- Chapter 3 by Asante.

The Lion King VI:

Fall of Man

Chapter 3

"And if you look out your left window, you can see a migration of zebras and wildebeests," Charlie announced, gesturing to the left side of the plane.

The passengers looked out the window and spotted three zebra and two wildebeest standing in the middle of an open field. "Do five animals make a migration?" one passenger mumbled.

"Now, interesting thing," Charlie continued, clearing her throat nervously, "there are several reasons why zebras and wildebeests migrate together, creating a sort of symbiotic relationship."

A boy in the back row started kicking the seat ahead of him. The woman sitting in front of him turned around and addressed the boy's mother. "Um, excuse me, could you please tell your kid not to kick my seat?"

"Yeah, sure," the boy's mother said distractedly while texting with her cell phone.

"Can anyone tell me what symbiosis is?" Charlie asked.

"It's when black alien goo turns Spider Man into Black Suit Spider Man," the boy called, continuing to kick the seat in front of him.

Charlie paused. "Um… No, actually, symbiosis is when two organisms form a mutually beneficial relationship. For instance, zebras help wildebeests by sheering away long grass, which is the zebra's preferred meal, and in doing so makes it easier for wildebeests to eat the short grass."

"Okay, seriously!" the woman before snapped, "tell your kid to stop kicking my chair, it's really irritating!"

"Lady, chill out," the mother retorted insolently. "He's not hurting anyone."

"In reciprocation," Charlie continued, rubbing the back of her neck anxiously, "the wildebeests help the zebras find water sources because wildebeests can smell water, which is a useful skill to have during dry seasons."

"Excuse Ma'am," a male tourist in the front row interjected, "but how much longer will the tour be?"

"Yeah," another tourist called, "I was told this would only be an hour, but it's almost been two."

Charlie cleared her throat again. "Why don't I check with the pilot on that?" she suggested, turning and leaning in to speak with Adia and Bahari. "Time to call it in," she whispered.

"We haven't covered enough ground," Adia whispered back.

"Do you want to end up in Guantanamo Bay?" Charlie hissed.

"Are terrorists in Africa sent to Guantanamo Bay?" Bahari asked, sitting in the chair beside Adia.

"Does it matter?" Charlie sighed.

"Fine," Adia snapped. "We're thirty minutes from HQ."

"Thirty minutes?" Charlie moaned. "I have to keep these people entertained for thirty more minutes?"

"Yes," Adia said.

"I hate giving tours," Charlie growled. "I hate dealing with people. It's the reason I became a vet, animals don't talk back." She turned around to address the tourists.

"Would we really get in trouble for doing this?" Bahari asked.

"Yep," Adia grunted, turning the plane around. "We're technically high-jacking these plane tours."

Bahari gulped and leaned back in his seat.

"Hey, as long as the passengers don't catch on, we're good."

"I have to pee!" the boy in the back row shouted.

"Stop kicking my chair!" the woman sitting in front of him shouted back.

Bahari and Adia shared a nervous look. "Yeah, we're not getting any good reviews for this tour," Adia mumbled.

Bahari looked out the side window again, scanning the hills. "I don't know how much more of this I can take. I keep praying to see him walking along those hills, but…"

"They're alive," Adia insisted, resolutely looking forward.

Bahari glanced at Adia curiously. "You care about my son that much?"

"Yes," Adia replied. After a pause, she cleared her throat awkwardly. "I care about both of them, Dan and Bruce."

Bahari nodded. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For not giving up on my boy."

Late that evening, in a small village just outside the boundary of the Simba Game Preserve, a thin middle-aged man adjusted his radio. He could faintly hear the station he wanted through the static and tried tweaking the dial gently. He lost the signal and banged the radio on the table.

"Sefu, you're going to break it," the man's brother complained in Swahili, reclining on his cot.

"Good," Sefu replied. "You wasted our money on this thing, Jengo."

"It works just fine for me," Jengo noted mildly.

"Damn the signal out here. Why'd we bother buying this thing?"

"We got a good deal from that tourist."

"I hate tourists," Sefu grumbled, turning the radio off. He stood and picked up his rifle. "I'm going to take a walk."

Jengo leaned back on his pillow and closed his eyes. "Do whatever you like," he muttered.

Sefu stepped outside and made his way to the edge of the village, continuing to mutter to himself. He wrinkled his nose against the smell of goat manure and the deafening silence of the savannah. "I miss the city," he sighed, coming to stand just outside the village border. "We need to move back. Better yet, we should go to Johannesburg."

As he stared out into the dark fields surrounding the village, he noticed two small lights. Curious, he started to walk towards the lights, thinking they were small flashlights. The lights moved, but not separately. They moved in unison, almost like they were attached to the same object. It dawned on Sefu that the lights might be eyes, reflecting the lanterns from the village.

Sefu paused and swallowed nervously. "Stay calm, Sefu," he told himself. "It's probably just a jackal." As he said this, he readied his gun, holding it against his shoulder and leveling it at the two eyes. "They're harmless without their pack – have to hunt in groups." He raised his voice and called out to the animal, hoping to scare it off. "Isn't that right, you wild dog?"

The lights started to come closer.

Sefu gulped again and took a step back. "Easy there, fella," he called. "Go run along." He waved the barrel of his gun in a shooing motion. "Don't want to hurt you."

As the lights continued to approach, Sefu recognized the creature's outline. His blood ran cold when he saw how large the beast was, standing eye-to-eye with him. Sefu watched in terror as the thing slowly came into view, its mouth opening to reveal a set of razor-sharp fangs.

"Help!" Sefu screamed, turning and bolting for the village. He could hear the creature pursuing him, but didn't dare look back. He made it to the village border and ducked behind a hut. He waited, listening for the creature's footfalls. When he heard none, he peaked around the building. The creature was gone.

With a relieved sigh, Sefu hurried back to his hut. He stepped inside, finding the lights turned off. "Jengo, wake up!" he shouted. "There's a wild animal near the village!"

Jengo didn't respond, lying motionless on his cot.

"Jengo?" Sefu shouted again. He reached up and turned on the overhead light bulb, revealing a ghastly sight.

Jengo lay dead on the cot, his throat clawed open. A pool of blood was forming beneath him, still dripping from his wounds.

Sefu screamed and backed out of the hut. As he did, he heard a low growl behind him and froze. Hands trembling, he readied his gun and turned to face the animal. The creature glared at him from the shadow of another hut. Sefu raised his rifle and fired. The monster dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the shot, and then lunged forward.

Sefu's horrified scream alerted the other villagers, who came running with more weapons. They arrived on the scene too late, discovering the beast as it tore into its latest victim. One villager lifted an oil lamp, trying to discern what sort of beast it was. The creature turned to face the villagers, a murderous look in its teal eyes.

The villagers backed away in fright. They all raised their weapons to shoot, but the creature disappeared into the darkness at lightning speed. Just as quickly as it vanished, it attacked again, instantly killing the one holding the lantern. The lamp crashed against Sefu and Jengo's hut, splashing the shanty with oil. Flames spread along the wooden structure, glowing embers drifting into the air and landing on other huts, setting the thatched roofs alight. The flames cast shadows all around them, and the creature became the shadows, impossible to pinpoint as it stalked its prey. One by one, it picked the villagers off.

Successful in his mission, the creature left the village and its dead inhabitants to be consumed by the flames. He walked away until he was a safe distance from the fire. Sitting on his haunches, the creature turned and admired his handiwork.

"They encroach further on us," he growled, "but I've proven who the true hunter is. We can defeat them, Ni." He turned and began his next journey. "To the Pride Lands."

No one ever found out what destroyed the village. Some reported that the destruction was the work of militants – or mercenaries. The idea that one lone animal could reign down such carnage was unthinkable.

Continue to Chapter 4