Hey guys, sorry for the long wait! I'm sure as you know with the virus going around as it is, it's been a bit stressful, so I've had to put writing on hold for other things. But don't worry, we're all doing just fine, thank goodness, and I hope you're all doing okay too!
before I let you go off to read, let me use this time to thank everyone who left a review on the last chapter...
Just A Visitor: Thank you hun, I really appreciate your review :D I try hard to keep these characters and their stories as close to how they are as I'm able because I love them so much, and I'm glad to hear that it's paying off and others are able to enjoy reading my stories. We're doing just fine, staying busy sprucing up our house and going through old things we don't need. And I'll keep writing and getting more chapters posted up as soon as I can!
Oh I'm gonna be working on covers and illustrations for this story, so hopefully I'll get a picture up soon so you can see how I picture Ryan(And holy muffins, thank you for saying my art looks good! You are such a sweetheart! =^^=)
Mr. Almond Brown: Oh my gosh that's so nice of you to say! X3 X3 X3 You have no idea how awesome it is to have a baseball fan say they enjoyed the chapter because that means I did a good job incorporating the game. Victory is mine!
Erica. Phoenix16: Aww, thank you, I'm glad you enjoy my story hun :D I shall keep it up!
Guest: Thank you so much for your review hun, I'll try to get more finished as quickly as I can X3 Mmm, no I don't think so. He'll be considered as a good friend or, at most, an honorary member of the pride, but there won't be a need for adoption.
Kion26: Aww, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! :D:D Lol, well I just pictured them holding their sticks in their mouths. And as for managing to hit the fruit without breaking their necks that way, I just decided to incorporate…*quickly reaches into pockets and throws glitter in the air* Disney Logic! *proceeds to spit out glitter and shake it out of hair*
faithcorry634: I'm so glad that it's caught your interest, hun :3 :3 :3 I'll try and get more posted soon and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
I-Love-Trunks1: I like it too, Ryan and Simba one-on-one time is nice to write, and I really wanted to incorporate some idea's that were suggested and I'm sure that learning about Northern animals would be something that Simba would be interested in :D Lol I had to throw in 'baby talk', now that I have a baby, there was just no way I couldn't not do it XD.
Sky Hooves: Lol, thank you so much, I'm glad to hear that the baseball scene was enjoyable! XD Hahaha, I know if I was a hunter and I saw that,'nope, nope, nope' would be the thing I would say because I'm fairly certain I wouldn't want any part of that crazy XD XD XD
Steelcode: YAAAAAAYYY I'm so happy you liked it hun! Lol, it was pretty fun writing the baseball scene, I wish I remembered more about the game, but I feel like it did an okay job for the story :3 I'll try and keep them coming!
Jestalnaker94000: Thank you so very much, I was pretty happy with how the chapter turned out :D:D It was fun to incorporate a sport that Ryan enjoyed and have fun with his new animal friends. I'll try and get more chapters posted for you soon!
Dave Bennett:mWoooo! I'm glad you enjoyed the read hun! X3 X3 X3 And I have seen it, I enjoyed it a lot. Sure there were some things I missed, like Ed and Banzai and I was a tad bit disappointed that the changed up 'Be Prepared', but overall it was great to watch. I'd grade the movie a solid B+
Jason Chandler: Thanks a bunch! Haha, holy muffins, I just imagine Ryan fighting like Kratos XD XD XD My goodness things would not have ended well for them if Ryan had gotten that mad!Holy muffins, I can just picture it, Ryan snuggled up upon a mass of lions and the only thing they'd be missing is popcorn!
bored411:I'll try and get more chapters finished as quick as I can so you find out what happens next :3 :3 :3 Aww, you're sweet, thank you so much!
Interstate2011: Seriously, I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate your diligence in pointing out errors so I can fix them. It's very important to me that the story flows easily for my readers, so thank you again! Lol, yeah, it is more like 'basefruit' XD But that's alright, I'll keep it as is just to keep it simple X3. I think Ryan makes a pretty good coach too, I bet he'd have a good chance being either a player or a coach if he went that route. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter hun! Thank you!
Thank you all so very much for your reviews, and I hope you enjoy the newest chapter Happy reading :D
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Chapter 16: The Threat is Real
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Simba carefully looked around the clearing, watching for the slightest movement, listening for faintest sound. And when he didn't hear or see anything, he stopped his head down and tried to see if he could make out the slightest movement in the surrounding brush.
"Mrrah!"
"Ah-ha!" Simba exclaimed gleefully, pouncing over to the source of sound and pulling down the top of the bush to reveal Ryan, who was holding a squirming Kiara, hiding there.
"Hey, no fair, I call a do-over!" Ryan complained, ignoring tiny teeth as they gnawed hungrily at his fingers. "Kiara gave away our hiding place!"
A laugh made them look over to see Nala as she came out from behind a large tree trunk. A couple other lionesses coming out of their own hiding places with smiles on their muzzles.
"I'm sorry Ryan, we can't help it if she gets hungry." She told him while Ryan handed Kiara over to her.
"You wanna start a new game while Kiara's feeding?" Simba asked with a playful smirk. "Even if Kiara didn't call out, I was close to finding you, anyway."
"You're on, you won't find me this time!" Ryan promised with a grin of his own.
But before they could start their new game, a loud trumpeting suddenly erupted through the jungle. Simba's eyes widened in surprise as he, Ryan and the other members of the pride both looked into the trees in the direction it came from.
Was that an elephant?
"What do you think that was about?" Ryan asked after a few moments of silence.
"I don't know…" Simba answered. "But it didn't sound good."
No sooner did he say it, someone could be heard yelling for the king.
"Simba!" they all looked up to see Zazu rushing towards them as fast as his wings could carry him. "There's trouble, big trouble!"
"What's going on, Zazu, what happened?" the red maned lion asked, concern evident in his face.
"It's the elephants, sire, Aminifu's herd!" Zazu hurriedly explained. "Ma Tembo has fallen into a hole and she's unable to get out!"
"Fallen in a hole?" Ryan repeated, flabbergasted. "What hole could be big enough for an elephant to fall into without seeing it?"
"Nala, go back to our clearing with Kiara, stay with a few of our lionesses, but be ready to send the rest to me." Nala gave a nod as she and one of her pride sisters went back together while the remaining lionesses stood ready to follow their king.
And once Simba had Ryan take a seat upon his back, he turned back to his majordomo. "Take us to them, Zazu!"
"This way!" the blue feathered hornbill instructed as he took off.
Ryan held on tight as Simba hauled through the trees and bushes of the jungle, making sure to keep just behind Zazu as the hornbill lead them onward. And when they finally arrived…it was quite a sight to behold.
A whole herd of elephants stood gathered around together, but through a slight gap between them, he could clearly see an elephant on the ground. Or rather, in the ground….mostly. The elephant Zazu called Ma Tembo nearly had the whole front of herself down in a hole; The oldest looking bull elephant turned his eyes over at them, and after he saw that the king of the Pride Lands had arrived, relief flicked over his otherwise distressed expression.
"Simba, you're here!" he stated.
"Aminifu, what happened here?" Simba questioned, letting Ryan slide off.
"I don't know, we were all eating together peacefully, and Ma Tembo moved away from the herd to graze elsewhere." The elephant leader explained as he looked down. "Then I hear my daughter scream and I turn to see her like...like this!"
"Don't worry old friend, we'll do what we can to help Ma Tembo!" Simba promised.
"I'll see if I can get down there and see how she's doing." Ryan announced, hurrying to the rim of the hole and started to climb down Ma Tembo's back. He felt her jump in surprise at his unexpected touch.
"Who's there?!" she asked, trying to turn to see him, but her tusks had gouged deeply into the wall of the hole and they prevented her from moving her head. "Who are you?!"
"My name's Ryan, I'm a friend of Simba's and we're here to help," Ryan said as he nestled himself in the slight space between her cheek and her leg. Making sure to move his face to where she was able to see him. "How are you doing? Does anything hurt?"
"Not…not yet." She told him, grunting in discomfort as she tried to shift, though it didn't make any difference as she settled back right where she had been before. "But an elephant's back is not meant to bend this way."
Ryan nodded in understanding and turned his eyes up at Simba who was looking in on them and waiting for a status report.
"She's okay for the most part, but she's pretty stuck. We need to start digging at the rim of the hole, try to even it out so her back doesn't get hurt!" Ryan said. "And I need vines down here, lots of them!"
"Understood!" Simba said as he moved out of view ordering Zazu to go back to restive more lionesses and telling the others what needed to be done before divided everyone into groups of those who would stay to dig and those who would go out to get the vine.
"Don't worry Ma Tembo, we're gonna get you outta here soon." Ryan assured her as things fell quiet between them.
"I hope 'soon' comes quickly." The poor elephant said with a strained voice.
The young stayed down in the hole with her, letting Ma Tembo wrap her trunk around his left forearm for comfort and talking to her as the lions and elephants who stayed behind began to dig at her hind legs. He briefly thought about trying to dig out her tusks, but, decided against it as he didn't want to risk the wall of dirt crumbling on top of her.
Instead, he just used his free arm to shield her eyes as best as he could from bits of falling dirt and dust from the digging going on behind them. Eventually, Ma Tembo was able to relax a little more as she felt her back start to straighten from their diligent efforts right as Simba, Aminifu and the others returned with an abundance of vine.
Even Zazu made it back with more lionesses to help.
Each elephant took a trailing plant and dropped the ends down in the hole where Ryan was waiting. Working quickly, he fastened multiple ropes of vine around Ma Tembo's legs and at the base of her trunk and tusks. Then, with a bit more difficulty, he tied the rest around her middle.
"Okay, we're all set!" Ryan finally called up as he fasted the last knot. "Everyone ready?"
"Ready when you are!" he heard Simba say as the vines went slightly taught to show that they were all being held at the other end. Nodding, Ryan moved back to Ma Temba's head.
"Okay, I'm gonna get in front of you and try to help push." Ryan told her. "It won't hurt you if I do that, right?"
"I'll endure as long as I can get free." Ma Tembo assured, giving him the go ahead.
"Alright, on my word…" Ryan began as he pressed his back against her large forehead and braced his feet against the wall of the hole. "Pull!"
Straining grunts filled the air as the lions and elephants helped each other pull. They had worries that they may have been hurting her, that the vines would all snap under her weight and leave her in a worse condition, but they kept at it and tried their best to get her out.
But thankfully, Ma Tembo began to move. Slowly, but steadily enough.
"It's working!" Ryan yelled when he noticed that her tusks were starting to slide out from the dirt. "Keep pulling!"
They did as he said and pulled and tugged with a renewed vigor while he pushed his legs harder against the earth with Ma Tembo's assistance until it was like something popped and Ryan felt Ma Tembo fall out from under him.
Which, in turn, made the young man to tumble to the ground and get splashed with musty smelling dirt.
Ryan had to spit as some of it managed to get in his mouth and he quickly wiped at his eyes and hair before he looked around to discover that he was the only one in the hole now. Though before he had a chance to get up himself, a large trunk came down and wrapped itself around his chest and picked him up off his feet where the first thing he saw when he was out was Ma Tembo as she stood a few feet away, taking in deep and calming breaths as the member of her herd and some of the lionesses pulled took the vines off of her.
Satisfied that she was okay, Ryan then glanced up to see that the one who had lifted him out of the hole was the one called Aminifu, the leader of the elephant herd. The large bull gazed at Ryan with kindly old eyes as he slowly set him down, and after a just a few seconds of silence between them, he placed his trunk upon the boy's shoulder.
"Thank you." He said, grateful sincerity filling his voice.
It was rather humbling, having this massive figure thanking him like this. All Ryan could do was offer him a smile and pat his trunk as he gave a respectful nod of his head.
"Oh Ma Tembo, your tusk…" Simba suddenly stated in concern, making Ryan shift his gaze from Aminifu and over to his daughter and seeing for the very first time that nearly half of her right tusk had been snapped off. It must have happened when they gouged into the dirt wall after she fell in.
"It's alright Your Majesty." Ma Tembo said, tentatively touching at the broken ivory with her trunk before Aminifu came over to comfort her. "It could have been much worse if you hadn't been here to help me."
"We are grateful to you and your pride, Simba." Aminifu said. "And your helpful young friend there."
But as the two leaders exchanged words, Ryan had his attention on something else…
He hadn't moved away from the hole with Aminifu, and he found that he couldn't stop staring at it as he made unsettling notes. He hadn't taken the time to really look as he had been too focused on getting Ma Tembo out, but It was big. Much too big and too rectangular in shape to have been natural.
And the reason Ma Tembo walked right into it without noticing? It had been covered.
Large leafy plants were scattered around inside and out, dusty from having been covered in a thin layer of dirt, and long, skinny sticks tied together in a flimsy lid poked out from either side of the hole. There was no doubt in his mind that this was a man-made trap.
"Simba?" he started, looking over to him as the elephants finished saying their goodbyes and began to leave.
"Yes Ryan, what is it?" the lion asked, giving Ryan his full attention as he walked over and looked down into the hole before meeting his eyes again. "Is something wrong?"
Ryan wanted to say yes, tell him about what he could see and about the rope he found the other day. But the last thing he wanted to do was scare Simba as he reminded himself that the snare Thurston was caught in had been old, lost and forgotten, and he saw no indication that this trap was any different as the leaves that used to cover the trap were dry and brittle.
It could very well had been abandoned as well after bearing no fruit.
"I..I think we…" He paused, thinking carefully before he finally continued. "We should probably let other animals know to watch where they're stepping from now on. Just in case there's anything else like this somewhere in the jungle."
"Yeah, that's a good idea." Simba agreed with a nod. "I'll have Zazu fly through the oasis and pass along the message."
Ryan felt his stomach twist a little as the lion left him to give his majordomo his instructions. He didn't feel good about withholding information as Simba had a right to know his suspicions and what this hole actually was…but he didn't want to needlessly send anyone into a panic when he wasn't even a 100 percent sure that the people who made them were still around.
Not once did he ever hear, from any animal he met, of there being others that looked like him found in the oasis, so the animals happening upon these traps may have just been accidents. Unfortunate accidents that could have ended very badly, but still, accidents, nonetheless.
He only hoped that it would stay that way.
But that very night, as every lion slept blissfully after a job well done in coming to the rescue of a dear elephant friend, slumber seemed to be impossible for Ryan as his worry prevented him from sleeping peacefully. He knew how dangerous poachers were, and even the slightest thought that these kinds of people may have been nearby was not something that should be dismissed…even if the only proof that he had were old and hopefully abandoned traps.
The whole ordeal rattled and disturbed him, and he was so fitful, he didn't even realize that he had actually fallen asleep until he began to dream…
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Total nothingness surrounded him, every which way he looked was met with a blackness that made him feel so small as it seemed to swallow him up…
'Ryan.' A gentle, husky voice said, piercing the silence as a soft glow illuminated behind him, which made the young man whirl around to see none other than Sarabi.
'Sarabi? Is that really you?' Ryan started, a smiled appearing on his face.
He felt so happy to see her again, ecstatic even, but the good feeling passed when he saw that those brilliant orange eyes of hers were gazing up at him with worry.
'You're in danger.' Her mouth never moved, but he heard her voice crystal clear in his head.
'What's the danger?' the young man asked as he tried to reach out a hand to her, but he was startled back as her suddenly glow faded, and her figure turned into what seemed like grains of sand before they were blown away on a gust of wind that came from nowhere.
'They never stop hunting.'
Ryan called for Sarabi to come back, running forward and looking around frantically for any sight of her. But he stopped in his tracks when Mufasa himself was now standing before him.
'Save them.' He heard his voice say urgently. 'Save my family.'
After that, Ryan suddenly sensed that something was right behind him. And with a gasp, he whirled around to see a dark, shadowed figure of a human standing there.
He couldn't see their face, the shadows around them hid any features from sight. But when the figure shifted, rising something they was holding up at him, the boy's eyes widen upon realizing that he was looking down the barrel of a gun.
BANG!
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Ryan jolted awake in a cold sweat, looking left and right for the shadow man…but he relaxed a little upon seeing nothing there except the peacefully sleeping faces of his friends.
He let out a quiet breath, noting that the sky was just barley starting to pinken with the coming dawn. He wanted to go back to sleep and get a few more minutes of shut eye, but he just couldn't shake what he saw. Every time he had a dream like that, something always ended up happening.
Now his heart was racing even more because not only had he seen Mufasa, but Sarabi appeared to him as well trying to warn him. The more he thought about, the more panicked he felt…he had to get out of here, he needed to go back to the hole to make sure of something!
Carefully, he got to his feet and tiptoed away from the sleeping pride. Once he was sure that he was far enough away, he sprinted through the trees and didn't stop until he finally saw the spot where he helped rescue Ma Tembo just yesterday.
His breath ragged, he slowly started towards the rim and investigated the hole. But it was still a bit dark to really see anything from outside, so without any hesitation he jumped in and looked around.
So far so good, It looked pretty much the same as when he had left it.
A little more confident, he walked over to the back where Ma Tembo had gotten her tusks stuck, then he took in a deep breath and reached out a hand to feel around inside the hole. But to his horror, there was nothing inside, the broken piece of ivory was gone.
Someone had come here and taken it.
"Oh no..." Ryan started, backing away from the wall and grabbing his hair in his hands as the threat he wasn't sure about before became very real now. "No, no, no!"
"Ryan?" a voice asked out of nowhere, making him jump and cry out.
He quickly looked up to see Nala gazing down at him, her head tilted and her teal blue eyes watching him in confusion.
"Nala!" Ryan sputtered. "W-what are you doing here?!"
"You left us so quickly, like there was something chasing you." The queen told him, moving back as he climbed out of the hole to join her up top. "Are you okay? What's the matter?"
"I just had a nightmare, I had to come back here to see something." He explained, before he looked at his feet. Feeling ashamed that he didn't bring his worries up sooner. "Nala…I think we're all in big trouble."
"Is it painted dogs?" she asked with concern.
"No, something much, much worse." Ryan answered. "I think there's-"
"Hold on, we should go back first. If you think we're in danger, then Simba and the pride should hear it as well." Nala interjected, worry still in her voice. "If anything happens, I don't think I'd be able to protect you."
"What do you mean?" Ryan asked, genuinely confused by her statement. "I've seen how you fight, out of everyone in the pride, I think I'd be safest with you."
Nala hesitated in answering, though before he could repeat himself and ask what she was talking about, a spot of light suddenly flicker across her cream-colored pelt caught his attention and made him turn around to face the woods which were still very dark in the light they had. He narrowed his eyes and tried to catch anything that seemed out of place, only to let out a horrified gasp as the early morning light again glinted off something metal from within the trees.
In an instant, Ryan reacted.
"LOOK OUT!" Ryan cried, giving Nala a hard shove just as a loud shot rang through the air and he let out a yell of pain when something very sharp pierced through his hoodie and tank and embedded itself in the back of his shoulder.
Reaching behind, he hissed as he yanked it out and brought it back to reveal a dart needle with a fuzzy red top sitting upon his palm and the clear barrel empty of its contents
"Ryan?!" the lioness began, her eyes wide with shock and fear.
"Run!" the young man yelled urgently, throwing the dart aside and getting to his feet. "Run Nala, get out of here!"
She wasted no time doing as she was told and ran across the clearing with Ryan hot on her heels. But the moment they made it into the tree, the young man began to feel it the effects of the dart.
He tried to keep his eyes on Nala and did his best to stay behind her, but it was impossible as his vision began to swim, and his limbs felt as thought they were made of wet clay. Ryan tried to call out for help, but his voice was stuck in his throat because his mouth refused to move.
And when he blinked his eyes in the hopes that it would help clear his vision, he opened them back up to see that he was now laying on the ground. He was vaguely aware of sets of heavy footsteps coming towards him, but didn't even have the strength to lift up his head in order to see the faces of who it was coming towards him when the image of these two, snakeskin boots entering his limited line of vision before it all went black…
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AAAAAH RYAAAAAANNN! *panic and runs*
What'll happen next? Will Ryan be okay? Find out next time, in a new chapter of 'The Courage Within'!
Lol, I've kind of had a rough night last night(baby boy's teething) So I'm sure that I might have missed a few errors, the sneaky boogers. So if you happen to spot them, be sure to let me know so I can fix them as soon as I can :3:3
Thanks for reading guys, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Stay safe out there and I'll try and have the next chapter up pretty soon!
