Chapter 2
A Guardian Angel
X
It has been told that Kiara and her friends disappear on the day of Zazu's return, and as far as Simba knew until they did get brought back, they were only gone for less than an hour, having left in the evening, and returning at night. But the truth is, they sneaked away long before evening, in the afternoon. They had quite an exciting time where they went. This is how it all happened:
When the reunion was taking place, the four cubs of Pride Rock were not only unhappy to see it happen, but they were also bored out of their wits. To get rid of their boredom, they crept through the crowd to find each other. When they did, they went away quietly into the shadow of Pride Rock where they could not be seen. There, they discussed and quarreled over where they would go.
Kiara, being the adventurous sort, wanted to visit either the Outlands or the Elephant Graveyard. At first they all agreed to do this immediately, but when they really thought about it (and how much trouble they would be in if they were caught by any adult, regardless if they were Pride Lander or Outlander), they quickly changed their minds and left Kiara disappointed.
Kiara's best friend, Hezakiah, was very cheeky and playful. He wanted to roam around the Grasslands in search for small herds that they had a chance of triggering a stampede with. But even more quickly than they changed their minds about Kiara's choice, they remembered that the Princess was a terrible stalker, and couldn't go four strides without breaking a twig or kicking a pebble. They knew that if they were to go along with Hezakiah's plans, they would all return tired and miserable, and would not be able to move the next morning.
The other two cubs' names were Rex and Helix. They were twins with coats the colour of eucalyptus bark and eyes the colour of the blue ocean, and every single physical feature that they displayed was exactly the same as the other's. They may have looked identical, but anyone who told you that they behave identically as well would have been a liar. The two were completely different when it came to behaviour and personality.
Helix was the fun and active one that loved to chase people around (namely Kiara) and wrestle anyone that was weaker than him. He had even said on numerous occasions that he wanted to become a hunter for the pride, like the lionesses. Even though Simba hunted occasionally to lighten the load on the others, Helix was still teased and ridiculed whenever he said this. He chose to go somewhere where flying things lived in abundance and chase them around. You can guess how many votes he got that time.
Rex was the opposite. He was lazy and liked to sleep all day, which he would do whenever he got the chance (which was very unlike young cubs of his age). Rex loved to curl up next to whatever or whomever he could find, and go to sleep in the lovely coziness of the cave in Pride Rock. He preferred night to day, and wasn't adventurous at all. Whenever it came to one of those decision things, he always chose the same thing, and his friends' answers would always be the same. "How about we play a game of truth or-" "NO!" shouted the other cubs in perfect unison, interrupting Rex. Of course, he was suggesting a game of truth or dare, but they knew better than to play it with him. He never chose the 'dare' option, and always thought up really, really boring questions and dares for them.
At the end of all of the squabbling, they had wasted thirty minutes of their time, and still had not come to a decision. At this time Hezakiah had gotten so frustrated that out of nowhere he yelled, "Let's go to the Waterhole!" and they all agreed to do so. It was not only because they were too tired to continue their debating, but also because the Waterhole was both a peaceful and active place where they could all find something to do which suited them. That was why the place was so popular and busy all the time, save the fact that it was the only source of water for miles around.
So after a short journey to the north of the Kingdom, the cubs arrived at the Waterhole. Each of them both hoped and guessed that no member of the pride had noticed their absence. They hoped it because they wanted to have some fun before they got home (as was and still is the nature of lion cubs), and they guessed it because if anyone had noticed, then the chances were that they would have been taken home by the time they arrived at their destination.
As they walked together into the heart of the business, few noticed them, fewer knew who they were, and even less cared. One person that did care approached Kiara. He was an elephant that once had dealings with Simba. They had met before, but Kiara was only a few days old when it had happened, and so she could not remember it.
"Greetings!" called the male as he walked towards her. "I didn't think that your father would've let you out on your own so close to nightfall, and without a path to follow!" He chuckled. "What brings you out here at this time of day, Princess?"
For a good reason, Kiara had felt that she was in danger as soon as the elephant started talking. She wondered long and hard if they had met before, but eventually concluded that they had not. Quickly and subtly she glanced behind her, expecting to see her friends, but they had disappeared: gone off to do their own things already. "My dad says that I shouldn't talk to strangers," was all that she could think of for the moment.
He looked puzzled. "Stranger?" He thought for a moment. "Oh, yes, I see!" It appeared that he had just remembered that crucial last piece of information. "You don't know who I am, do you?" asked he. Kiara did not reply that time, she was just giving him a fierce look without knowing it, but he chuckled warmly nonetheless. "My name's Tembo, but you can call me Atem if you want, like my friends do."
"How do you know me?" asked Kiara suspiciously.
"I had some business with your father when you were only little, but you can't remember, can you?" asked Atem in a rhetorical fashion. "I could notice you anywhere! Your only changes since then are your size and beauty! Of course, by size, I don't mean you're fat. Oh no, I don't mean that!" He chuckled again. "So, how'd you get your dad to let you come out here all by yourself? Did you fight him for permission?"
"No," answered Kiara with dignified solemnity, "girls don't like to fight, or do anything like that. And anyway, I'm here with three of my friends. They were behind me before you came and talked to me."
"I scared them away, did I?" Atem did not chuckle that time, but laughed heartily. "Well, the Waterhole's a big place. They could be lost, and you could get lost trying to find them, being so small and everything. Want me to help you?"
Kiara did not like being called small, or Princess, despite the fact that she was, in fact, both. Already she realised that Atem was different from most grown-ups that she knew, but could not quite yet put her finger on what made him so different. His constant laughing and chuckling would soon prove to be annoying, and she was already feeling the pinch of it. However, his offer was a good one, and she considered it thoroughly before coming to a decision. She answered, "No thank you, I'll go find them myself." Then she bowed.
Atem seemed to be quite flattered that the Princess would bow to him, and replied, "Well, you're very welcome. Remember; if you ever find yourself in a tight spot, just call my name. If I can hear you, I'll drop everything and rush right in to help."
Kiara nodded, and it became Atem's turn to bow. After he did, he plodded away, leaving her to her business.
Kiara then headed around the eastern side of the pool up to the northern end, where Zazu's tree stood (but that is not important). On her way she had to go through a whole herd of antelopes, and a flock of flamingoes.
Before she had reached the truly northern end of the Waterhole, she found a strange game of truth or dare going on, and taking part in it was none other than Rex. To her surprise, he was soaking wet, and trying to balance on a tree branch some six feet off the ground. The bough (which did not look too sturdy at all) hovered directly over the water. Putting the pieces together, she worked out that Rex had accepted a dare that involved that tree, and the water. Before she had figured any more, he leaped off the branch and made a large splash in the pool when he came back down. Those that were playing the game with him cheered and clapped wildly (as best as a snake, a monkey, and a zebra could clap). The monkey helped him out of the water, and he shook himself dry like a dog before noticing Kiara standing there, in front of him. Now she was as wet as he was, and she did not look too happy.
After a little explanation, not only was Kiara ready to play a game of truth or dare with Rex, but she was ready to find the others. They had not yet gone quite far before the flock of flamingoes that Kiara had passed earlier on in getting to Rex stirred amongst themselves, and, all of a sudden, took to the air, and filled the sky like a cloud of pink. Rex immediately guessed that his twin had caused the sudden departure of the pink birds, and Kiara agreed. They ran back down to where the flamingoes had been standing, and there they found Helix, who was looking rather beat-up at the time.
Now there was hardly anyone at the Waterhole. People were leaving, and fast. Before the cubs knew it, only a few animals lingered around the water, and they were doing nothing but drinking. Kiara could not even see Atem, whom she guessed had already left.
Then all they had to do was to find Hezakiah. They started by moving in a clockwise direction across the western banks of the lake. In fact Atem was there, and they passed him on the way, though he did not seem to notice any of them that time. He seemed to be very interested in his reflection in the water, and Kiara thought wisely that she should not bother him. They reached the northern end without seeing or hearing any sign of Hezakiah, so they went back down south in a clockwise direction, expecting to find him then. Yet, they did not. The three made two more rounds together before they decided two things: (1) they would split up that time and go in opposite directions so they had a better chance of finding who they were looking for, and (2) if they didn't find Hezakiah that time, they would call it a day and go home, leaving him to explain to his mother why he was missing for so long.
Kiara and Rex formed a group for "obvious reasons," as Helix had put it, and he went by his own, in a clockwise direction. The others did the opposite.
Before long, Helix found Hezakiah crouching in the grass, and he knew right away that he was stalking something, although he could not see exactly what it was. Quickly he ran to Kiara and Rex, not wanting to call out to them and risk Hezakiah losing his target. They ran back to the spot hastily to find that Hezakiah had only advanced one yard since Helix had left him.
"What's he doing?" asked Kiara, puzzled.
"He's stalking something. I know it," answered Helix. Rex kept quiet, as he normally did.
"Are you sure?" asked Kiara. "Looks more like he's sleeping to me."
"And that explains why you're such a bad huntress," said Helix smugly. Rex smiled at the remark, but did no more.
"Well what's he stalking?"
"How would I know? Go ask him yourself!"
So Kiara walked towards Hezakiah, and before Helix could slap himself for letting Kiara (the noisy one) go, she had kicked four pebbles, snapped one twig, and rustled the grass several times. Something big and scary stirred in the bushes ahead, and a low, deep growl was heard. Hezakiah and Kiara both froze, as did the twins. Nothing more came for the time being.
"What are you doing?" asked Hezakiah in an angry whisper.
"Helix said that I should come ask you what you're stalking," answered Kiara, also whispering.
"What? I'm so going to kill him when I get back! Couldn't you wait?"
"Yeah, probably, but I didn't want to. So what are you hunting?"
Hezakiah didn't answer. His fear-glazed eyes were pointing straight ahead. That same low, deep growl was heard again, and a large spotted figure rose up out of the grass, towering high above them. Its teeth were bared, its claws were at the ready, and its ears were folded back. It was a leopard- a very big, dangerous leopard.
The cubs slowly stepped backwards, just one more growl away from being frozen with fear. It was staring at Helix most out of all of them, and he soon found that he could not move without shaking uncontrollably. When he did try to take a step back, he lost his footing, tumbled backwards, and rolled all the way down the bank and into the water. Now he was just as wet as his brother, and they truly looked exactly the same.
Then its focus was on Rex, who could not move any more than his brother could. What was worse was that the leopard did not hesitate to attack. It leaped at the cub, snarling, and that would have been the end for Rex if not for Hezakiah (who always shone in situations like that one), who valiantly tackled him to one side, leaving the leopard to land in the sticky, muddy banks of the Waterhole.
True to his estimations, when it did land, it became temporarily stuck. Kiara caught her breath and her wits, and shouted with all her might, "Atem! Atem! A-" but she was cut off before she finished calling his name a third time, for the leopard had pulled its feet out of the mud, and was swiping at her with its claws. It would not stop, and she was growing very scared and very tired. Each time she managed to dodge the claws, it was only by luck or chance, or something that was not hers to control. There was little help anywhere: Helix was still in the water, being too small to conquer the muddy slope by himself and Rex was too terrified to move. Still, Atem did not come, yet he was their only hope.
Then she heard Hezakiah's voice calling, "Hey, you! I'm over here! Come get me!" His distraction was normally an effective and simple one, but the leopard took no notice. It may not have heard the shrill voice, but the chances were that it was not so foolish as to get distracted by such a thing. It was hungry, and lion cubs were the perfect meals: small, weak, helpless, and in four. To be very cliché, you could say that there was one to be the appetizer, two to be the main course, and one to be dessert. However, they would make no meals on that day.
With all her might, Kiara called, "Atem! Help!" and blindly swung her paw, and by some divine intervention, managed to leave three nice scratch marks down the leopard's nose. It snarled in pain, freezing there for a moment. She took the chance and ran.
Like a horn of war, a severely loud trumpet exploded outwards from behind the water-maize by the lake, and out from the grass burst Atem, roaring elephantine roars. He rampaged furiously in the direction of the leopard, and before he reached it, he reared up on his hind legs like a wild horse. When his feet landed, they made a sound like thunder, which was enough to frighten that leopard. It had fallen to the ground, but quickly scrambled to its feet and ran. Atem bellowed once more and watched the cubs' attacker nearly fall to the ground and run even faster "just for kicks," as he later described it.
"So, here are those friends that you were telling me about, eh?" asked Atem with a chuckle.
"Who is that guy?" asked Hezakiah in a whisper that was far different from the whisper that he had used earlier.
Kiara nodded to Atem, and then answered Hezakiah, "Don't worry, he's a friend." She paused for awhile, and an awkward silence broke in. "Thanks for saving us," said she to Atem. Then she said to her friends, "Well don't just stand there," (they were actually all sprawled out across the floor) "introduce yourselves!"
Hezakiah had recovered very quickly from the shock, and managed to thank Atem and introduce himself very smoothly. However, Rex and Helix were not so quick to do so, and all they managed was, "Thanks I'm Helix," and "Thanks I'm Rex." They did not even try to fool Atem into thinking that Rex was Helix and Helix was Rex, as they normally did when they met new people.
When that was all over, Atem said, "Well, I'm Tembo, but you can call me Atem, like my friends do." He looked at the twins, and as if he had just noticed it he exclaimed, "Hey, you two are soaking! What've you guys been doing, taking a swim?"
"You could say that," answered Kiara.
"Well, it's cold out here, and you guys could just catch a cold for yourselves! We better get you home, quick. I guess I better go with you." Then Helix sneezed, soon followed by Rex, and at this, Atem had a laugh. "Alright! Everyone in front of me! Single file now, straight ahead- to the big pointy rock!" When the cubs were in front of him, he gave a loud bellow that ensured the twins would not recover from their shock for many more an hour and they were off.
X
When they got back to Pride Rock, the sun was still setting, though only one thin stripe of lavender could be seen peeping over the mountains, and nothing more. At first glance it appeared that they had not been missed, but the cubs soon found out otherwise. Their sudden disappearances had only just been noticed, and minutes before they had arrived, a search party of lionesses had been sent out to find them. But as if that was not enough, Simba insisted that he had to go and search for them (I know he really meant Kiara and Kiara alone), and no one stopped him. He hastily went through the main terrace, down the stairs, and to the foot of the rock, not knowing what to expect.
It may have been the thing that he had least expected that he saw. Kiara, Hezakiah, Rex and Helix were standing there, all lined up to face him, with a dark figure standing like a stone behind them, whose presence he did not seem to realise.
"Kiara! Where have you been? What have you been doing? Haven't I told you not to go out so close to nightfall, and not to go out without asking my permission?" He eyed the twins. "And why are you two wet?"
"But daddy, we-"
"They didn't leave close to nightfall," interrupted Atem, suddenly becoming animate. Simba nearly jumped as he talked, for he thought that the shadow was that of Pride Rock, and not actually that of a fully-grown elephant. "They left in the early afternoon, and arrived at the Waterhole soon afterwards, where I met them. They tried to avoid and ignore me at first, but they warmed up to me soon enough. Your daughter said that she had to get back before nightfall, but I guess I kept 'em longer than I should have." Abruptly, and in a voice that seemed to have painfully swallowed its pride he added, "Sorry, your majesty."
Simba was lost for words. He was not expecting that any more than he had expected to see the cubs lined up at the foot of the rock. Now he was feeling quite embarrassed for having needlessly and pointlessly scolded his own child in front of an old friend. Then there was dead silence, as if even the wind was holding its breath. Atem's smile slowly disappeared as Kiara forced a big, cheesy grin.
Then suddenly Simba said, "There's no need to call me your majesty, Atem. I hope those kids didn't cause you too much trouble."
"No, not at all. They're great kids, nice and polite. Kiara even bowed to me, which I found very flattering." He paused for a moment. "Well, it's getting late. I really should be going now."
"I won't keep you," said Simba. "Thanks for returning these four to us."
Atem nodded, bowed, and plodded away, as was his style. The lions stood there for a moment, watching him walk. Soon enough, Simba lead the four up the stairs, but in the darkness, Kiara slipped to the back of the line, and onto the plains. When she reached Atem she called his name to get his attention.
"Oh, hey Kiara! You know it's really late. I can't play with you now. Maybe tomorrow?"
"No, it's not that. I just wanted to say thanks for saving our lives- two times in one night. My dad would've killed me if he found out the truth. He would've killed us all."
Atem chuckled. "Hey, no sweat kid. I'll do anything for the Princess. And remember, if you ever need any help, call my name."
Kiara bowed low, and headed straight to the cave in Pride Rock.
X
The next day, it was decided by the cubs that they would pay another visit to the Waterhole, and they would get there early to avoid any anger from their parents. But on that day, the cubs were not four, but only two. Their number had been halved due to colds- colds caught by Rex and Helix after dipping themselves into the water.
So this time, only Kiara and Hezakiah were left, and this time they were smart about it; they got permission from their parents, on one condition: they had to have an adult with them "at all times," as Simba had put it. Before he could choose who that adult would be (or before he could say, "Zazu,"), Kiara shouted "Atem!" So instead of watching over the cubs, Zazu was sent out to find Atem, and returned with him some time later.
Not surprisingly, Atem wanted to know what had happened to the twins, and why they could not join them on that day. Hezakiah explained it all, though there was not much to explain. Then, the elephant muttered something that only he could hear properly under his breath, and they left immediately after.
They walked, surrounded by silence for most part, save the sound of the wind and the occasional sound of the prairies. There was, of course, Atem's occasional odd comment or question, such as "You're about to see something extreme!" and "Do you want some crumpets and tea?" but none of it made any sense to the cubs. Those two particular sentences did not do so, because nothing even vaguely extreme had happened before Atem had said the first, and they had not the slightest clue what crumpets or tea was.
They had only been travelling for a short while when they came to a large boulder that stood, pointing out of the ground like a tree. It was two yards wide and slightly taller than Atem, and its surface was smooth and brown as if it had collected a tan from sitting in the sun all day. As the ground neared the boulder, it changed from plain to hillock and knoll. The change was subtle at first, but then the rises and falls became so much so that not much could be seen over them. At the sight of the boulder, Atem stopped suddenly and said, "Hey, want to see something cool?"
"Well, we just wanted to get to the Waterhole early," said Kiara apologetically. "But what is it?"
"Well, you'll have to wait and see! It's just over those hills to the east over there." He looked to the place that he was talking about. "If I remember right, it'll only take us a few minutes to get there and back. And it's early, anyway. It's not like the Waterhole's going to run away or anything, is it?" He chuckled, but Hezakiah despised the use of that old it's not going to run away line, because he had heard it far too many times before.
"Alright," said Kiara. "Let's go."
X
Atem leaded them far, far towards the east, and what was supposed to be a few minutes' journey there and to the Waterhole became half-hours' journey just to find whatever Atem was talking about. Although he appeared to be lost, he didn't say anything to himself, such as "Oh, where is it?" or "I'm sure it was here before," like people who have lost something, or are lost and trying to find a particular place normally do. And when either of his companions asked him if he indeed was lost, he completely denied the truth (which you can guess for yourself). What was meant to be an eastward journey slowly turned to a northeastward one, and finally a northward one.
As soon as Hezakiah knew that they were going north, he guessed that Atem was taking them to see the Northern Border, but he kept his thought to himself. And Hezakiah was right. After what seemed like hours, the air grew thick and bore an ashy smell, and the view ahead of them became less like the savanna and more like a black, volcanic hillside. Abruptly, Atem stopped dead in his tracks, and shouted a word of warning to the cubs to watch their step. None of them knew why at first, because they had never seen the Northern Border, but when they did see it, they knew.
The Northern Border was not simply a change from grass to no grass, or a small threshold. It was a perilously steep incline in the ground, and the incline stretched and continued all along the northern end of the Kingdom. Any steeper and it could have been considered a cliff. Kiara and Hezakiah both looked over the edge in wonder, absorbing everything in like sponges. They did not even hear Atem's story of how the Northern Border came to be; they just stood there for minutes, looking down in awe. It was a long way down from Pride Land ground to Graveyard floor, so much so that it seemed certain that it had to have been made by the paws, hands, claws, feet and hooves of many, many different creatures over a very long time, and could not have occurred naturally. And to think that it completely cut the hyena land off from everything else was just too much for Kiara, or Hezakiah. Another strange thing was the dramatic change in turf. There was grass on one side, but if you had taken just one step, you would have found no trace of any sort of plant- living or dead- at all. It was almost like the hyenas were cursed with ill fortune, and everything in and around their home, wherever that may have been from time to time, would die off eventually. It was a scary thought for anyone who had enough time to think about it. Atem let them stay for as long as they wanted, and looked down at the ground with them, which made them all look rather stupid to anyone who laid eyes on them (but no one did).
When they wanted to go, he led them back to the Waterhole. It was unfortunate for them to have arrived at their initial destination at such a time, for you see, the time that it was when they arrived was the Waterhole's busiest time of day. A sea of living bodies, constantly moving, surrounded the water, and even Atem could not force his way through. If the cubs were to try and thread their way through the forest of legs, then they would surely get stepped on (as Kiara had been warned about) before even moving a few metres into the fray.
So then Atem suggested that they had better go somewhere quieter, and much less busy. He gave them two choices: the Grasslands or the Gorge.
The Grasslands was a huge piece of land that was everywhere mountains or famous landmarks were not. If you had put all the other parts of the Pride Lands together, the Grasslands would still be much bigger. It was everything from flat land, covered with an overgrown carpet of brownish-yellow grass as far as the eye could see, to vast rolling hills where life exploded into the atmosphere. All sorts of creatures dwelled on the Grasslands- mainly herd animals, for there was much food for them there. And since the herds were always there, predators were sure to be concealed in the shadow of a nearby acacia tree, or crouched low in the grass.
The Gorge was different to the Grasslands in many ways. For one, it was nothing but a deep chasm in the ground, and any type of mundane foliage that strove to grow there would sooner or later die of dehydration. Nobody went there often, for there was nothing of interest, save the hundred-foot drop to the floor of the Gorge. I have said that mundane foliage could never survive in the chasm instead of just plain foliage for a good reason. There was one type of grass that could survive there, and survive there it did extremely well. It grew nowhere else in the entire world, and Rafiki named the lush, bright green, densely grown blades Mufasa, for it sprouted in the place where Simba's father, Mufasa lay after his fall from the wall of the Gorge at the hands of Scar, his brother. Perhaps that was a thing of interest as well, for all that looked upon the grass would later say that it was unearthly and ethereal.
Kiara and Hezakiah took a long time to choose. They reasoned that if they went to the Grasslands, they would probably find something to do eventually, though it would take a long time- but it would take even longer if they went to the Gorge, and there, it was not certain that they would. They had been to the Grasslands many times before, and seen many things while on it, but it was a big place, and they had yet to see it all. However, they had never been to the Gorge, and if they went there, they could spend the whole day exploring.
"The Gorge!" said the cubs.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Atem. "Alright, everyone in front of me! Single file, to the Gorge!" and he trumpeted like he had done the last time he had begun a journey with them, and they left.
X
When the cubs arrived, the sun was shining brightly and beautifully, high in the cloudless sky. Atem led them over the gentle slope, down the hill, and watched over them as they looked around, stared in wonder, and explored freely. When they found the Mufasa grass and set foot upon it, they could not pull themselves away- not because of some spell or enchantment, but because it was so incredibly soft that they could not help but jump around and bounce on it. However much they did jump and bounce, the grass would never remain folded for very long, and it would not break or be wounded. They imagined that the grass was wearing some kind of armor; very soft, yet effective armor. Atem only watched them for a minute or so before he suddenly said, "O man, I have to meet someone today! I'm late!" And he turned to them and said, "You kids can look after yourselves for awhile, right? I'll only be about half an hour."
Kiara and Hezakiah nearly swooned at the sound of his words. "Yeah, sure!" they answered. "We'll be waiting right here for you when you get back!"
"Alright guys. Remember, stay right here, don't climb too high, and stay away from pointy rocks. And if you need any help-"
"We'll call your name," ended Kiara with a smile.
Atem turned and rushed away at a faster speed than they thought was possible of him. In moments, he had disappeared behind the chasm's wall, and was gone.
"So," said Hezakiah, "what do you want to do? Play tag?"
"No way!" said Kiara. "Come on, let's explore!" With those words, she ran ahead.
Hezakiah could see her at first for the air was as clear as a bell, but suddenly something very strange happened. Her image became blurry and before he knew it she was gone. Then everything around him started to blur just as Kiara had. A thick fog fell on the entire Gorge, or so it seemed to Hezakiah. In a flash, he was floating in a wilderness of grey wisps and swirling white. He could feel no ground underneath his feet, and he could see nothing that was not in black, grey, or white, besides his own body. He grew frightened, and he was only about to become even more so. Like mud poured into water from a jug held high above, a thickness came upon the air and made it hard to breathe. A shadow rushed past him, and he would have sworn that it had a certain shape to it, but it was moving too fast for him to tell. Before Hezakiah knew it, he was wheezing and hacking furiously, and losing awareness of his surroundings fast.
"Kiara!" called he, in a choked cough. No answer came, and it seemed that even if he had been able to use his voice to its full extent, nobody would have heard even a whisper of it. But using his remaining breath on such a thing was foolish, for then he could not regain it.
The shadow whizzed past again, this time faster, bigger, and streaked with eerie, long-lasting neon red. Screams burst out of the very rock wall itself, so high-pitched and so terrible that Hezakiah fell to the ground and wept, for sadness, fear, and pain- pain in his ears, pain in his head, pain like his skull was about to explode and rain blood on the whole kingdom (which, for me, is a disturbing thought).
The wails continued, and in the midst of his agony he realised that they were cries, not of sorrow, but of pain such as his. He did not know it, but his screams were one of those in the horrible chorus. The black shape flew past him again and again, faster each time, until a black ring surrounded him. Like ink, the darkness crawled over him, below him, all around him.
He tried to stand up again, but his legs turned to jelly and his head swam. He fell to the ground and the darkness took him.
Meanwhile, Kiara was exploring happily in the Gorge nearby. Only then did she realise that Hezakiah was gone. "Hezakiah!" called she, and waited. No response came. "Hezakiah?" She waited for a long while, and took a step forward. Abruptly, two red dots appeared in her sights, but they quickly disappeared as Hezakiah's eyes filled the air that they inhabited.
"I'm over here!" called he. "Just a minute."
"What were you doing back there?"
"Looking around."
"Well you should've come with me. I found this really cool rock that looked like a lion's face!" said Kiara.
Hezakiah did not seem all so interested. When Kiara's back was turned, he raised an arm and swung it round to meet her. It hit like a sledgehammer and threw her across the floor of the Gorge, straight into a wall that shattered on impact. The wall cracked into rocks and boulders, and they came raining down like frighteningly large balls of hail. Her attacker bolted towards her with impossible speed and raised his arm again to finish the job. It came flying down like a hawk, but before it hit, there was a shout, and invisible forces threw him back, away from his target, all the way through the remainder of the Gorge (which was roughly one hundred and fifty strides). He hit a wall that marked the end of the Gorge, and his body dug metres deep into it. Shards of rock came tumbling down, over the tunnel, and then there was true darkness.
X