The Lion King V:
Man Comes to the Pride Lands
Chapter 14
The Pride Lands were a welcome sight as Simba and his caravan crested a trail and began the descent from the mountains into their kingdom. The king sighed contentedly when he saw his home. As they neared Pride Rock, several lions left the kopje to greet them. Kopa and Kiara hurried ahead of the group and practically tackled their father, nuzzling Simba happily before doing the same to their mother.
"Yes, I'm happy to see you too, my darlings," Nala purred.
Kiara licked Nala once more before noticing Nuru with the group. "Oh, welcome back, Nuru."
"Hey Man, what brings you back?" Kopa added when he too noticed Nuru.
"Man?" Nuru replied darkly.
"Miss!" Kopa yelped. "I mean Miss!"
"Is Malka's Pride okay?" Vitani asked.
"They're fine," Simba replied. "Daniel treated all the sick and taught some of them how to make the medicine in case anyone else became ill." Simba surveyed the peaceful kingdom before looking to his heirs. "I see you two handled things well while we were gone."
"It was only for a few days," Kopa noted modestly.
"And it's not like we did everything alone," Kiara added, nuzzling her husband. "Kovu and Vitani were very helpful."
"We just did the same things we normally did," Kovu replied, nuzzling Kiara back. "It's not like we prevented any calamities while you were gone."
"Maybe next time," Simba replied, granting Vitani and Kovu a smile.
A few yards away, Bado was greeted by his parents and siblings. He hung his head like a convict on death row.
"Uncle Sante, what's wrong with Bado?" Nyota whispered.
"Um…" Asante mumbled.
After greeting his brothers, Faraji walked over with his parents to join Bado and his family. With Mheetu and Madoa standing on either side of him, Faraji cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Afua, Boga, there's something Bado and I need to tell you."
Bado's parents frowned when they heard the serious tone in Faraji's voice. "I don't like the sound of that," Boga muttered.
Bado glanced at his siblings and blushed under his fur. "Could we do this without the audience?" he requested.
Afua raised an eyebrow at his son before turning to his other cubs. "You kids better take a hike. Your brother wants to talk to us privately."
Bado's brothers and sisters grumbled in protest.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Afua sighed, shooing them off.
"You guys head off as well," Mheetu instructed Faraji's brothers. "Nothing for any of you to worry about."
"Let's go somewhere private," Madoa suggested.
As Bado, Faraji, and their parents walked off, Fasa hurried over to Asante and Nyota. "What's all that about?"
"It's none of our business," Asante replied.
Nyota narrowed her eyes at Asante. "You know, don't you?"
Asante gave his niece a stern look. "I'm not saying."
"Come on," Nyota complained.
"No," Asante asserted, walking past his nephew and niece.
"You'll probably hear about it later," Daniel informed Fasa and Nyota as he followed Asante.
The news of Faraji and Bado's relationship was taken fairly well by the pride. There was the initial shock and even some dismay amongst the lions but this soon passed. Unfortunately, Bado was partially justified in his reluctance to tell his family. Though his mother, brothers, and sisters all adjusted to the revelation well enough, his father was a different story.
"He didn't say anything," Bado said miserably, leaning against Faraji as they spoke with Asante, Fasa, Timir, and Daniel. It was the day after Simba's caravan returned from Serpent River and the six youths lounged by one of the large boulders at Five Stones. "He just looked at us like – like…"
"Like I had just eaten one of his cubs," Faraji supplied irritably, wrapping a forelimb around Bado in a comforting gesture.
"Weird," Timir mumbled. "I never thought of Uncle Afua as the conservative type."
"He just shook his head and walked away," Bado continued. "He refused to say anything to me."
"Look Bado, you're dad's just being a crybaby," Fasa explained nonchalantly. "Just ignore him. He'll come around eventually."
Bado was silent for a moment, staring at the ground sadly. "Faraji and I have volunteered to be ambassadors for the Pride Lands in Serpent River. I don't want to stay here if my father's going to be like this."
"Bado, I think you should stick around and try to work things out with your dad," Daniel suggested.
Bado shook his head. "You don't know what it's like to have your father look at you the way mine looked at me yesterday."
"You're right, I don't know what that's like," Daniel conceded, staring at the dirt pensively, "but if you leave now without resolving things with your dad, you might never get the chance."
The lions looked at Daniel attentively, intrigued by the regretful tone in his voice.
Glancing up at the five large cats staring at him, Daniel sighed. "Me and my dad have a hard time talking to each other," he explained. "I didn't even say goodbye to him when I left for Africa. I mean, it's not like we're on bad terms or anything. We've just kept each other at arm's length, you know? Sometimes we'd go whole days without saying anything to each other." Daniel shrugged. "We're basically strangers."
"At least your father doesn't hate you," Bado mumbled.
"Your dad doesn't hate you, Bado," Asante sighed.
"Look, you understand what I'm trying to say, don't you?" Daniel insisted. "I don't even know if I'm going to see my dad again and…" The human paused, staring at the ground for a moment. "Just don't leave things unresolved with your dad. You get me?"
Bado stared at Daniel for a moment and nodded.
"Focus on the bright side," Fasa said.
"What bright side?" Bado muttered.
"Everyone else is cool with you guys."
"Timir's sisters aren't cool with us," Faraji grumbled. "I saw them glaring at me this morning as I left the den."
"Dude, they're not angry because you're – you know – they're angry because you flirted with them while you were pretending to be straight," Timir explained.
"It's not like I asked any of them to marry me!" Faraji groused.
"If you're not interested in females, why did you flirt with them?" Asante asked.
"I was in the den," Faraji groaned. "Bado and I weren't even together yet and I was trying to convince everyone I was normal."
"Normal's a relative concept," Timir pointed out reassuringly.
"In the den?" Daniel asked. "Is that like being in the closet?"
"What's a closet?" the five lions asked in unison.
Daniel slapped his forehead. "Never mind."
"Okay, so not everyone is completely cool with you guys," Fasa conceded. "So what? It shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks."
Bado smiled appreciatively at Fasa. "Thank you all. I'm glad you're still our friends."
Faraji smiled. "It is nice that we don't have to hide from everyone anymore." He nuzzled Bado unabashedly before his friends.
"Faraji, not in front of the guys," Bado protested, though he couldn't help smiling and snuggling into Faraji's smooth mane.
Asante, Timir, and Fasa all cleared their throats awkwardly and glanced away, Timir whistling to appear nonchalant while Fasa pretended to be fascinated with a pebble by his paw.
"You three are such dorks," Daniel laughed.
"What did we do?" Asante asked defensively.
"In all fairness, Asante's not so skittish around us anymore," Bado noted, continuing to lean his cheek against Faraji's chest.
"I wasn't skittish," Asante protested.
"You were totally skittish," Faraji chuckled.
"I was uncomfortable because I didn't like keeping secrets from the pride," Asante explained assertively. "I have no problems whatsoever with homosexuality."
Faraji and Bado glanced at each other and shared a knowing smile. Turning back to Asante, Faraji gave a respectful nod of his head. "Our mistake, Asante. Please forgive us."
Asante hesitated, sensing mischief in Faraji's tone. "It's not a problem," he replied uncertainly.
"No, no, we're wrong to insinuate you had any problems with us. Here, let's kiss and make up." Without warning, Faraji wrapped a forelimb around Asante's neck and pulled his cousin close for a loud smooch on the lips.
"Huh," Daniel mumbled as he watched Asante struggle against his enormous cousin, "I didn't know lions could kiss."
"Eew, get off!" Asante yelped, wrenching himself from Faraji's grasp.
Timir and Fasa busted out laughing.
"Would you boys care for a smooch too?" Faraji asked Timir and Fasa in an alluring tone.
"No homo!" Timir yelped, dashing for the trees.
"Keep him away!" Fasa shouted as he fled as well.
"Yeah, things are gonna be a lot more fun now," Faraji decided, chuckling as he nuzzled Bado some more.
"That was incredible, Nuru!" Uzuri complimented as the princess of Serpent River stepped away from her defeated opponent. "No one's ever beaten Nyota in a sparring match, not even her dad."
Nyota stood up with a hiss. "How can anyone beat this chick?" she demanded angrily. "She's the size of a rhino!"
Nuru grinned smugly, brushing some of her black mane behind her shoulder with a flick of her paw. "It's not about size, my dear."
"Nuru, can I ask – are there a lot of lionesses in your pride with manes?" Uzuri enquired.
Nuru shook her head. "No, just me, although I've been told I had a great-grandmother who had a mane."
Uzuri tilted her head as she studied Nuru's smooth tresses. "You know, I never thought a mane would look good on a female but – I don't know, it actually looks pretty on you."
Nuru blushed slightly under her fur. "Not everyone thinks so. Truth be told, I've always wished I had short fur like yours."
"If you two are done debating on who has better hair, I'm ready for the next match," Nyota declared darkly.
"Is she always this antagonistic?" Nuru asked Uzuri.
"Actually, she's a lot tamer this morning."
Nuru sighed and approached the smaller lioness. "All right, Nyota, but this is the last time, winner take all."
Nyota dug her claws into the grass, flexing her legs in preparation.
Uzuri held up her paw in an instructive gesture. "And go."
Nyota dashed to the side and circled around Nuru at lightning speed, leaping up on the large female's back and latching herself in place by digging her claws into Nuru's shoulders and flank while she bit at Nuru's neck.
Nuru lifted a paw to her mouth and yawned as Nyota continued to thrash around on her shoulders. With a casual shrug, she flipped Nyota off and quickly pinned the white lioness.
"One, two, three," Uzuri counted, tapping her paw on the ground to the number of seconds that Nyota was pinned. "Nuru wins again."
"Crap," Nyota grumbled.
"So Nuru, what are the guys like where you live?" Uzuri asked.
"About the same as they are here," Nuru replied. "Easily intimidated."
"Do you have a boyfriend back home?"
Nuru shook her head. "The mane's kind of a turn off with the guys," she explained.
"I think Asante likes it," Uzuri noted. "I saw him admiring it yesterday."
Nuru rolled her eyes. "First the human and now you?"
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
"Don't go messing with my uncle's feelings," Nyota warned.
Nuru blinked in surprise and glanced at Nyota. "What? I wasn't…"
"If you and Asante were married, would that mean he'd become king of Serpent River?" Uzuri asked.
"What?" Nuru stammered. "I guess but we're not…"
"He's a nice guy and he doesn't need some chick from out of town breaking his heart," Nyota cut in.
"I'm not going to break…"
"If you and Asante had cubs, would the males have no manes?" Uzuri persisted.
"What the hell is that?" Nuru cried out, pointing in a random direction.
Nyota and Uzuri glanced in the direction Nuru pointed out. "I don't see anything," Uzuri said. "Nuru?" She looked around and discovered Nuru had vanished.
"Oh, that little sneak," Nyota grumbled, pointing Nuru out as their new friend ran away, having escaped while they were distracted.
Daniel and Asante walked along the dry hard earth near Mufasa's Gorge, making their way back to Pride Rock with Faraji and Bado trailing behind them. Daniel continued to carry Rafiki's walking stick, the gourds jangling above the handle. There was an antelope herd nearby, some of the grazing animals pausing to inspect the lions and human.
Faraji regarded the nearby animals, turned to Bado, and lovingly licked his cheek. Bado rested his cheek against Faraji's shoulder with a smile.
Several antelope balked at the display of love between the two males.
"Having fun?" Daniel asked, smiling back at Faraji and Bado.
Faraji shrugged. "Probably gonna be a while before the herds get used to us."
"Well, if any of them give you problems, you can always eat them," Asante pointed out. "Where'd Timir and Fasa get off to?"
"At the speed they were running, they're probably back at Pride Rock by now," Bado suggested.
Daniel stared at Asante and lifted his hand to gauge the lion's height.
"What are you doing?" Asante asked.
"I think you've gotten taller," Daniel noted.
"Really?" Asante asked.
"Yeah, the top of your head used to be at my eye level. Now you're almost eye-to-eye with me. If I had to guess, I'd say you're pretty close to your dad's size."
"Wow, everyone hold up a sec," Faraji instructed.
The group paused and turned to Faraji. "What's wrong?" Asante asked.
"Do you feel that?" Faraji asked. "Beneath our paws."
Nearby, the antelope lifted their heads and glanced around in alarm.
Daniel watched the lions for a minute, waiting to see if Asante and Bado also felt whatever it was that Faraji sensed. "Um, I don't feel anything," he noted.
Without warning, the antelope took off running, the earth rumbling slightly under the combined beat of their hooves. As the four youths watched the antelope depart, they realized that the rumbling in the earth was getting stronger despite the fact that the herd was getting farther and farther away.
"Okay, I think I'm feeling it now," Daniel gasped, glancing down at the soil beneath his feet as the rumbling grew louder.
A violent jolt beneath them knocked the four adolescents off their feet. Daniel fell on his backside and the lions crouched in alarm, digging their claws into the ground to keep themselves steady.
"Danny!" Asante cried out, reaching over with his paw to pull the human close. Daniel grabbed Asante's arm and clung to him.
Faraji positioned himself over Bado protectively. "Just wait it out!" he told his companions.
The earthquake lasted for over a minute. When it finally ceased, the four youths remained still. Hesitantly, they rose to their feet.
"The hell was that?" Daniel gasped.
"An earthquake," Bado mumbled, cuddling up against Faraji.
"It's okay," Faraji said in a soothing voice as he wrapped his forelimbs around Bado.
"Do you guys get earthquakes on a regular basis?" Daniel asked as he placed a hand on Asante's shoulder.
"This was a first for us," Faraji admitted.
"It's rare but earthquakes have been hitting the Pride Lands since the reign of the First King," Asante explained.
"Well, it's over now," Faraji declared, rising up. As he did, the ground beneath them grumbled. "Oh, what now?" he groaned.
A crack ripped across the ground, and the youths felt the soil start to collapse beneath them.
"Run!" Asante shouted, pushing himself under Daniel and fleeing with the human straddling his back.
Faraji gave Bado a firm shove to get the smaller male running.
Large fissures split open around the four youths as they fled, creating a puzzle-shaped pattern across the rocky earth. The cracks kept widening and Daniel gripped Asante's mane as the lion leapt over one fissure after another. Bado and Faraji kept close behind them. With a frightened cry, Asante leaped over a particularly wide crevice and landed on the stable outskirts of the collapsing earth.
Bado was just about to leap after Asante when a fissure opened right in front of him. He skidded to a stop but the ground crumbled away and his front paws slipped over the edge. Faraji caught Bado by the scruff of his neck. With a powerful swing of his head, Faraji flung Bado across the fissure. The smaller lion struck the edge of the precipice and Asante quickly grasped Bado's arm with his teeth, yanking him to safety.
"Faraji!" Daniel shouted.
Faraji stumbled as the ground continued to sink beneath him. He took a few steps back and tried to make a running jump to the precipice above him. Before he could leap, the ground crumbled beneath him. He wailed in horror as he plummeted into the darkness.
"No!" Bado screamed.
Just outside of Pride Rock, the lions gathered to assess the damage caused by the earthquake. Many were still shaking as they trotted to the base of the kopje. Kopa instructed the lions to gather with their families to make sure everyone was accounted for. Once he'd ascertained who was present and who wasn't, he jogged to his father's side.
"Asante, Daniel, Faraji, and Bado aren't back yet."
Simba's expression filled with dread. He turned to the pride. "Who saw them last?"
Timir raised his paw. "Me and Fasa saw them at Five Stones about an hour ago."
"Don't worry, I'll get a group together and head to Five Stones immediately," Kopa told Simba.
Timon and Pumbaa slowly made their way to the crowd of lions, swaying unsteadily on their feet.
"Shouldn't we wait for the earthquake to stop?" Pumbaa asked, veering from side to side.
"The earthquake already stopped, Buddy," Timon informed the warthog, stumbling over. "Ow!"
Pumbaa flopped down on his belly beside Simba. "That's better," he decided, his head still swaying a little.
"Grandpa, Daddy," Nyota called, hurrying over to Simba and Kopa while Uzuri remained with her parents, "Nuru's not back either."
"What?" Simba gasped.
Nuru was out on the savannah when the earthquake hit. Her feet still vibrated as she walked along Mufasa's Gorge, making her way back to Pride Rock. She came to a stop and covered her mouth, momentarily overcome with motion sickness. Her ears swiveled to the sound of voices up ahead. Moving away from the gorge, she hurried towards the sound to see who it was.
"Faraji!" Daniel shouted into the fissure. "Can you hear us?"
There was no reply.
"Faraji, please say something!" Bado wailed.
Still no reply.
"I'm going down," Bado declared, reaching over the side.
"Don't," Asante protested, yanking Bado back. "There's no footholds and the drop is too steep. You'll just get trapped too."
"We have to help him!" Bado sobbed.
"Wait here," Daniel instructed, bolting for the tree line.
Nuru crested a hill and spotted the three youths just as Daniel dashed for the trees. She ran over to them. "You guys okay?" she asked.
"Faraji fell!" Bado wept.
Nuru paused and looked down into the fissure. "Faraji!" she called.
"He's not answering!" Bado dropped to the ground and covered his face with his paws, overcome with grief.
"Faraji!" Asante tried calling again.
"Here!" Daniel called as he ran back, pulling a thick vine with him. Part of it snagged on the ground and his feet flew up from under him as he was yanked backwards. He hit the ground with a hard thud, the air knocked out of him before he struggled to his feet. With a hard yank, he dislodged the vine and rushed over to his friends. "You three hold onto one end and I'll climb down," he instructed.
"But what if you fall too?" Asante protested.
"Don't drop me and that won't happen," Daniel scolded, shoving one end of the vine into Asante's mouth.
Nuru and Bado also took hold of the vine and Daniel wrapped part of it around his waist. Slowly, he backed up to the edge of the fissure and began walking backwards along the sheer face of the chasm, feeding up vine from the knot around his waist as he descended down into the abyss.
Although the descent only took about two minutes, it felt like hours to Daniel and the three lions supporting him. He squinted to try and see the bottom of the chasm, momentarily overcome with the horrifying thought that there was no bottom and that maybe he was suspended over miles and miles of empty darkness – that poor Faraji was plummeting forever into the abyss.
Daniel yelped in surprise when his back touched the floor of the chasm.
"Daniel, what's wrong?" Nuru called.
Daniel eased himself to the floor and sat still, letting the vine go limp. "I made it down," he called back up. Looking at the thin line of light above him, he estimated the fissure was thirty feet deep.
"Is Faraji okay?" Bado called, his voice thick with tears.
Daniel looked around, squinting through the darkness. "Faraji, where are you?" he called.
There was deathly silence and Daniel felt a cold lump form in his chest. He kept as quiet as possible and just listened. After a moment, he discerned a soft hum through the deafening silence.
"Breathing…" he gasped, slowly moving towards the sound. "Faraji, please say something." He crouched low and ran his hands along the cracked uneven floor. His hands brushed up against fur and he stopped, laying his palms against the still body. He felt the fur beneath his hands rise slightly as the creature took in a breath. Lowering himself to his knees, Daniel groped for the creature's head and felt a leonine face. "Faraji?" he said, lightly shaking the creature's shoulders.
Faraji woke with a terrified gasp, his body convulsing beneath Daniel's hands.
"Faraji, stay still," Daniel instructed.
Faraji did as instructed. "Daniel?" he moaned.
"You're going to be okay."
"Daniel!" Asante called.
"I found him," Daniel called back up. "He's alive. One of you go back to Pride Rock and bring help."
Up above, the three lions glanced at each other. "Nuru, do you know how to get back to Pride Rock from here?" Asante asked.
Nuru glanced to her left, Pride Rock clearly visible on the horizon. "I think I can figure it out," she said in a sarcastic voice. Without another word, she rushed off to find the rest of the pride.
"You guys still up there?" Daniel called from below.
"Yeah, we're right here," Asante assured Daniel. "We sent Nuru to get help but we're not gonna leave you guys."
Down in the fissure, Daniel tenderly petted Faraji. "Okay, we'll sit tight," he called upward.
"Daniel, my leg hurts so much," Faraji whimpered.
Faraji was lying on his side with his back to Daniel. The human couldn't walk around him, as the walls of the fissure enclosed them on either side. Daniel carefully stepped over the large cat. When he was on the other side of Faraji, he knelt down again and began inspecting the lion's legs, being as gentle as possible. "Front leg or back leg?" Daniel asked.
"Back," Faraji replied, trying to stifle his tears.
"Left or right?"
"Right."
Daniel ran his hands along Faraji's back leg. As he did so, he discovered an unnatural bent midway down Faraji's lower leg.
"Ow!" Faraji sobbed.
"Sorry," Daniel whispered, gently petting Faraji's head. Looking upward, he called out, "Asante, I need you to go find some branches – thick strong ones."
"Branches?" Asante called down.
"Faraji's leg is broken. I need to make a splint for it. Look for branches that are at least as thick as my arms and as long as your back lower leg."
"Faraji?" Bado called.
Faraji's ears perked up. "Bado?" he called back.
"Are you all right?"
"He'll be fine," Daniel answered for Faraji, not entirely sure of this assertion. "Faraji, I got to keep examining you. You may have more broken bones than just the leg." There was also the possibility that Faraji was bleeding out somewhere and Daniel couldn't see. The poor lion may have even been bleeding internally for all they knew.
"Okay," Faraji whimpered.
It took Daniel half an hour to finish his examination. He tried to position Faraji's leg so that it lay straight but he wasn't sure of anything with the darkness. Faraji had a number of cuts and some minor gashes but Daniel couldn't find any signs of serious bleeding. He positioned himself so that Faraji could rest his head in Daniel's lap and the human tenderly stroked the lion's face.
"Daniel," Faraji whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for not abandoning me." Faraji's voice was thick with tears and vulnerability. It was hard to imagine but Faraji, haughty behemoth that he was, was actually scared.
Daniel felt a lump form in his throat as thoughts of Ni surfaced in his mind. He leaned down and pressed his lips against Faraji's mane. "Come on," he whispered. "What happened to the big tough guy I know?"
Faraji trembled. "I can't help it. Daniel, I hate closed in spaces. It feels like we've been buried alive."
Daniel mentally groaned. Yeah, it figures he'd be claustrophobic.
"Daniel?" Asante called down.
Daniel looked up expectantly. "Yeah?"
"I found some branches like you described. I tried breaking them to see how strong they are. I think they'll work."
"Okay, I'll need you to toss them down but make sure we're not right below you. Toss a small stone down to test the trajectory."
Above the chasm, Asante picked up a fairly small and harmless pebble between his claws. Making a note of where he was standing, the prince dropped the stone into the fissure. Bado watched, tears still trickling down his cheeks.
Daniel listened and distinctly heard the pebble strike the floor several feet to their right. "Okay, drop the branches down from the same spot exactly."
A moment later, the branches came down, clattering on the floor to their right. Daniel gently moved Faraji's head out of his lap and retrieved the branches.
From his backpack, Daniel pulled out his ripped shirt, which he tore into four long strips to tie the branches around Faraji's leg. "Faraji, this is going to hurt real bad but I need you to stay still."
Faraji wept silently. "Okay," he moaned.
Daniel tied the branches to the broken leg, fastening four knots along the splint to force the bones straight so that the leg didn't heal crooked. "I'm done."
Faraji released a haggard breath.
"How are you doing?" Daniel asked, sitting back down and pulling Faraji's head into his lap.
"Okay," Faraji whimpered, nuzzling Daniel's belly with his cheek. "Daniel, there's something down here with us."
Daniel shivered at the ominous tone in Faraji's voice. "What is it?"
"I don't know," Faraji whispered. "It smells like it's rotting – like it's dead."
Daniel hugged the lion to comfort him. "Well, if it's dead, it can't hurt us."
"Daniel?" a new voice called from above.
Daniel felt heartened to hear that voice. "Simba?" he called up.
"Don't worry, we're all here and we'll get you both out."
Above the fissure, the entire pride had gathered. The king looked over at Bado, who sat weeping amongst his family. "Bado, please calm down," Simba gently instructed.
"Faraji fell because of me," Bado sobbed. "He threw me to safety when he should have saved himself."
Afua gazed at his son in concern. "Faraji saved you?"
Bado nodded, his eyes locked on the abyss below them.
Afua looked into the fissure. With a deep sigh, he turned to his son and lovingly nuzzled him. "We'll get him out."
"How are we going to get them out?" Asante asked. "Danny can come back up on the vine but Faraji's hurt. He can't pull himself up even with the vine."
"I think I have an idea," Daniel called out from below.
"MacGyver, eat your heart out," Daniel mumbled as he finished the last knot on the harness he'd constructed for Faraji. They had been in the chasm for well over six hours. Daniel had fashioned a thick rope out of four interweaved vines that would, hopefully, support Faraji's weight. Every lion in the pride had gone to search for materials, and Daniel had rigged Faraji in an elaborate harness comprised of thick branches tied beneath Faraji's torso with braided cords that attached to the rope. Additional vines were fastened around the lion's shoulders and hips to keep him from slipping out of the harness.
"What if it breaks and I fall back in?" Faraji asked timidly.
"Then I'll make another harness and we'll try again," Daniel replied. He stood up and called out to the lions above. "All right, start pulling him up – slowly."
At his instruction, the gathered lions all started to pull on the rope with their teeth. The rope went taut and the harness started to rise off the chasm floor. Daniel placed his hands beneath the harness and pushed just to be certain it was getting all the support it needed. Carefully, he stepped back as the harness and injured lion rose out of reach.
Now alone in the chasm, Daniel took a deep breath and pulled out Bruce's lighter from his pocket. With trembling fingers, he struck the lighter and lifted the small flame to see if he could find the rotting presence Faraji mentioned. As the tiny flame sprung to life, it cast light upon a fleshless skull that was only a foot from Daniel's face.
Faraji was pulled out of the fissure and into the tender nuzzles of Bado just before Daniel screamed. Simba and Asante rushed to the edge of the fissure while the other lions tended to Faraji. "Daniel!" Simba called. "Daniel, what's wrong?"
Daniel covered his mouth as he held the light towards the skull, his hand trembling. It was a human skeleton, crushed between two slabs within the chasm. There were remnants of a safari outfit, a pith helmet, and Daniel could see a broken rifle gripped in the skeleton's hand.
"Daniel, come on!" Asante called. "Say something!"
"Daniel, talk to me!" Simba fretted.
Daniel called out in a weak voice. "I'm here."
"We're sending the rope back down," Simba assured him.
"Okay," Daniel replied, gazing mutely at the fleshless face of a Lion Hunter, dead for nearly half a century after being swallowed by the earth.
Continue to Chapter 15
Note: I was originally not going to use an earthquake in my story but I needed a plot device that would allow Daniel to discover the remains of a poacher (Lion Hunter) and to have Faraji save Bado, thus proving his worthiness to Afua. The earthquake helped do both so I'll go ahead and give credit to the readers who suggested the earthquake when I asked for catastrophe suggestions for Chapter 8: Roxaskey, Hajime Morikawa, A-dawglol, Lord of Beef Dip, Resistant Warrior Madman, ManBearPig121, and Yamiyugifan01. If I forgot anyone, let me know.
I also have to admit I sort of borrowed the "trapped in a fissure" idea from Incarnate Firely, who has the same thing happen in the second book of his fan fiction, Kopa's Legacy. Hope you don't mind, Incarnate.