Read Jump Zone: Cleo Falls for Free Online

no body to inhabit. As bad as drowning was, and it was horrific, the thought of her flesh being ripped apart by sharp teeth… well, that was too much.
    Cleo’s pulse hammered in her ears, muting all other sounds.
    All except the steady chuff-chuff-chuff of the alphacat’s breath.
    Her skin prickled. She knew it was sizing her up from the dark foliage, smelling her blood, her fear. She imagined the slits of its predatory eyes narrowing and widening, focusing on her, its next meal.
    They always paused before the attack, confusing their prey into thinking they had time to flee, and it was the moment Cleo needed to collect herself. She held her breath, her arm buried in the backpack, her hand moving methodically through its contents, searching.
    Cree-ack. A branch broke under its weight. It was settling back on its haunches, waiting for her to move. To scurry for cover. To run for her life.
    Too scared to breathe, she imagined its tail, held low for balance, flick once, twice in anticipation of the pounce, the leap, the kill.
    She let out a small whimper as her fingers reached the bottom of the bag. Her leg muscles tensed, prepared to run, when her fingers slipped under the reinforced bottom and landed on something long, hard, sheathed. A handle.
    If lucky, she’d be able to rip the knife from its encasement before the cat emerged through the foliage. If she wasn’t lucky, she would die.
    A deep growl crescendoed in Cleo’s throat as a burst of adrenaline guided her through the next few seconds. Her thumb snapped the release just as something exploded into the perimeter of camp, sending twigs, leaves, and a cloud of grit through the air.

 
    Six
    I t took Libra longer than he intended to get back to camp. He circled too far and probably would have kept going if he hadn’t run smack into a familiar-looking rock wall. Though around here, every zhang-damn rock was beginning to look the same. He followed the escarpment eastward and sure enough, it came out at the waterfall. He gave his head a shake, glad his auto-tutor hadn’t seen that gaffe. He’d never known a computer program so capable of sarcasm.
    Fumbling around in the bushes made him lose precious time. He couldn’t stay away too much longer for fear of amplifying her suspicion.
    The closer he drew to the clearing, the more care he took placing his steps, sticking to the hard-packed soil and rock, avoiding the crunch of foliage. He scanned the vicinity until he found an ideal observation spot: two large rocks, boulders half as tall as he was, surrounded by brush. There would be just enough space to wiggle between them and crouch down, completely camouflaged, and still be able to see into their camp.
    He barely took a step toward it when he heard her voice.
    “I don’t know your name.”
    Zhang hell!
    “Libra,” he called back, fighting his way through low branches of prickling trees. “I’m Libra.”
    “Why are you sneaking up on me, Libra?” Her tone was flat, accusatory.
    “I…I wasn’t. I just didn’t want to disturb you if you were sleeping,” he said. “And I got turned around, went too far that way and had to double back.”
    She sat on the ground a few feet from the fire, staring up at him with widened, untrusting eyes. He emerged, brushing twigs and pokey green needles from his hair. “What happened to your leg?” he asked, noticing her shin, slick with fresh blood.
    Something in his peripheral vision caught his attention, made him stumble back. “What the—”
    “I had a visitor while you were gone.”
    He felt his jaw moving, but no sound came out. He stepped closer, eyes darting between the beast and Cleo. She seemed unruffled as he circled the cat tentatively, assuring himself that yes, it was indeed dead—that much was obvious, even for a city boy. He moved cautiously, not believing what he saw and knowing that on some level, he was losing serious man-credits.
    The holograms on his auto-tutor did nothing to prepare him for the