"Devon meets Max Lyon " ( 2005 edited ) Part One by Firestorm Six ™ ..........The minutes passed like hours, as I sat here staring out the tiny window at the rain dripping off the ragged, leaking roof, lost in my own depression, continously wondering what’s out there in the world. Being so isolated as I was, sort of trapped in this small town isolation here in a desolate part of cold northern Ontario, thinking to myself, There must be a better world out there for me, As I was un-employed,.. & on the brink of getting evicted from this cold, run down apartment that I could no longer afford.... " This is the last straw ! " i yelled to myself, I had enough... It's time I went to seek a better life elsewhere, maybe somewhere near Toronto, or the United States. Anywhere but here. Though I never knew much about the outside world and the changes that have taken place over the last few years outside of the isolated town i lived in, as I never had a TV or telephone, and the only radio channel I got was a local one. This didn't darken my dream of adventure! I jumped up from the rickety chair that fell apart from under me as I moved, and started to grab my things. I never had much, just a duffle full of my clothes, a dented-up toolbox with a few tools inside, an old sleeping bag, a small box containing a few sentimental family items and my drawings I done as a hobby. I then tossed them in my late dads 1967 Mustang. He loved his car; he named it "Annabelle", after my late mother who passed away when I was only three years old. It was his pride & joy, and told me to keep it if anything happened to him,.... he died in a mining accident two years ago at a mining camp forty miles north of here. A little dented and rusty, but runs good! I grabbed the few items I have, including about $ 170 I saved up in an old cookie jar, threw them in the car, and started driving south, never looking back,.... in search for a new world that I have never seen before. I drove for about ten hours until I pulled into a gas station somewhere near Sudbury Ontario, I asked an attendant how far it was to Toronto, he said; "About 7 to 8 hours south/west fella, just follow hwy. 4 to 11, then turn left on hwy. 11, then follow it south. By the way,...be careful, the highway is dark and treacherous from here on", Thank you sir; I quoted, so I filled up the car, ...grabbed a coffee, and hit the road again. The hours and miles went by slowly through the night, the constand staring at the road began to make me feel quite tired. I would set the alarm on an old wind up clock I placed on the dashboard to scare me awake every 15 minutes, as the radio in the car hasn't worked for years. My eyes were getting very heavy.... But as stubborn as I was, ...I kept driving. It must have been about 2:00 AM or later, I must have been hypnotized by the passing lines on the road as I never seen another car for hours........ The alarm must not have worked............the next thing I knew the car jolted to the left after hitting the guard rail on my right with a loud screech of cold steel on concrete, i tried to re-gain control of the car but my mind was still trying to awaken from falling to sleep... the car suddenly lurched again sideways with another shower of sparks flying around me,...then a jolting crash of steel on concrete brought me and the car to a stop. I woke up trying to gather my senses, ...it was dark,.... with only a fiew stars dimmly lighting the night sky, and only the wind through the shattered windows, along with a hissing sound from the engine broke the silence of the night. I felt my face with my left hand, it felt numb,...I could feel the warm liquid trickling through my fingers, and could see the glimmer of blood running down my hand in the starlight. Even though it was only minutes since the crash it felt like hours.....I felt ready to give up. I thought I would surely die here as I had nowhere to go,... no money, ..no one to call, and my car was wrecked. I sat slumped over in pain praying to god for mercy and to take me now..... When all of a sudden I see the glimmer of headlights pull up behind me through the mist of the night..... I couldn’t see who it was , as I tried to wipe the blood from my eyes. All I could hear was the deep rumble of a V-8, then the engine turn off. I heard the door open,.... I could faintly see the shadow of a very large figure walk towards my driver side window through the headlights of the truck. I could pick out his unusual figure in the moonlight as he got closer. I noticed he looked different from a man...... When he got to my broken window I was shocked at what I saw...if my heart had been weak at that moment it sure would have stopped.... it wasn’t a man,... but a huge lion.....walking upright. He put his paw-hand on my door ledge and looked in at me holding a flashlight. I sat shivering in pain,...thinking to myself.... well it wasn’t bad enough to crash in an accident and probably die from internal injuries,...But I had this huge, hulking feline that would probably reach in and grab me with his enormous teeth, ..pull me out out through the broken open window, then tear me to chunks of flesh, and devour me piece by piece, ....until there was nothing left but bloodstains.......But then he spoke, in a deep, accented voice,..... .."Are you ok sir ? don’t be afraid,..I won't hurt you, i'm here to help and everythings going to be ok. " I sat there stunned, scared to look at him or speak. I could see his tawny mane and glimmering teeth in the headlights of his vehicle, he then said: “You can call me Max, I’m going to help you out of here in a jiffy. What's your name son?” .. "My name is Devon... as i spoke painfully, please help me... “Do you think you could walk Devon?” Yes, I think I'm ok, only my face & right arm hurt " After he fetched a prybar from his truck, in a short time he managed to pry the door open. Max gently helped me to my feet holding me as I limped to the passenger seat of the truck. As he gently wiped the blood from my face, I continued to strain to speak because i thought it was all a dream...I managed to thank him for his kindness, and explained that I have no money & nowhere to go. ...“ Don’t worry Devon, I’m happy to help you. I will call my sister to meet us at my place. She is a trained nurse and will check you over to make sure you are ok. You can stay at my house tonight. I will call a friend with a tow-truck to come out to get your car”. As we drove to his house, My mind was trying to grip the reality of what just happened,...and what i was seeing.... I caught myself staring, " Oh I'm sorry Max for staring", "That's ok, most humans from the north that never seen us before are usually surprised and nervous until they see how time has changed us felines." he laughs. When we got to his place, I limped out of his truck.... only to be struck with awe again when i was greeted by a lioness... his sister Elsa. she helped me inside and sat me on the couch, checking me over, she cleaned up the gaping wound on my face, then lightly applied a bandage. "You are fine Devon, just a bit bruised up, I have a bed fixed up in the spare room for you, all you need is some rest, I can sense you are very exhausted", she said in a gentle voice. " I sence some fear and shock in you too Devon, you have nothing to be afraid of. nobody will harm you, we want to help. Max expalined to me that you have never seen us felines as we are today." laughs Elsa with a smile. " Alot has changed over the last number of years, we have learned to walk bipedal, the way of human language, lifestyle, and thoughts. Then to my surprise again the door opened, and in walked a Bengal tiger! "Hello Anthony", said Max, "Devon, this is Anthony, he got your car towed here, it's parked across the street at our garage". "Hello Devon", as he reached down with a huge paw-hand and shook my trembling hand..... Feeling tired, Elsa helped me up the stairs to their spare bedroom.. “Goodnight Devon. We will see you in the morning”, said Max. “The washroom is here to the right if you want a shower. And this is the spare bedroom there”, Elsa speaks softly, "I will come over and fix you all breakfast in the morning. I do it just about every second for Max and the others before they start work in the shop, I live just next door.". .........Now, thinking to myself, breakfast? What do these great cats eat now, my mind wandering strangely.... thinking of a fresh kill of deer, or elk, “What would you like? Golden pancakes, or eggs & bacon with toast?”, Elsa spoke. ..Again i was stunned how these felines have completely adopted the ways of man....pancakes & eggs ? ....my thoughts are working overtime now. “Pancakes would be fine Elsa. Thank you very much for what you & Max have done for me. You have been so kind. What can I do to re-pay you?” "Don't worry about it Devon, we're just happy to help someone in need, have a good night, I will see you in the morning.... and be careful with the bandage on your head." She gives me a gentle hug , then quietly closes the bedroom door. Thinking to myself again....wondering if this is all a dream.... I touch the bandage .........OUCH ! This is real... I kept thinking about tomorrow...as an interesting day it was going to be ! after thinking about this last number of hours, ....I slowly drifted off to sleep.................... To be continued: in part "2" (c) 2002 FirestormSix ™