Shadowland
Chapter 5
Dawn. Day. Dusk.
I am not Walter Disney, nor am I related to Disney in any way, except for being a fan of his work. Shadowland, Chapter 5: 'Dawn. Day. Dusk.' is property of Troy Wong, a.k.a. Chookooblash, and is not to be resold or posted on any other site without my permission.
I hope you enjoy reading my stories. Long live the king!
"So whenever you feel alone, just remember
that those kings will always be there to guide you ...
And so will I."
-King Mufasa the Great, 3rd King of the Pridelands, father to King Simba.
To the near future…
"No! Orion!" she roared, at the top of her lungs, as the only family she'd ever known was buried in a flood of dust and boulders right in front of her eyes. Coyle bolted forward to catch one of the falling rocks on his back, but that was far from enough, which he soon realised. If the both of them stayed in the collapsing cave any longer, their fate would be the same to that of Orion's. Sapphire didn't want to leave, and almost had to be dragged out by her remaining companion. Both of them emerged out of the darkness just in time as that tunnel crumbled, falling down in a storm of dust and terrible crunching noises.
'How did this all happen?' She later thought to herself. 'It was so fast… Is he really gone? ... He can't be gone! I still need him! I'll always need him…' How it really did occur would be a mystery to them until the very end of their journey- a pure coincidence; a one in a million chance. But, the outrageous odds of what had just happened, actually happening wouldn't change anything. It had already happened, and there was nothing they could do about that, except look back on the events that lead to it, and say to themselves, 'If only I had done that…' or, 'If we had taken that path…', helplessly.
xxx
3:00am
The middle regions of the GreyMountains
2 days and 3 nights before the cave-in.
Approximately 24 hours after the death of Seer Waturi, of Tarot's herd.
Coyle and Sapphire sat next to each other, leaning onto a rock wall behind them as they looked out, scanning the rocky peaks for no apparent reason. They'd been sitting there for about an hour now because neither of them could seem to get any sleep. They could've woken Orion up and got moving, but just because they were early risers was no reason why he had to be as well.
Before long, conversation started."So…" Coyle began.
Sapphire turned towards him. "Yes?" she asked, plainly.
"Have you and Orion gotten together yet…? Any action while I was asleep?" Coyle turned towards Sapphire.
She sighed deeply, incredibly sick of Coyle's random bouts of childishness."Torres had to exile you with us, didn't he?"
"Is that a no?"
"Yes!" she yelled angrily.
"So you have gotten together?"
"You are such… An idiot, Coyle." she growled at him, frustrated.
"Whatever." With that, they both turned back to the wide open space in front of them. Socially, they were a little less well off then they were previously. A few more minutes passed, and surely enough, another conversation appeared out of nowhere.
"Do you miss home?" asked Coyle.
"Of course I miss home." Sapphire replied, keeping her blank stare on the landscape. "Do… You miss home?" she asked in return.
"There's no place like home…" he replied. Another minute ticked away.
"Do you miss your friends and family?" asked Sapphire.
"Yes, yes I do. Do you?"
Sapphire thought for awhile. Did she miss Gharah? Did she even consider Gharah as her friend? "No." she finally said, straight to the point.
"What about Gharah?"
"I can go without Gharah, can't I?" she asked, rhetorically.
"Well, what about Orion? What if Gharah was exiled with us and Orion was left behind? You'd miss him, wouldn't you?" He turned to Sapphire.
Sapphire looked him in the eye. "Yes. I would."
"So why don't you miss Gharah?"
"Because I don't need her."
"And you need Orion?"
"… Yes, Coyle. I do need Orion."
xxx
Back to the present day…
It was noon, though the sun had begun to blaze down on Amber Valley at least an hour before this. The Small Oasis was absolutely crowded; animals of all sorts gathered around. Some simply congregated to talk, but most were there for the water. None of them cared whether they were predator or prey for once; the heat was unbelievably intense.
None of them cared whose territory they were in, either- if you turned to your right; you may have seen the giraffes of Lairae's herd, but if you turned to your left, you may have seen the meerkats of the Kuwait family.
There were antelopes from the northwest, wildebeests from the northeast, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, and more. Although the dogs lived seemingly so conveniently close to Utopia Lake, the only other water source in the land,
masses of hippos and crocodiles gathered there almost all the time and they weren't the type that liked to take chances.
Every lion of Torres' pride had come as well, except for Torres, who had mysteriously disappeared off to the east again, which was, coincidentally, where the Dark Lands existed. Everyone was far past doubting that he was a good leader. Now they knew that he was a bad one, but still wondered what caused his sudden personality and behaviour changes.
Birds of all kinds and colours had swarmed in like a multi-coloured swarm of locusts, and now rested in or near trees surrounding the waterhole, including Lola, who had been relieved of her duties for that day. Maloumba and his herd were somewhere else, though; probably around Ivory Cliff, where they always were. Since the meerkats were gone for the time being, they were free to take advantage of the shade that their baobab tree gave without scaring anyone.
Well, not all of them. There was a handful that decided not to tag along. They'd rather laze around in the shade, slowly dehydrating, and having a hellishly large amount of trouble going to sleep that night because of their own hacking and dry throats. Did it bother them at the time? No. They weren't necessarily the brightest bunch, either.
Among these were Jasmine, the daughter of Chilli, and Gopher, the gopher. These two rodents rested by the shade of their baobab tree, scribbling on the ground with their fingers as drawing utensils, and whistling made-up tunes as Maloumba's herd grazed and recreated nearby.
"So…" Began Gopher. Strangely enough, he spoke with a Mexican accent.
"Hm." Jasmine sighed, smiling at him, and then turned away as an elephant's roar exploded from the opposite side of the tree.
"How about that weather, eh?" he asked, trying to make conversation. He didn't get a reply that time. "I mean, one minute it's hot, then, the next minute…" he trailed off, looking directly at Jasmine. That meerkat seemed to be in a trance- that meerkat whose name he didn't even know. "Hello?" he called, waving his hands in front of her face. "Hello? Anyone in there?"
She snapped out of it. "What? Huh? Oh, sorry… Um, what was that again?"
"Oh, don't worry. Just trying to make conversation, that's all."
"No, go ahead. I was just thinking about something else then…" she replied, almost feeling guilty.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Gopher thought for a second, then opened his mouth. No words came out. He tried again; thinking, and then opening his mouth. Nothing came. He laughed an embarrassed laugh. "It seems I have forgotten what I had to say."
Jasmine chuckled. "Don't worry; I was just in a trance again… Your breath would've gone to waste." She chuckled again, this time with Gopher.
"See? All we needed was something to break the ice."
"What's ice?" she asked.
Just as he was about to explain, a young elephant walked by, staring at the ground. It seemed she was sad, so why wasn't she with her herd; her family? Jasmine and Gopher just stared at her for awhile, trying hard not to make their actions obvious.
"Should we go and see what's wrong?" Jasmine finally said.
"Hey, you go ahead, but I'm staying right here!" he exclaimed.
"Why?"
"She's huge- and I'm not saying that just because she's an elephant!"
"Oh, be nice." she replied, getting up to go and see what was wrong. Gopher got up too, only to scamper behind the tree. All he saw where he got to the other side was a mass of great grey behemoths that trumpeted deafening sounds and shook the ground when they walked. Clearly, following Jasmine would've been much less of a frightening experience, which was what he did, after he managed to get control of his shaking legs.
"What changed your mind?" asked Jasmine as Gopher caught up with her.
"Let's just say that that girl's just the tip of the iceberg."
"Iceberg?" she asked curiously. Gopher was about to explain yet another time, but was interrupted. "Uh… You'll have to tell me later." she said hastily, as they neared the elephant.
The girl turned around. She greeted them shyly. A weak 'hello' was all the meerkat and gopher received.
"Hi." Jasmine said, softly. "My friend and I saw you from that tree over there and were wondering if anything's wrong."
"…No… Nothing's wrong. I'm just a little sad, that's all."
'Sad, eh?' Jasmine thought to herself. It would later come to light that all three of them there had been grieving lately.
"My name's Charlotte, by the way."
"My name's Jasmine."
"Jasmine? I like your name."
"She's polite for a fat person." whispered Gopher. No sooner did Jasmine jab his foot with her heel. Needless to say, Gopher wasn't going to mention Charlotte's weight any more.
"Why don't you just go over there, little gopher?" asked Jasmine, in a rhetorical fashion. Gopher didn't want to waste any time. He didn't like being around people that were incredibly huge, compared to him.
"Is there anything wrong with your friend?" asked Charlotte.
Jasmine chuckled. "I hope not."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, well I've only known him for awhile. Like, a day."
"That's not very long at all."
"I know." Jasmine sat down. "So… Do you want to tell me why you're sad?"
The little elephant was hesitant in answering. "Well… I just lost a friend awhile ago."
"Oh, you poor thing." replied jasmine, sympathetically.
"Yeah… There were these wild dogs that attacked us, and no one was hurt, except Darroul, because they forgot about him."
"Was Darroul your friend?"
"Yeah, Darroul as my friend. That's why I'm sad. My daddy went to scare them all away, but when he found Darroul, he was too late."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
Charlotte's face brightened as she lifted her gaze from the ground to Jasmine. "Oh, don't be sorry. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault."
The conversation paused for a moment before Jasmine continued. "I lost a friend, too, Charlotte."
"So… Your friend isn't here anymore?"
"My friend is still here, I just can't see him."
"Huh? Is your friend invisible?" she asked, puzzled.
"No." she replied, forgivingly. "I'm just not allowed to see him."
"Oh." Charlotte giggled. "Silly me." She paused. "Why aren't you allowed to see him?"
Jasmine didn't know what to say. 'Because my mother doesn't want me to be happy'? 'Because I'll be exiled if I do'? What was she supposed to tell this child, who was still at this tender age? "Um… Because someone doesn't want me to, and they'll hurt me if I do." was all she could make up for the moment.
"Well that person's a big meanie! You shouldn't listen to them, Jasmine. They won't hurt you, they're just bluffing- that's what my daddy always says."
Jasmine sighed. 'If only it were that simple' she thought to herself, looking up at the sky.
xxx
3:00am
The western regions of the GreyMountains
1 day and 2 nights before the cave-in
Approximately 48 hours after the death of Seer Waturi, of Tarot's herd.
One more step... Need to grab that foothold…
Sapphire, Orion and Coyle hadn't slept in a day. They were all seriously worn out, and what they needed most right now; sleep, food and water, was nowhere to be found. They'd been climbing up mountains all day, then sliding down, and then climbing again. It just repeated itself. This place was like a maze. Would the climbing ever end?
To the far boulder… Not much further…
Coyle lead the climb, as usual. 'How is he always so full of energy?' Sapphire had once thought. But now, she knew that he was just like her. She couldn't hear herself think over Coyle's panting. Or was it Orion? Or was it hers? It was probably all of them.
I need sleep…
By now, climbing was at a subconscious level, just like breathing. In fact, breathing had become more of a chore than a natural thing. Seconds melted into minutes, minutes fused into hours, and hours became the infinite fuel for the mountains to keep going on, and on.
I'm so tired…
Sapphire felt her paw flick downwards, and heard a small rock bounce down into the fog below. She'd chosen a bad place to put a quarter of her weight, but she was lucky enough to have the remaining 75 on stable ground. She was getting clumsy. That was a worry. If she fell, she would fall a long way, and if she was lucky enough to come out alive, her body would be aching even more than it was now.
Why are we doing this? Where is Coyle leading us?
Her eyelids grew heavy and her head even more so. The thought of sleep ran through her head another time. How nice it would be, just to rest. But alas, she realised, once again, that she could not sleep, even if Coyle allowed it, for the only places that you could touch without cutting yourself were only big enough for her paw to be placed in.
I can't breathe… I can't breathe!
She looked back. How far had they come? It was impossible to tell. How far had they climbed? Who knows? The thick fog that made the Grey Mountains just that bit more dangerous and confusing only allowed you to see several metres around you. But, why was she looking back, anyway? No matter. She looked back up shortly afterwards, to see that Coyle, who was about five metres ahead of herself and Orion, had stopped climbing.
"Oh no…" was all that she could pick up. Shortly after this, came a series of mumbles and the like.
What did he say? I need to know what he said…
What did those mumbles mean? Sapphire had to know. She needed to. Why? It might have been something important. But, would she waste her breath asking for a clearer version of those mumbles? Of course not. For the last few hours, breath had been more valuable than water during a drought.
One… More… Step… To the boulder… The boulder.
Sapphire had finally reached the top of the climb, and fell, with a thud, and closed her eyes, tightly shut. Thankfully, what she landed on was smooth ground, but she couldn't be bothered to check, anyway. The burning feeling of acid disappeared, and slowly, slowly, her breath returned. That was as close to sleep as she would get without actually sleeping.
Ah… That is so much better…
Orion managed to pull himself up onto safe ground soon after. What he saw was nothing short of amazing. Whatever mother nature did to create what was in front of them, she had outdone all her other works. It could only be described a pathway of rock that continued on into the fog. It was just wide enough for one lion to walk on it; any others had to follow closely behind. There wasn't even enough room to turn around, and none of them knew what was lying in wait, in the darkness. Once they started walking, there would be no turning back, and if they fell, they wouldn't survive the impact either- it was impossible to tell how far it was down into the never ending darkness.
"We'll have to try that tomorrow, Coyle." said Orion, panting. "I know that none of us can go any further today.
xxx
Back to the present day…
The sun had begun to set, and Maloumba had come to take Charlotte away from Jasmine, but she promised the little elephant that they would talk again some day. She almost felt obliged to do so, for some reason. As Gopher laid eyes on the large bull, he quite literally passed out, and so Jasmine became obliged to do another thing- to wake him up.
Torres' pride had been told by the tyrant himself that he was going to visit the 'lions in need' in the northeast, but they were all sure that he was lying. In actual fact, he had been summoned to the Dark Lands by his lord, who had more control over him than he had always thought.
Torres stepped over the piles of ash and burnt matter to the Abyss, where his lord resided. This time he had brought several dead birds to awaken the evil deity. As he threw them into the darkness, the fog stirred unnaturally once again, eventually forming the face of the all-consuming lion.
"My lord…" Torres bowed in respect, and fear. Fear was what the spirit used to control his minions- fear of what would become of them if they ever disobeyed it. Torres only met this deity by chance. Back in the day, when he was still a good leader, he was patrolling the Dark Lands after a dream that a missing member of his pride had come here, and was in need of help. He didn't manage to find that missing person, and instead, unwittingly fell into the Abyss, where the evil spirit found him, and offered him his life back, in return for his services. Torres had no choice, or so it seemed. His pride needed him.
"Torres. You have done well in exiling those three nuisances, but I see that your entire pride has become suspicious. That will disrupt my plan…" it began.
"What do you suggest I do, my lord?"
"There is nothing you can do." It paused. "… For the time being. But we shall see in the future."
"May I ask, my lord, what of Sapphire, Orion and Coyle? Are they dead, as you have planned?" he asked.
"They are the very reason I have called you here. They are, indeed, still alive, and they are extremely close to food, and water, though they do not know it- yet. I need a host, Torres."
"A host, master?" he asked, puzzled.
"Bring me a host. It must be unwounded, it must be able to fly, and it must be alive. Bring it here. Throw it into the Abyss that you see before you. I shall do the rest of the work."
"Yes, my lord."
"You may leave. Hurry. I need this host by tonight. This is the most important part of my plan, and if you fail me, Torres, your entire pride, and the whole of the valley will suffer dearly."
What the entity had in mind would cut huge percentages off the chances of the three lions surviving. Just when they would think that they were out of trouble, it would strike, and anyone who had seen this entity attack, centuries ago, would know that once it did, nothing could stop it.
xxx
6:00pm
Western regions of the GreyMountains
1 night before the cave-in.
Approximately 75 hours after the death of Seer Waturi, of Tarot's herd.
Coyle was the first to step onto the path that had been carved out of the rock around it to the extreme, then Sapphire, and finally, Orion. One step. Two steps. It didn't seem easy to lose your balance here, but none of them wanted to take that chance. Just one look down below was enough to make anyone afraid of heights. It took them about ten minutes to get to the middle of the path, which was when Sapphire turned back to see a lone stork flying directly towards them. Its eyes blazed a sickly red, and as it approached, the ground shook in terror.