“Zoe.” She was shocked at how calm and even her voice sounded when her brain was in hysterics. “Use your left hand to reach for that rock on the ledge behind you. Go slow. Do you see it?” Artie kept the light aimed at the notch in the boulder where a few small rocks were piled.
Keeping her wide eyes locked on the cougar, Zoe lowered her trembling hand to grope along the surface of the boulder. It took everything inside of Artie to keep from screaming at the little girl to hurry. She clenched her jaw and swallowed.
“A little higher and to the left,” Derek guided, although he kept his light aimed at the mountain lion. “There. You’ve got it.”
“It’s too heavy,” she whimpered, and the cat shifted another oversize paw.
“No squeaking, Zoe.” Artie put a snap in her voice. It had worked to yank Maya out of her tears, so hopefully it would keep Zoe from falling apart, too. “Use both hands. Got it?”
Zoe lifted the rock just over her head in silent response.
“That’s awesome, Zoe. You have a weapon now. That’s like Thor’s hammer. This is the time when you get to act like a superhero.” Derek edged closer, moving a little faster now that they were so close to the girls. It was impossibly hard for Artie not to break and dash for the children.
No running,she told herself, taking a sideways baby step.No running. It’s like you told the girls. Don’t be a mouse. Predators don’t run away. Don’t run.
Despite her mental lecture, keeping her pace to a creeping shuffle was painfully difficult. They were five feet away, then three, then Derek was picking up Zoe, and Artie finally could reach for Maya, lifting the girl into her arms without bending down. Derek stretched his free arm behind Artie and pulled them close.
“Now we’ll be really tall,” Artie told the trembling child, trying to keep her own voice from shaking. “Arms up. We’ll look like a giant. A four-headed giant.”
“You too, Zoe,” Derek said. “Hold that magic hammer as high as you can.”
Artie met the mountain lion’s eyes, her fingers tightening around the flashlight. Like Zoe’s rock, it could be used as a weapon, if necessary. “We are not mice.”
“We’re superheroes,” Zoe piped up, her voice quavering just a little.
Although the prey-like high pitch of the girl’s voice made Artie wince internally, she couldn’t hold back a puff of startled laughter. “Exactly.”
The big cat stared at them as Artie held her breath and tried not to shake. Each second felt like an eternity as the mountain lion studied them, unmoving except for the twitch of its tail.Please let the kids be safe. Please let Derek survive this. If we all get out of this okay, I’ll never take my eyes off any of my kids ever again.
Her breath caught. Had the lion just crouched? Was it preparing to lunge? Clutching Maya tighter, she raised the flashlight, trying to shove the panic down so she could strategize in her mind. If the cougar pounced, she’d turn her body so Maya would be away from the animal, then she’d swing the flashlight at its head. Realizing that her shoulders were rounding, Artie shoved them back, standing tall.
“Go!” Maya’s usually piping voice had lowered to her best attempt at a growly roar. “Shoo! Bad kitty! Go!”
The mountain lion’s tail twitched, its haunches lowering even farther. Resisting the urge to squeeze her eyes closed, Artie stared at the enormous cat, watching for movement, anything to give her some warning before it attacked.
Its hindquarter’s bunched, and Artie flinched slightly, ready for the charge. With a flick of its tail, the cougar turned and bounded away, quickly leaving the range of their lights until it was swallowed by the darkness.
Artie stared after it in disbelief.Did it really just…leave?
They all stood in silence for a solid minute after the lion had disappeared. Derek was the first to move, twisting until he could wrap his other arm around Artie and Maya, sandwiching the two girls between them in a four-person hug.
Maya burst into tears. “Sorry,” she wailed between sobs. “I’m…being a…mouse!”
Squeezing the girl tighter, Artie gasped out a laugh. “It’s okay to be a mouse now, sweetie. The cat is gone.”
“Can I drop my hammer?” Zoe asked.
“Just don’t drop it on anyone’s foot.” Taking the rock from her two-handed grip, Derek tossed it away from their huddle, and it landed on the snowy ground with a dull thud. A clump of snow jostled free and fell to cover it in a muffledfwump fwump fwump, like an echo.
Artie wasn’t sure who started it, but they all began laughing, which led to the girls crying. Although Artie was close to tears too, she held them back. Tonight, when everyone was safe in bed, she could break down. For now, she still needed to be the invincible teacher, Ms. Rey.
When Derek withdrew his embracing arm, cupping her shoulder for a moment on the way, she turned her head to smile at him. At least the invincible Ms. Rey had a pretty awesome sidekick.
* * *
Derek placed Zoe on her feet. “You okay to walk? It’ll keep you warmer.” He didn’t tell her that the main reason he put her down was because he’d started shaking as the adrenaline rush faded, and he didn’t want her to know.
“Yes.” She wiped her face with the back of her glove. Her stoic expression wavered a little as she asked, “Is it far?”
