Apex Predator

Note: This is a spinoff based on my original Story : Salt (Link: https://storymirror.com/read/english/story/salt/cm86frsf)

My rifle felt like dead weight in my hands. Three hours tracking this tiger through the city streets, and I knew he was going to kill me. Both Singh and me. We were walking into our own graves.

"He's huge," Singh whispered through the radio. "Biggest I've ever seen."

I could see the tiger's tracks in the mud near the construction site. Massive paw prints, deep impressions from a 400-pound killer. Fresh blood on his claws from the woman he'd taken last night. The third victim this week.

We should have brought more men, I thought, checking my rifle for the tenth time. Two bullets left. If I missed, we were dead.

The tiger wasn't running from us. He was hunting us back. Every time we got close, he'd vanish into the shadows between buildings, then circle around behind us. Playing with us. Like we were just another meal he was stalking.

"Raj, movement to your left," Singh's voice cracked with fear.

I spun around, rifle raised. Nothing. Just empty construction equipment and piles of concrete blocks. But I could smell him now. That wild musk that makes your skin crawl. Death smell.

He's close. Too close.

My hands were shaking so bad I could barely hold the rifle steady. Fifteen years doing this job, and I'd never been this terrified. This tiger was different. He'd learned to use the city like his personal hunting ground. Using our own buildings against us.

A low growl rumbled from somewhere behind the bulldozer. Deep and threatening. The sound a predator makes right before it strikes. My heart was pounding so loud I thought it might give away my position.

"I can't see him," Singh whispered. "Where is he?"

I didn't answer. Because I knew where he was. Watching us. Waiting for the perfect moment to attack. We were in his territory now, playing by his rules.

The concrete crunched under my boots as I moved toward the sound. Each step felt like walking to my execution. The tiger could be anywhere. Behind any wall, on top of any pile of debris. He had all the advantages.

This is how I die, I thought. Torn apart in some half-built apartment complex.

Then I saw them. Those golden eyes, glowing in the shadows between two concrete pillars. Staring right at me. Calculating. He was crouched low, muscles tensed, ready to spring. Beautiful and terrifying.

He's going to charge, I realized. Right now.

My rifle was already raised, but my hands were shaking too much to aim properly. The tiger shifted his weight forward. His lips pulled back from those massive fangs. I could see the intelligence in his eyes. He knew I was afraid.

"Raj, take the shot!" Singh screamed from somewhere behind me.

But I couldn't. My finger was frozen on the trigger. The tiger was too fast, too strong. If I missed, those claws would rip me apart before I could reload.

The tiger took one step forward. Then another. Stalking toward me like I was already dead meat. His shoulder muscles rippled under that beautiful orange coat. Each paw was bigger than my hand.

I'm going to miss, I thought desperately. He's going to kill me.

The tiger gathered himself for the leap. I could see it in his posture, the way his hindquarters bunched up. This was it. Do or die.

I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger.

The gunshot exploded through the night air. When I opened my eyes, the tiger was down. Blood pooling under his massive body. Those golden eyes staring up at nothing.

"That's the second man-eater we had to do in a month," Singh said, walking up behind me. His voice was shaking too. "What has gotten into all the tigers recently?"

I couldn't answer. Couldn't stop staring at the dead animal. He'd been magnificent. Even lying there in his own blood, he looked like royalty. A king who'd lost his kingdom.

He almost had me, I thought, lighting a cigarette with trembling hands. Another second and I'd be the one bleeding out on this concrete.