OK this is a pretty long chapter, I'm not sure how long the next one might
be, it might be really short I don't know.anyway hope you like this
chapter, and I hope those of you who liked Tanu aren't to disappointed.
Chapter 14: Ambush.
In the distance Tiku saw two large white lights coming towards the tree. He wanted to panic but knew he couldn't. So instead he turned and nipped Kiki. She jumped up and turned, hair up and hissing at him. "What'd you do that for?" she growled. "We have wake Bailey up and get out of here fast!" Tiku said, he pointed towards the headlights, which got closer with every second. Kiki turned her head and gasped. She then turned and pushed past him. When she saw Tanu wasn't there, she to knew he was the trader.
"What are we going to do?" she asked. "I don't know." Tiku replied. "Well we have to do something!" Kiki said, her voice indicating she was starting to panic. "Calm down," Tiku said, trying to be brave. "Uh, wake Bailey up for now." Tiku ordered. Kiki nodded and then turned to wake the sleeping cub up. Tiku again glanced towards the headlights. They were really close now.
He could see the two humans in the front. Tiku also saw Tanu leading the way right the tree! Kiki came to his side, Bailey on her back. When she saw Tanu the hair on her back rose and she crouched down, growling low in her throat. She turned to Tiku. "I saw a hole further up the tree, hide Bailey in there and then come back here." Tiku nodded and then grabbed Bailey. He dragged the sleepy cub up the tree and out of site.
Kiki turned and watched as the truck came closer. She climbed down a few branches. After a few minutes Tiku met up with her. "What do we do?" he asked. Tanu and the truck were only yards away now. Tanu smiled at them. "Split up, if we stay together it'll lessen our chances of escape." She said. She then turned and pounced off the tree, running towards the pond. Tiku turned and pounced off the tree as well. He then ran off in the other direction. Tanu roared in frustration and tore off after Kiki.
The humans, seeing Tanu take off after Kiki, spun their truck around and took off after Tiku.
Tiku moaned, he would never be able to outrun that thing. He decided to try the zigzag method. He ran one way then the other, trying to tire the animal pursuing him. Little did he know that the truck had a full tank of gas and was never going to tire. Tiku looked wildly around. The zigzag method was keeping a little bit of a distance between him and the truck, but not much. Suddenly he saw a forest up ahead. There was no entry for the truck there!
He pounced once he was close enough and heard a loud bam at the same time. All of the sudden he was catapulting through the air, caught in something. He crashed through some bushes and then rolled a few feet before stopping. He growled and hissed and spat as he clawed at the thing entrapping him.
Tiku heard crunching sounds and looked up. Frank, one of the human's who had taken Bailey's mother smiled down at him. "Well, you sure gave us a run for our money little one, but it looks like we won." He picked up the thing Tiku was caught in. "What do you think of this net huh?" Frank asked. Tiku hissed and again fought to get out. Frank laughed, a harsh and cruel laugh. Tiku cringed at the sound. "That's more like it." Frank said, smiling as he carried Tiku back to the truck.
"Hey Milio! Look what I caught." Milio, the driver of the truck smiled when he saw Tiku. "Well, well, well, a little lion cub." Milio smiled. "Throw him in the back, we'll head back to camp. Tanu ought to have caught that other one by now." Milio said, starting up the engine. Tiku cringed as he heard the rumbling sound again. Frank carried him around to the back of the truck, where a small cage was waiting. He opened the cage and undid the net, dropping Tiku into it. Tiku hissed and growled at the man as he closed the cage door. "I can see you're a fighter, you'll do nicely once you're grown." Frank said. Tiku growled as he watched Frank circle back around and get in the truck.
Tiku could feel every bump, the rocking of the truck as it glided across the savannah. He hit his head at least twice against the bars of the small cage. He couldn't believe this, how could Tanu have done this? Tanu.Tiku's mind drifted back to Kiki. Had Tanu caught her? Were they waiting back at camp? Tiku shivered at the thought. What about Bailey? Poor Bailey!
After a few minutes the truck came to a stop and the two men got out. Tiku heard the crunch of their boots on the ground as they walked away from the truck. "Tanu!" Frank called. "Tanu! Where are you?" Tiku listened hard, but heard nothing. "Stupid lion, I thought he'd have gotten that little cub by now." Frank said, kicking the dirt. Milio walked to the back of the truck and picked up Tiku's cage. "Don't worry about it, we got one cub, we'll get that other one soon enough." Milio said, setting Tiku's cage down on a table outside one of the tents.
"Hey boys!" he called. "Come on out and have a look see." From the tents three or four men emerged. "Look what Frank just caught." Milio said, pointing to Tiku. Seeing so many humans Tiku cringed at the back of the cage, his hair up, eyes glaring. He growled at them, trying to warn them to stay back. He recognized one of the humans as Joe, the human who'd assisted Frank in the killing of Bailey's mother. Hatred for humans erupted in Tiku and he shot forward, reaching his tiny paw out and swatting the closest human.
The human shot back, three fresh claw marks across his cheek. He stared at Tiku, who was shooting back and forth around his cage, swatting at the humans, forcing them to get away from his cage. Frank laughed. "He sure is a feisty one isn't he?" some of the humans laughed, but the one who'd been scratched glared at Frank. "Yeah," he said, holding his cheek, "Feisty alright."
After a while Tanu returned. Frank got up and smiled, "Ah Tanu you've returned, did you bring that little white cub with you?" Tanu lowered his head. Frank's face shriveled up in disgust. He spat at Tanu. "You'd better get her tomorrow. I want that pelt!" he said. Tanu growled in response. He glanced at the table and saw Tiku. He smiled and strolled on over. "Aw, poor baby. Did little Tiku get caught?" he said.
Tiku growled. Tanu laughed. "Very funny, the little cub who still has his baby spots is trying to scare me! Puh-lease!" Tanu said. Tiku smiled. "And the stupid lion who couldn't outwit Kiki is mocking me, oh no what am I going to do?" he said. Tanu turned, hair up and growled at him. "Look you little punk, I can catch her anytime I want to, I just didn't feel like it." He said. "Uh huh, sure." Tiku said. Tanu roared and swatted the cage, making it tumbled off the table. He then turned and pounced on it, trying to get to Tiku through the bars.
Frank and the other humans, seeing this got up immediately and tried to pry Tanu off. Tanu turned and bit one of them. Frank stepped in and hit Tanu with a club. Tanu backed off and stood, growling at Frank. "Bite me again you son of a gun and your pelt'll be hanging up there," Frank warned. His hand was bleeding, but his eyes shot fire. "Get the chain," Frank ordered. Tanu stood, growling as three men hooked a black harness over his body and then connected a chain to it. "Don't forget this," Joe said, tossing something else to them. One of the men caught it. From his upturned cage Tiku watched as they hooked a muzzle over Tanu's mouth and snapped it in place behind his head.
Frank then walked up and grabbed the chain. He held it tight in his bleeding hand. "Come," he said as he walked forward. When Tanu remained where he was, Frank gave three quick tugs on the chain. Tanu winced in pain and walked forward. Frank smiled. He led him to a post just about twenty feet away from the camp and hooked the chain up to it. Frank then walked back to the camp, leaving Tanu where he was.
Frank looked at the cage Tiku was in. He picked it up and set it back on the table. "Let's turn in for the night." He said. The men nodded in agreement and entered their tents. Frank gave Tanu one last look before going into his own tent.
He turned and looked towards Tanu. Tanu growled and said, "Humans will always offer more than a pride can." Even though Tanu was far away, Tiku heard the words. He knew Tanu was wrong. He also figured out that Tanu had probably been captured by these humans as a young cub and raised to do their dirty work. He shivered, thinking about how many lions or lion cubs Tanu might've deceived and brought to their deaths. he sighed and glanced up at the clouds, wondering how he was going to get out of this one.
Chapter 14: Ambush.
In the distance Tiku saw two large white lights coming towards the tree. He wanted to panic but knew he couldn't. So instead he turned and nipped Kiki. She jumped up and turned, hair up and hissing at him. "What'd you do that for?" she growled. "We have wake Bailey up and get out of here fast!" Tiku said, he pointed towards the headlights, which got closer with every second. Kiki turned her head and gasped. She then turned and pushed past him. When she saw Tanu wasn't there, she to knew he was the trader.
"What are we going to do?" she asked. "I don't know." Tiku replied. "Well we have to do something!" Kiki said, her voice indicating she was starting to panic. "Calm down," Tiku said, trying to be brave. "Uh, wake Bailey up for now." Tiku ordered. Kiki nodded and then turned to wake the sleeping cub up. Tiku again glanced towards the headlights. They were really close now.
He could see the two humans in the front. Tiku also saw Tanu leading the way right the tree! Kiki came to his side, Bailey on her back. When she saw Tanu the hair on her back rose and she crouched down, growling low in her throat. She turned to Tiku. "I saw a hole further up the tree, hide Bailey in there and then come back here." Tiku nodded and then grabbed Bailey. He dragged the sleepy cub up the tree and out of site.
Kiki turned and watched as the truck came closer. She climbed down a few branches. After a few minutes Tiku met up with her. "What do we do?" he asked. Tanu and the truck were only yards away now. Tanu smiled at them. "Split up, if we stay together it'll lessen our chances of escape." She said. She then turned and pounced off the tree, running towards the pond. Tiku turned and pounced off the tree as well. He then ran off in the other direction. Tanu roared in frustration and tore off after Kiki.
The humans, seeing Tanu take off after Kiki, spun their truck around and took off after Tiku.
Tiku moaned, he would never be able to outrun that thing. He decided to try the zigzag method. He ran one way then the other, trying to tire the animal pursuing him. Little did he know that the truck had a full tank of gas and was never going to tire. Tiku looked wildly around. The zigzag method was keeping a little bit of a distance between him and the truck, but not much. Suddenly he saw a forest up ahead. There was no entry for the truck there!
He pounced once he was close enough and heard a loud bam at the same time. All of the sudden he was catapulting through the air, caught in something. He crashed through some bushes and then rolled a few feet before stopping. He growled and hissed and spat as he clawed at the thing entrapping him.
Tiku heard crunching sounds and looked up. Frank, one of the human's who had taken Bailey's mother smiled down at him. "Well, you sure gave us a run for our money little one, but it looks like we won." He picked up the thing Tiku was caught in. "What do you think of this net huh?" Frank asked. Tiku hissed and again fought to get out. Frank laughed, a harsh and cruel laugh. Tiku cringed at the sound. "That's more like it." Frank said, smiling as he carried Tiku back to the truck.
"Hey Milio! Look what I caught." Milio, the driver of the truck smiled when he saw Tiku. "Well, well, well, a little lion cub." Milio smiled. "Throw him in the back, we'll head back to camp. Tanu ought to have caught that other one by now." Milio said, starting up the engine. Tiku cringed as he heard the rumbling sound again. Frank carried him around to the back of the truck, where a small cage was waiting. He opened the cage and undid the net, dropping Tiku into it. Tiku hissed and growled at the man as he closed the cage door. "I can see you're a fighter, you'll do nicely once you're grown." Frank said. Tiku growled as he watched Frank circle back around and get in the truck.
Tiku could feel every bump, the rocking of the truck as it glided across the savannah. He hit his head at least twice against the bars of the small cage. He couldn't believe this, how could Tanu have done this? Tanu.Tiku's mind drifted back to Kiki. Had Tanu caught her? Were they waiting back at camp? Tiku shivered at the thought. What about Bailey? Poor Bailey!
After a few minutes the truck came to a stop and the two men got out. Tiku heard the crunch of their boots on the ground as they walked away from the truck. "Tanu!" Frank called. "Tanu! Where are you?" Tiku listened hard, but heard nothing. "Stupid lion, I thought he'd have gotten that little cub by now." Frank said, kicking the dirt. Milio walked to the back of the truck and picked up Tiku's cage. "Don't worry about it, we got one cub, we'll get that other one soon enough." Milio said, setting Tiku's cage down on a table outside one of the tents.
"Hey boys!" he called. "Come on out and have a look see." From the tents three or four men emerged. "Look what Frank just caught." Milio said, pointing to Tiku. Seeing so many humans Tiku cringed at the back of the cage, his hair up, eyes glaring. He growled at them, trying to warn them to stay back. He recognized one of the humans as Joe, the human who'd assisted Frank in the killing of Bailey's mother. Hatred for humans erupted in Tiku and he shot forward, reaching his tiny paw out and swatting the closest human.
The human shot back, three fresh claw marks across his cheek. He stared at Tiku, who was shooting back and forth around his cage, swatting at the humans, forcing them to get away from his cage. Frank laughed. "He sure is a feisty one isn't he?" some of the humans laughed, but the one who'd been scratched glared at Frank. "Yeah," he said, holding his cheek, "Feisty alright."
After a while Tanu returned. Frank got up and smiled, "Ah Tanu you've returned, did you bring that little white cub with you?" Tanu lowered his head. Frank's face shriveled up in disgust. He spat at Tanu. "You'd better get her tomorrow. I want that pelt!" he said. Tanu growled in response. He glanced at the table and saw Tiku. He smiled and strolled on over. "Aw, poor baby. Did little Tiku get caught?" he said.
Tiku growled. Tanu laughed. "Very funny, the little cub who still has his baby spots is trying to scare me! Puh-lease!" Tanu said. Tiku smiled. "And the stupid lion who couldn't outwit Kiki is mocking me, oh no what am I going to do?" he said. Tanu turned, hair up and growled at him. "Look you little punk, I can catch her anytime I want to, I just didn't feel like it." He said. "Uh huh, sure." Tiku said. Tanu roared and swatted the cage, making it tumbled off the table. He then turned and pounced on it, trying to get to Tiku through the bars.
Frank and the other humans, seeing this got up immediately and tried to pry Tanu off. Tanu turned and bit one of them. Frank stepped in and hit Tanu with a club. Tanu backed off and stood, growling at Frank. "Bite me again you son of a gun and your pelt'll be hanging up there," Frank warned. His hand was bleeding, but his eyes shot fire. "Get the chain," Frank ordered. Tanu stood, growling as three men hooked a black harness over his body and then connected a chain to it. "Don't forget this," Joe said, tossing something else to them. One of the men caught it. From his upturned cage Tiku watched as they hooked a muzzle over Tanu's mouth and snapped it in place behind his head.
Frank then walked up and grabbed the chain. He held it tight in his bleeding hand. "Come," he said as he walked forward. When Tanu remained where he was, Frank gave three quick tugs on the chain. Tanu winced in pain and walked forward. Frank smiled. He led him to a post just about twenty feet away from the camp and hooked the chain up to it. Frank then walked back to the camp, leaving Tanu where he was.
Frank looked at the cage Tiku was in. He picked it up and set it back on the table. "Let's turn in for the night." He said. The men nodded in agreement and entered their tents. Frank gave Tanu one last look before going into his own tent.
He turned and looked towards Tanu. Tanu growled and said, "Humans will always offer more than a pride can." Even though Tanu was far away, Tiku heard the words. He knew Tanu was wrong. He also figured out that Tanu had probably been captured by these humans as a young cub and raised to do their dirty work. He shivered, thinking about how many lions or lion cubs Tanu might've deceived and brought to their deaths. he sighed and glanced up at the clouds, wondering how he was going to get out of this one.