“Someone help me please!”  The cry for help echoed throughout the hotel.  Ben immediately jumped up out of the chair he was previously reading in.  Ben’s hand immediately went to his side and grasped his concealed Colt 9-11.  He cautiously tiptoed out of the door, then he heard the scream again, but this time it was higher pitched.  People were lying in the hallway with their hand over their heads.  Ben immediately went into search and rescue mode.  He began to race down the hall when something caught his eyes.  It was a red high heeled shoe, he examined it and further noted that there was a trail of the woman’s things.  He began to follow it.  As he rounded the corner, he caught a glimpse of her as a tall man in a black trench coat and a ten gallon hat was forcefully dragging her into a room.

(Wham!) Ben quietly tiptoed to the door as it loudly slammed shut.  With adrenaline running high waited for close to a minute. Then when the time felt right, he put a bullet through the card slot in the door.  He rushed into a dark room, the only light on was the lamp next to the bed.  As he was scanning the room he spotted the woman lying unconscious in a corner behind a desk.  “Drop your weapon, and turn around slowly!”  A voice said roughly behind him.  Ben proceeded to do what the man asked.  But as he faced the tall man, the man suddenly dropped his gun. For he saw the scar across Ben’s face.  “Them claw marks are dandy looking ain’t they?”  The tall man said in now a shaky voice.  “Where did you manage to pick those up at?”  He said again quickly.  “A man eating bear in Alaska.”  Ben said proudly.  The tall man timidly lunged for his gun, but got a mouthful of Ben’s leather boots instead.  Ben the squatted down and picked up his Colt and the man's Glock.  “Get up slowly and sit in that chair!”  Ben shouted.  The man did what he was told to do.  Ben immediately tied the man to the chair and tapped his mouth shut.  Ben then called the police, when they arrived Ben explained what happened and witnesses backed up Ben’s story.

A day later he was sitting in a hospital at the bedside of the woman he had saved.  When she awoke, she was startled by Ben’s scars that ran across his cheek. “Who are you?” She asked, still a little startled. Ben introduced himself and told her the story of what happened to her and how he had overtaken the man to rescue her. “Hold on…” she said as she examined his face closer. “Did you say that your Ben Hunter?”  She said with a sound of excitement in her voice.  “Yes ma'am.”  Ben said very confused on how she knew him.  “I’m Marissa Reid, and I have been searching for you the last few days.  Infact I was on my way to your hotel room when I was abducted.”  She said smoothly.  “Why have you been looking for me?”  Ben asked, still confused and taken by Marissa’s beauty.  “I work for an African hunting and resort company, but I’m stationed here in the States.  Anyway we recently have recently been trying to take out a man eating lion that has been devouring the children of a village next to one of our resorts.  We wanted you to come to Africa and neutralise the lion before it's too late.  In the last week 20 kids have been killed by the lion and only five of their bodies were found and bits and pieces of the other fifteen led to a Lion's den.”  She suddenly began to cry.  “I will do what I can, it will be very difficult to eliminate the threat.”  Ben solemnly said. For he had never dealt with dangerous cats, let alone the fierce lions of the African plains.

A week later he stood at the foot of the village.  His rifle was slung over his shoulder and a machete on his hip. As he entered the village a short and muscular man approached him.  “Welcome Mr.Hunter, I am Mason and I sincerely thank you for coming.  How was your flight?”  “It was fine, thank you.” Ben said kindly.  He suddenly felt uneasy, like something wasn’t right.  “Lion!!!” Screams suddenly scattered across the village.  Suddenly a roar echoed throughout the village.  Ben ran toward the ruckus.  As he rounded a corner he stepped in a pool of blood.  “Ben duck!” Mason suddenly shouted.  Ben jumped backwards and hit the ground just in the nick of time too.  For the lion had climbed into a tree and was waiting for another victim.  As Ben got up to shoot the lion as it was running away something landed on top of him.  As he pushed it off of him, and he was getting up, he realised what it was and jumped back.  The body of a boy that looked to be about 12 years of age at the most now lay dead at Ben’s feet.  Blood still gushed from the dead boy’s throat.

Ben began to run after the lion trying to follow it by its bloody tracks.  As he was running he noticed a huge pile of rocks ahead of him.  As he was approaching the rocks he fell into a hole.  “Where am I?” Ben thought to himself. Suddenly a roar echoed throughout the den he now lay in.  As Ben slowly got, up he began looking for his rifle.  The pungent smell of the den made Ben vomit.  He grabbed his machete off his hip and began to stumble through the dark towards an opening in the den about seventy yards away.  But something caught his attention.  Not only did bones and half eaten corpses lay in a pile, but on top of the big pile sat soul piercing yellow eyes staring a hole through Ben’s soul.  They began to move slowly toward him.  Ben’s legs seemed suddenly glued to the ground. Without warning the Lion pounced at Ben, but he ducked just in time as the beast sailed over his head.  Ben turned around and felt a deep rising courage racing through his veins.  The lion whipped around and charged at Ben again.  Patiently Ben waited for the lion to pounce again.  As the lion glided through the air Ben ducked and sent the blade of the machete through the throat of the beast.  The man eater began coughing up blood immediately.  Ben then brought his machete down on the neck of the beast decapitating it.   

Two weeks later, Ben is back at his house in the States.  Ben was getting ready to sit down to read his Bible when he heard a knock on the door.  When he opened the door, Marissa was standing there with a big warm smile on her face. Ben smiled back; “Hello he said warmly, please come in.”  He said.  “Thank you very kindly,”  She said.  “But I just wanted to stop in and give you this check.  We really appreciate what you did and the village is once again safe because of you Ben.”  She said happily. He saw that the check withheld $5,000 dollars.  “No problem Marissa, I may have gotten myself into another pickle, but thanks be to God that I made it out safely.”  Ben suddenly felt nervous.  “I was wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner sometime soon?”  Ben asked nervously.  “I would absolutely love that!”  She exclaimed with joy as she began to blush.  “How about 7:30 Saturday Night here at my place.”  He said cheerfully.  “Done! I’ll see you then.”  She said as she began to walk to her car.