t know...’

  ‘Don’t worry about it. It was a long time ago and besides, I don’t really know much of him. It’s mostly been just me and my mom.’

  ‘So, why did your parents move here?’

  Sienna lifted her eyes and pulled her lips in a thin line.

  ‘Well, my dad got retrenched at the mine he managed back home. The gold was running out, apparently, so he got a job here managing a wood mill. It was weird having to relocate, not knowing anybody. And I’m most certainly not the best at getting to know people,’ she smiled. ‘I tend to spend more time at my ballet classes. It keeps me busy and I’m even thinking of joining a dance company in Johannesburg after school,’ she said, her eyes glimmering as she spoke about her dream of a dancing career.

  She jumped off the rock and tripled over to the water while she kicked off her shoes. She looked over to Kai mischievously as he followed her towards the edge of the water. ‘I think you need to cool down,’ she said, with a sly smile.

  ‘What?’ he replied confused, and suddenly she splashed him with hands full of water, giggling loudly as the water soaked him from head to toe. ‘Oh, so that’s how you’re gonna play it,’ he laughed, shocked.

  He dropped his hands into the water and splashed at her, but she was too quick and ran away from the onslaught. The water only slightly touching her back. Kai stood up and looked at her curiously. Wondering what had made someone so kind and playful get stuck in such a bad situation. The only thing he knew was that she wasn’t as helpless as he first thought. She had more fight in her than she let on, and he was determined to get to know that side of her. He moved closer to her where she stood knee deep in the cold water. Her hand hung loosely by her sides.

  ‘You are magical...’ he said as he lifted a hand to the side of her face. She lifted her chin to look up at him as he hovered close to her. ‘Magical?’ She asked with a sly smile.

  ‘Yeah, magical,’ he stated, as he bent down and softly kissed her on her lips.

  She didn’t move away, and slowly melted into him as her eyes closed at his embrace. He slowly pulled away from her and searched her eyes. Before he could say something she interjected. ‘There is something I need to tell you,’ she said, furrowing her brow. ‘I don’t need your protection. I mean I don’t really need your protection. It might have gone too far with James, but only because I allowed it,’ she sighed as she pulled away and walked away from his embrace.

  Kai looked at her curiously.

  ‘The thing is, that I have been aware that James has been up to something for a long time now. He’s involved in some dangerous things, and I have been trying to figure it out. It hasn’t gone so well. Obviously,’ she said, putting her hands on her hips.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Kai replied, confused.

  ‘Look Kai, I actually didn’t want to tell you this, but things have happened so fast between us. I have been fighting the idea of there being something here, but I have been hopelessly unsuccessful at staying away from you,’ she said, shaking her head.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ he said, quizzically.

  She walked over to where Kai was standing and placed her hands on his arms. ‘In the beginning I truly was dating James because I liked him, but then he started doing strange things.’

  ‘What things?’ Kai prodded.

  ‘Well, I’ve seen him hang out with the wrong type of crowd. I know everyone knows he hangs out with those types, but I wanted to know more. I was curious, and I kind of tried to get in on his secrets, because I wanted to know what they were up to. Half of it didn’t make sense, but what I found, I didn’t like,’ she said drifting off.

  ‘Why didn’t you just break it off?’ Kai said frustrated.

  ‘I got in too deep. I thought that if I played the helpless victim, he wouldn’t care to be frank around me. He knew I wasn’t going anywhere. But then he started to frighten me. He upped his violence level about ten times when I confronted him about everything he had been doing,’ she sighed.

  ‘That was when you should have just left,’ Kai said, angered that she would let her curiosity lead her into such dangerous situations.

  ‘I should have,’ she agreed. ‘But there were so many things that didn’t make sense, that I convinced myself to keep up appearance. I knew that it was just a matter of time before he
slipped and I could figure out what he was really up to,’ she said nodding.

  Kai sighed, and moved away. ‘Do you even know how stupid that is?’

  ‘Yes,’ she replied, slightly annoyed. ‘That is why I tried to break it off once and for all at the rugby game the other night. I realised that he wasn’t going to let me in on his secrets.’

  ‘And what was your plan when you did find out what he was up to?’ Kai asked.

  ‘I haven’t really thought that through,’ she replied.

  ‘Anyway, Kai, can we just drop this now? You know now why I was involved with James, but it’s ancient history now. I won’t go near him again. I promise.’

  Kai looked at her, not completely convinced that she had given up on her attempts at playing spy. ‘The sun is starting to set. We should probably start heading back towards town.’

  ‘Hmm,’ she huffed. ‘I wish we could stay a little longer.’

  ‘The forest isn’t going anywhere,’ he laughed, ‘I’ll bring you back here, as many times as you want.’

  ‘Good, I like that idea,’ she grinned.

  Slowly, he bent down and kissed her softly on her forehead. A wave of nausea overcame him before a noise in the bushes behind them startled him and he looked up suddenly, scanning the area carefully, unsure of what he had heard.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Nothing, I just, I heard something back there. Stay here, let me check,’ he said, as he moved towards the far side of the forest.

  ‘What, what is it?’ she asked nervously.

  ‘Shh, stay there,’ he said looking back at her. Her eyes grew wide with fear. Kai tried to stay calm, keeping his heartbeat steady. He slowly moved through the thick bushes, trying his best not to make a sound. He couldn’t hear anything but kept moving forward. He was worried that Sienna might find him strange but he once again felt that strange sensation he did the night he got into a fight with James. Something was wrong. Suddenly, the same sound filled the air again, but this time, he could make out what the sound was ... a lion.

  He shook his head in disbelief, knowing very well that no lions were ever around these parts. He kept moving forward, hoping to find something that would make him laugh at his silliness. But something seemed different in the forest. Something didn’t sit right. It was far too silent – he could not even hear the birds chirp and no monkeys could be seen anywhere. This is strange, he thought to himself, not quite certain what was unsettling him so much.

  Again, he heard a rustle in the bushes, but this time his eye caught a glimpse of something moving. Unsure, he moved towards the bushes, slowly, like he would approach prey. But as he got closer, he could see nothing. He felt stupid for being so impulsive and leaving Sienna alone at the waterfall, especially now that it was getting darker, so he decided to head back. He wasn’t too far away from where Sienna was waiting for him when, suddenly, his eyes went blurry. He tried to stabilise himself against a tree. Bent over, he shook his head, trying to shake away the dizziness that was starting to overwhelm him.

  A dull ache crept into his stomach, making him buckle forward even further. He groaned as a sharp pain shot through his shoulders, sending him spiralling backwards. He fell with a thud to the flood, scraping his elbows, exposing raw flesh. He couldn’t control his body as painful jolts of electricity penetrated every one of his bones, ripping him apart from the inside. He tried to call out for help, but the pain took his breath away. It took away his voice, paralysing him into uncontrollable convulsions. Confusion struck him as his thoughts began to change and everything went fuzzy. He dug his nails into the wet soil, trying to grab onto tree roots to pull himself up, but nothing was close enough to reach. Then, everything went black.

  CHAPTER 7

  When Kai regained consciousness, he slowly stumbled back towards Sienna. In the distance he could see her sitting next to the waterfall, fidgeting anxiously. He could see her irritation at being left alone.

  He couldn’t pull himself together, and fell against a tree, unable to call out for help. Sweat streamed down his forehead and shivers enveloped his body. All he could hear was an ear-deafening silence and the thunder of the waterfall. It seemed to get much darker rapidly now. Only the slight glimpses of the moon shone through the treetops.

  ‘Kai?’ Sienna called, but he couldn’t answer. His lips formed her name, but gave no sound. ‘Oh hell, please don’t let her think I disappeared on her,’ he thought, desperately. ‘Kai! You know this isn’t funny, right?’

  A chill rose in the air, blowing a cold breeze over her exposed arms, making her jump up from the large rock she was sitting on.

  Sienna motioned towards the edge of the forest where she’d last seen Kai, and looked around to try and see whether he was near.

  Kai tried to call out, but the pain from his bones cracking throughout his body took his breath away and he collapsed, writhing in pain.

  Sienna repeatedly called to him, but the only answer she got was the echoes of her own voice, bouncing off the overhanging rocky escarpment. As time ticked by, her voice became more urgent. She reached into her bag and dug around for her mobile phone. ‘Ugg, when I find him, I’m going to kick his ass,’ she said, furious. ‘How on earth do I end up choosing these weirdoes’ that screw around with me,’ she screamed, shaking her head.

  There was no cell phone signal. No matter how hard she tried and how many rocks she climbed, she couldn’t get a single bar of signal to even send an sms for help. ‘Just great,’ she said, throwing the phone back into her bag. ‘This isn’t happening. This is not happening,’ she said, as tears were now streaming down her face.

  Kai drifted in and out of consciousness, unable to maintain one stable moment to pull himself together to call out to her. He became frantic when he saw her trying to retrace her steps back into the forest. He tried again to call out, hoping she would stop and wait – hoping she would find him there. Anxious and unable to move, he began to panic, not knowing what was happening to him. Nearby, Kai heard a rustle in the bushes. He felt relieved that she had finally found him, but to his shock, a large lion prowled through the bushes, slowly, angling its head at Kai as it came into view. Fear struck panic into his chest. He tried to move, but his body wouldn’t let him.

  The lion grunted slightly as it crawled over towards him, its fully-grown mane touching the side of his face as it came close enough to know every detail of his scent. The lion snarled and gave a soft growl, then simply turned away and walked towards the direction where he’d left Sienna. Kai knew that she was in danger, and the thought of the lion attacking her terrified him even more than the lion making Kai his dinner. A newfound energy engulfed his body, and he forced himself up against the tree, barely making it up on one leg. Slowly, he started pushing himself from tree to tree; unable to keep up with the lion that was obviously hunting for prey. He couldn’t understand why it hadn’t attacked him, but he was sure that he wasn’t about to let Sienna become the lion’s meal. His movements were slow from his aching body, unable to breathe and unable to focus. He finally fought his way through the thick bushes, and saw Sienna in the distance, unaware that there was a lion close by. He tried to call to her to get away quickly, but he couldn’t muster a whisper to warn her. She was in reaching distance, yet, so far away. He fell to the floor, doubling over with alarming pain that spread throughout his entire body. He was sure that he was dying. Panic struck him, knowing that they were both about to die in the forest tonight.

  Thoughts of Sienna’s being hurt caused a tear to fall from Kai’s eye, knowing that he was unable to save them both. Without warning a torturous change began to take place in Kai’s body and he could only go through the motions of his human body becoming mangled into a series of unproportional shapes. Blood poured from his mouth as his organs began to shift into places that made no sense. His eyes grew wide as his torso shifted, changing his ribcage, his legs transformed into a new leaner shape. Claws protruded from his fingers, digging deep into the soil that was his only re
fuge from the pain he felt. His body felt like it was on fire and his skin was glowing – almost like someone had set him alight from the inside. Fear overwhelmed him as black spotted hairs grew from his skin, making him shudder on the inside. But then, calmness set in over his body although he wasn’t able to move. A sudden peacefulness overcame him, even though he could see the girl he cared for more than anything in the world, becoming the prey of the lion stirring ever so slightly in the bushes, readying itself to pounce. It startled Sienna and she stumbled backwards, falling to the ground. All Kai could do was watch the horrific scene that was unfolding in front of him. The powerful lion leapt out from behind a large rock, furiously charging towards Sienna. Instinctively she jumped to her feet and grabbed her backpack, swinging it at the charging lion, but that only seemed to startle it.

  ‘Oh shit,’ she said aloud as the angry lion turned around, flashing its sharp, dangerous teeth at her, exposing its gums. She started running, but Kai knew she couldn’t outrun a lion. Flashes of anger, fear and frustration blazed through his mind as he looked at her defencelessly trying to escape the roaring lion, but it pounced on top of her, smashing her into the ground, face first.

  She covered her face as she came down hard on the ground, winding her and leaving her breathless. Before she could even try to get back up, a sharp claw slashed over her back, causing her to scream out in pain. She fumbled around and found a large rock, smashing it into the side of the lion’s skull, hardly making any impact, but slightly disorientating it, giving her a chance to get up from its grip. Kai got to his feet and looked at his body. He wasn’t human anymore, but a large, black, powerful leopard.

  Without a second thought, he leaped out towards Sienna to push her out of harms way. Sienna screamed and started crawling towards the bushes. Watching the fight between the lion and leopard unfolding in front of her. Kai slammed into the side of the lion. A loud roar escaped the now furious creature as a fiery fight developed between the two beasts. Sienna was shaking with shock and disbelief at what was happening in front of her, and between all the confusion, she tried to get up and run, but found herself too close to the embroiling fight between the two beasts.