Chapter 15 Someone Jumped!
When it came to threats against her life, Kiara never hesitated.
She locked eyes on Joy, ready to kill her the second she made a move.
But then-
Clang!
Finished
Joy dropped the long blade. Her knees buckled, and she sank to the ground–only to jerk upright again when the scalding pavement burned through her jeans.
Clutching her chest, her lashes trembling, she suddenly broke down. Curling into herself, she buried her head between her knees and sobbed.
Kiara didn’t move. She kept her stance and made no attempt to comfort her.
A few minutes passed before Joy’s crying finally tapered off
She wiped her face and stepped toward Kiara, “Kiara thank you. For today.”
If Kiara hadn’t pulled over to help, Joy didn’t want to imagine what might have happened to her.
She didn’t mention what she thought she’d seen–truthfully, she hadn’t seen much at all, but she was aware those men had ended up tumbling off the cliff.
After a pause, her eyes grew wet again. “Could you drive me back? My car’s totaled.”
“Sure.” Kiara didn’t notice anything unusual in Joy’s expression; she put her switchblade away and nodded.
Having avoided being violated by a group of men and cried her fill, Joy’s bad mood lifted quickly. She hurried to grab her food from her wrecked car and climbed into Kiara’s car.
Moments later, Kiara started the car, and they vanished into the woods.
Back at Skyhaven, Kiara carried the bags in one hand and the still–unconscious tiger cub in the other, heading straight for the
stairs.
Joy hesitated–she’d rather take the elevator–but watching the food sway from Kiara’s arm, remembering how those same arms had slammed grown men to the ground moments ago, she swallowed hard and followed her
up the flights. They spoke little. On the seventh floor, Joy stopped her again, thanking her sincerely once more. Kiara shook her head. “You’ve helped me before. And besides–today’s mess started because of me.”
If she hadn’t rescued the cub and spent 30 minutes, they never would’ve run into those men.
Joy’s gaze drified to the tiger cub, and she said, “If you don’t have special medicine for it, you could give it some calcium supplements.”
“Got it. Thanks.” Kiara didn’t bother explaining she’d bought out an entire pharmacy.
After saying goodbye, she went inside, locked the door, and switched the power back on.
She made the cub a small bed before heading to the bathroom.
Even without being picky, the heavy tang of dried blood clinging to her skin was too much.
Even without being a clean freak, the heavy tang of blood was more than Kiara could stand. Fresh from the shower, she heard a faint, high–pitched cry. Following the sound into the living room, she spotted the tiger cub–curled into a tight ball, neck craned toward her.
Its eyes were still clouded with the bluish haze of the newborn, making it look harmless, almost sweet.
It was hard to believe soigething this innocent–looking would one day take down large prey without a flicker of hesitation
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Chapter 15 Someone Jumped!
As she stepped closer, it batted a paw at her and let out a hiss
Kiara flicked its forehead with her finger, frowning. “No noise. You’ll wake the neighbors.”
Whether it understood or not, its ears drooped, and it stayed quiet.
Kiara couldn’t help but grin, reaching down to muss its head in two rough strokes.
Finished
Figuring it was still hungry, she pulled a can of goat milk formula from her storage, mixed a small bowl, and gave it to the tiger cub.
The cub wobbled upright, tail curled beneath it, pink tongue darting to lap greedily.
With that appetite. Kiara relaxed completely.
A good eater meant a good chance at survival–and she had more than enough to share.
When it finished, she rubbed its velvety ears. “Little one, stick with me from now on, alright?”
The cub only stared at her with wide, round eyes.
Playfully, she pressed its head down in a mock nod
“Good.” She rubbed its tiny ears again. “Now, what should I name you?
She thought long and hard before her eyes settled on the cub’s golden fur. “How about… Honey?”
—
The little tiger cub seemed to stare at her in disbelief, as if saying. Seriously? You thought that long and came up with that?
Still, under Kiara’s unspoken threat, it had no choice but to accept the painfully ordinary name.
After playing with it for a while, Kiara looked up some information online, then pulled fracture medicine from her storage and treated Honey’s injury. Only then did she head to bed.
The next morning, she woke to a heavy thud.
“Help! Somebody jumped!”
Kiara froze, then swung out of bed, crossing to the window in three quick steps. Pulling back the curtain, she saw a wide patch of red blooming across the landscaping below another building.
A pair
of broken legs lay twisted on the sidewalk–a sight that made her stomach tighten.
Screams filled the air. Someone was frantically calling 911.
Compared to the panic outside, Kiara remained calm.
She’d crawled out from piles of the corpses before; this was shocking, but hardly enough to shake her.
After only two seconds, she let the curtain fall.
Picking up her phone, she opened the Skyhaven WhatsApp group, certain that while she’d been asleep, another grim story. had unfolded,
Benny asked, “Who was it? What happened?”
Elmer replied, “From our building. Her son was the guy whose car caught fire yesterday. I heard he didn’t make it through the right. Don’t know the rest–LuvNile, you got anything?”
LuvNile wrote. “Her husband died too–mugged outside the hospital last night, stabbed seven times. Her daughter–in–law caught the news, and she was on her way to the hospital, but someone slashed her tires, dragged her out, and assaulted her. This morning she couldn’t take it anymore and slit her wrists. God, this is such a cruel world. Who knows when it’ll get
better?
A family of four–wiped out in a single day.
The group chat fell silent.
410AM P P
Chapter 15 Someone Jumped!
After a long pause, someone spat curses at the monsters who’d done it
Finished
JoyOfJoy added, “I used to think that once this disaster passed, the world would start to get better. But now, I’m too afraid to step outside. I don’t even know if things can get better.”
Benny consoled, “Don’t lose hope, pretty. There’ll be better days ahead”
LuvNile commented, “Feels like society’s breaking apart. This week’s been full of violent muggings. If this heat wave doesn’t end well see more of it.”
Elmer suggested, “We need to stick together. If we go out in groups, there’s safety in numbers. Those thugs are less likely to make a move.”
Fresh from her own brush with danger, Joy jumped in first.
JoyOfJoy exclaimed, “I’m in
LuvNile replied, “Count me in.”
Others quickly echoed their agreement.
Kiara sighed and set down her phone.
If she wanted to go out alone from now on, her odds of being targeted had just gone way up.
This is troublesome!
