Chapter 89

I waited as long as I could, then lowered myself slowly into the black hole. I fitted easily, and started to climb down the sturdy metal ladder.
There were several steps, steep and precarious¹. I swept the flashlight around. I could make out a dirt floor, corrugated² tin walls. The ceiling bulbs had been broken. A narrow tunnel stretched out before me.
I didn’t hear any sounds up ahead, so I began to make my way down the tunnel. I moved slowly and carefully. I had the flashlight in one hand, my Clock in the other. I kept looking back for Kyle and Jamilla. Where were they?
I saw a discarded carcass a short way down the tunnel. I took a breath, shined my light on it.
A single eye stared back.
What I was looking at had been a small deer. Only the head and shoulders remained. I remembered reading that tigers eat their prey³ starting at the rump. They consume bone and all. There were more smudged footprints in the dirt. It looked like two pairs, but I couldn’t tell for sure in the dim light. There were smaller animal tracks that might be the cat’s. Oh, Jesus.
I kept moving, trying to adjust my eyes to the semidarkness.  There were shards⁴ of glass all over the dirt. Someone had purposely smashed the overhead light bulbs.
I heard a roar, and almost dropped the flashlight! It wasn’t the smoothest move of my life, but I’d never been in a closed-off area with a tiger before. The big cat’s roar echoed off the tin walls of the tunnel. It was unexpected and terrifying. I didn’t know what to do next.
The cat roared a second time and I found that I couldn’t move. I felt nailed to the spot. I wanted to turn around and go back, but that wasn’t an option right now. I couldn’t outrun a tiger in this tunnel, or anywhere else for that matter.
Somewhere in the inky blackness up ahead, the cat was watching me. I debated shutting off the flashlight, but kept it on for now. At least I would see the cat coming. I concentrated, stared out into the darkness, kept very still, as if that would help me. I had the Clock pointed⁵ straight ahead. I wondered if I could bring down a big cat with a handgun, even a powerful one. No way of knowing; no practice range for this kind of shooting. I had my doubts, though.  I couldn’t see the cat, but I could almost visualize⁶ the thirty-odd teeth in its mouth. I remembered the wounds a cat had made on the two bodies in Golden Gate Park.
Someone called out. Someone was there, behind me.
‘Alex, where are you? Alex?’
I heard Jamilla coming up the tunnel and I let out a breath.
‘Don’t move,’ I whispered. ‘Don’t do anything. The tiger’s in here.’ I didn’t dare move. I wasn’t even sure if I could. It was a standoff. I couldn’t imagine the tiger being as frightened as I was. Was the Sire there too? The two brothers? Anybody else?
‘Alex?’
It was Kyle. He was whispering. But if I heard him—
‘Stay right there, Kyle. I mean it. Listen to me. Stay where you are unless you want me dead.’
Everything happened in a terrifying instant.
Suddenly, the cat rushed at me. Full speed? Half speed? Very goddamn fast. Shadows, a blur⁷ of fur.
It seemed to leap straight up into the cone⁸ of light shining from my flashlight. The cat was tensed muscle, raw speed, gleaming teeth, and the widest, brightest eyes - tremendous focus. It was aimed at me as surely as a deadly bullet.
Its upper body twisted athletically⁹, showing off incredible strength.
It seemed to be three to four feet off the ground, coming straight at me, unstoppable.
I had no options, and no room for error. I didn’t even have to think about my next move. It just happened. I squeezed the trigger of my Glock. I fired off three quick shots. All head and upper body shots, I hoped, but I was just guessing.
The cat kept coming at me. It didn’t even slow down. The gunshots couldn’t stop it. I had no defense¹⁰ and no place to run, no place to hide.
The big cat hit me hard, brought me down like a weak prey. I waited for the powerful jaws¹¹ to clamp down on me, to crush my bones. I might have screamed. I don’t know what the hell I did. I’d never been more afraid. Not even close.
The cat kept going past me! It made no sense. I didn’t understand.  A few feet up the tunnel, I heard a loud thud. It was down. I had shot and killed a tiger.

1 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

2 corrugated   

adj.波纹的；缩成皱纹的；波纹面的；波纹状的v.（使某物）起皱褶(corrugate的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• a corrugated iron roof 波纹铁屋顶
• His brow corrugated with the effort of thinking. 他皱着眉头用心地思考。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

4 shards   

n.（玻璃、金属或其他硬物的）尖利的碎片( shard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyewitnesses spoke of rocks and shards of glass flying in the air. 目击者称空中石块和玻璃碎片四溅。 来自辞典例句
• Ward, Josh Billings, and a host of others have survived only in scattered shards of humour. 沃德、比林斯和许多别的作家能够留传下来的只是些幽默的残章断简。 来自辞典例句

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。

7 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

8 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

9 athletically   

adv.竞赛地，运动比赛地，具运动员风范地

参考例句：

• Tall, athletically built, but with a slight, shy stoop to his shoulders. 高个子，运动员身材，但有点轻微的水蛇腰。 来自互联网
• She does not hate sports on TV, she is athletically biased. 她不讨厌体育频道，只是对运动有些偏见。 来自互联网

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。