The Sacred Vault_ A Novel - Andy McDermott [97]
‘Me too.’ Only more five feet to the tree - but the tiger could cover the gap in a single leap. It slowly raised its head, then lowered it almost down to the ground. Judging the distance.
Preparing its attack.
‘Go behind the tree so it can’t get straight to you,’ he told her. ‘Then start climbing.’
‘What about you?’
‘I’ll be up there like a fucking rocket, don’t you worry!’ They reached the saman. Nina ducked below a branch and circled it. ‘Okay, get ready . . .’
The tiger slowly drew back on its powerful legs, ready to leap. It clearly knew that its prey had seen it . . . and was utterly unconcerned, thinking they posed no threat - and had no chance of escape.
‘Climb!’ Eddie hissed.
Nina pulled herself up, kicking off the forked trunk as she scrambled higher. Eyes fixed on the tiger, Eddie grabbed the overhanging branch and started to climb.
The animal drew back its lips to reveal a pair of three-inch-long fangs. It pounced—
And skidded to a stop, its head snapping round. The drone had moved closer for a better view - and the tiger heard the whine of its engines. A sound associated with pain, capture. It reared back and roared. The drone hurriedly retreated, but by then Eddie and Nina were both over ten feet up the tree and desperately climbing higher.
Eddie saw the tiger glare at them. ‘Can tigers climb trees?’
The answer came a moment later as it jumped on to the fork and scrabbled after Nina, claws ripping into the bark.
‘Fuck off, Tigger!’ Eddie yelled, kicking at it. He hurriedly pulled back his leg as the tiger swatted at him, slashing a chunk from his boot’s sole. It growled and clambered across to the other side of the fork after him.
The bough Nina was climbing shook as the animal jumped off it. A smaller branch she was using as a handhold snapped; she swung, clutching at the broken stub with a stifled shriek. Half hanging off the swaying limb as it bent under her weight, she saw the branch of another tree not far away. She moved further along the bough, reaching out. ‘Eddie! Over here! The tiger’ll be too heavy to get across!’
‘So will I!’ Eddie shouted back. He weighed almost seventy pounds more than her, and if the tiger followed him the branch would break under the combined strain.
‘You’ve got to, it’s gonna catch you!’ She edged closer to the new branch. The drone moved in like an eager voyeur.
Eddie looked down. Nina was right - the tiger was making frighteningly fast progress, claws ripping into the trunk just behind him. He clamped both hands round a branch above and pulled himself up as the tiger swiped again, barely missing his feet. Dangling, he swung along the bough like a monkey - then let go.
Nina got a firm hold on the other tree and hauled herself across just as the branch she had left thrashed violently, Eddie landing on it in an explosion of loose leaves. The drone was caught in the swirling cloud of green and brown, its soft whine abruptly becoming a harsh buzz as leaves were sucked into its rotors and hacked to shreds. The aircraft lurched, briefly losing lift before recovering.
The sight gave Nina an idea, but she was in no position to act upon it. Instead she kept moving along her branch. Behind her, Eddie clung sloth-like to the other branch’s underside.
The tiger shifted position, preparing to jump at him.
‘Come on!’ Nina shouted as she reached the trunk. Eddie pulled himself along, stripping more leaves where his thighs were wrapped round the branch.
The tiger leapt—
Eddie opened his legs, swung down - and used the momentum to throw himself at the other tree, grabbing Nina’s branch with one hand.
The tiger landed on the spot where he had been, the bough thrashing again - this time with a sharp crack of wood as it partially split away from the trunk. Suddenly fearful, the