The Cost of Freedom

 Camille stood at the window and glanced over at the once beautiful and vibrant, golden lion in the cage beside her.

 His fur was dull and caked with dried blood, injuries with scabbed over and his ribs were beginning to protrude.

 The eyes that were filled with a fire were beginning to die out.

 While to Neil, he showed no signs of fear and no indications that his spirit was breaking, Camille could see the effects of Neil's abuse on his soul.

 Both of them now had the same habit of staring out beyond the glass and into the freedom they craved.

 Caged and under Neil's control, Camille almost felt that the two of them were beginning to bond, or perhaps that was just her craving for companionship of her own.

 It was comforting to know that she had someone by her side to stare out of the window with and watch as the freely flying birds went by, to observe all of the people going about their daily activities.

 The lion lay in his cage, sighing.

 'How bored and hurt he must be. The poor thing, I can't even clean his wounds.'

 It had been a few days already since Neil had first brought the whip out, and he had beaten the lion almost every day since.

 Her heart broke for the animal. All she was able to do was stand by helplessly as it happened, unable to do a thing.

 She wanted to protect him, free him from his confines, just as she prayed someone would do for her.

 'No animal, no person, should have to endure a life like this.' She thought as her attention fully shifted towards the lion.

 Neil was sitting at his desk, filling out paperwork as usual.

 She wanted to get closer to the cage, she wanted to give him something better to eat, but Neil wouldn't allow her to go past the safe zone.

 Of course, she also knew that was against her better judgement, her safety was also important.

 However, she couldn't help but feel like she needed to be doing more to help.

 Neil was being more controlling than ever and wouldn't allow her to even toss the poor thing an extra bite of food.

 Only the specially hired handler was allowed to feed him, and even then, he was only allowed to have the pre-approved, specialized diet that Neil decided upon.

 Camille wondered if that diet was even healthy for him to eat, or if it was filled with junk and other fillers to make the lion more drowsy or even more compliant.

 As Camille stood there, worrying over the once majestic lion, Neil got a call that commanded all of their attention.

 Neil huffed in frustration as he picked up the phone.

 "Hello? ….Right…..Alright, I'll be right there."

 He hung up and grabbed a few documents from his desk before picking up his briefcase that was leaning against the desk.

 "I got called for an emergency meeting. You stay here and wait for me to return. Don't get too close to that thing either." Neil motioned with his index finger towards the lion as he left, closing the door right behind him.

 The lion looked his way and growled as the door closed.

 Camille let out a quiet laugh, "Yeah, good riddance!"

 She shook her fist playfully towards the door while scrunching up her nose, before looking back over towards the animal.

 "You know….everything has been stripped from you. Your home, your family, your friends, your freedom…..everything. Even your identity…"

 Camille squatted and rested her head in her hand, "So how about, I give you a new identity? I can't do much else for you….so how about….Nimba?"

 Nimba looked up at her, his ears perking up as well.

 "Do you like that?" Camille smiled fondly at him.

 He stared deeply into her eyes, as if he were searching her soul for something.

 For a few moments, they sat in silence, just staring at each other, never breaking their gaze.

 Her expression suddenly changed, as she stared at Nimba with an empty look.

 Without warning, she stood up and walked over to Neil's desk.

 Nimba stood and slowly turned around, the small width of his cage making it difficult to do so.

 He watched intently, wondering what she was up to, as she rummaged through the desk drawers, pulling out papers and office supplies; paper clips clinking on the floor as she searched.

 She couldn't escape from Neil, but maybe Nimba could.

 Pulling out an old, rusted skeleton key, she waltzed towards the cage.

 As she approached the end of the 'safe zone' she halted.

 What she was about to do was extremely dangerous.

 After all, Nimba was a wild animal, and an abused one at that. His unpredictability could only have risen thanks to what he had been through in this office.

 She slowly got closer, her legs shaking beneath her.

 At any moment, Nimba could reach his paw between the bars and grab hold of her with his sharp claws, and there would be no one to help her.

 She gulped hard and stared into the lion's eyes.

 "You don't belong in cage….at least one of us should be free."

 Camille bit her lip, she was scared to take her eyes off him, but she was even more afraid of keeping her eyes on him.

 Her hand trembled as she reached up and grabbed hold of the giant iron padlock. The key clinked and clanked as her trembling hand knocked it against the padlock over and over again while trying to insert it into the keyhole.

 "Please don't eat me…..but if that is my fate for the sin of allowing you to be harmed….then I'll accept it."

 Her blood suddenly ran cold. Was she really okay with death? Was that a promise she was willing to keep? Would she really be fine with being mauled to death by a ravenous lion?

 'Maybe….maybe this my opportunity to free myself too. Maybe that's my ticket to freedom. Maybe...my prayers have been answered and Nimba was sent to me by God to free me.'

 Everyday while standing at that window, she prayed for her freedom, and every night before bed she begged for a way out.

 Could Nimba really be her answer?

 Her hand finally managed to insert the key, and with one swift movement….'KERCHUNK!'

 The lock opened.

 Camille gulped hard as she slowly removed it and opened the door to the cage.

 Her heart was racing a mile a minute as reality began to set in.

 Part of her was screaming to quickly close the cage, but her body was frozen.

 Nimba slowly walked towards the opening, his claws clacking against the cage flooring.

 Camille's trembling increased, making it hard for her to breathe.

 She gasped for hair as she retreated, recognizing now that she'd made a terrible mistake.

 The door to Neil's office was closed, and Nimba now stood between her and the door.

 There was no way of opening it now.

 Even if she could manage to get around Nimba, she couldn't bring herself to do so.

 She was afraid, afraid he'd tackle her while she turned her back to him, afraid he'd hunt her like one of his prey.

 Panic began to take over as she started to regret her decision.

 'I'm not ready to die yet! I have so much to do still! I haven't discovered what I want to do yet! I haven't found my dream!'

 Her heart sank. Was this how all of Neil's trophies felt when he was on his hunting excursions?

 Nimba turned towards her and her body froze as her eyes widened with fear.

 'Please…..do-' Her thoughts were interrupted by her own horrified scream as Nimba roared ferociously and pounced on top of her.

 She fell backwards, feeling his crushing weight on top of her.

 Then, everything went black.

 Camille's eyes slowly fluttered open. All that was in front of her was the ceiling to her bedroom.

 'Was that a dream?'

 Her body was still trembling slightly, and she felt like she weighed like a ton of bricks. It was almost as if gravity was sucking her down towards the earth.

 "You're finally awake."

 It was an unknown male's voice speaking to her softly.

 Camille's eyes shot open, and her senses suddenly rushed back at the speed of light.

 She lurched forward, her head throbbing from the sudden movement.

 Her vision blurred for a moment and she blinked a few times before it cleared up.

 Before her stood a tall blonde with golden eyes and cross earrings dangling from his lobes.

 His chest was muscular and he donned a well-defined six pack. His hip-bone was visible and his-

 "AH!!" Camille screamed, now noticing that the gorgeous hunk in front of her was completely naked.

 She covered her eyes and reached her hand across her bed, searching for a pillow to cover her embarrassed, and now extremely red, face.

 "Who are you and how did you get in my apartment?!"