Hi everyone. I cannot apologize enough for having not updated or submitted any new stories for so long. I have been so busy, but that is no excuse to leave you all starving for some entertaining literature. Anyway, here's my newest story in ages. Ever since I decided to watch The Lion King after several yeas, I officially labeled it as my one favorite classic Disney movie, and after reading several stories of it on , I knew I just had to make one. So here it is. I will try to progress this story, as well as a few of my others over the next weeks to come. I'm back, and this time I'm here to stay.
P.S. the human characters in this story are based on me and my music and musician friends. James is actually something of a nickname my friends use for me, so I decided to use it. THIS aspect of the story was inspired by my owning of METALLICA S&M. Don't ask me why, it's just the way it happened. Anyway, here it is, the beginning of my new story, THE CIRCLE OF LIFE. Read and review, as always.
'…hey…hey, James? …hey, James, wake up! James? JAMES!!"
James instantly shot upright in his chair in a shock, looking around at his surroundings. "What? What is it!?" he asked in between breaths. If there was anything he absolutely hated, it was when people had to shake him, and therefore stir him from his sleep. When he looked around, he wasn't able to see anything that would be called an emergency. Impatiently, he crossed his arms and fixed his gaze on the 18-year-old boy sitting right across from him.
David, an Italian boy with short but straight black hair, with a grin adorned with braces, and blue eyes hidden behind a small pair of glasses, simply chuckled, leaning back into his seat. "Nothing. You were just sleeping again, and we all know how boring it is when you sleep, seeing as you're the only person I can even talk to." He said while folding his arms back behind his head and resting his head on them, looking out the window.
James groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger so as to shake the drowsiness from his eyes as he too looked out the window. All that could be seen was an ocean of white. Seeing as they were currently in their own private jet, they were allowed to do this. James was a 17-year-old German boy with a short top head of thick dark brown hair, which smoothly turned into a mullet in the back, albeit a very curly one, which stunted the length factor. He had a very slowly growing, and very thin mustache in the works of growing, and very dark green eyes. When he was finally fully awake, he turned his attention back to David. "Hey, any idea where we are? We've been flying for 18 full hours, and even I know that that is too long a flight from Berlin to Japan. So any idea where we are?" he asked in what was more of a groan as he leaned back into his seat.
David simply sighed as he patted his palms against the arms of his seat in a bored manner. "Eh. The pilot said there was some really intense cloud coverage and a massive rainstorm all over Russia, so we're taking a bit of a detour over Africa. Pilot said we should be in Tokyo in the next ten hours." James simply groaned as he undid his seatbelt and stood himself up. "Where're Michael and Mason?" he asked crankily as he looked up and down the rows.
"Oh, they're behind the curtain in the rear compartment. They said they were getting bored, so they decided to practice a little bit before turning in for the night." David responded with a yawn as he looked out the window just in time to see the last rays of the setting sun disappear behind a sea of clouds. James tiredly shook his head as he pushed the curtains back to find the aforementioned Michael and Mason sitting at the end of the cabin surrounded by an assortment of electrical musical instruments.
These four boys were in fact, expert musicians from all over Europe. The name of their band, they simply called 'Unknown', so as to leave it to the fans imagination. James was from Berlin, Germany, and played their bass guitars. He considered it a fun hobby, getting to make music just by plucking with your own fingers. David was from the heart of Rome, Italy, and supplied their vocals. He had a habit of swapping his vocals from powerful and melodic, to strong and rough. He had his own form of eccentric behavior, but the others still got along with him great. He was definitely good at giving people something to laugh at when they were down. Michael was from Oslo, Norway, and provided the guitar playing. He had a habit of being short, straight and to the point, but that didn't mean he wasn't willing to be entertaining to others. He and James were originally going to be in opposite band positions, but they found each others instruments too difficult. Last but not least, was Mason, from St. Mere Eglise, France. He was none other than their drummer. He was by far the easiest guy in the world to get along with. Cool, easygoing, and incredibly friendly, and always willing to listen, was the one way to describe him.
Michael always had his light brown hair done in a straight clean Beatle-style bowl cut, and had the small golden brown goatee growing from his chin untouched, in the hopes of gaining a beard that James Hetfield, his lifelong idol, would commend upon. His eyes were a clear blue, but you wouldn't know it from a first glance. Mason always preferred to have his golden blonde hair either done in a ponytail, or to have the sides shortened, so as to give a more unique appearance to his person. His eyes were also a shimmering blue, which really would go well with the smile that was always on his face, no matter what went on around him. Unbeknownst to him, all the others always wanted to know how he was able to constantly stay positive at all times. You could say they almost admired him for it.
"Oh, hey James. What's up?" Mason asked when he noticed their bassist standing in the curtain doorway, looking at them tiredly. "You guys DO know that we're taking a ten hour detour, right?" he asked tiredly, trying to spread the news in case they hadn't heard.
"Yeah, we know. That's why we're in here practicing. Otherwise we'd be sleeping, seeing as that's all there is to do in here?" Michael responded, clearly bored beyond belief. Mason, however, didn't look bored at all. He loved to play the drums. Claimed it helped clear his mind, or get his mind off of boredom.
James smoothed his hair back with his fingers as he turned to the doorway on his left. "Don't wear yourselves out too much, guys. Catch some shut eye, cause it's…" he mumbled as he looked a the clock on the wall above the door. "…almost 10. And we're gonna need all the energy we can once we're there." He finished as he turned the handle to the door. Michael and Mason simply shrugged their shoulders as Michael placed his guitar back in its stand and Mason placed his sticks on his kit carefully as they began to head out the door again.
Quickly turning on his heels, Mason turned back to his tired friend. "What're YOU doing, then?" he asked. James slowly turned his head towards the drummer and yawned once more. "Face fur keeps tickling my nose. I'm just going to get rid of it, and then I'm kicking back. It's our first time in Japan, and I won't how myself for the first time their, with a lousy mustache." He said impatiently as he quickly shut the door, leaving Mason to shrug his shoulders and get back in a seat of his own, leaning it back and slowly slipping into sleep.
James was carefully sliding the blade across his lip, watching his facial hair smoothly fall into the sink. He was all too eager for facial hair in order to improve his overall image, but he didn't want it to look messy and patchy at the same time either. Once he finally got the blade across his lip, he looked loosely, only to find a few obnoxious hair still sticking out right beneath his nose. His calm demeanor turning into a sneer, he started to set the blade to move once more.
However, just as soon as he had started to move it across again, his arm had taken that moment to twitch ever slightly, and cause James to suddenly nick the blade against his lip. The sharp stinging sensation went flying through his whole body. The pain caused him to slap his palm to his lip, squeezing his eyes tight. After only a few seconds, he looked at his palm to see a small smear of blood against his palm. It may have been small, but the fact remained that it was still there. Groaning angrily to himself he grabbed a small tissue nearby, starting to dab at the cut on his lip. However, that was until, the whole plane a sharp lurch downwards, sending James flying off his feet, slamming his skull against the steel ceiling.
All too soon, the silence in the air was replaced with a ringing whirring and whistling sound, filling the entire interior of the plane. James slowly struggled to his feet, his whole skull ringing like mad from the impact to the ceiling. He quickly grabbed the handle for the bathroom door and opened it, only to be blown back by the strongest blast of wind he had ever known. He slowly struggled to open his eyes, due to the constant barrage of wind and struggled even more just to see where he was going. He could definitely feel the plane was going in a downward tilt, due to the changing momentum he was feeling.
Firmly planting his bare feet to the steel wall, he quickly launched himself forward, grabbing firmly onto the edge of the doorway, and trying as hard as possible to pull himself over. He looked everywhere around him, just to see all objects that were not bolted down were either sliding or plummeting down the aisle, and through the curtain doorway. The plane was taking a complete nosedive.
He pulled himself onto the wall, which had now become the floor and looked downward through the curtain to see all loose objects piled down on the wall to the pilots quarters, and worst of all, David, Michael and Mason clinging onto their seats for dear life, with their feet pointing straight behind them, showing they would be blown away lest they either lose their grip, or decide to let go.
James had to know what was going on, and now, lest they all get killed. He firmly pressed his torso to the wall, and reached around the doorway to grab the opposite edge. With as much momentum as possible, he flung himself around, to have his back kiss the wall on the other side. The whining of the engine, and the creaking of solid steel was almost drowning out the screams escaping from David, Michael and Mason. He may not have known much about airplane situations, but what James DID know, was that when the whining wind gets higher pitched, you're definitely getting closer to the surface. That meant he had to act fast, and by fast, that meant NOW!
Pressing the soles of his feet against the wall/ceiling, James launched himself forward, against the current of forced wind, wrapping his arms around the head of the nearest chair he could reach. He knew that if he followed this technique, he just might be able to get to the cockpit in time.
Pulling himself over the chair, and lurching himself down to the next chair, James knew this was the best plan of action. Once he got himself into the next row, he took a second to look out the window, and what he saw explained everything. The right wing was engulfed in an inferno the likes of which he had never seen in any film or documentary. They were just lucky that the plane wasn't cartwheeling; otherwise they'd have already died.
Launching himself to the next row of seats, just behind David, James decided he needed to get his friends somewhere safe for what was to come. Pulling himself over the next row, James grabbed a hold of David's feet, pulling him down to the seat next to him. In the glow of the wings flames, James could see that David was pale with terror.
James quickly took the opportunity to fasten the belt around David's waist. "Grab tight onto the seat, and stay here! I'm gonna try and pull the plane back!" James yelled over the noise, but was surprised with David's pointing finger rising in front of his face. "Too late! Michael!" David responded. James turned to the direction his friend was pointing and was surprised to see Michael pulling himself through the doorway to the cockpit.
'Well, Michael definitely knows what he's doing. I just have to get Mason somewhere safe.' James quickly thought to himself as he noticed Mason still clinging onto the seats. Deciding to act fast, he pressed himself to the back of the seats, and launched himself into the opposite row, luckily just behind the panicked drummer.
Hastily grabbing onto Mason's feet, James pulled his blonde friend down into a sitting position against the seat behind him, much like he did with David. "Hang on tight! I need to get to Michael!" he yelled as he turned himself around to the edge of the seats, facing the open doorway to the cockpit. Stretching his arm to grab the edge of the seat in front of him, James proceeded to climb this makeshift ladder down to the cockpit door. Almost as soon as he grabbed the doorframe, James could feel the momentum of the plane begin to pull back, from a straight drop, to a major slant, and then to a basic bend, but still dangerous.
James pulled himself around the doorway to find Michael sitting at the pilot seat, pulling back the steering wheel as hard as he possibly could.
The veins were busting out on Michael's forehead and his hands as he continued to grit his teeth, pulling the wheel back, and pressing his foot to the pedal for the flaps on the wings. James pulled himself over the edge of the co-pilot chair to see the nose of the plane exit from the curtain of clouds, facing a sea of black. "PULL BACK, MICHAEL!" he screamed in a panic.
"HANG ON!!" Michael screamed as he finally slammed his foot to the pedal and almost pulled the steering wheel out of its' socket. With a deafening sound of engine struggle, the plane finally pulled itself back into its' original horizontal state, but a moment too late. Within a heartbeat, the bottom of the plane slammed into the ground with enough force to send the four boys off their feet, flying back and rolling down the aisle. The meshing sounds of scraping and grinding was met with a deafening crunching sound as the wings broke away from the plane, soon followed by the tail fin. The plane began to tilt to its' side while skidding across the ground, and very soon afterwards, the left wall of the plane was torn away, several chairs becoming uprooted from their bolted spots, and flying out of the plane to the ground below. James was still rolling uncontrollably down the aisle until his head crashed against the back wall, knocking his lights out almost instantly. Only a few seconds later did the plane finally come to a stop.
The chaos of this sudden course of events was too much for anyone to handle. Michael had lost consciousness, having blacked out when they hit the ground, David having lost consciousness from a blow to the head by the chair in front of him when he was lurched forward from the impact to the ground. Mason, however, had blacked out when his chair had gotten uprooted from its spot, and he had been cartwheeling across the dirt ground still strapped to his seat. What had once been an empty night sky filled with whines and screams of machines, was now a typical night met with nothing but silence.
7 Hours Later'…hey, James! James, wake up! James? Hey, James! JAMES!!"
James instantly shot up to find a panic stricken David looking right back at him, looking all around him, like a frightened animal. "What?" James spoke up, only to be met with a surging pain in his skull. Clutching his head in his hands, he let out a painful moan as he tried to take in his surroundings. The plane they had been flying in was in absolute shambles. The entire left wall was gone, and so were almost all the left seats, absolutely all of their belongings were either on the floor, or burning. "Oh, David…what happened?" he muttered pathetically as he tried to stand on his legs, which were almost ready to buckle under his weight.
David slapped his palms to his sides in anxiety as he began to walk down the aisle and motioning to all the destruction with his outstretched hands. "Well, hey man, let me think of where to start. Well, first of all, one of our engines caught on fire, we did a nosedive, you got me and Mason into a secured seat while Michael tried to pull the plane back up, since the pilot was dead because of some broken glass injuries from the shattered windshield. After that, we crashed and did a drag landing for what could be several miles, the wings got disconnected, the wall broke away, Mason fell from the plane, I got hit by the chair in front of me, Michael was unconscious in the middle of the aisle, and I just found you unconscious in the back." He finally finished, collapsing to his knees, completely out of breath.
Needless to say, it took James a few minutes to really process all the vocalist had just told him. When it finally hit a switch inside his head, he realized the seriousness of the situation. For all it was worth, they were completely stranded. "Hey, speaking of which, where ARE Michael and Mason?" he asked, suddenly realizing the guitarist and drummer were nowhere to be found.
"Oh, Michael found Mason trapped inside his seat, stuck inside a small marsh a couple yards from here. As unbelievable as it sounds, Mason isn't hurt all that bad. Just a few cuts. A few bruises as well. Same goes for me and Michael, and apparently, you as well." David spoke up, suddenly calmed down.
James decided to check this out for himself. Luckily, the plane was at enough of a tilt so that he could just walk down the slanted floor and safely meet the ground. Once he was finally back on solid earth again, he took a good look at their surroundings. The sky was bright, so too was the sun. In fact, it was almost blinding. The surrounding area was nothing but flat-rolling grasslands filled with tall grass. When he got a good look at the distance, in a few widely separated spots, he could see some acacia trees as well. "Well, we're definitely in Africa. Acacias don't grow anywhere else." He spoke up to whoever was listening as he continued to scout out the area, his fingers flat over his brow, serving as a protective visor from the sun. When he tried to focus in on the distance, he could just barely make out what looked like a large rock formation that sort of resembled an 'L'.
When he had finally seen enough, James decided to go back to see if he could find Michael and Mason. No problem. Michael was up to his knees in a thick mud trying to unbuckle Mason's seatbelt, since it was apparently jammed from the muck. "Well, just be grateful this isn't quicksand, otherwise I think you'd have to give it up." Michael spoke with a struggling grunt as he once again lost his grip on the belt, and knocked himself flat on his back into the mud. Soon, David began to approach the duo as he reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a switchblade. With movements like a snake, he quickly sliced through the bonds of the belt, allowing Mason to lift himself out of the mud, dragging Michael alongside him, finally collapsing on his knees.
"Well, now that we finally got that done, there's only one thing left to take care of." David spoke up as he tucked his knife back into his pocket. He definitely knew how to take control of a situation. That was one of the reasons he became the front man. The three boys all turned their gazes to their bassist, as he began to pace in a circle, clearly thinking of something. "James, you have any clue whatsoever where we are?" Michael spoke up, finally getting himself back onto his feet, then grimacing from the caked on muck all over his legs.
James soon came to a stop and turned to face his friends. "Well, judging from the local plant life, I would make a safe bet that we are somewhere in Africa, or more specifically, the Savannah." He spoke up, motioning to the ocean of grass and the occasional acacia tree patches. Needless to say, this didn't brighten up anyone's mood. "So basically, what you're saying is, we're stranded here, without food or water, without a compass, and that we're in a place, where there are in fact, large predators that could very easily eat us, is that it?" David asked, clearly beginning to lose his temper.
Mason was the first to interject between the two. "No. Listen you guys, first of all, there IS available water, if you look over there." He said, pointing to the distance. The others followed his finger, and of course, there was what looked like a large water hole far off in the distance, not too far from the large 'L' rock. "Second of all, I always have my spare compass in my pocket. I looked at it a few minutes ago. It says that the direction of that huge rock over there, just up ahead, is north." He spoke once more, pulling out said compass for all to see.
However, when the others looked, despair only came down harder. Mason's head must have still been spinning, because the compass was cracked AND bent, and the needle was limp. It wasn't until Michael simply pressed his palm to his forehead in anxiety that Mason noticed this as well. "Well, so much for that plan." Michael muttered as he tried to straighten himself out, trying not to look like he was despairing right now.
Suddenly, James came back into the discussion with what looked like an idea. "Listen you guys, we may not know exactly where we are, and we may not have a working compass, but I have a strategy. If that large rock over there is that big from the distance, then it's got to be gigantic up close. I'll bet, if we went to that rock, we could be able to climb to the top over there. Who knows how far we could be able to see. We might even be able to find a town we could go to." He said, motioning his hands in a way to show that there was no easier way of explaining the plan.
Luckily, the others all got the message. "Ok. I'll buy that. However, what do we do if we run into any carnivores, or spooked wild animals on the way, hmm?" Michael asked, raising one eyebrow, as if he was testing James. The dark haired boy had no time for questions so he pulled out a switchblade of his own from his pocket. "Then we defend ourselves, plain and simple. However, we need to try and avoid a conflict, so we can keep our strength up, alright?" he asked, addressing the whole lot of them. Thankfully, everyone was in an understanding now. "Alright then. Let's move." He spoke up, officially taking the lead.
The sun was beating down upon the four weary travelers mercilessly as they continued to trek through the vast grasslands, ever so slowly getting closer to the giant rock. The heat waves from the ground were probably beginning to play tricks on the dehydrated eyes of the four boys. They could've sworn on several occasions they saw something moving from the grass near them, only to find nothing but ants, grass, and dirt.
Finally, after nearly three hours of nonstop backpacking through the Savannah, Michael finally collapsed, lagging behind the rest of them. "Come on, Michael. Get up. We have to keep moving." Mason spoke in a dried hoarse whisper to their friend. "Guys, we have been trekking for three whole hours, and that stupid mountain doesn't look any closer than it did back at the crash site. It's a mirage. Can't we just, forget it, and just accept the fact that we're gonna die out here?" Michael spoke despairingly, rolling onto his back to face the blinding sun.
Unfortunately, the others were beginning to share his sentiments. James knew the mountain was closer, but what he did not know, was how much longer they could keep going without any water. They all knew that the human body can go no more than 72 hours without water, but this heat must have definitely cut that time in half.
"Come on Michael, don't you quit on us just yet." David moaned as he grabbed Michael's left arm and slung it over his shoulder, carrying the brown haired guitarist. "We're almost there. I can feel it." He said, suddenly trying, yet failing, to pull his friend alongside him.
Mason and James basically knew this was probably a good time to sit down and think things through. "It's over. That's it. Game over, man. Game over. You guys insist on continuing on this ridiculous little hike, and we're gonna die out here if we don't, by some God given miracle, get rescued soon. However, you guys, aren't willing to accept that. Take a look at our situation. Let me go over it for you all." Michael suddenly exploded in a hysterical fit, counting off his fingers.
"One, we have no food. Two, we have no working compass, or device by which we can call for help. Three, we have no water, and besides, that waterhole water is probably another mirage. Four, we're gonna die of heat stroke if we don't find some shade, and I do NOT see any trees nearby. Five, it's only a matter of time until we get found by some hungry carnivore, or angry animal, which will probably kill us. Six, these accursed tsetse flies are driving me crazy, as I'm sure they are all of you, and last but not least, Seven, there's a pair of eyes watching us through the bushes, and it is personally creeping me out!"
David, James and Mason suddenly snapped to attention. "What was that last part you just said, Michael?" Mason asked nervously. "I said, there's a pair of eyes watching…us…through the bushes." Michael slowly spoke, suddenly dawning on what he just said. All four of them slowly turned their heads to where Michael was gazing, and they all paled in fear at a pair of golden eyes staring at the four of them through the reeds.
With the accompanying sound of a twig snapping, signifying that whatever creature those eyes belonged to, was coming closer to them, the four of them instantly leapt to their feet, slowly backing away, while not averting their gaze, so as not to alert the creature. "Wait, guys, hang on. Stop. Don't move. Don't you know, they can't see you if you don't move?" David harshly whispered, looking to his three companions for support.
"David, that was Jurassic Park. This is real life, and second of all, that theory's been discredited for any carnivorous creature." James spoke harshly. It took a few moments for the info to sink in before David simply stated. "Well then, shall we, run for our lives?" he asked in a jokingly polite manner. "Oh yes, let's." Mason responded, before they all instantly jumped on their heels and started to burn rubber.
If only it wasn't for the hollow ground beneath their feet.
Pretty much the instant they started to run, the ground caved in beneath their feet, not only unearthing an underground log of paralyzed wood, but also providing something for the four boys heads to roughly hit, and therefore, knock themselves unconscious. They all collapsed in a pile in the small hole in the ground. However, before slipping completely out of consciousness, James could've sworn he heard a voice speaking from above them. It was a smooth relaxing female voice. He couldn't make out what the voice said, for his hearing had escaped him, as well as all the others.
Well, there you go. Chapter 1. The story will really kick off by Chapter 2 or 3. Have to find some time to bring a whole introduction to this world, and then the story officially begins. It feels to make something new, and I hope you all will enjoy reading it as much as I have had writing it. Read and review, of course.