CHAPTER 6

((slight POV change))

"Hey boss, looks like we caught something!" A man yelled to someone behind him. "Your crazy net trap worked!"

A smug-faced man, wearing a tattered safari hat, dressed in khakis and carrying a large rifle, came up to stand beside the first fellow, looking in the direction of a net hanging several feet off the ground from a tree. Smirking to himself, he saw that they had managed to trap not only one, but two tiger cubs, who were still struggling to free themselves from the trap, their little paws dropping through the holes in the net.

He looked at the first man, smiling. "You didn't think it would work? For shame. I've been doing this for years, and sometimes the simplest things work best. A lot better than those expensive traps you lug around all the time." He looked behind himself at the rest of his team, who were lazily coming through the brush. "Cut them down and cage 'em. Tranq 'em if they struggle. But don't injure them or I will have your head! Someone is paying me a lot of money for live animals!"

The men moved forward, half with long machete's in their hands, the other half with hunting rifles similar to what the leader carried. Two more brought forward two small steel cages, clanking and rattling as they shuffled forward. The tigers caught in the net saw the strange creatures approaching, and began to panic. They let out squeals of alarm and began to struggle more inside the net, but to no avail.

Two of the men moved forward, rifles pointed towards the net, and fired in unison. Steel tipped darts flew through the air, each striking a cub. Within seconds, the pair of tigers stopped struggling and ceased all movement, completely sedated but still awake, their eyes looking through the holes in the net at their captors, helpless to resist. If one looked closely enough, you could see tears start to form as they tried to comprehend something they could not understand.

Another man cut the rope securing the net hanging in the tree, and it dropped unceremoniously to the ground with a loud thump. The men gathered around to move the cubs each into an individual cage, threading long poles through holes in the top for easier transport.

"Okay, get moving back to camp. I want to get these tigers on the boat as soon as possible." The boss-man commanded. He upper lipped was curled in a sneer, anticipating a rather large payday for these two rare specimens, captured with his cunning, his own skill, using the most basic of technology. He turned and followed the column of men heading back to the camp.