Chapter 3: The Bridge between Insanity and Reality

Update 7/4/2016: Fixed this chapter for a better reading experience.

Pain…

Darkness…

All I could see was black when I finally regained consciousness, and all I could feel was a stinging, burning sensation all over my body, but it couldn't even compare to the pain I was feeling in my arm. After what seemed like an eternity, my eyes slowly started to open, revealing the blur that was currently my vision. With a groan and a steady rub of my eyes, my sight finally adjusted and I could see stars coating a vast night sky. It would seem as though I was out for who knows how many hours as my muscles were rather stiff when I tried to sit up.

"Ugh…my head…what…what happened?" I asked myself as I rubbed my head, trying to jog my memory as to what transpired before I was knocked out. Unfortunately, the memories returned to me in the worst possible way: with the sight of a wrecked, smoldering jeep in front of me…The very same jeep where I last saw my parents…

"No…"

The same jeep where I tried to save my brother…

"No no no…"

The same jeep that blew up in front of me and took away my family…

"NOO!"

Ignoring the pain coursing through my body, I crawled my way over to the wreck before getting to my feet and breaking into a run. They couldn't be gone…they just couldn't be.

"MOM! DAD! TJ!" When I finally reached what was left of the vehicle, I was met with a horrible and grizzly sight.

"Oh God…" I covered my mouth as I gazed upon the charred corpses of what was left of my family. It brought me to tears. It made me sick, feeling as though I would throw up as I staggered a few feet away and voided whatever was left in my stomach from earlier that day. Once I finished, I screwed my eyes shut and fell to my knees. The tears were now falling freely as I started to sob, having no choice to accept the reality of the situation: My family was gone. They were taken away from me…and I was all alone.

"It's not fair…" I muttered as I found my voice.

"It's not fair!" Which grew to a shout.

"DAMMIT IT'S NOT FAIR!" And finally a roar of pain directed towards the heavens.

"YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE THEM AWAY FROM ME! YOU JUST CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE" I finally started to cry once more, the pain now unbearable. "YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME ALONE LIKE THIS!" I fell to my stomach, sobbing from the cold, hard truth, before I was claimed by slumber.

I was met with darkness once again, but it didn't last as long this time, for as I looked around, I was soon blinded by a white light. Yet, as I was engulfed by it, I started to feel a strange sensation coming from it. A feeling of warmth and comfort as the light faded away to reveal that I was no longer in that frigid darkness, but a wide open field of lush green grass. I stood up, rubbing the tears out of my eyes as I started to walk around out of curiosity, hoping to find any form of social interaction to appeal to my desires.

"Hello?" I called out to the open field, the response being my own echo.

"Is anyone here?" I called once again, my echo responding once more. Hanging my head in sorrow, the feeling of loneliness soon returned, before it was replaced by a feeling of being watched.

"Who's there?" Whipping my head around, I am soon met with an unexpected, yet frightful sight: An adult male lion, extremely large in build and stature with a brown mane and pelt to match, slowly making his way towards me.

"Oh geez…" I slowly start to back away out of fear of this massive and mighty creature. Yet the moment he was within seven feet of my person, he just stood there and looked at me, as though he was observing me for some reason. That was when I took notice of his eyes, which were a rich amber color and not black like I thought they would be. Then he did something I never would've expected: He smiled, and nodded at me…very much like a human. Unsure how to react, I did the most logical thing and returned the nod.

Not long after the exchange of gestures, another large lion soon appeared, this one slender yet powerfully built at the same time. Unlike the first lion, this one had a yellow pelt, and an ebony black mane. But what stood out with this lion the most, just like the first, were his emerald green eyes that looked like they could peer right into your soul. And just like before, he smiled and nodded at me, which I once again returned. With the gestures exchanged, the lions slowly walked past me, not making a single predatory move in the process.

Curious as to where these two majestic beasts were headed, I followed their movements behind me before my eyes fell upon a sight which made my jaw drop in absolute awe. Behind me, off in the distance, stood a great kopje that looked as though it could easily be mistaken for a mountain. One giant rock stood upright against the earth as it rose towards the sky, giving the impression that one could touch the clouds or heavens above, while another jutted outward towards the land, as if it were a natural platform for presentations or observations. Truly, this was a structure of absolute beauty and splendor, and I could see that the two lions were making their way towards it.

Before I could take a step and follow after them, a breeze suddenly picked up, causing the grass to bob and weave like a great sea.

Stay alive… I heard a voice whisper.

Live on… Another voice-like whisper.

You must stay alive.

As the wind picked up, the whispers increased in number and volume. I started to cover my face with my arms as the wind grew stronger, and before I knew it, the warm light returned, but this time it had a form…the form of a lion with a white pelt and golden mane.

"No way…" Before I could say anymore, the lion spoke to me:

"You must live on Connor…You must live on…for them." The lion spoke with a regal voice before letting out a roar powerful enough to push me off my feet, and the light engulfed me once more.

I jolted awake into a sitting position, breathing heavily as I clutched my chest, hoping it would calm down soon.

"It was all just a dream?" I shook my head to regain my senses, noticing that the sky was now taking on a more orange color; it was going to be dawn soon.

"I can't stay here… I need to get moving." Whether it was a dream or not, it did hold some truth to it: I did need to survive. Not just for my sake but for my family as well. Getting to my feet, I made my way over to the wreckage of the jeep, which was now billowing out smoke, knowing that if I was going to try and stay alive, I needed to be prepared. Looking through the back seat, avoiding the sight of the burnt corpses, I soon spotted the familiar strap of my back pack, which I was able to pull out with some effort. I was surprised that, aside from a few scorch marks here and there, my pack was able to stay fully intact.

"Talk about built to last." I gave it a quick rummaging, making sure I still had all of the food and spare clothing I started this trip with, before seeing if I could find the other packs. Unfortunately, the packs belonging to my mom and dad were burnt to a crisp, and TJ's was torn up from the explosion.

"Guess I'll just have to make due with mine…" As I backed away, I soon remembered something important:

"The other jeep…"

Turning to my right I saw that the jeep owned by the poachers was still in one piece.

"Please let there be something useful in here." I pleaded to myself as I approached the vehicle. Hopping in, I began to search for anything that could help increase my chances of survival. At first, all I found were a couple of magazines, some fresh cigars, and a few boxes of unused bullets, but when I reached the back, I finally met with success: Three unopened bags of jerky, and a large canteen.

"Not like they'll be using these any time soon." Stuffing the new items in my pack, I got ready to hop out before something caught my eye: A dark red, hard plastic handle connected to something big settled in a leather sheath, sitting in the back seat. Picking up the object by the handle, I slowly unsheathed it, revealing a 22 inch long machete blade, and it appeared to be brand new.

"Geez…whoever these guys were, they weren't messing around." Swinging the blade a few times, I sigh sadly as I remembered that the owner of this thing was responsible for my current predicament. Still, the least I could do with it was use it for self-defense, so I sheathed the machete, strapped it to my pack, and hopped out of the jeep. As I began to walk away, I stopped for a moment to turn back and gaze at the wreckage one last time.

"Goodbye guys. I'm sorry I couldn't be with you to the end, but I promise you, I will do whatever I can to survive." With my farewells said, I turned back towards the open savannah and began my trek into the unknown.

"And that's pretty much what happened. So here I am, in the middle of the African Savannah, on my last few pieces of jerky with only a quarter of water left in my canteen, and I think my arm is getting worse by the minute. But hey, it could be worse, right?"

The antelope I was talking to simply looked at me blankly before returning to its grazing.

"Huh, given that I'm talking to an antelope, I guess insanity could count as worse. Oh well, time to move on." I resume my walk with a less than sane giggle.

It had been two weeks since I left the destroyed jeep behind, and staying alive was already becoming a challenge. I was able to ration my food and water as best as I could, but the real problem was the lack of social interaction, and the need to talk to myself was slowly driving me insane. Not only that, but the burns on my arm slowly got worse as the days rolled on, resulting in trickles of blood making their way down my skin and onto the ground I tread upon. Yep, my chances of survival were dwindling by the minute.

"Well, lookie here boys?" An unknown voice, fueled by hunger and bloodlust came from behind me as I whipped my head about.

"Who…Who's there? Show yourself!" My senses were on high alert as I tried to search for the source of the voice.

"Oooh! He's a big one, isn't he?" Another voice made itself known, this one female as it snickered…something about that snicker was familiar though.

"That sound… Where have I…" My eyes widened as I remembered what carnivorous animal made that kind of noise. And the creature in question soon appeared out of the tall grass, followed by five more.

"H-hyenas…" I was surrounded by five spotted hyenas, each one easily the size of a Rottweiler, with mouths filled with bone crushing teeth. However, one in particular bore its own unique set of features: scars along its gray furred body, patches of hair missing from its mane, and to top it all off, a milky white blind eye. With panic setting in, I started to look for a way to escape, until I saw the last thing my sane mind would even begin to comprehend: The one-eyed hyena spoke.

"Looks like we'll be having quite the feast today boys. Let's begin, shall we?" As the hyenas closed in, I staggered backwards as they started to bite at my feet, causing me to stumble and lose my pack in fear as I ran from the vicious predators. As they slowly gained on me, I looked around for anything that could help me escape from the hyenas. And that's when I spotted it: A nearby acacia tree. Using whatever strength I had left, I ran towards the tree and started to climb. I just had to reach the higher branches and I would be-

CHOMP!

I screamed in absolute agony as the lead hyena bit down hard on my right leg.

"Where do you think you're going?" The hyena cackled as he used all of his might to pull me off the tree and throw me across the arid ground, scraping up my body in the process. As I tried to stand back up, he rammed his head into my chest, forcing me onto my back so he could plant his paws into my rib cage, constricting my breathing.

"Now hold still kid. This'll be over before you know it." I had a hard time making out the words as my vision started to blur. Already I could feel myself fading away as the other hyenas soon came into view.

Death by Hyenas…Damn fate, you really are cruel sometimes, you know that?

Before I could feel the countless jaws ripping into my flesh, I heard what sounded like loud roaring as the pressure on my chest was removed, allowing me to breathe again. But even then I had a hard time staying conscious. With my vision still foggy, I saw a creamy colored blob approach me before I felt something soft and furry press against my body.

"Your Majesty! He's still breathing!" The voice I heard sounded feminine and concerned.

"Then there might still be time. Quickly, we must bring him back to Pride Rock and send for Rafiki immediately!" The second voice I heard was definitely male, for it was deep and held an air of authority within it. I then heard it speak to me again.

"Don't worry, young one." I soon felt myself being lifted up and laid down on my stomach on something soft.

"Everything is going to be alright." I was unable to make out the last few words as the darkness claimed me once again.

A/N: Whoo! Two long chapters in one weekend. I call that a personal success. Well, it would seem that after receiving a strange dream and a near death experience, Connor's chances of survival just went back up…or have they? You'll just have to wait until Chapter 4. Until then, don't forget to review.