My Elephant Part 1

The ground looked to be miles down, and here people were threatening to push my off.

"Maybe we should have you go face-first," a boy sneered, "so we could here your skull crack open."

"Or," another boy suggested, "she could go feet-first so we could watch her knees fold under her weakly."

"Raise your hand if you want face-first," the first boy said.

Three thirds of the people raised their hand.

"I win," the first boy said in satisfaction. He made a grab for my arm, but I jumped away.

"You touch me and I kill you," I snarled.

The boy's icy blue eyes glittered with crude amusement. "You're outnumbered, idiot," he hissed.

I raised my head. "You kidnapped me, just to see me fall off a cliff? I did not think you were so stupid."

The boy did not try to grab my again, but he kept pushing me along the narrow trail, constantly muttering into my ear, "You deserve to JUMP off that cliff, you worthless piece of filth."

The sixth time he said it, I socked him in the stomach. He gasped and doubled back, murder written on his face. He ran towards me, but again I stealthily leaped out of his way onto a rock.

"I hate you," the boy informed me.

I shrugged. "If that's the best thing you can come up with, I feel sorry for you."

The boy's eyes flashed, and he pulled me down from the rock. He brought his face so close to mine I could smell his putrid breath. "Try and do any more fancy tricks again, you'll be sorry," he growled.

I shrugged a second time. "You would not kill me, as I said before. You're too much of a coward, and your mother ordered you not to. Another reason why you are a coward. You will always obey your mommy." The last sentence I made taunting, just to see the boy boil up with anger.

"How do you know about my mom?" He demanded.

"I have ears," I said sharply. "You and your sorry friends always talk about your mom. The other night, you were saying, 'You know, I would kill her right now if I could.' But then your friend--the one who offered me to go feet-first--said, 'But your mom told you not to, and you would not disobey her, would you?' And you said, 'Of course not, Mom would kill me if-'

The boy's face was now red with fury and embarrassment. "Shut up," he shouted, and slapped me.

It stung, and tears came to my eyes, but I did not let them fall. "Only cowards hit girls," I sneered, and added for good measure in a babyish voice, "Yes, weak little girls who got kidnapped by big strong men--how could I hurt you?"

"IDIOT!" The boy screamed, and then ordered the second boy, "Bring on the elephant?"

Some of my courage drained from my body. "Elephant?" I asked, half-amused, half-scared.

"Yep," the boy said. "We use her to hurt our enemies, especially if we are not allowed to kill them."

I was not scared at all now. I worked with my mom at an elephant sanctuary, and I had a "way with elephants" as my mom liked to put it.

I smiled. "Okay. Let me meet this elephant."

The boy looked confused, but thew up his hands toward a large elephant lumbering toward us. "This is Killer!" He said proudly.

At first, this elephant Killer seemed aggressive. But I reached out and gently stroked her trunk, and the elephant rumbled happily.

"Not a killer after all," I told the boy, who looked furious.

The second boy took out a bull hook and started whacking the elephant with it. "Go! Now!" He screamed.

The elephant brung her foot up and let it stumpy down on the second boy's foot. He howled in pain, cursed, and limped away.

The other boy glared at the elephant and then at me. "You know what? I don't care!" He yelled, stomping after the second boy.

I reached out to touch the elephant's trunk again, and murmured, "We can get through this together."

The elephant's wise eyes seemed to say, "I know," and we continued along the trail together.