Pantera Rex
By S.A Cosby, first published in Coolest American Stories 2022
A hostage situation goes awfully wrong when a lion is introduced to the mix.
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Plot Summary
Two goons and their boss are heading out to the countryside in a car. The first goon is driving, somewhat grudging having to make such a long drive out at night. From his car’s trunk, a series of thumps can be heard, suggesting that their captive is awake. The first goon parks his car in front of a barn in the middle of nowhere, and both leave in order to take the captive out of the car’s trunk. They sit him down, and the second goon pulls out a gun to threaten him with. Soon enough, the boss comes out from the car’s backseat.
The captive, who used to run a stash house for the boss, is accused of aiding and abetting a recent hit on it. The captive says he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but soon enough, a roar can be heard from the barn. The two goons are scared, not knowing what’s inside it. The boss opens the barn doors, and inside is a lion. Both goons are surprised and keep away, but the boss tells them to come closer. He says he paid a large sum of money to have access to the barn and its predator inside.
Eventually, as the boss tries to get his goons to follow his orders, the lion leaves the barn after having broken its chain. The boss tells his goons to shoot it as he stands still, absolutely terrified, but the lion turns around and heads back into the barn. Right away, the boss turns around to try and shoot the lion, but his goons try to convince him to just get inside the car. As they argue, the lion rushes back out of the barn and clamps its teeth around the boss’ head.
The two goons and the captive quickly make it inside of the car and drive away. After almost an hour of driving, the two goons let the captive out and say it’s his lucky day. The two goons think about what just happened, but they know they can’t do much about it. Instead, they drive off to Waffle House for a quick bite to eat after a long day.
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