Behind the Curtain ||DISCONTINUED||

Flight for Freedom

I bound forward, and push past Aurora. I look around, but there is nothing there, just a hole in the tent that flaps as a light breeze wafts by. I can still make out Raze's faint scent. I whip around toward Aurora.

"Who were you talking too? Who was that?" An angry growl emits form my throat.

Aurora backs away. She can see the anger in my eyes, but straightens herself up and looks me in the eye.

"No one. Just an old friend." She whirls around, walking back toward the interior of the tent.

"Hey! Wait!" I bound after her, only to be stopped by a trainer. He yells at me, and holds a crop dangerously over my head.

I shrink back, and pad back over toward Blade and Tele. Blade gives me a questioning look.

"You scented him too, right? He was there, wasn't he?" Blade asks.

"His scent was there, but it was faint. Aurora denied that he was there." I mumbled.

He nodded. Tele looked from me to Blade.

"Who was there?" He asked.

"It was the lion that was here before you. His name was Raze. The three of us were raised together here. He..he.." I choked on my words.

"King got rid of him." Blade finished.

Tele looked down in silence. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. The trainers beckoned us toward our pens. We followed after him as he slipped ropes over our necks and led us out of the main tent toward the lion tent.

I recognized the trainer, it was Jackson. He seemed nervous. He quickly and quietly shut us in our pens and tossed thin slabs of raw meat inside. He left the us without even closing the tent flap.

Blade quickly begins to gnaw at the cold meat. It is hard and difficult to eat, but I manage to gnaw away half of my piece before nudging it aside. My mouth is sore, and the open tent flap lets in a cold breeze. Not that the tent was ever warm.

I pad to the back of the cage and circle before laying down on the thin blanket that serves as my bed. I rest my head on my paws, and immediately my eyes close. I fall asleep, exhausted, knowing that when I wake up, the second show will start.

I run away from the trainers. They whip crop and sharp objects above my head, but I keep running. Ahead, I can see a gate. It stands firmly shut, and I can't get past it. Suddenly, I can see Raze on the other side. He is looking at me. I call out to him, and he runs forward, and nudges the gate open. I am about to step outside, when a harsh voice calls me back.

I wake up in a cold sweat. I am breathing heavily. Another trainer has come to bring us back to the arena for our next show. I push myself to my paws. The last remnants of my dream seem to fade away as me, Blade, and Tele are led outside. 

The sunlight burns my eyes, and I squint as trainers hustle around us. The circus is abuzz with activity as the trainers prepare for the morning show. The trainer, Jackson, comes toward us with lead ropes and slip them over our necks. He pulls us toward the main tent, where I can already see King striding inside.

A sense of dread fills me. I don't want to do any more shows, but Jackson keeps tugging at the rope. I dig my paws into the ground. Blade stops and stares at me.

I dig my paws in as Jackson tugs at the rope. The conversation Tele and I had last night suddenly comes back to me. I look over at Tele.

"Tele, what if we escaped right now?" I ask.

He turns to me, wonder in his eyes.

"How?" His voice is yearning, wanting to escape as well. 

I turn toward Blade. He looks at me, then nods. That is the only prompt I need.

I rear my head back and bite down on the rope. It snaps, and I rush forward and claw Jackson's leg. he screeches in pain and crumples up on the ground. Blade has already clawed his lead rope off, and Tele was so skinny he slipped right out of his.

I rush past Jackson and through a narrow alley of tents. I dodge past trainers and other animals as I run toward what I believe is the exit, Blade and Tele right behind me. 

I can see the exit. It's not a hulking metal gate, but a flimsy wood barricade. I am just tail-lengths away when a thick chain catches my neck. It yanks me back, and I topple.

Blade and Tele stop by my side, trying to . yank it of, but I shout at them:

"Go! Keep running! Escape!"

They look torn, but Blade bounds forward, bursting through the barricade and racing forward. Tele looks back at me sadly, before running after him.

I watch as they tear away, down a small dirty lane. Ahead, I can see huge towers, which must mark the line of the city.

I sit up and give a triumphiant yowl as Blade and Tele race away, too far gone for anyone to go after them. 

They've escaped, their free! I look toward the horizon, where I can almost picture fresh grass, bloody meat, a pride, a mate and cubs. One day I will be free.

A familiar scent wafts toward me, and I turn around. King is standing there, his face bright red. I know he is angry, but I don't fear him anymore, because I now know: I could rip him to shreds.

 I bare my teeth and hiss at him. I try to lunge forward and claw him, but the chains encircling my neck stop me. I sit up and give him a cold, hateful stare, before smirking, and striding off, dragging the chain and trainer holding it with me.

This revolution has just begun.

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Yay! I'm back! So sorry for my absence and lack of updates, however, I have an important message!

This will be the last update of Behind the Curtain for now. I plan on finishing Feathers of Change, and then coming back to this book. Writing two books simultaneously is a lot of work, and I'm not very good at regular updates.

However, I will try to update Feathers of Change regularly now! 

Thank you for understanding!

-Vixen