Chapter Text
(Mother, is the outside world pretty?)
(Oh yes, my dear cub. I have seen it for myself.)
(Then why don't we ever visit? )
(It's…not exactly safe for us out there. One day soon. I promise.)
(Okay Mother...)
(Hmm, did I ever tell you of the brave thief called La Pantera?)
(No, who's that?)
(Well, it all starts with a little boy…)
XXX
Not long now. Almost there, just a little bit further.
Keep the pace up, that's it. Just had to ignore the annoying sting on his leg.
Faster and faster, a mysterious and oddly short figure in a black poncho and deep green camouflage pants dashed down the trail, his breathing ragged from the heart-pounding chase while his black boots squelched in the moist soil, brown army shirt soaked through with sweat and humidity, the toned caramel arms and balled-up fists the only parts of his body visible.
The jungle itself became a mass of blurred colors as he sped away from the round of shouting and cursing gaining on him, louder and louder.
No, he wasn't scared. He was terrified shitless.
But he couldn't stop either because the moment he'd stop would be the moment he'd die—and that's if the bandits in pursuit felt merciful.
All of a sudden, the robed man skidded to a halt before a massive ravine whose gaping black maw yawned hungrily for the next hapless soul to plummet down its depths. A pebble unsettled by the man's feet flew off the edge and fell down. Way down.
¡Mierda! he cursed in his mind. That's one hell of drop!
Thinking fast, the man gave the cliff he stood on a thorough search for anything useful. There had to be a way to cross over to the other side. If he could make it, he'd be home free. Unfortunately, judging by the rate at which the volume of the voices behind him was ascending, the thief didn't have much time.
Fortunately, he didn't have to look for long. Hanging between the two walls of the ravine lay a wooden bridge. It appeared quite ancient and awful rickety but now wasn't the time to be picky or cautious.
Beggars can't be choosers.
Shrugging his shoulders, the thief dashed across the length of the side and to the bridge, a few feet from the structure before a band of rugged, tanned men armed to the teeth with shotguns and blades crashed out of the bushes and onto the spot where he'd been mere moments ago. They didn't take long to spot him and, realizing his destination, give chase once more.
Dodging a sudden array of bullets proved no easy task; the man ended up with quite a number of a close calls—zig zag to the left, swerve to the right! He could feel the wind rushing on his cheek from one bullet that missed his face by one centimeter.
Regardless, the man still managed to reach the bridge without a single scratch and hurriedly made his way across it. He only succeeded in crossing the bridge about halfway, however, before a slight tremor in the wood below his feet brought his attention to the side he'd just departed from.
His pursuers were still on his tail!
¡Ay basura! What I wouldn't give for a magic trick right now! I could just abracadabra my way out!
Wait, maybe he could. Eyes now wide, the thief patted his belt for his knife, hidden by the poncho. If I can pull this off just right...
He had the right tool, and the bridge looked like it could still keep itself whole for the most part. All he needed left was...
Bingo! A sly smirk crossed his lips as he abruptly halted right in the middle of the bridge and, turning around swiftly, brought out a hand to signal his pursuers to halt in their tracks.
Surprisingly enough, the dumb goons obeyed the gesture, all of them confused as to what this guy had up his sleeve.
"¿Pensáis vosotros niños que alcanzemos el nivel conmigo?" he called out to them daringly. (You boys think you can keep up?)
Now bear in mind, the pursuers understood the guy. What they didn't understand was what he meant. And why he did have one hand gripping onto one of the rope railings of the bridge and another over one of the front pockets of his khaki pants?
Before the goons could put two and two together, the wood under their feet gave way! Caught by surprise that naturally gave way to full-speed panic, the pursuers screamed as they plummeted into the gap, guns and swords lost from their hands due to the initial shock.
And where was the rogue, one would ask?
Well, aside from the fact that he was currently hanging by his hands on the rope railing he hadn't cut and was now one snap away from joining the poor slobs, he felt just fine, chilling over the ravine as if he hung over bottomless abysses every day.
"Yeah, didn't think so." Those men just didn't know when to quit, did they? Too bad for them they grossly underestimated their prey. After returning the knife to its sheath, he straddled his way across the bridge. In little time, he easily reached the other side close enough to almost touch the rock.
Then the ropes snapped.
Together, the bridge and the rogue fell into the ravine.
Only one of them continued to plummet.
The unlucky one had been the bridge. Flapping its ropes like flailing tentacles, the structure vanished from sight as it joined the ravine's previous victims in the darkness below. The poor bridge might have survived if it had had arms and hands to catch and grip onto something.
Say like a vine sticking out from the cliff for instance.
Just ask our protagonist as he watched the bridge's descent from his precarious vantage point. 'Heh, that didn't go too bad.'
Granted, the fall had been another close call but at least it had been a close call well remedied.
Speaking of which, I can't expect mi amigo verde here to keep me up all day now, can I?
Without further ado, the thief, now gripping the vine with both hands, swung his legs back and forth, building up more momentum with each swing. Before long, he was soon forming a half circle with this motion, and then let go as the vine came the closest it could to the edge of the cliff.
With all his momentum propelling him, he flew for a split second before he caught onto the cliff edge by his fingers. And not too soon either because the vine, thanks to the loosened rock it'd been attached to, plummeted into the ravine.
The thief forced a morbid chuckle. Big guy's really getting a smorgasbord today.
Despite the weak (and only) joke in his mind, he lifted himself up onto solid ground, walked over to a nearby tree root, and collapsed back-first against it in sheer exhaustion.
Man, all this ducking and dodging could really tucker a guy out! He seriously deserved a vacation by now. Regardless, the man beat a fist to his brawny chest, a haughty yet relieved smirk on his face.
"Heh, heh…as usual, La Pantera makes it past the worst!" he boasted to the heavens despite his exhaustion.
The universe begged to differ as attested by rustles in the leaves nearby.
"Ah Diego, mi hijo...," a gutturally dark voice suddenly exclaimed from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Fancy seeing you here!"
The thief's eyes shot wide before he facepalmed with a groan of frustrated disbelief. Spoke too soon.