Chapter 4 – A Rescue and a Change of Heart
--
Zina yawned and stretched as she woke up the next morning. She lay there in the cozy grass, looking up at the sky with a smile on her face.
'The morning sky looks so beautiful here.' she thought, 'I just wish I could enjoy this sight every day.'
Zina continued looking up at the sky until her stomach began to encourage her to feed it. She then got up, walked over to a rotting log, and lifted it. Licking her lips at the sight of all the delicious-looking bugs underneath the log; she picked one up, popped it into her mouth, and chewed with delight.
"Mmmmm… cream-filled." she said to herself.
Zina swallowed the bug and picked up another one. As she bit the head off, she overheard two male meerkats talking nearby.
"Whattaya think of that new girl?"
"She's alright I guess. I mean, she hasn't done anything wrong."
"Yeah, you'd think Max would like her better. She did help Tony and Timon get better at his yoga class. And did you see those scorpions she caught yesterday?"
"Yeah! Those things were huge! And mighty tasty. She sure knows how to pick 'em."
Zina grinned, happy to know that there were some around that appreciated her efforts. She then put the rest of the bug in her mouth and started to chew it.
"By the way, did you know Timon's got the hots for her?"
Zina swallowed hard, nearly choking after hearing that.
"You serious?"
"Yeah. He told me last night that he really likes her."
"Wow. Well, for Timon's sake, I hope Max lets her stay."
"Yeah. Want to go do some bungee jumping now?"
"Sure."
The two friends walked off, not knowing that Zina had heard them talking.
'Timon likes me too?' she thought.
After munching on a few more bugs, she decided to find Timon and talk to him. She'd only gone a short distance when she heard his voice in the air, shouting with excitement. Looking up, she saw him landing in a tree branch with one end of a leaf in each hand.
"Oh, hi, Zina." he said, waving to her.
"Hi Timon. What're you doing up there?"
"Oh, this? It's called parachuting. You just take hold of each end of the leaf like this, and jump."
Timon then jumped off the branch, slowly floating to the ground.
"Yee-"
Suddenly, one end of the leaf slipped out of Timon's hand and he started falling.
"-haaaaaaah!"
Luckily, Timon landed in the soft grass and wasn't seriously hurt. Zina ran up to him.
"You okay, Timon?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Timon replied, sitting up, "Maybe a little bruised, but I don't think anything's broken."
Zina started to help him up.
"Whoa, careful! I'm ticklish."
Timon slapped his hand over his mouth after saying that.
"Oh, you are." Zina said, slowly moving around him.
"No, wait! I didn't- meheeheeheeheean it! Stop! Hahahaha!"
Timon laughed uncontrollably as Zina started tickling him. After a while, Swifty wandered by.
"Excuse me," he said, "have either of you seen my son? His name's Gus and he's about this tall. I think he was playing near the water earlier, but now I can't find him."
"I'm sorry, I haven't seen him." Zina said.
"Me neither." added Timon.
"Oh. Well, thanks anyway."
Swifty walked away, calling out to Gus. Timon then took that moment to strike back at Zina with a tickling attack of his own.
"Hey, what're- yaahahahahaha! Quit it!" Zina cried.
"So, you're ticklish too, huh? I might've guessed."
"Mahahahahaybe, but I'll bet yohohohohou're more ticklish than me!"
Zina and Timon rolled around in the grass, keeping up their tickle fight. After a while, Zina was able to pin Timon face down on the ground. Holding him down with her knees, she took his foot and started tickling it. Timon burst into wild laughter as he struggled to free himself.
"Hey, nohohohoho fair! Not the feeheeheeheet, please! Hahaha!"
Zina suddenly stopped when she heard a small voice cry out, "Help!"
"What was that?" she said.
"What?" Timon asked.
"Help!"
Timon then recognized that voice.
"Hey, that sounded like… Gus!"
Timon and Zina got up and ran towards the scream. They soon found themselves near a waterfall; where Swifty, Sherri, and a few other meerkats were gathered. Not long afterwards, they saw a young meerkat in the water, struggling to keep from drowning.
"Help!" he cried, "Mama! Papa!"
Sherri gasped and shouted, "My baby!"
"I'll save him!" Zina shouted.
Before anyone could say or do anything, Zina jumped into the water. Everyone watched nervously as she swam towards Gus. Suddenly, Gus couldn't take it any longer and fell beneath the water. But Zina wasn't giving up. She dove into the water and emerged with him in one arm. Gus coughed as Zina swam towards the shore as fast as she could. Shortly afterwards, Max appeared with Pumbaa and the rest of the meerkats.
"What's going on here?" Max asked.
"My baby's in the river!" cried Sherri, "And she's saving him!"
Max looked and saw Zina and Gus nearing the shore.
"Swifty, get me a stick!" said Stumpy.
Swifty nodded and ran off. Less than two seconds later, he came back in a flash, with a long stick. He gave it to Stumpy; who held it out to Zina and shouted, "Here! Grab on!"
Zina grabbed the stick with her free hand and held on as hard as she could. With his amazing strength, Stumpy pulled Zina and Gus out of the water and set them down on the ground. Then as the other meerkats cheered and applauded, Zina let go of the stick and handed Gus to Sherri; who hugged him hard.
"Gus!" she cried, "Thank goodness you're okay."
"Thank you, Zina, for saving our son." said Swifty.
"Thank you, Ms. Zina." said Gus.
"You're very welcome." Zina replied with a smile.
"Wow, Zina! You're a real hero." Pumbaa said.
Not wanting to talk about his failed attempt to save young Simba; who wasn't really in danger of drowning at the time, Timon just smiled and nodded. Zina blushed in response. Max just stood there watching for a few seconds, then as Zina glanced in his direction, he turned around and walked away.
--
Timon and Pumbaa, exhausted from another long day of doing nothing, began dozing off into naps. Timon had just begun to sleep, when he overheard two female meerkats talking nearby.
"…and then she just dove right in and got him out of the water."
"Yeah. Max has got to let her stay after a heroic deed like that."
Timon grinned at the thought of Zina staying with them.
"By the way, did you know she's got the hots for Timon?"
Timon's eyes sprang open when he heard that.
"You serious?"
"Yeah. She said yesterday that she likes him. And get this. My mate told me today that Timon said the same thing about her."
"Oh, I know that. My mate told me that too."
Timon sighed and said to himself, "Twitchy, you big blabbermouth."
"Think he'll ever tell her?"
"I don't know."
Timon thought about it briefly. Then he nodded, jumped off Pumbaa, and walked up to them.
"Well, I guess I might as well. Seeing as how you two already know, and so do your mates and probably half of the colony by now. If you'll excuse me, ladies."
The two females watched Timon walk off, surprised that he had heard them. Then they looked at each other, shrugged, and went on their way. As Timon went to look for Zina, he heard a familiar-sounding voice say, "Don't get nervous like I did."
"I won't." Timon replied.
Shocked, he stopped walking and slowly turned towards the voice. Unable to see anyone, he scratched his head in confusion.
"Aw, who cares?" he said to himself, "My future mate awaits."
--
Max sat on a log, staring at the ground below him in deep thought. He was holding a small twig; which was a symbol of leadership and only carried by the acting leader of the colony.
"Max? What's wrong?"
Max turned his head and saw Nina walking up to him.
"I've been thinking." he said, "Maybe I was wrong about that new girl."
"Zina?"
"I was always taught that rogues were nothing but trouble, but she's been no trouble at all. In fact, I have to admit she's been a big help. So has Timon. And yet, I've been treating them both like dung. Maybe I should go make amends with them."
Nina, who was going to suggest the same thing, nodded. Max then looked at his stick.
"Speaking of Timon," he continued, "I've also been thinking about that promise I made to Buzz. I keep wondering if the time is right."
(years ago)
"Aren't you gonna come with me?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
"Come on, Max! He could be in danger!"
"Well, he should've thought of that before he left. You want to find him, then by all means, go after him. I'm not going anywhere."
Nina sighed and started to leave. Then she stopped and went back to the tunnel.
"I think I understand now why your father chose Buzz to lead the colony instead of you." she said to Max.
With that, she continued on her way. Undaunted, Max continued with his work.
"We're much better off without him around." he said to himself.
"Is that really what you think?"
Startled by the voice, Max dropped the rock he was carrying and fell over backwards. When he looked up, he noticed a transparent figure approaching him.
"What the…? Who…?"
Soon, the figure came closer to him and Max recognized him.
"…B-Buzz?!"
"You made a promise to me when I died, and I've been holding you to it ever since."
Max just stared at him, not knowing what to say.
"If you find Timon, then I can promise you a better life for you and everyone else in the colony. It's your choice. Keep your promise to me and reap the rewards for your efforts, or stay here and continue digging and hiding for the rest of your life."
Finally, Max gave in.
"You and I have disagreed on a lot of things, but I always cared for you as my brother." he said, "For that reason, I'll do it. And I'll hold you to your promise."
Max grabbed his stick and ran up to Stumpy.
"Stumpy," he said, "I have to go somewhere. While I'm gone, you're in charge."
He handed the stick to Stumpy.
"Okay…" Stumpy replied, taking the stick, "Where you going?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
With that, Max ran out one of the tunnel exits.
"Nina! Wait up!" he cried, running up to her.
Nina stopped and turned around.
"I made a promise to my brother." Max said to her, "And I intend to keep it. Now let's go find Timon."
(present)
"Buzz was right about what he promised me." Max said softly to himself, "Even if it did take a while for it to happen. And I suppose I am getting old."
He took another look at the stick and then nodded.
"If you'll excuse me," he said to Nina, "I've got some apologies to make and a promise to fulfill."
As Max left, Nina smiled and said to herself, "This is getting easy."
--
Lakota gasped and coughed as he emerged from under the water. With his poor swimming skills, he barely managed to climb out of the river. Days of searching for the jungle oasis; where Timon and Pumbaa supposedly lived, had seemed to be a big waste of his time.
"Bob, you moron!" he said, as he shook the water off his fur, "That's the last time I listen to you! Lush tropical oasis, my… huh?"
Suddenly, he noticed to his surprise that he was standing in front of the jungle oasis.
"Well, shut my mouth. This place really does exist after all."
Lakota grinned and then licked his lips.
"Well then, let's just see if warthog and meerkat are still on the menu."
--
To be continued