The Fate of the Stone Lion

Chapter 5: Escape

Seph awoke from the nap he had taken and saw his 100 pound black lion sitting next to him, excitedly awaiting his trainer to rise from his slumber. He had been training the lion for nearly 2 months now, and everyday Stone seemed to be growing bigger and bigger. Seph had started keeping the parachute tied onto Stone's back, which sometimes got in the way of training.

Seph woke up today and knew that it was today he would be seeing Shadow's disaster in action. He had no idea what it would be, but Seph knew that he needed to get both Stone and himself away from the crowd when exiting. That meant either leaving as the very first person, or the very last person. Seph knew that he would be the furthest from the upper layer that opened up and allowed them to exit. He figured he could take longer then the rest of the people on the ship, then jump at the last minute allowing him to have some distance on the King to escape.

“No.” Shadow firmly stated in his mind. “Both of you will be put in danger.”

Seph sighed. He knew that it was dangerous, but he didn't see any choice.

“Jump with the rest of them. Trust me.” Shadow said softly.

Seph decided it would be better to trust him then upset him at making a dangerous jump. “What are you planning?”

Shadow chuckled. “First off, don't be in any of the lower levels. The uppermost level would be best.”

“The Training Room is on the lowest-”

“I know.” Shadow cut him off. “One thing to remember, be scared.”

Seph looked at Stone, who was still sitting beside him. “Sure...”

Both Seph and Stone stood up and walked to the doors on the edge of the Training Room. Against Shadow's request, Seph told Stone about what was going on. Ever since then, Stone was aloud to listen in and occasionally contribute to the conversations between Shadow and Seph. Although they kept his knowledge to a minimum about why they were escaping the ship, it was great for Stone to know what was going on.

Seph slid his key card into the elevator controlling device. The device made the noises he had gotten so used to and then the door slid open. Both Seph and Stone stepped inside and Stone quickly tapped the floor #1 button with his nose, then sat down. The elevator moved up slowly and clicked into place, then the door slid open.

Both lion and trainer walked out of the elevator and into the huge room at the top of the ship. Seph walked to a bench placed next to a huge glass window that circled around the outside of the ship. Stone took a protective stance in front of him before deciding it was safe and laying down.

“You know, I really don't need a trainer.” Stone finally said, breaking the silence.

“Really?” Seph said, sounding shocked. “Why do you say that?”

“Because i'm awesome. Is any other reason needed?” Stone chuckled.

Seph placed his hand on Stone's back and started stroking his silky smooth fur. “I think that is a very good reason.”

They sat there for quite a long time and waited for Shadow to give them the signal to move. They had some casual conversations, but nothing that either would remember the next day. As they waited, the King came by and noticed they were sitting on a bench.

“Are you not supposed to be training?” The King spoke, foolish as ever.

Stone frowned slightly, while Seph gave him a fake smile. “Yes, we just wanted to relax and look outside. Stone was getting slightly worked up.”

The King smiled. “Is he, now? I recall specifically putting whips in the training room for a reason.”

Seph's smile faded. “I don't like using methods of torture on animals.”

The King nodded his head and walked away, clearly upset. Stone sighed and looked out the window. Seph didn't blame him. This has been two dreadful months for the both of them.

“Seph. You better get out of the bottom few layers. Now.” Shadow said, a seriousness in his voice. Suddenly the entire ship jerked, sending Seph and Stone flying across the room. Both of them landed next to one another, and sirens started to blare.

“Attention. Attention. Please get Parachutes and report to top level for evacuation.” a robotic voice blared. Under the floor, some tiles opened up to reveal a bin full of parachutes. Seph quickly dove in the pile to grab one.

He looked up and saw the entire dome over the top of the ship was lifting up, leaving absolutely no walls on the top floor. Some people started jumping off the edge and falling.

“Seph! Hurry!” Both Stone and Shadow told him in unison.

The ship jolted to the right and then back to the left, sending the bin of parachutes toppling over, all the rest falling over the edge. Seph fell over, and the parachute he had slid out of his hand and went over the edge. Seph's eyes widened and he looked over at Stone. He had no parachute, and needed to jump off a ship within the next 30 seconds or he would die.

The ship jerked even more and both Seph and Stone slid to the very edge of the ship. He clawed at the edge helplessly, hoping to find something to hang on to. Both Seph and Stone slid off the edge of the ship. Stone shifted his body and grappled his paws around Seph. Seph stuck his hand up and lifted a lever that unleashed the parachute from the backpack strapped to Stone's back. They floated down slowly and Stone held onto Seph with all his might. They landed softly and looked above them to see people flying down.

Seph untied the parachute from Stone's back and stood there.

“Now what?” Stone asked Shadow.

“Just wait until everyone is at the ground.” Shadow replied.

Seph watched the parachutes fall and occasionally had to move out of the way for a person just about to hit the ground. They waited until everyone had touched the ground and the ship had crashed.

Everyone was quiet. There was no reason for speech. They were lost. Stranded. Probably would be for another month. The ship they had taken was heavy, and they needed just as big of a ship to pick them up. Unfortunately, that meant that they would turn there three month trip back to a 4 month trip, which nobody was thrilled about.

The King inspected people to see for injuries. When he came upon Seph, he saw Stone standing loyally at his side. The King turned around and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “It looks like most people on the ship have been lost. Fortunately, the black lion is safe.” The King looked around at the remaining people. He stuck his hands out, preparing to pick up Stone, then a loud growl appeared from the forest beside them.

The King jumped, his eyes shooting to the forest. Everyone watched as a large, full grown black lion appeared from the trees and stood in a protective stance in front of Stone. His eyes turned and glared at Seph.

“You! You are trying to train my son to follow the command of a human? I'll murder you!” Shadow roared. He tackled Seph to the ground and everyone around him backed up. Shadow let out a roar and a dozen of normal colored lions pounced out of the forest clearing and surrounded Seph in a circle. They grabbed him in there mouths and tossed them on top of the rows or lions. They walked out of the clearing, step still sitting atop them.

Shadow turned around and looked at the group as a whole. “You follow, you die.” he said darkly, before bounding off into the forest, Stone hot on his tail. Shadow followed the lions deeper into the forest. They walked into a far away clearing before stopping.

Shadow turned to Seph and watched him as he got off the lion's backs. The lion let out a fierce roar and the other lions followed suit. Seph grinned and screamed as loud as he could, sending the illusion that they had killed him.