Author of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Historical, Women's, and Contemporary Fiction
Leopard Spirit Guide Chapter
Leopard Spirit Guide
Sample Chapter (16)
A Dangerous First Encounter
Regina traveled hard and fast all night. She figured the slavers would use aircraft to search for her in the morning. The farther west she could get, the less likely they were to spot her. Though the jungle could mask her from prying eyes above, technology could strip away that cover.
The sun rose on July the first, and Regina kept traveling. Determination pushed her until the sun hung overhead. She ate some plants in her sack while still on the move and stopped only to perform bodily functions. When the sun stretched overhead, she stopped, found a massive tree with a sizeable aboveground root system, and filled the space between two surface roots with underbrush. Setting her internal alarm clock for three hours, she lay down to rest and plunged into a light sleep.
******
Three hours later, Regina ate again and continued marching west. Her mind had raced, but as she continued to plow through the dense jungle, the natural sounds secured her attention. Birds and other wild animals called to one another with an intensity that insisted on an answer. The jungle’s dampness exploded in a musty wave that spread like one in the ocean and permeated everything.
Regina had become quite adept at picking her way through the jungle underbrush. She made much better time than with her family at the crash site. Her high-spiritedness helped her fly through the spaces on the wings of her ambition.
By sundown, she chanced upon a little stream about waist deep. Before bedding down, she removed her clothes and cleaned herself in the refreshing liquid. Since discovering the brook at the plantation, she had learned to appreciate the medicinal uses of water. It kept her body clean and provided her psyche with rejuvenation—and she had grown to adore it. She wished she had stood under the Ribbon Falls at Yosemite and allowed the spray to charge her naked body electrically, caressing and cleansing every curve, crevice, and pore.
Regina didn’t dress after stepping out of the water. She washed her clothing the best she could and hung them up before settling in the place she had prepared for sleeping.
She ate the last of her plants. Tomorrow, I’ll forage while on the move, and it be the last day I travel westward. It should be safe to turn north toward the coast the next day.
That night she slept a little more comfortably.
******
Not long after crossing the stream the following day, she found two wild plum trees. She picked as much fruit as she could carry and set out again to the west, eating plums as she strode through the jungle.
She stopped to rest when the sun reached overhead.
I can’t believe how smoothly everything’s gone so far. There’s no sign of aircraft. I fooled the slavers into thinking I headed north. If what Lily says is valid, they usually have an easy time re-capturing slaves fleeing on a northerly trek. What will they do when they can’t locate me? Will they assume I fell into the moat? Perhaps I should have left evidence of trying to cross the trench to the east. That would have been an excellent idea.
Regina looked up at the sun and spun away. No, that wouldn’t have been so good. It would have tipped them off that I had crossed the moat, then they would have checked in both directions. Picking up her things, she traveled west for the rest of the day.
******
The next day, she started north
At long last, I’m on my way to the coast.
She figured she could do about twenty miles a day at the pace she set for herself. She was young, and the hard labor of the plantation had made her physically fit.
The sun rose, beaming rays of golden bands thrust into the cerulean darkness of the morning sky. However, the poet Regina Sherwood paid little attention to it. She lost herself in her search for freedom.
Late in the afternoon, Regina broke into a small clearing and hurried onward. She halted halfway. Across the clearing on the jungle’s edge stood a black leopard staring at her.
The female leopard padded slowly toward Regina. The thought of being caught out in the open with one of the fastest carnivores alive tightened her muscles. She dared not run because she remembered her parents’ instruction that it would only provoke the big cat to charge. The leopard quickened its pace forward.
Regina whipped out her chopping tool and knife. Holding one in each hand, she spread her feet and arms as far apart as possible to appear more foreboding. She stood her ground and tried squelching her demoniacal fear, but it welled up in her like the surf during a raging hurricane.
The mighty carnivore stopped within six feet of her. Regina remained motionless.
The cat paced around her. She turned with it. The leopard stopped downwind and sniffed the air. Then it hissed and growled. Regina cocked her head, and the black behemoth leaped.
Regina swung the chopping tool just before being knocked to the ground. A sharp pain dug through her abdomen that felt as though someone had dropped a large rock on her. Barely able to breathe, she struggled to regain her feet.
Dazed by Regina’s blow, the leopard meandered toward her. She struggled to prepare herself to meet the giant feline but couldn’t move because of her labored breathing. The cat staggered close. Regina glanced at the sun-soaked sheen of the wildcat’s chest and saw the leopard spots, shimmering beneath her fur, black on black.
Their eyes met. Regina couldn’t stop her fear from surfacing. They gazed at each other for several seconds, the cat’s essence blending with hers. She remembered a quote from John Muir in her Yosemite Valley research. “The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.” For her, it became, “The clearest path into the heart of the universe is through the power of a wild beast.” She projected thoughts of her resilient desires and her sheer willpower that won her freedom. They spearheaded her escape from the plantation. The leopard snorted and bounded off toward the south.
The experience of the leopard piercing her eyes haunted her. Chills rippled along her spine. She had met death face to face, and it made her realize that her mortality was much more fragile than she had ever imagined. Yet, she couldn’t help feeling a bit exhilarated by it. She had seen deep into the psyche of the might of Mother Nature—and found it awesomely inspiring.
She pulled herself erect, and a sharp pain hit her mid-torso. She fell to her knees again and clutched under her potato-sack top. Pulling her hand out, a red stain greeted her. She yanked up her top to discover three deep parallel gashes oozing blood.
Great. More blood.
She had brought one of her old rags from her first period and placed it on the wound, applying pressure. A location with water commanded her immediate attention, so she continued staggering in a northerly direction.
What a useful substance … water.If I can’t have electronic rays for healing and cleaning … water sure makes a wonderful substitute.
She stopped by a massive tree and surveyed the surrounding plants. Spying one with huge curved fronds, she trudged over to it. Peering into the frond, she discovered water trapped from the rains and splashed some onto her wounds. After applying more water, fatigue took charge and ordered her to lie down and sleep. Being early afternoon, she knew she needed to be on the move by sunset. Instead, she fell into an uncomfortable, shallow sleep.
