Last of My Kind

Black Leopard or Panther?

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Author's note

1. All characters involved in sexual or violent activities are of ages 18 and above.

2. There are no ties to people in real life, location may or may not exist.

3. Constructive criticism and comments are welcome (your feedbacks are needed not wanted).

4. And lastly, enjoy.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Morning came in the Nest, and so did an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion--both mental and physical. With everything that went on yesterday, it was only logical I'd wake up with heavy limbs. I lay there on the exquisitely soft bed, completely unwilling to get up.

Soon enough, I fell into a thought spiral. There were a lot of truth bombs dropped yesterday. The fact that Uncle Grey isn't my uncle biologically is a bit hard to swallow--ignoring the fact that he's over a hundred years old and essentially immortal.

I mean... how cool is that?

Summoning up my resolve, and with a Herculean effort, I finally got my ass off the bed. I'd taken no more than two steps when dizziness hit me. I caught myself on one hand and a knee to avoid face-planting.

Suddenly, a wave of golden glow washed over me from tip to toe, and the exhaustion vanished. I looked around the room for Uncle Grey, but I was alone. So it wasn't him. Weird.

Halfway through my routine, the intercom rang.

"Wake up kids, we've got a panther to catch". Mia called out.

Now she's calling it a panther--how convenient.

"Morning, uh... what should I call you?" I greeted as I walked into the dining area. It was more utility than luxury, with a hard sci-fi look: glowing blue lines running along the corners of the room and sometimes across the roof. The only difference from the usual sci-fi style was that the lines here were runic symbols. The area featured a table big enough for eight with matching office chairs.

What do you know--tech people still use normal chairs.

"Mia. Just call me Mia."

"Right. Good morning, Mia."

She smiled. "A good morning to you too, Jason. I believe you had enough rest, yes?"

I shrugged. "I think so. I feel brand new. Wouldn't say no to more sleep, though."

"Of course," she scoffed.

Linda walked in looking terribly groggy, her hair a mess.

"Oh, morning, Linda. Had enough sleep?" Mia asked without turning to look.

Linda rubbed her eyes. "No, I didn't. Feels like I've only slept for thirty minutes. My eye is fucking heavy."

"What were you doing up all night?" Mia asked, still tinkering with whatever tech she was holding.

"Was reading up on the world of magic. Didn't know Google held so much info on magic," Linda replied, stifling a yawn.

Sighing, Mia finally put the device down. It looked like a typical blaster cannon or a pulsar--probably a mix of both.

"It doesn't. The Google on every system in here is a program of mine. My Google."

She didn't even gloat at that. How low on her list of achievements is that?

My curiosity begged to be scratched. "Uhm... what's that?"

"This? It's just a focused-point sonic cannon--with wind enchantments, of course. Just needed to recalibrate the intensity. Nobody wants a deaf panther."

"Can I get something to eat? The Hawaii yesterday was good, but it wasn't exactly filling," Linda quipped, head on the table.

"Breakfast's at Tunis. It's a ten-minute drive. By the way, it's not Hawaii, it's hawawshi. Now, I don't really know you guys enough to trust you, so I can't leave you in my Nest. So although going after a mutated leopard is dangerous, you have to go with me. You get that?"

"Well... yeah, we kinda figured we were going with you already. Right, Linds?"

"I guess. I don't really care--I'm only interested in food right now," Linda grumbled.

"Alright, go freshen up and meet me in the garage. Clara will show you there. We leave in thirty minutes."

Clara guided me to the garage, where Mia and Uncle Grey were already waiting by a black SUV. Linda joined a few minutes later, and we left the building through a different exit from the waterfall.

I should've expected it--but still, the ride was a surprise. In any regular vehicle, this would've been a forty-five-minute drive, and the terrain was anything but smooth. It wasn't even a proper highway. Yet the monster of a car just glided over everything without so much as a bump. If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was a hovercar.

It was like a cross between a tactical off-road rover and an SUV. I'm no car expert, but I know enough to spot the Lidar scanner on the roof--vanta black like the rest of the vehicle. Sleek, square-shaped, housing a satellite uplink and solar mesh. This couldn't get any cooler.

We arrived at Tunis village. Earth-toned bricks, the kind you'd expect from an old settlement--but with a tourism vibe. Mia greeted a couple of locals before driving to the only building not made of clay bricks: a restaurant.

Inside, the place was bustling. According to Mia, most of the men in the community had breakfast here. The interior was neat, with Wi-Fi service to boot. We took a table for three, while Grey sat closer to the entrance.

Breakfast was baladi bread and Turkish coffee with fresh goat milk. I couldn't ask for more. I noticed Uncle Grey barely touched his food.

"Why isn't he eating?" I asked, nodding toward him.

"He doesn't require food like we do. He just eats for the taste. That's why he took a separate table," Mia explained.

"Oh."

We finished up and headed toward the desert, following Clara's guidance. The ride grew rougher, dust and sand pelting the windows. Thankfully, the car was soundproofed.

"WARNING: SANDSTORM DETECTED NINE KILOMETERS OUT AND APPROACHING FAST. VISIBILITY DROPPING TO SEVENTEEN PERCENT. REQUESTING PERMISSION TO SWITCH TO SENSORS?" Clara announced.

"Yeah, switch. You sure we're going the right way? I can't imagine a leopard--mutated or not--coming this far into the desert."

"I'M SURE, CAPTAIN. I'VE LOST VISUAL FOR A WHILE BUT CAN STILL TRACK ITS THERMAL SIGNATURE. YOU'RE ABOUT FORTY SECONDS OUT. YOU'LL EXIT THE STORM IN THREE. ALSO... WE MIGHT NOT BE THE ONLY ONES HERE."

"Yeah. That clip was on national TV after all. Bring weapons online, Clara," Mia said with a smirk.

"COPY THAT, CAPTAIN. WEAPONS SYSTEMS ACTIVATED. AHH--LOOKS LIKE I'M RIGHT. VISUAL ON SOME VEHICLES. LOW VISIBILITY, BUT THEY'RE A REASONABLE DISTANCE OUT."

"Aight, keep an eye on them. Let me know their movements. They might not be coming for it--and if they are, they might be with the Veil."

"COPY THAT, CAPTAIN. CHANCES ARE LOW. TWENTY SECONDS OUT."

Mia slowed the cruiser with an eye roll. "Yeah, yeah, remind me who's the smart one? That's right--me."

Uncle Grey was out of the car before it even stopped.

"WHATEVER YOU SAY, MA'AM. YOU SHOULD ADVISE ERYNDOR NOT TO EXIT A MOVING VEHICLE," Clara added.

"Tell him yourself. Alright, kids, put this on and come with me." Mia handed us what looked like bulletproof vests.

The suit felt more like a full-body jelly layer. I wanted to ask, but a bigger question came to mind.

"Who's Eryndor?" I asked while tightening the straps.

"What's this for?" Linda frowned.

"Questions later. It's a full-body pulse suit. Details later. Now come on." Mia armed herself with the pulse cannon and a tranquilizer.

"Where's Uncle Grey?" Linda asked.

"He's probably scouting. No more questions, Linda." Mia broke into a light jog.

"Uh... what are we supposed to do again?" I asked, keeping pace.

"Just... I don't know. Stay down. Don't do anything stupid. And no more questions from you either, Jason."

We found the panther slouched in a recess, probably passed out.

"Holy mo-- that's one huge panther. Not that I've seen one in person, but still."

"Looks like a leopard on steroids," Linda giggled. "Think it's a science experiment gone wrong?"

"Probably," I said with a scoff

Mia scanned it with a device. "Well, Clara was right--you're no ordinary lost cat."

She shot it with a tranquilizer. It jolted awake, growled, then whined before slumping back. She added two more shots for good measure and approached cautiously, Linda and I following close.

"What do you mean they're here already?" Mia stood straight. "You said they were still far--"

A sandstorm rose from two directions. Vehicles appeared in the distance, closing fast.

Mia yanked the darts from the panther. "Run, you two. Waiting for an invite?"

"Who are they?" Linda shouted over the wind.

Four black rovers and a customized Hilux closed in.

"Let's get to the car first," Mia replied.

We reached the SUV without being spotted and piled in.

"Clara, ACTIVATE CLOAK."

"ROGER THAT, CAPTAIN. PROCEDURE COMPLETED."

Mia slumped into her seat with a sigh. "Didn't expect them to be here this soon."

"Who are they? And why are we running?" I asked.

"Veil agents. And we're not running--we're observing. Logical thing to do. And before you ask, they can't see us. We're cloaked."

"If they can't see us, then Uncle Grey can't either. How will he find us?"

"He can find us easily--don't worry."

A bright blue light suddenly bloomed from the recess, then dimmed until it vanished.

Mia sat upright. "Is that sealing magic? Clara?"

"OF COURSE, CAPTAIN. OUR COMPANY HERE ARE NOT VEIL AGENTS. EMBLEM MATCHES CLOSEST TO 'MEN OF VALOR.' ABOUT TWELVE MEN, MOST LIKELY TIER FIVE AND SIX, ARMED, WITH TWO WOMEN WHO APPEAR TO BE WHITE MAGES."

As Clara delivered her analysis, Mia seemed to be weighing her options. The visitors loaded the cat onto their Hilux and began to drive off.

A knock sounded on the car window and Mia opened the door, letting Grey in.

"We must get that creature. It's not an animal. It may be a were--a rare type--and the runic symbols on it are Gaian. We must not let them have it," Grey stated coldly.

With a grin, Mia started the car. "Say no more, old man. Clara, take the wheel. John Wick."

"JOHN WHAT NOW?" Linda asked, incredulous.

"AS YOU WISH, CAP."

"Don't worry about it, girl. Strap in. Finally some fun."

We began the chase and soon caught up with the convoy. Mia tinkered with the cannon, adjusting buttons and increasing the density and wavelength of the weapon.

"CAPTAIN, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE BEEN SPOTTED. THEY HAVE SOME SORT OF PERCEPTIVE RADAR ON THEIR VEHICLES."

"Well, that's new. I was itching for a ghost strike, but no matter. Disable cloaking system--we'll get them the old-fashioned way."

It seemed they weren't aware of exactly what was coming after them. As soon as we uncloaked, they began to maneuver, revving their engines to kick up dust, probably to blind us. Then they performed a split maneuver--one car left, the other right--until the five vehicles were moving in opposite directions.

"They seem to be in sync. These guys definitely aren't regular poachers. Clara, remind me to look into them later."

"NOTED, CAP. CLOSING ON TARGET."

"Alright, kids, pull up your veils. I'm rolling the windows down." Mia rolled the window down as she spoke.

"Do we need to close our ears?" I yelled, my voice carried away by the rushing wind.

"Not necessary--the cannon's got a focused point. Now sit tight." She grinned. "Now, Clara."

Our car drifted hard as Mia aimed at the Hilux, pulled the trigger, and fired. The weapon built up charge for a second, then with a resounding boom, it fired. The blast hit the Hilux point-blank, flipping it over--bouncing and rolling several times before skidding to a stop. The cannon also ripped a huge circular hole in the sandstorm.

The rest of the convoy began closing in.

Uncle Grey leapt out of the car--again--and soon returned with the panther's cage on his shoulder. He stashed it in the trunk and tapped the roof, signaling Mia to drive.

The car surged forward, gliding smoothly over the desert again. The air shifted sharply, and Linda and I stiffened--it felt like static currents on steroids. A few explosions and rumbling later, Grey was knocking on the car door.

"Did you do that?" Mia asked, almost sheepish.

"Yes," he replied.

"Did you kill them?" I asked.

He tilted his head, smiling slightly. "Don't worry. They're alive."

Silence fell in the car as my thoughts caught up to me.

"Wait... how the fuck did you get in the car? We were going over a hundred."

He gave me a look like I'd just asked him what color the sky was.

"I ran," Grey deadpanned with a shrug.

A few minutes later--after taking a long detour to shake off any potential trackers--we arrived back at the Nest. We took the panther to a room I hadn't seen before. It looked like a mini warehouse with a couple of used equipment, some industrial-grade wires, shipping containers, forklifts, and more than a dozen cages.

"Why do you have those cages?" I asked.

Mia cocked her head thoughtfully. "Science," she said with a shrug, opening one of the bigger cages.

We all went to our respective rooms to shower, leaving Mia with the panther as she ran various tests and scans.

An hour later, I went back to the warehouse room and found the others already there.

"Hey, guys."

Mia looked up from her tablet. "Sup, kid. You good?"

"Yeah. What are you guys up to?"

Linda walked over, leaned on my shoulder, and pulled my ear.

"Quit it, you--that hurts," I groaned.

Giggling, she replied, "Not sorry. Mia said the leopard passed out from the heat, but scans haven't turned up anything useful."

"So, what now?" I asked, squatting beside the cage.

The panther shifted, and I almost fell on my ass, drawing laughter from Mia and my sister.

"Not funny, guys. Look at the size of that thing."

The panther groaned, and the laughter stopped abruptly.

"Did you guys hear that?" Mia asked, picking up her scanner.

"Yeah, we all did."

"It's not supposed to be awake for two more hours."

"It's not awake yet, is--"

The panther suddenly started shrinking, all the while emitting a green light.

"That's Gaian magic, right? I read about it yesterday," Linda said in awe.

The panther shrank and smoothly shifted into the form of a human--female, to be precise. She looked like a Black woman with thick, long, neat dreadlocks spread like a fan on the ground around her head. Her skin was pristine and lush, her face immaculate and perfectly angled. She looked like an angel.

The only thing that indicated she wasn't human was her size. She was huge for a woman--about six foot seven inches, bordering on seven foot--with muscle to match.

"She's not a were-being. And definitely not a shifter," Mia stated with a confused look.

"Really? How do you figure?" Linda asked.

"She just used magic--and her clothes aren't torn to shreds," Mia replied.

"Ahh, I see."

Grey stretched his hands toward the woman, eyebrows arched, and she shot upright with a start. Her eyes darted around the cage before locking on us.

When her gaze landed on me, it stopped. She stared--hard.

"Raul' sakin miletish kalimba?? Asra kalimba??"

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That's all for now folks. I hope you liked it.

I got your comments on the previous chapter which ill try my best to work on,and- well I'm an amateur writer really, so your comments are what i need to guide my improvements overtime so i can deliver with better readability.

I'll increase the length of the submissions by 2000 words starting with the next chapter.

Lastly don't forget to vote and comment they assist the algorithm and help others find my work. Love y'all.