Chapter Ten

Savage Sanctuary Island, Simon

S imon didn’t sleep that night. Thoughts of Jerry lying about money kept him awake. The horrible things he made Simon do allowed the newfound hatred to grow. The hunts were the worst. Simon replayed each death in his head. His cats were living, breathing, and beautiful creatures. The hunters had zero compassion, only wanting the trophy. Even though the island had an area that made hunting more realistic, the cats never stood a chance. They ran terrified from the hunters and died in fear with a bullet through the heart if they were lucky. Simon had heard the suffering cries when the bullet only wounded. His hatred grew a bit more.

Selling the cubs was horrible too. To help bond with the new owners, the cubs were taken away before they were ready. The cries of the babies were heard until they cleared the island. The mothers mourned for days and sometimes weeks, their grief breaking Simon’s heart. A lion died because she developed an infection in one of her milk glands due to the separation from her cubs. Simon hated that rich people thought having a wild animal was cool.

He would never get the live chicken feedings out of his head again. There were so many things wrong with the sanctuary, and he, Simon, the one who loved the cats so much, was part of it.

His foggy brain couldn’t shut off even when faint rays of light came from outside. He hit his palm against his head several times.

“Think, Simon, think,” he said aloud.

He’d never questioned anything Jerry told him. He knew Jerry was a rotten person, but he also saw him as the savior who had taken him off the streets when Simon was the most desperate. On top of room and board, Jerry gave him a twenty-dollar allowance each week. Simon ate free in the cafeteria and had few expenses. When he went to the city, he shopped at thrift stores, though he had to get lucky to find things in his size. What once seemed strange when Jerry apologized that he couldn’t pay Simon more, made sense now. Jerry could afford to pay more but he didn’t see Simon as worthy of more.

Simon thought Jerry had given him a good life.

Jerry had not.

He made the cats suffer.

Jerry was worse than a bad person, but Simon didn’t know the right word and he didn’t know what he could do about any of it. His brain worked slower than other people but when he thought of a problem long enough, he could usually solve it. What Simon did know was that he couldn’t live without his cats.

The storm would hit the following afternoon. It was a category three, but they expected it at a four when it hit land. Simon knew that all hurricanes were bad and this one might be worse than others. They had boards for the windows, and he worked with Roberto to get them secured.

“Yolanda and I won’t be here tomorrow,” Roberto said. “She made you an overabundance of meals. They’re in the small freezer in the hut. If the power goes out, be sure to turn on the backup generator.”

“I will, Mr. Roberto.”

“I know you will, Simon, it just relieves my mind to go over everything with you. It’s me getting old, and I know you’ll keep the cats safe. I’ll see you as soon as we can get back to the island. ”

“You be careful too,” Simon told him.

“If it looks bad, we’ll go to the local school. They always have emergency beds and supplies set up. We’ll be fine. It’s the island that could take some damage.”

Simon grunted. He’d survived many storms. He would survive this one.

Roberto left and Jerry caught up with him.

“You know the rules, Simon. Keep the animals safe and be sure the island stays in one piece. I pay you for this.” He frowned at the dark sky. It was only four in the afternoon, and there was little visibility. Jerry’s usually nervous behavior was in overdrive. He turned a hard gaze back to Simon. “I would hate for some hunter to pay for a docile tiger to mount on his wall.”

Simon didn’t believe his hatred for Jerry could grow larger. He had just threatened the only family Simon had. He lifted his hand and ran it through his hair. His fingers shook with the need to wrap them around Jerry’s throat.

He did nothing and simply watched as Jerry walked to the dock. Everyone who worked on the island pitched in with rides to shore or brought back needed items. Not Jerry. He never helped anyone but himself.

Simon stewed. When the boat was out of sight, he went to Indra’s pen.

“Hey, boy,” he said as he unlocked the gate. “You’re free. I’ll let the others out tomorrow, but you can sleep in the hut tonight.” He hadn’t planned to release Indra until the following day, but Simon needed comfort.

The large tiger stirred up the other cats, but he stayed at Simon’s side while he did his last rounds of the night. The following day would be busy. With Indra on the bed with him, he managed to catch up on the sleep he missed the night before.

When Simon woke up in the morning, he could hear the wind outside.

“I’ll take you out to do your business, and then you’ll need to stay in here while I release the other cats. Come on.” He shoved the tiger gently to get him off the bed before he walked to the door and opened it. He did his business outside too. They were alone, and it didn’t matter to anyone else. This also let the other cats know this was his territory. Letting them out was risky but Simon had done it for years with only a few minor problems and those were usually hunting down a cat reluctant to return to the pens.

A strong wind blew and it would get worse. The clouds blocked much of the sun as the storm built in the distance. Indra walked away to find a private spot. Simon went looking for him after ten minutes. Indra sat near the cafeteria, watching the cove. Simon followed his gaze, and his heart nearly stopped.

Jerry’s boat was docked, which meant he was at the sanctuary .

“We need to hide you,” said Simon. “Come on, hurry.”

The tiger followed him. Indra hated Jerry, maybe more than Simon did. It wouldn’t be good if Jerry ran into them. He secured the cat in the hut and went to see why the boss was back. The storm had worsened, and it surprised him that Jerry would return with the ocean so rocky. He found him in his office. There were two men with him and their camouflage outfits gave away who they were.

“We were just coming to see you,” Jerry said after he looked up with a cheesy smile that was strictly for the hunters. “These two decided the adventure of a hunt during a hurricane couldn’t be missed. I need you to release the two females.”

The men’s heavily bearded faces gave little away. They each had a large hunting knife on their belts. Simon saw no sign of the hunting rifles and assumed they were still on the boat. Jerry never gave the names of the hunters. Their shrewd eyes watched Simon closely. Hunting the lions was highly illegal and they were doing their best to intimidate. Simon could squash them like bugs and not even breathe hard. His gaze returned to Jerry and that’s when he noticed stacks of one hundred dollar bills on the desk. His rage grew and he clamped his fists at his sides so he didn’t take a swing. Simon had never been violent but that’s all his thoughts were about right now.

Jerry, completely oblivious, turned back to the two men. “He’ll release the lions and we’ll give them thirty minutes to hide before you hunt if that works for you.”

One of the men cocked his head. “The thrill would be higher if we waited until dark.”

Jerry kept his smile intact. “I’ve been on this island for over thirty years,” he said. “It’s suicide to be here once the storm hits. Parts of the island will flood and there are mudslides not to mention the power goes out regularly. If we don’t get out of here in time, we’ll be stuck and it’s unsafe.”

That Jerry would have any idea what happened on the island during storms was ridiculous. He’d never stayed to see. Yes, the power went out along with phone access and trees toppled. Sometimes there was damage to the buildings. That was it. No mudslides. Jerry was a liar and Simon wanted to shout it at the two men. He stopped himself because they were as evil as Jerry.

“While we wait,” Jerry continued. “I’ll show you the map so you can see where the animal pens are that you need to stay away from and the basic topography of the island. When that’s done, you can grab your weapons from the boat.” He looked at Simon. “What are you waiting for, you moron? Move your ass and let those animals out.”

Simon turned and exited the office. He had to stand outside for a moment to gain control of his breathing. Images of the two new cats flashed in his mind. He couldn’t let this happen again. It felt like a bolt of lightning went through his head and his vision blurred with every step he took away from Jerry until he stumbled. When he stood upright, his eyes landed on the boat. The only boat.

He approached the dock and saw the weapons cases on board. It took less than a minute to unhook the rope holding the boat to the dock and toss it into the water. Using his foot, he pushed the craft away. When he was sure the men couldn’t get to it, he went to the cat pens. He stopped in front of Carla and Tibby’s cage door and unlocked it.

“I evened the odds for you and you have a chance now. If you mistake Jerry for one of the hunters, that’s okay.”

The cats growled.

He opened their door wide and stayed behind it while the cats figured out that they could leave. It took about ten minutes. He expected Jerry to charge over, yelling, but it didn’t happen. Carla came out first. She sniffed around, growled at him, and walked away. Tibby ran after her, and Simon watched as they disappeared into the jungle. He would give them extra help too. He opened the other lion cages before he went to the four tigers and then the panthers to free them. He also let out the mountain lion. It had also been raised as a pet, but it turned on its owner and killed him. Jerry paid very little for him.

The cats didn’t harm each other when they were loose on the island but they didn’t like normals which Simon counted on. The other plus was Simon had no fear of his family and he could move freely around the island without being in danger.

He walked back toward the hut and ran into a frantic Jerry and the two men.

“My boat. It’s out there,” Jerry said pointing. “Move your dumb ass and swim for it,” he yelled.

“I can’t swim,” Simon said honestly. He’d always been afraid of the water.

“You stupid fool, you get that boat back for me, or you’ll be looking for a new job.”

Simon turned his back and walked away.

“Where do you think you’re going?,” Jerry yelled frantically. “We can’t stay here. Their weapons are on that boat.”

Simon turned and studied the two men for a moment before he spoke to Jerry. “The cats are out. I always let them out during storms.”

“What?” Jerry shrieked, his voice high enough to almost burst an eardrum. “All of them?”

Simon kept walking but turned after a few feet. “They’re hungry. I wouldn’t stay out here in the open if I were you.”

“You’re fired,” Jerry yelled. “I’ll see you go to prison for this.” He took his phone from his pocket and hit the numbers frantically. A few seconds later, he cursed again and threw it into the sand.

“If one of those cats comes near me, I’ll kill it,” he yelled at Simon’s retreating back.

Jerry shouldn’t have returned to the island. He shouldn’t take money from hunters who kill the cats to put their heads on a wall, and he shouldn’t have lied about being poor for all these years.

Simon whistled a happy tune.