Chapter Seven | Claws of the Cat | Cliffhanger Case Files

BY CURT FERNLUND

- Claws of the Cat Credits -

Gloria Swann let out a little yelp that was half pain, half fright as she felt the ledge crumble and break away in her grasp. She started to fall, her already abused fingers scratching desperately at the slick rock wall before her, trying to find purchase. There was none.

She had been so close; groping her way almost blindly through the dark catacombs of dank tunnels that ran unhindered beneath the jungle. She had escaped her Amazonian captors, freeing herself from the rough ropes that they had bound her with, then creeping silently away from their temple; a vast cavern in the network of underground tunnels. She had been hurrying to freedom, racing down one of the tunnels as fast as she had dared, as it was almost pitch black and she was aching and exhausted. She had almost gotten away, she was certain, when the trail had collapsed beneath her.

She had grabbed hold of the ledge and clung to it with all of the might she could muster. She had hung there; dangling over some long hidden river that ran far below, feeling her life slip away as her fingers cried out in agony under the sudden strain of supporting her weight. She had tried to pull herself to safety, but she was too old it seemed, and much too much out of shape. Her best efforts did nothing but renew and redouble her pain and exhaustion. And it had all been for nothing-

Someone had crept up on her in the darkness, and she had felt the sudden crushing pain in her fingers as that person had stepped down on her hand with all of their weight. Gloria knew that it was one of her captors; one of the Amazons that had bound and gagged her and had held her prisoner for the past several days. It had to be. They had followed her mad dash through the tunnels. Followed her and found her, and now as she clung to her last desperate chance at life, they were going to kill her.

Gloria screamed, falling away from the ledge. Frantically she started kicking and grabbing at empty air as gravity tried to drag her down. There was nothing to break her fall. Nothing to catch her but the river below no doubt littered with jagged rocks and racing rapids that would drown her even if she survived the fall. She was doomed-

Something suddenly clamped about her arm and Gloria stopped abruptly short, her plunge barely begun. She swung, slamming against the wall with enough force to rattle her teeth and bloody her knees. She felt her shoulder pop, and immediately felt a new pain race down her arm. She heard a grunt from above and realized that someone must have grabbed her arm, preventing her from falling to her death. Gloria felt herself slipping though as if whoever was hanging onto her was having a hard time of it. Her body fell a bit, and she felt fingers digging into her arm with enough force to bruise and draw blood. The hand about her arm slipped down to her wrist slickened with sweat. Gloria stretched, straining to reach up and latch onto her rescuer's arm in return, but she hurt too bad, was too tired. She groped pathetically at empty air, out of reach.

She dropped a bit more, sliding against the slick face of rock a few more inches and felt another hand lock about her arm. Her shoulder was throbbing from the pain, the strain of her own weight. Her fingers tingled, growing numb-

"Damn it, Gloria! Help me!"

Gloria Swann gasped; blinking at the sound of the raspy voice that had called out her name. It was a voice she recognized, though it was strained and weary from the effort of holding her.

"An-" she choked, having not really spoken for several days. Her own voice was raspy as well, and her throat sore from the sudden unfamiliar effort. "Angela?"

"Yes!"

It was Angela Morgan, her stunt double from the movie. Gloria could not begin to fathom why the girl was there in the caves, nor why she was even helping. Gloria knew that she had given none of the cast or crew reason to like her, let alone risk their lives for her. Especially Angela! They must have been searching for her all along she thought.

"Jesus, Gloria! Climb!" she heard Angela scream through gritted teeth. Gloria could feel the girl's grip slipping, losing hold of her sweaty arm. "You're too heavy! I can't hold you!"

"Oh god!" Gloria whimpered. She did not want to die. She tried to pull herself up, but she was too weak and out of shape. She could brush her fingertips over Angela's arm, but could not get a grip. "I - I can't..."

"You can, Gloria!" Angela cursed, and Gloria felt the girl's own perspiration dripping down onto her face. "Swing your leg up. Try to find a foot hold!"

"I can't!" Gloria whined, crying. It was getting hard to see, harder as her eyes welled with tears.

"You better! So help me god, Gloria, I'm not going with you over the edge! You help me or I drop you! Do it!"

Gloria sobbed, but she could hear the edge of steel in Angela's voice. She was serious. She would let Gloria drop if the starlet did not try to help save herself. Gloria gasped, biting down on her lip as she scrambled, her legs kicking and scurrying, trying to find a toe hold on the slick, slimy surface of the rock face. She slipped again and again and felt her skin scraping and bleeding before long. Her toe nails cracked and split, bending back and sending new, excruciating pain through her feet. Gloria started to cry harder, but she did not stop trying.

At last she felt a slight crack that she might be able to slip her toes into. It was just enough to push her body up a bit, and she felt Angela's hands rotate, getting a better grip.

"That's it. More, Gloria! Swing your leg up higher!"

Gloria grunted with the effort, kicking up with her other leg. She had not had to lift her legs so high since she had been an extra in a chorus line on Broadway. It hurt, and she felt bones popping in her legs. Her muscles cramped up in her thighs and calves, but Gloria winced, trying to ignore the agony. With a mighty effort she hooked her heel onto the crumbling ledge.

Gloria gasped when Angela released her grip and quickly snagged the back of Gloria's brassiere with one hand. Gloria felt the girl tugging, trying her best to haul her up and over the lip of the ledge. The stiff material of the brassiere cut into Gloria's skin, digging into her armpits and pinching her breasts. Gloria let out a little moan of pain, scrabbling all the harder to heave her bulk up and over the edge. Then suddenly, with a final grunt from both women, Gloria slumped back onto the trail in a heap.

They lay side by side, Gloria on her stomach, Angela on her back. Both were breathing hard, heaving in the dank humid air. They were exhausted, and both reeking from the effort, smelling of sweat and the unwashed. Gloria wanted nothing more than to surrender to her fatigue and fall asleep right there, but all too soon Angela was talking again.

"Gloria? What happened? What are you doing here?" There was a moment's silence as both women caught their breath, then - "Where are your clothes?"

"Angela!"

Jennifer Higgins cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed her friend's name once again. As before, her call was met by the shouts of the others calling Angela's name, but no response came from the stuntwoman herself. She had not really expected Angela to answer though. It had been hours since she had fallen from the biplane and dropped down into the thick, steaming jungle. Even if she had survived, well, she had fallen so far that if she was still alive she had to be unconscious at least, and probably crippled to boot. She was probably unable to answer, even if she was somehow awake.

Jennifer flopped onto a smooth, moss-covered rock and stretched, waiting for the others to catch up to her. She could hear the others that she had coupled with as a search party stomping through the brush not too far away; Alice Simmons, along with Joyce Needler and Ginger Sachs - two more of the eight Amazon extras on the film. Like Jennifer, all three were on the buxom side and leaning towards beautiful, in a leggy sort of way. None of them had any illusion that they had been hired for their acting abilities, but then too, none of them really cared. It was a Gloria Swann vehicle, after all, and it would not win any awards, though it would no doubt make money. Gloria's movies were, rather, adventure serials, and hardly deep, thought provoking films. To Jennifer and the other Amazons, it was a paycheck. In fact, Angela was about the only one of the crew that put her all into her shots every day. To her, this film was like her first, each shot a new experience. Jennifer did not know how she had done it-

Did it!

Jennifer shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Angela was not dead. Not yet! Not until they found a body at least. Though that was proving to be an impossible task, dead or alive.

After Angela had fallen, and the initial shock had worn off, almost everyone had run down the trail of the plateau and started searching willy-nilly, charging headlong into the jungle. Karl was the worst, screaming Angela's name over and over, tears streaming down his face. In fact, the only ones who did not seem totally shaken by the catastrophe had been the director - Jonathan Harkins and Gloria Swann herself. They had come down from the mountain, but Harkins only after he was certain that the film from the day was being stored properly, keeping the cameramen and editors behind. Gloria came down almost sauntering, barely hurrying and staying well to the rear of the group. Karl Braun had rushed madly into the jungle, as would have everyone else had John Thomas, the assistant director, not organized everyone into small groups. Sebastian, the pilot of the biplane had continued flying in circles over the area that he thought Angela might have fallen, but he had been forced to land not long after as the wind had picked up and it was getting too dark for him to stay up.

It was almost too dark to see on the ground as well. The moon was out providing some light, but clouds were rolling into the area and Jennifer knew too well that before long there would be storms raging across the land again. It was still hot, and humid as well, and the jungle air was thick with insects. Jennifer heard night birds as well, and bats that fed on the insects fluttering through the treetops. She heard the occasional screech of a monkey, but more often the low guttural growl of one of the great jungle cats. She was getting nervous, and sorry as she was for her missing friend, soon they would have to call off the search.

Before long Ginger and Joyce joined her. Jennifer could barely make out their faces in the darkness, and was glad that they had finally caught up with her. She pushed off of the rock, standing to meet them, then looked about curiously-

"Where's Alice?" Jennifer asked, trying to peer back through the jungle along the trail the trio had blazed. Ginger shrugged.

"We figured she was with you, Jenn." The buxom red head sat on the very rock that Jennifer had rested on and began to undo the leather laces of her animal skin leather boot.

"We haven't seen her for awhile now, hon." Joyce sat on the edge of the rock beside Ginger, watching as her friend slipped off her boot and upended it, shaking out some small pebbles. "Maybe she headed back to the camp?" the pretty brunette said, her dark eyes sparkling in the moonlight. Joyce had an exotic, Grecian look to her, with dark, almond eyes that made Jennifer weak in the knees they were so alluring.

"Maybe-" Jennifer only half agreed. Alice had been with them, actually lagging as far behind as Jennifer had gone ahead, her fear for Angela giving her an unbridled energy at first. She found it hard to believe that Alice would have abandoned the search, or wandered off on her own without telling one of them first.

"Maybe we should head back?" Ginger suggested as she slipped her foot back into the tiger skin boot, wriggling it into place. She folded her leg up, knee under her chin as she relaced it. "It's getting kinda dark." Joyce agreed of course, holding her hair up off of her neck, just silhouettes in the dim moonlight.

"I suppose..." Jennifer agreed with a sigh. "I hate to give up, but I guess it wouldn't do any good if we all got lost too. You two head out. I'll bring up the rear. And keep an eye out for Alice, just in case she got lost."

The two women nodded and stood, took a quick look about and swiftly headed back the way they had come. Jennifer stared after them until they vanished into the jungle, still unwilling to give up the ghost. Angela was out there somewhere, and Jennifer hated to leave her - maybe hurt, unconscious, even dead and food for some jungle beast. She shivered, trying to force that thought from her head. With a sigh and a shrug, she started back...

Angela trudged on through the dark tunnels that seemed never to end. She was hot and sweaty, and tired beyond belief. She ached everywhere, and with every step a pain stabbed in her ankle. It had started hurting more and more as she had made her way through the underground caverns, though it had not seemed to hurt at all when she had first started out. She suspected that it was sprained, and she knew that if she stopped she would never get going again. So she kept staggering forward, enduring the pain and exhaustion, as well as the constant whining of Gloria Swann coming from behind her. Angela had been so happy to find a familiar face that at first she did not care why Gloria had been in the tunnels wearing only her smalls. She had been concerned of course to find the starlet dangling from the crumbling ledge, but it was something that she was willing to ignore for the companionship and the chance that Gloria might know a way out of the dank and confusing catacombs. At first... It became readily apparent however that Gloria was as thoroughly lost as she was herself. She listened as they walked, as Gloria told her the tale of how she had been kidnapped from the shoot and held captive by real Amazons for the last two days and then some. Angela had been impressed by Gloria's story of her escape; how she had slipped free of the ropes that they had bound her with and how she had fought off the two warriors to run down the tunnels for freedom. That was what she knew best of Gloria Swann - the Gloria of old that she had seen every Saturday afternoon in her youth. Gloria Swann was the Queen of Escapes after all.

Angela was a little concerned however, when Gloria said how the leader of the warrior women had used some strange type of mask to disguise herself as the starlet. If Gloria was right, then the woman that had staggered out of the jungle two days ago had not been Gloria at all, but rather a real Amazon who was apparently the one behind all the misfortunes that had plagued the movie set over the past fortnight. It was all rather bizarre, but with all that had happened over the few weeks that the crew had been in South America, it was almost believable.

Angela told Gloria as well of her own plight; how she survived the fall from the aeroplane, coincidentally falling through the pitfall that probably the Amazons had built over the great cavern where Angela had woken up. Angela figured that it was probably the drop through the thick jungle canopy as well as the break away camouflage over the pit that had actually saved her, the leaves and branches of the latter actually cushioning her fall in the end when she crashed to the ground.

The two women compared notes as they walked, but neither was in perfect shape, and Gloria was soon whining at the pace that Angela set, while the stuntwoman was snapping at Gloria who seemed to complain about every little thing. Gloria had taken to hanging on to Angela's shirt tail, letting the younger woman lead the way through the dark tunnels and actually letting her drag Gloria along. Angela could feel when the movie star started to lag behind, and it only slowed her down, as she was dead tired herself and ready to drop.

Worse, they were lost. They had retraced Angela's route when Gloria had said that the two Amazons were probably tracking her, but the further they went, the more Angela was convinced that they were going in circles. There was nothing that she recognized along their route, and everything looked the same. There was just enough light to see by, barely, but not enough to distinguish one bit of rock wall from the next. The dirt and dust on the cave floor was not deep enough to leave any proper tracks along most of their route, and even if it was, the two of them were kicking it about too much to even try to see where they had passed. Their only option seemed to press on, so Angela steeled her nerves against Gloria's complaining voice and did so.

It was impossible to keep track of the time, but Angela figured that they had been walking for a few hours when she saw a faint light ahead. Despite Gloria's protests, she hurried forward, focusing on a thin beam of light coming from the roof of a vast cavern up ahead. Angela felt a breeze as well, and it seemed that there might be a way out. She was rushing forward when she heard Gloria's plaintive moan-

"Nooo..."

Angela stopped, glancing back at Gloria who seemed to have a look of total defeat on her face. She could hear the woman starting to cry again, causing Angela to look back at the chamber ahead. It was a vast room, stretching high and wide, and in the roof was a hole, far overhead. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, however, she saw things that Gloria had described before from the chamber where she had been held captive; chests of gold and jeweled trinkets scattered about, archaic weapons hanging from the walls, an altar stone stained with blood and a statue-

"We're back where I started from." Gloria whined, dropping to her butt on the ground in defeat. "We've run around in a big circle, and right back into their temple." Gloria buried her face in her hands and started to wail in despair.

Angela turned, started to crouch to comfort the other woman and get her moving again. As near as she could tell, they were alone in the chamber, and there was probably an obvious exit that the Amazons used. But they had to get moving. They had to get away.

"Gloria-"

Angela heard the whistle of the arrow slicing through the air before she felt the pain. She glanced up, starting to stand when she saw the wooden shaft sticking out of her shoulder, quivering there. Blood drooled from the spot where the shaft pierced her skin. She thought it odd, and wondered what was happening-

Angela screamed as the pain flowed through her shoulder and suddenly she was on her back gasping for air. Her arm felt as though it was on fire, and Angela found it hard to think. She had never experienced such pain in her life. She could hear Gloria screaming, and tried to call out to the woman for help, but her words were slurred and fell on deaf ears.

Angela grabbed at the shaft, sending a new pain racing through her arm as it bent to her touch. She knew that she had to get the arrow out, but it hurt too bad to even touch it. She knew she would not be able to snap the wood and force it through the wound. She would need Gloria's help, but the starlet seemed in shock and incomprehensible. Angela forced herself to sit up, bracing on her elbows, and immediately saw why.

Across the chamber she saw two women walking their way. Both seemed little more than shadows, but Angela could see that they were obviously wearing skimpy animal skins and leathers, and both were tall and muscular. One carried a spear, while the other held a small bow to which she was knocking another arrow. They seemed harried, and out of breath themselves, and as they passed into the thin light spilling from the ceiling Angela saw anger crackling in their eyes. They stopped there in the circle of light, and as Angela watched, the one with the bow leveled it at her again. Angela watched as the warrior easily drew back on the string. She tried to scramble away, to find cover, but she hurt too badly, the pain in her shoulder and ankle was too much.

Angela's world started to spin, to fade to gray. She saw the woman fire, loosing the arrow-

Gloria screamed...

Jennifer Higgins stopped short, listening. She had been walking back along the tight trail, hurrying to catch up with Ginger and Joyce, and hopefully Alice as well, when she heard something strange off in the dense brush.

It was probably an animal, she thought, there were enough strange noises that were animals out in the jungle to be sure. But what she heard had sounded more like a grunt, a gasp of pain followed by a crash as though someone or something had fallen into a bush. It had sounded all too human to Jennifer, and she was suddenly worried.

She stared into the darkness, glancing about worriedly at the high grass and brush that surrounded her. She could barely see as the moon's light faded in and out with the passing of clouds over head. She listened, but suddenly the jungle seemed deathly silent. All that she heard was the annoying buzz of mosquitoes hovering about her ears. She tried to call out, her voice squeaking and catching in her throat-

"He - Hello..."

Jennifer heard something shuffle in the bushes, moving about. She felt a lump of fear rising in her throat, making it hard to breathe. She was shivering, cold, despite the fact that she was sweating bullets. Her heart was hammering wildly-

"Ahh-"

Jennifer gasped, staring wide-eyed into the darkness, seeing monsters in the shifting shadows. Terror gripped her heart and tried to clamp her feet to the ground. Thomas had warned of animals, predators that roamed the jungle at night, and Jennifer was sure that she was about to face one. Something huge and fierce by the sound of it. Jennifer started to inch along the trail, praying to god that she might live to see another day. She quickened her pace-

Jennifer rounded a bend in the trail and froze...

There, just a few yards before her was something - someone blocking the trail. They were crouched down, clawing at the ground, ripping at a mound of earth for some reason. They were snarling, like a cat, and they seemed in a frenzy, so much so that they had not even heard her approach. Jennifer stepped forward, trying to see better, wishing that her heart was not pounding so loud.

The clouds rolled on overhead, and far in the distance Jennifer felt, more than heard, the first faint rumblings of thunder. The trail brightened, cast in an eerie pale glow and Jennifer stopped short again, her mind reeling with what she saw.

Alice Simmons lay on the ground, her eyes staring wide, glinting in the sudden light. There was blood all about, pooling beneath Alice and spattered around the trail; on the leaves and trees, dark splotches in the dirt. There was a gash across Alice's throat, and Jennifer could see blood, thick and steaming, oozing from the wound. Alice's mouth was open, as though she were trying to scream.

Hunkering over the body of her friend was a woman. Jennifer did not recognize her at first, as her face was turned away, but there was something familiar. The woman's hair was dull and gray, but her skin seemed dark, and her body muscular. She wore a long skirt, and a khaki blouse that was darkened in spots, stained with sweat. At first, Jennifer thought that the woman's hands were claws, the way she was digging at the body beneath her, but as the sky cleared and the moonlight grew brighter she saw that instead the woman wore gloves; gloves of black fur with claws laced in. Despite herself, Jennifer gasped, horror gripping her heart, and the woman finally heard her. The woman turned-

It was Gloria Swann!

Jennifer heard strange noises escaping her mouth as she tried to force herself to back away. It was too much. Too much! Her mind was screaming the shrill cries that her throat was too constricted to release. Gloria Swann was crouched over the body of Alice Simmons, ripping at the dead woman's throat. Killing her!

Gloria started to rise, and finally Jennifer got her legs to work. She scrambled backwards, not wanting to turn away from the grisly scene, but wanting to run as fast and as far away as her legs would carry her. Jennifer was moaning with the terror swelling within her, whimpers of fright with every ragged breath she took. She stumbled along, backing away as Gloria started after her, stalking her. Jennifer turned and ran-

Jennifer felt a sharp pain shoot through her ankle and suddenly she was falling. She cried out, finally, though her scream was cut short as she slammed against the hard packed dirt of the trail, the wind whooshing out of her lungs.

She lay there, her ankle throbbing in rhythm to her heartbeat. Her head was spinning madly, sparkles of gray erupting in her sight as she tried to focus. Her breath came in short gasps, when she could gather a breath at all. She glanced back, struggling simply to move, trying to see what had happened. Jennifer saw her foot wrapped up in the clutches of a tree root that had erupted from the ground in the middle of the path and she had stumbled right into it, like a wolf in a steel jawed trap.

Jennifer moaned, trying to free her ankle, tugging on her leg with a frantic strength. She had to get away! She had to escape before Gloria-

Gloria!

Jennifer glanced up to see the woman stalking towards her. There was blood on her face, spattered on her clothes. Her eyes were darkened slits, like a cat's, and they gazed at her hungrily with a cruel coldness like a predator that had just cornered its prey. Jennifer whimpered, struggling all the harder to free her leg. Death was coming for her, like it had for Alice. Like Angela -

Jennifer gasped as the woman stopped, crouched...

With a loud, sudden snap, Jennifer pulled her leg free breaking the tree's root from the ground.

Like a cat, Gloria snarled and sprang...

Jennifer is trapped! Helpless! What will she do? Read the next thrilling episode to find out...

Read the next thrilling episode to find out! Coming Soon to a web page near you...

Claws of the Cat © Curt Fernlund 2002 - 2007. Original Logo, running cat and claw marks by Word Mill Optical (Used with Permission).

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