Golden Slumbers

Preface

"Golden Slumbers" has actually been a work in progress for almost 2 years. Every time I got a chapter done, or a verse finished, I looked back over and noted all the details I became dissatisfied with, and revised the entire work. My hope is that by submitting my work here, I will be less inclined to give into those urges to rewrite from the beginning.

That is not to say I will not revise or rethink the basic script. "Golden Slumbers" has been, and still is, a work in progress - a constantly evolving story as more ideas come to me. I am against wild revisions of my existing story, not revisions for future chapters or verses.

As you might expect, "Golden Slumbers" is named after a song. Not the song by the Beatles - the lullaby-poem by writer Thomas Dekker. Other than the benefit that now Dekker's poem is public domain, I feel that the classic lullaby better captures the mood behind my work than the admittedly legendary rock ballad - although you may find some Beatles-esque influences that I have subconsciously placed into "Golden Slumbers."

Named as such, my prose will be split into chapters collectively called verses. Many songs, through its verses, tell a story. This story expresses itself through a soothing, yet gloomy lullaby.

The movie The Lion King, the works of Sir Elton John and other musicians, and the efforts of Friedrich Nietzsche and other philosophers for the existentialist theory have all played a large role in my writing this piece. My characters are my own, but these influences will surely show throughout the fiction.

I only ask that if you wish to use my characters to get my permission first. Since, as I have said earlier, this is a work in progress, there are bound to be conflicts if anyone wrote their own story involving my characters without my knowledge or permission. Having said that, questions, comments, and (constructive) criticisms are always welcome.

Now then, let us lose ourselves in the melody.

Prologue

Bahati laid on her back, napping lazily in the late afternoon sun. Her rest didn't last long, however. She felt a weight press down on her belly, startling her awake. She opened her eyes to find a small, white lion cub on her stomach. "Kofi!"

The cub batted his tail about impatiently. "Come on, Mom! Let's get going already!"

"That wasn't very nice, dear, disturbing your mother's sleep like that."

"But Mom, we're so close! I can see it from here!" Turning her head, Bahati looked into the distance and saw the cause of her son's excitement. Just at the opposite side of a valley was their destination, a peculiar and gigantic tree that jutted from the ground. It was there that they hoped to find respite. It was just barely visible on the horizon, but it was enough to make Kofi terribly anxious to start moving again.

"All right, all right," she said in resignation.

"Yeah!" Kofi leapt off his mother's belly and didn't even wait for her to get up before running ahead.

"You don't have to be in such a hurry, Kofi. It'll still be there tomorrow," Bahati said. Kofi turned to look back at his mother, then ran back and leapt onto her back and plopped down on top of her head. "Hey! Don't you think you're a bit too old for rides?"

"I just wanna see what it looks like from up here!" Bahati chuckled. Kofi peered into the valley, and then into the center: an enormous, majestic white baobab, with a bridge of branches extending off one side, eventually embedding itself in the top of an adjacent plateau. He didn't get a much better view, of course, but still it excited him. "You know what I'm going to do first when we get there?"

"What?" Bahati asked.

"I'm gonna climb up to the top. I bet you could almost see the whole world from up there!" Bahati chuckled again. "What are you gonna do?" Kofi asked.

"I'm going to take a nap."

A chilling wind blew over the savannah, wrapping around Bahati and her cub in a freezing embrace. Bahati noticed Kofi beginning to shiver in the cold night air. She finally suggested stopping for the night. Kofi couldn't disagree.

The valley was getting ever closer. It was, at most, a few hours away. However, being a rogue, Bahati was nervous. Would she and her cub be accepted into the pride? Perhaps they would be chased away instead, like so many prides have before, or, even worse, be attacked. With this in mind, she was in no hurry to show herself to pride just yet.

Kofi slipped into sleep while Bahati kept vigil. Nights like this weren't uncommon; a lone lioness and her cub are vulnerable by themselves when predators come looking for potential prey, and as a result of these nights, exhaustion was nearly a constant ailment. Only by some miracle did they survive on their own for so long, Bahati knew, and silently she prayed for another as her fatigue began to overtake her, and drowsily drifted into slumber.

A nudge startled the sleeping cub awake. Wearily he opened his eyes, looking for the source of his disturbance.

"Huh?" he said drowsily. Looking up, he noticed Bahati standing above him.

Quietly she whispered, "Be silent. Don't panic, just follow me, and try to stay hidden." She glanced around her into tall grasses, and then started to move swiftly but with prudence. Kofi only had a faint idea of what was going on - his mother's shortness and serious expression was enough to tell him not to take the situation lightly, however. He moved quickly to follow, walking closely behind her leg, but stole a few glances into his surroundings, hoping to catch a glimpse of what had roused his mother.

They walked tensely in complete tranquility. Bahati still looked cautiously around, and though Kofi tried to do the same, he saw nothing. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks, and stopped Kofi with a paw. Leaning down ever so slightly, she whispered almost inaudibly, "Run for the valley when I give the signal." Kofi was clueless as to what she meant by "the signal," but only nodded and hoped it would be obvious enough for him to catch. Everything stood still for a moment. Then, Bahati lunged forward, shouting, "Now!"

Kofi bolted forward, not doubting his mother's instructions in the least. Bahati landed in the grass with a roar; a large yelping noise followed almost instantly after. Kofi looked over his shoulder just in time to see a large spray of blood fly from the grass; he desperately hoped that it was not his mother's. For a moment he heard the sounds of roars and growls, but could not see what had happened. He thought about turning back, but soon after, Bahati leapt from the brush and made a mad dash toward him. She picked him up by the scruff of the neck with her teeth, and then continued in her sprint toward the valley. Finally, hanging from his mother's jaw, he saw the cause of the uproar. Three hyenas made quick pursuit after them.

Looking down, he noticed a streak of red trailing behind them. "Mom, your leg!" She grunted with every step but did not falter.

Bahati endured the pain - after all, much was at stake - but the chase ended abruptly when her leg finally gave out. She crashed gracelessly into the ground, losing Kofi and flinging him into nearby brush. Kofi lied close to the ground and peered through the grass to see the hyenas circling the injured lioness. Quietly, through her panting, she mouthed for Kofi to stay as silent as possible.

"Well, gotta hand it to ya Miss - you are a tough one. Making it so far with your leg all banged up like that - really, it's admirable!" said the largest of the three.

"Why are we wasting time talking to her, Balozi? Let me rip her throat out already - the bitch killed Babechi!" said the second.

"Now, now, Ghalyela, we don't need to rush things. After all, do you honestly think she can escape on that leg?"

"But why not kill her now? She deserves nothing better," said the third.

"Because, Safi," said Balozi, turning to look Bahati directly in the eyes, "Though it may not mean anything to you, we care about our comrades. For Babechi, we will kill you, but slowly, and painfully."

"Then let me get started." Ghalyela leapt on Bahati's other hind leg, and joyfully tore away the flesh with her jaw. Bahati roared. Kofi watched, frozen in terror.

"You think you're in pain now, but my friend here – she's going to pull out all the stops, just for you." Bahati spit in defiance, catching Balozi straight in the face. "Wonderful. Again, Ghalyela." She happily obliged; another roar erupted from the lioness. Kofi let out a cry, and instantly wished he hadn't.

"Run!" yelled Bahati - but it was too late. Safi leapt into the brush and quickly pinned the cub under his paw. He only glanced down at what he had caught, then looked back up at Balozi..

"Got 'im, Balozi. It's just a cub."

"You have a son, do you? That's funny, because Babechi has a pup, too. A daughter. But she's not going to be able to see her father again." Balozi scowled at the lioness. "You don't need to worry, though. Your kid's not going to suffer like she is. We're going to kill him soon. But you're first on our list, lady." Balozi leaned down to whisper in the lioness's ear. "I just want you to be thinking about your son when we tear his flesh off his bo-" Bahati interrupted with a powerful lunge, knocking Ghalyela off, and swiping her claws across the left side of Balozi's face. "Gyaahh!" Bahati quickly pinned him. Safi moved off Kofi and out of the brush and tackled Bahati back to the ground.

"Run!" she implored her son. Kofi began to back away, but slowly - torn between fear for his mother's life and his.

"That bitch," snarled Balozi. He painfully tried to open his injured eye. "Gyah! Can't goddamn see..." He winced. "That's it; I've had enough of this. Kill her, kill her! Rip her fuckin' throat out!"

Safi bit deeply into her sides. Bahati let out another defiant roar, but was suddenly silenced with Ghalyela's jaws tearing into her windpipe. She desperately tried to gasp for breath. Whatever little strength she had left had completely drained; her vision began to dim around the edges, until finally, the last thing she saw was the one-eyed hyena closing in on Kofi.