Tiger Blood, chapter 1
Jessie Parker sat on the rim of the fountain outside the school, drawing the lion statue that sprouted from the center. She loved to draw almost everything, particularly animals. In her opinion, they were the most beautiful things in the world, especially big cats. While everyone was asleep last hour during the teacher's lecture on the saber toothed tiger, she was taking as many notes as she could cram on the paper. It was a shame that such an amazing creature was extinct.
At school, Jessie was not in with the popular crowd at all. A lot of people seemed hesitant of her because she was always alone somewhere drawing. She had long, dark brown hair and icy blue eyes. She lived with her punk, dropout brother, Rob, whom she hated. Her parents and sister had been killed in a car accident the previous year. Life had turned into hell since then.
Her drawing of the lion was cut short by the bell sounding to go home. She got up from the fountain and walked to her car. On her way there, she continued to think about the saber toothed tiger. The prehistoric cat had been so powerful, dominant, and in control of everything around it. That was the life she dreamed of having instead of the weak gazelle she was living as now.
When she arrived at the house, her brother's car was there like it always was. That idiot needed to get a job so she could have at least a few hours of sanity when she got home. She walked in the door to find him yelling at someone on phone. She was pretty sure as she put her sketchbook on the table that he had just set a record for how much a person could curse in one sentence. This was a natural event when she came home, so she just continued up the stairs to her room.
She flopped down on her bed and was staring at the ceiling, watching the fan rotate in circles, when she heard a noise downstairs. Immediately, Jessie got up and headed towards where the sound came from. She looked down the stairs to see what her brother was doing. What she saw filled her with fury. He was ripping her sketchbook apart page by page. There had been at least two hundred pages of drawings in there, and he had already torn up half of them. She saw the lion she'd been working on split in several pieces as it fell to the floor.
"What are you doing!" she yelled, running down the stairs. "Oh my god! What have you done?"
He looked up to her and threw the sketchbook to the floor. There was ferocity in his eyes that filled her with fear, but she still didn't step down. Her life had just been torn into shreds.
"I don't know why you waste your life away doing this!" Rob yelled. "You need to get a job so we can get some cash around here instead of relying on Uncle Tyler for the rest of our lives! You are so stupid!"
Jessie was engulfed by rage. That idiot, failure of a brother of hers was calling her stupid. First he destroyed her passion and now he was calling her these things. It was obvious that he needed to take his rage out, but did it have to be on her? She continued to glare at him like a furious tiger ready to kill its quarry.
"Who are you calling stupid, Rob!" she argued back. "You're the one who should be in college or making the money. You're the one who keeps begging Uncle Tyler to the poor house!"
Immediately after she said that, he punched her hard in the face. The impact caused her to take a few steps back. She felt of her face and looked up to her brother amazed that he'd just hit her.
"It ain't my fault that them teachers failed me," Rob replied while not looking the slightest bit guilty. "Man, there ain't nobody who needs to know the stuff they teach you over there, so don't you tell me what I should be doing."
"You just keep pumping Uncle Tyler for that cash the rest of your life," Jessie said turning to go to her room.
Rob looked as if he would like to hit her again but instead he turned away, slamming his fist into the wall as he left.
Jessie made her way up to her room and slammed the door. She leaned against the wall and began to cry. She cried so hard that she could hardly stand. She slid down slowly and sat on the floor, covering her face with her hands. She wasn't crying because Rob had hit her, but because a whole year of her life had just been destroyed. The art was not just different shades of pencil to Jessie.
Anyone could look at a picture, maybe a man sitting on the beach with the waves breaking on the sand. That man has a story that the piece of art is telling. He could be a banker who is fed up with his job and needs a vacation; or a surfer just enjoying the appearance of the waves before he goes for his ride. The interpretation was up to the viewer; that was why she loved art. It was her escape from the harsh realities of the world and into her own place where she felt at home. Now those places were all gone and Jessie was furious.
Of course, she had always had a cure for anger too, and it also involved her artwork. She got up and took one of the many sketch pads that were stored under her bed and flipped to a blank page. She grabbed a pencil and began sketching the figure of a man. He had solid black hair and multiple piercings. Anyone could tell it was Rob. He was lying on the ground with a look of panic. He had torn clothes and was holding his hand out as if he was telling someone or something to stop. Above him she drew the beast, the beast that would satisfy her urge to kill him. The paper was absorbing all her emotions, releasing her anger.
Meanwhile, Rob was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bucket of chicken. He needed cash bad. None of the places where he had applied for a job had called him yet, and Uncle Tyler had refused to give him any more than a twenty for that week. How was he supposed to support his stupid sister and himself?
He threw down one of the bones and was about to get up when he heard a noise in the living room. Assuming it was Jessie he went to the room. Then the sound of glass shattering was heard through the house. Rob grunted as he began to walk in the room. What had Jessie broken now?
He walked in the room to find that it was empty. That was strange. He listened and heard the sound of heavy breathing. It sounded like a large dog or something, definitely not human. Rob walked slowly towards the noise that was coming from his room. His sister had probably brought home another dog she had found wondering around the street. What a suck up! All he could see now was darkness since the light was off and he had no windows. He was going to beat the thing if it had stunk up his room. As he drew nearer he noticed a shadow moving out of his bedroom. The mutt was about to show itself. He wondered how ugly this one would be.
Out of the darkness, a pair of golden eyes appeared. They were up awfully high to be a dog. Then a paw crossed into the light. That was way too big to be a dog. What was he thinking, "It's too big to be a dog"? That was too big to be a freakin' lion. Rob wanted to turn and run, but something wasn't letting him. He was frozen, like a deer in the headlights.
Slowly, the creature came out of the darkness and stood before him. The creature and Rob locked into a stare. Rob didn't have to graduate to know what that thing was. The large lion like body told him something, but the two huge fangs that grew from each side of his mouth gave it all away. He was staring eye to eye with a saber toothed tiger.
The "deer in the headlights" feeling faded quickly, and he turned and headed for the front door. He saw a blur of brownish-orange soar over him and land right in front of the door.
"Jessie!" He yelled in extreme panic. "Help me!"
Before Rob could say anything else, he felt tremendous pressure hit his body then he was on the ground, with the tiger standing over him.
Jessie had been staring at her picture when she heard her brother yell for her help. He was probably freaking out because he lost his video game. She was once again staring at her art when she heard him scream once more. This time scream was followed by a loud roar. That got her attention. Book in hand, she flung open her door and looked downstairs. Her mouth dropped open when she saw Rob. He was dead on the floor, dead in a pool of blood, but the sight over him scared her even more. There was a saber toothed tiger in her living room looking up at her. She was sure that the tiger was about to come up and kill her, but surprisingly the beast just vanished.
That was when it occurred to Jessie what she had done. She looked down at her sketchbook to view the picture she'd just drawn, the picture of Rob being mauled by a saber tooth tiger. Her hands became numb, and she dropped the book to the floor quickly realizing that what she'd just drawn had come to life.
Her eyes widened and an evil grin spread across her face. Her wish for dominance had just come true. She bent down and picked her sketchbook off the floor, flipping to a blank page. All of those who had ever picked on her, who had ever laughed at her, who had ever ignored her, would pay.
Jessie walked to a phone and dialed 911. The lady on the other end answered asking for her emergency. She faked her voice to panic.
"My brother's been murdered!" she cried falsely. "I don't know how but I just came home and found him like this!"
The woman on the end assured her that help was on the way as she hung up the phone. Jessie smirked as she kneeled down by Rob's body.
"Sorry, brother," she said coldly. "But you asked for it you know."
Jessie heard the cops pull up shortly after that. She once again faked crying and was comforted by some of the officers. Their theory was that it was some kind of large dog. When they finally left with Rob's body, she went up to her room with her sketchpad and pencil. She had a lot of work to do.
At school, Jessie was not in with the popular crowd at all. A lot of people seemed hesitant of her because she was always alone somewhere drawing. She had long, dark brown hair and icy blue eyes. She lived with her punk, dropout brother, Rob, whom she hated. Her parents and sister had been killed in a car accident the previous year. Life had turned into hell since then.
Her drawing of the lion was cut short by the bell sounding to go home. She got up from the fountain and walked to her car. On her way there, she continued to think about the saber toothed tiger. The prehistoric cat had been so powerful, dominant, and in control of everything around it. That was the life she dreamed of having instead of the weak gazelle she was living as now.
When she arrived at the house, her brother's car was there like it always was. That idiot needed to get a job so she could have at least a few hours of sanity when she got home. She walked in the door to find him yelling at someone on phone. She was pretty sure as she put her sketchbook on the table that he had just set a record for how much a person could curse in one sentence. This was a natural event when she came home, so she just continued up the stairs to her room.
She flopped down on her bed and was staring at the ceiling, watching the fan rotate in circles, when she heard a noise downstairs. Immediately, Jessie got up and headed towards where the sound came from. She looked down the stairs to see what her brother was doing. What she saw filled her with fury. He was ripping her sketchbook apart page by page. There had been at least two hundred pages of drawings in there, and he had already torn up half of them. She saw the lion she'd been working on split in several pieces as it fell to the floor.
"What are you doing!" she yelled, running down the stairs. "Oh my god! What have you done?"
He looked up to her and threw the sketchbook to the floor. There was ferocity in his eyes that filled her with fear, but she still didn't step down. Her life had just been torn into shreds.
"I don't know why you waste your life away doing this!" Rob yelled. "You need to get a job so we can get some cash around here instead of relying on Uncle Tyler for the rest of our lives! You are so stupid!"
Jessie was engulfed by rage. That idiot, failure of a brother of hers was calling her stupid. First he destroyed her passion and now he was calling her these things. It was obvious that he needed to take his rage out, but did it have to be on her? She continued to glare at him like a furious tiger ready to kill its quarry.
"Who are you calling stupid, Rob!" she argued back. "You're the one who should be in college or making the money. You're the one who keeps begging Uncle Tyler to the poor house!"
Immediately after she said that, he punched her hard in the face. The impact caused her to take a few steps back. She felt of her face and looked up to her brother amazed that he'd just hit her.
"It ain't my fault that them teachers failed me," Rob replied while not looking the slightest bit guilty. "Man, there ain't nobody who needs to know the stuff they teach you over there, so don't you tell me what I should be doing."
"You just keep pumping Uncle Tyler for that cash the rest of your life," Jessie said turning to go to her room.
Rob looked as if he would like to hit her again but instead he turned away, slamming his fist into the wall as he left.
Jessie made her way up to her room and slammed the door. She leaned against the wall and began to cry. She cried so hard that she could hardly stand. She slid down slowly and sat on the floor, covering her face with her hands. She wasn't crying because Rob had hit her, but because a whole year of her life had just been destroyed. The art was not just different shades of pencil to Jessie.
Anyone could look at a picture, maybe a man sitting on the beach with the waves breaking on the sand. That man has a story that the piece of art is telling. He could be a banker who is fed up with his job and needs a vacation; or a surfer just enjoying the appearance of the waves before he goes for his ride. The interpretation was up to the viewer; that was why she loved art. It was her escape from the harsh realities of the world and into her own place where she felt at home. Now those places were all gone and Jessie was furious.
Of course, she had always had a cure for anger too, and it also involved her artwork. She got up and took one of the many sketch pads that were stored under her bed and flipped to a blank page. She grabbed a pencil and began sketching the figure of a man. He had solid black hair and multiple piercings. Anyone could tell it was Rob. He was lying on the ground with a look of panic. He had torn clothes and was holding his hand out as if he was telling someone or something to stop. Above him she drew the beast, the beast that would satisfy her urge to kill him. The paper was absorbing all her emotions, releasing her anger.
Meanwhile, Rob was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bucket of chicken. He needed cash bad. None of the places where he had applied for a job had called him yet, and Uncle Tyler had refused to give him any more than a twenty for that week. How was he supposed to support his stupid sister and himself?
He threw down one of the bones and was about to get up when he heard a noise in the living room. Assuming it was Jessie he went to the room. Then the sound of glass shattering was heard through the house. Rob grunted as he began to walk in the room. What had Jessie broken now?
He walked in the room to find that it was empty. That was strange. He listened and heard the sound of heavy breathing. It sounded like a large dog or something, definitely not human. Rob walked slowly towards the noise that was coming from his room. His sister had probably brought home another dog she had found wondering around the street. What a suck up! All he could see now was darkness since the light was off and he had no windows. He was going to beat the thing if it had stunk up his room. As he drew nearer he noticed a shadow moving out of his bedroom. The mutt was about to show itself. He wondered how ugly this one would be.
Out of the darkness, a pair of golden eyes appeared. They were up awfully high to be a dog. Then a paw crossed into the light. That was way too big to be a dog. What was he thinking, "It's too big to be a dog"? That was too big to be a freakin' lion. Rob wanted to turn and run, but something wasn't letting him. He was frozen, like a deer in the headlights.
Slowly, the creature came out of the darkness and stood before him. The creature and Rob locked into a stare. Rob didn't have to graduate to know what that thing was. The large lion like body told him something, but the two huge fangs that grew from each side of his mouth gave it all away. He was staring eye to eye with a saber toothed tiger.
The "deer in the headlights" feeling faded quickly, and he turned and headed for the front door. He saw a blur of brownish-orange soar over him and land right in front of the door.
"Jessie!" He yelled in extreme panic. "Help me!"
Before Rob could say anything else, he felt tremendous pressure hit his body then he was on the ground, with the tiger standing over him.
Jessie had been staring at her picture when she heard her brother yell for her help. He was probably freaking out because he lost his video game. She was once again staring at her art when she heard him scream once more. This time scream was followed by a loud roar. That got her attention. Book in hand, she flung open her door and looked downstairs. Her mouth dropped open when she saw Rob. He was dead on the floor, dead in a pool of blood, but the sight over him scared her even more. There was a saber toothed tiger in her living room looking up at her. She was sure that the tiger was about to come up and kill her, but surprisingly the beast just vanished.
That was when it occurred to Jessie what she had done. She looked down at her sketchbook to view the picture she'd just drawn, the picture of Rob being mauled by a saber tooth tiger. Her hands became numb, and she dropped the book to the floor quickly realizing that what she'd just drawn had come to life.
Her eyes widened and an evil grin spread across her face. Her wish for dominance had just come true. She bent down and picked her sketchbook off the floor, flipping to a blank page. All of those who had ever picked on her, who had ever laughed at her, who had ever ignored her, would pay.
Jessie walked to a phone and dialed 911. The lady on the other end answered asking for her emergency. She faked her voice to panic.
"My brother's been murdered!" she cried falsely. "I don't know how but I just came home and found him like this!"
The woman on the end assured her that help was on the way as she hung up the phone. Jessie smirked as she kneeled down by Rob's body.
"Sorry, brother," she said coldly. "But you asked for it you know."
Jessie heard the cops pull up shortly after that. She once again faked crying and was comforted by some of the officers. Their theory was that it was some kind of large dog. When they finally left with Rob's body, she went up to her room with her sketchpad and pencil. She had a lot of work to do.
