Trial by Fire
By Tiger

                       I


Tiger was minding her own business when she came upon 
a fight, a bad one. Three guys were ganging up on one. 
When she saw the knife, she reacted instead of 
thinking about what she was doing. Her instincts 
kicked in and she got right in the middle of it. One 
guy went flying against the wall. She felt the sting 
of something across her ribs, but was in too high a 
battle mode to notice. Finally the one that was ganged 
upon knocked the other two for a loop. Tiger ran... 
She heard a male voice shout and she put some speed 
on... Amy chewed her out but good for jumping into the 
middle of a fight. Tiger hung her head meekly, as Amy 
patched her up... "You were lucky that it was only a 
flesh wound... What in the hell possessed you to jump 
in... That guy could have taken care of himself!!!" "I 
know" Tiger said quietly... "Let's just hope he doesnt 
find out who it is that jumped into it." Her sister 
knew that Tiger didn't usually go jumping into fights 
like that... That just wasn't her sister...There had 
to be a whole lot more than what Tiger was telling... 
 
After pressing charges against the three who jumped 
him... a highly pissed off Eric returned to his hotel 
room. He knew someone else had gotten into that fight. 
Dammit! he could take care of himself! He wasn't a 
baby for God's sake! Paul saw the look on his face and 
Eric told him the bare details about the fight. "Any 
idea who narrowed the odds?" Paul asked... "None" Eric 
said flatly. "whomever it was ran...I couldn't catch  
whoever it was." "I have an idea who, but I'll have to 
talk to Raven, or Shea." Paul stated flatly. 
 
Tiger's phone rang... It was Raven... Amy knew better, 
but she confirmed it. Furious and hurt Tiger 
disappeared into the night. She bunked with her best 
friend Sarah for the night, she was so angry. Sarah 
knew Tiger wouldn't talk to Amy about it again. The 
next morning. Tiger returned home... Amy did 
apologize... Tiger forgave her, but Amy knew her sis 
was still mad as hell about it... "Oh hell!" Tiger 
swore.... The Wilderness thing... Damn damn damn. She 
phoned them back and was relieved that her reservation 
hadnt been cancelled.. She confirmed the reservation 
and started packing. 
 
"I found out who it was.. And you ain't gonna like it 
a bit, Eric. Seems like your whirlwind was a girl. I 
know who and where she is, but she's gone into hiding, 
according to her sister." Paul spoke... Eric groaned. 
 
A girl.... damn

                     II

Tiger woke up with a start as the alarm blared to wake 
her up. Amy helped her sis get to the airport. The 
guys, as well as Raven and Shea, were just a tad bit 
too late. Tiger was on her way to Arizona for three 
weeks. Amy explained as best she could, but knew Tiger 
was gonna be mad again!. 
 
Arizona - The beginning of the Wilderness Trail 
Tiger wiped the sweat from her eyes as she hiked along 
with the rest. There were very few in this group this 
time. This would either break her or make her. One of 
the two. It was agreed upon that Tiger make this trip 
for reasons that Tiger did not discuss with anyone, 
save the leader of the group. That night, she pulled 
enough wood for a fire and carried water until her 
arms hurt. Finally she fell asleep, only to hear an 
ominous rattling from the next tent, and a scream of 
fear. She darted to the other tent... stopping short 
when she saw the rattler, just out of strike range. 
"Don't move or anything" A gunshot filled the tent. 
The dead rattler was carried out by the leader...For 
once Tiger hadn't blundered into a fatal position. 
That should have triggered the PTSD... but it didn't. 
She looked at the leader with surprise. He nodded when 
he saw her reaction. The rest of the week fared the 
same. It was extremely hard work and everything else 
was pushed back. Finally before they reached the plain 
of the canyon, she was allowed to call home. 
 
"Tiger!!!" Amy cheered. That alerted the rest. Amy 
slyly put it on speakerphone. Tiger let her know how 
she was doing, unaware of listeners. When she was told 
about the incident about the snake, Amy looked 
shocked... The PTSD hadn't kicked in! "However, near 
the end of this which will be about two more weeks... 
I will have to face THAT again." Amy froze....."Tiger 
are you sure you can do this?" "Have no choice 
Sis....That was part of the agreement we made... I 
take it that they know by now I am not there?" Amy 
chuckled a little "Yes they do... but don't be 
surprised at anything that happens..." "Dear Heart... 
after this... I wont be..." Tiger's voice sounded 
rough and tired. She hung up. 
 
"Tough girl" was Gene's only comment. ""She knew she 
would have to face her demon on this, or die trying." 
"Why choose something that harsh?" Paul asked, at a 
loss for words... Raven answered him. "Tiger is tough 
on the inside and outside. She has been through hell 
and back, and knows that she has to be certain after 
what happened to her, that she can survive. Trust me 
when I say that she didn't do it for sheer obstinancy. 
She did what she felt she had to do to face the demon 
and win. I know her well enough to know that."  
"Suppose you start at the beginning?" Gene said dryly. 
 

                   III

After a few hours, they had the full picture. Now it 
was understood that Tiger wasn't crazy or had a death 
wish. They started making plans for when Tiger 
returned home. Eric's admiration for her rose quite a 
bit... Bruce was quiet about it.... Tiger continued to 
be on Eric's mind a bit. 
 
Arizona- the canyon  
Rappelling down the side of the cliff from this height 
should have provoked fear in her, but it didnt... She 
was growing stronger and stronger inside and out. 
Finally she re hiked back up the canyon.... It was 
getting close to the time for the incident to occur... 
damn she had to do it or else... no turning back... 
She had thought about Eric and the fight she had 
jumped into.. She realized the reason she jumped in 
was that she was too damned protective, and that it 
could have gotten her killed! She didn't know whether 
to apologize or what.... "When I get home... I'll find 
him and tell him the truth, and pray he doesn't laugh 
at the reason for it, hell if he does, he does!" with 
that she made her way back to the summit. 
 
"Damn Damn damn!" Amy swore after she received the 
phone call. "What is wrong?" Raven asked noting the 
fear on Amy's face... "That was Tiger's group leader. 
He wanted a description of the episode and what her 
attacked looked like and all the detail...." She 
looked at the calendar and gasped.... "He wants 
someone that looks like Mark to try and do the same 
thing to her that caused her to have the PTSD, and I 
can't help her!" The last in a wail.. "Tiger is 
stronger than you think." The phone rang again. After 
a brief discussion a decision was made. Eric Singer 
would be the one to do this and he agreed willingly. 
Eric Carr was worried for Tiger. Eric flew out, as did 
the rest... Tiger would be the last to undergo the 
nightmare by agreement, even though she had 
volunteered to go first. Under cover of darkness they 
arrived at the designated place the day before the 
actual trial. Inside her tent before sunrise the next 
day... Tiger rose and prayed with all her might and 
faith that she be given courage and strength to get 
through this... She prayed not to become a zombie 
again. She began the climb to the natural bridge. God 
help her!


                     IV

Arizona - the second to last day. 
 
Tiger followed the path that was marked. Suddenly 
strong arms and a voice like Mark's held a knife to 
her throat. She froze as fear pounded through her. It 
looked like Mark, sounded like Mark. She broke his 
grasp and ran away but was cornered. Eric Singer 
didn't like doing this one bit. The PTSD was flowing 
and she whimpered with fear as he grabbed her again. 
Suddenly a wild savage cry erupted from her, and she 
attacked "Mark" for all she was worth. Kicking , 
biting punching, pulling.. They rolled around in the 
dust. The leader heard the screams of rage and anger 
and the sounds of beating. The leader finally pulled 
them apart. Gene and Paul had Tiger restrained fully. 
Then the mask was taken off... It was Eric Singer. She 
gave a heartbroken cry and collapsed limp in their 
arms. Eric calmed her down. He knew what he had gotten 
into and he felt like he had been beaten by a berserk 
Tasmanian Devil, but he knew she had won a major 
victory. She took two steps and fainted. She had not 
awoke until the day after she was supposed to leave. 
But the nightmares were gone. The base camp 
psychologist pronounced her cured. She apologized to 
both Erics for what had happened. Both assured her 
that it wasn't necessary. "What happens now?" Tiger 
asked... Raven replied "You are going home and resting 
from this... then we will see what happens." Tiger 
agreed. All left courtesy of a charterd flight back to 
Tigers home. To her surprise... Eric Carr didn't laugh 
at her about the reasons shy she had jumped into that 
fight. He understood, but was upset that she would put 
herself into so much danger. When they got home... The 
psychologist recommended that Tiger go away for a 
while and heal from this. Tiger's only question was 
"Where do I go?" "Leave that to us". Tiger closed her 
eyes and fell asleep. Eric Carr carried her to her 
bedroom as she was fast asleep. 
 
To be continued under a different title