Bobcats at Sunrise

At four a.m. her alarm went off, I didn't think she was going to go through with it. I'm used to the early hours of the morning but she likes to sleep in, wait until the sun has time to warm the air. Little was said as we stretched our arms and sat up. After getting dressed and brushing our teeth we gave each other a look, and a smile, and walked out the door.

We had our gear: Hiking boots, flashlights, headlamps, a camera-phone, trekking poles, blankets, a packed lunch for each of us, and plenty of water. We were set. The sky was clear and infinite; the big dipper, Cassiopeia, Orion. Venus and Jupiter were in line shooting up from the north. I drove desolation highway east out of town and up the mountain. It wasn't until I turned north onto Skyline Drive that I began to see signs that Earth was still alive. Cecilia was always able to fall asleep in the car, something I was never able to do, I like to know where I'm going. I gently nudged her awake.

"The city sleeps at night, but these woods are nocturnal," I told her as I pointed at the deer blocking the road ahead.

We had 30 miles to drive on the winding road and the more we looked the more wildlife we saw. A family of deer at one turn, cautiously crossing the road, a raccoon eyeing us as we coast by. Two bobcats jump from the high grass onto a retaining wall, look in our direction and then spring into the woods. As quick as lightning a buck, with antlers as big as my torso, bounds out of the woods from our right, leaps across the entire road and disappears into the western side of the park.

I see a frightened look in Cecilia's eye but am quick to calm her nerves. "The animals," I tell her, "are more afraid of us than we are of them."

"What about the bobcats? I have never seen them before" Her voice was soft, timid, and shaking.

"Listen doll, they were no bigger than a house-cat, and did you see the way the ran away when they saw us?" I reassured her, although I saw the look the bobcats gave us, it was a look at had seen twice before, hunger. "Ah-hem," I cleared my throat, "I'm here anyway so you have nothing to worry about." She leaned over and gently squeezed my right arm, smiling while resting her head on my shoulder. I took a deep breath and told myself things would be ok.

We made it to Pinnacle overlook without further incident, hope filling my outlook and love filling my chest. With no unpleasant thoughts in my head we sat and watched the sky as it turned into a pink and orange oil painting. There was a deep fog covering the mountain towns that sit in the valleys of the rolling mountains. With the fog as dense as an ocean, the dark round mountain tops looked like a family of whales swimming across the pacific.

In all my years I don't remember a sunrise so stunning. In fact I do not recall the last sun rise or sun set I have taken the time to enjoy. With the blankets around us and the cool morning air filling our lungs we watched as the sky got brighter and brighter. All of a sudden, like a memory once forgotten races into your mind, a bright orange arc pierced the horizon. The earth rotates roughly 1000 miles per hour and the sun got bigger and bigger until finally it broke free from the mountain range and hung in the sky, free floating, lighting up the woods and casting long shadows.

"Don't look directly at it doll, I don't want to lose those beautiful eyes of yours."

After snapping a few photos we drove another 3 miles to the start of our hike. The hike was a 2 mile, 1200 feet elevation climb to Marys Rock, a bald summit with slanted rocks and a 360 degree view. While making the climb the air felt heavy, the shadows were playing tricks on us at every switchback.

"Stay close toots, I don't want to get to far ahead" I couldn't let her know things might go bad.

Without warning a howl echoed through the woods bouncing off every rock on this boulder ridden trail. It was a howl I immediately recognized as bobcat and could have come from any direction. The trekking poles were tightly gripped in my hands in the event I had to beat away an unwanted animal.

I regretted ignoring the article I had read the previous week in the local paper. As far as I can remember the headline read new feline disease strikes western virginia: turns cats into blood thirsty savages. We were close to the top which seemed like a better spot to get to rather than traveling back through the woods after hearing that howl. At least on top we could see in every direction.

"I'm scared" Cecilia whimpered
"I won't let anything happen to you" I would take out as many of these beasts as I needed to to protect my lady.

At the top of the mountain we heard another howl. Looking down the side of a cliff I saw a woman's body, it was mangled and blue, it had to have been there at least a week. Next to it, gnawing at her legs and torso, 3 bobcats feasted. As I slowly backed away from the edge a small gravel rock slipped down the side. The world became silent and the rock, no bigger that a five-cent piece, clattered and echoed all the way down until it crashed into a small pile of dried leaves. One bobcat looked up, with blood stained teeth and fire in his eyes he sprinted out of sight into the woods.

"Ben?!" Cecilias voice was unrecognizable, it was filled with utter terror. I turned and saw Cecilia surrounded by 30 bobcats with razor sharp claws and teeth that could bite through bone.

"You've got to be kitten me"

I held my poles tight, ran towards her, planted to poles into the ground and jumped. As I was flipping over the ring of bobcats, two, from either side, pounced at me. I was able to kick one, instantly breaking its neck and the other I lunged my pole forward like a fencing foil, it went into its mouth and out the top of his head. As I landed I swung my pole, with the cat still attached around my body and flung the dead cat off knocking three more cats off the edge of the cliff.

"Ben, They are getting closer!" I looked up and sure enough the circle was growing smaller.

Cecilia was losing hope, "I'm losing hope" she said.

"Don't worry baby, with me here nothing is impawsable."

I did a wicked roundhouse kick to the closest cat and swept the legs out of another turning that into an uppercut.

"Stand back, baby" Cecilia backed up and I began swinging my poles in front of my like a titanium weedwacker. No cats had a chance. I let out a roar as I approached the cats, which had begun backing up to the cliffs edge. Cats began flying in every direction as I hit them with my poles. I threw my poles down to embark on some hand on claw combat. The 5 remaining cats stood there, thinking over their next move.

"Come get some" I said to them.

They leaped, I ducked, I grabbed the back leg of one and hurled it off the cliff. I tackled one and it swatted at me, giving me a nasty cut but I'd live.
"Is that the best you've got?" I wrapped my arms around his neck and snapped it like confetti. One ran off and the other two I was able to knock off the cliff.

I was looking down the edge of the cliff at the pile of dead bobcats and turned around just in time to see the bobcat who had ran off pounce at me, I was unbalanced and could not do anything to defend myself. The next thing I see is one of my trekking poles being swung, knocking the cat 30 yards away and over the mountain. Cecilia was at the other end of that pole.

We wiped the sweat and blood from our faces, looked at each other and kissed with a passionate embrace. As we walked back down the mountain we heard applause. We looked and raccoons, mice, bears, deer, and an array of birds were swarming around clapping their paws, stomping their hooves in approval. They carried us above their heads in a celebratory mannor. As we got closer to the car a single bobcat walked solemnly over, wearing chains and carrying a golden chalice.

"When I learned of the infection I went to my forest friends," the bobcat began. "I asked them to keep me away from the others, I may be the only hope for my races survival. The disease spread so fast that no one was safe. My friends, my family... my family." The cat looked away but continued. "They are all gone now, I am the last bobcat in the area. This chalice belongs to the bobcats of this area, it is our symbol of pride, and now that there are no more, I must leave to find, and warn, the bobcats of other areas. I want you to have this" The bobcat handed me the chalice and bowed low.

All the animals went back into the woods to live freely and the bobcat walked in the opposite direction, with purpose.

Cecilia and I looked at each other, smiled, and drove home.