Free More Than Friends by Celeste Anwar

moments to prepare for their arrival.
              “John, quick fucking around and get back up that ridge into your position.  Oh shit!  Behind you!”
              He whirled just in time to bring up his gun and take out a small jaguar that had ripped through the underbrush.  The animal’s great body continued its forward momentum, crashing into the tangled grass in an unconscious heap.
              She hadn’t expected to draw this many of the creatures at once, or this fast.  If they had many more to deal with, she wasn’t sure the men could hack it.  Their supplies weren’t limitless, after all.
              A quick glance around confirmed her worst fears and ripped the voice right out of her mouth.  She swallowed, rallying her nerves for battle.  She sucked in a sharp breath, taking aim.  “Hold steady, men,” she whispered, hoping they could hold their shit together and didn’t lose their wits in a panic.
              The foliage parted like a green curtain as the horde pressed through.  Jungle cats of every variety poured into the valley, muscles flexed, ears pinned back, eyes wild but intelligent and scanning for any movement.  A tiger leapt over the disturbed pits, sniffing the area for prey.  Two jaguars followed closely on his heels.  Behind them, more came.
              There were too many of them.  At least a dozen on first count.  They hadn’t set enough cages to handle this many cats at one time.  She only hoped the tightness of their formation meant that more would go into the pits together.
              It was too much to hope for.
              She watched the scene unfold with horrified eyes as one of the team members began shooting at the pack with his SMG until she heard the click of an empty cartridge in the sudden silence.  The absence of any sound scared her more than the sheer size of the pack.
              She knew what was coming, and she wasn´t looking forward to it.  The chain reaction she´d envisaged was worse than she´d first thought.  The great cats spun around to roar and growl angrily at them, sidestepping the traps as though they knew the cages were there all along and had only been waiting for their human trackers to reveal themselves.  The thought was ludicrous until seen in action.
              They pounced at the men approaching, who fired in self-defense.  Bullets ripped through unstoppable feline flesh.  Blood scented the air, making the cats go mad with bloodlust.
              Sickness churned her stomach.  “Stand down.  Tranquilizers only.  We need these cats alive!” she screamed into her comm. unit.  She was under strict instructions not to harm the animals—they had an enormous price tag on their heads.  She had to get them back to the experimental facility they´d been released from or all their efforts would be in vain.
              The men ignored her, panic setting in when John’s luck finally ran out as a tiger took him down.  His screams echoed around them, curdling her blood in horror.  The five hundred pound beast covered his body and locked onto his throat, cutting off his cries and ripping out his throat before anyone could react.
              Mind-numbing terror washed over her.  A split second felt like an eternity as her adrenaline fused brain tried to cope with the scene unfolding before her.  Her ears rang and her eyes dimmed, making her mind feel that wobbling sound that meant she could easily black out if she’d just let herself go.
              And then probably be eaten alive with the rest of the men.
              Yvonne shook her head, aiming her gun.  She’d never get the men under control if they all went into a panic.  She didn’t want to die any more than they did.  A scream lodged in her throat, refusing to come out.  She fired at the man-eater, taking it down.  It fell on the fallen man,