Stacy--Part Thirty-Three

Splog # 121

Thirty-Three

   It was difficult for Stacy to stay focused on the direction in which she was hoping to find the children. She wanted to keep checking behind her to monitor the tiger's progress. She soon became aware of the odd galloping sound off to her right approaching nearer and nearer. Suddenly, she no longer wanted to know the tiger's position. Her ears reported that it would be beside her in a very few moments. She wondered if she could run any faster, miserably aware that no matter how fast she ran, the tiger would overtake her easily, probably without any great effort. These thoughts were whirling in her mind when a blur of orange and white touched the corner of her eye. Madly, she again pictured a Creamsicle, this one hurtling toward her on flat wooden stick legs. Before she could dismiss the insane image from her mind, the tiger dashed past her, so close that its fur brushed her right arm as it flung itself in front of her. Moving of its own volition, her head turned and followed the flight of the tiger. It bounded along in its driving rhythm. Ba-bump-bum. It struck her that she was hearing three distinct sounds, but could only see two actions of the animal to account for the different beats. These were when its front paws and back paws touched down. As each pair of limbs struck the ground, it produced a concussion that resounded as though the earth beneath it were hollow.

   Suddenly, all observation of the tiger ceased as Stacy, who in her fear hadn't slowed her headlong rush, felt her right foot come down on something higher and softer than the even plain she'd been hurrying over. Her left leg stretched ahead to compensate for the sensation of imbalance and, before she knew it, she had landed on one knee and slightly twisted the ankle of her other leg. After a moment, she eased herself into a sitting position and remained motionless and panting, with her head hanging down. She closed her eyes and let large gulps of air go in and out of her lungs. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest. She simply waited and rested.

   When it seemed to her that her respiration and heartbeat were resuming their normal functions, she examined her legs to see what condition they were in. Her right knee was red, and maybe turning slightly purple, from its jarring contact with the ground, but wasn't tender to the touch and seemed to have all working parts intact. She lifted her left foot and slowly rotated it to explore the damage to her ankle. There was some pain and not merely little twinges, but she did manage a complete circle so she concluded it was usable, though the remainder of her walk might be less pleasant than the commencement had been. She let out a sigh and looked up just in time to see the tiger, now some distance away and moving again to her right, execute another of its spectacular leaps. It landed, stopped running, turned to face in her direction, and then disappeared. Stacy squinted her eyes in order to peer more intently but could see nothing where the tiger had been a moment ago. She looked to the left and right but there was nothing but the plain of faded grass.