Chapter 5 – The Elephant Graveyard

Rod and Lee were now racing across the sparse lands filled with a small amount of trees and plants as they were laughing and giggling in mirth at how they managed to outsmart Jack. "Wow, I cannot believe we did that!" Lee chuckled as she and Rod stopped to take a breath. "Yeah, we certainly did," Rod laughed while panting hard for breath. "We seriously ditched the dodo that time, darling," Lee retorted with a coy smirk.

"Yep; I'm… a genius," Rod puffed his chest out while strutting flamboyantly, making Lee rather annoyed. "Hey, genius, it was my idea, you know," she snapped briskly. "Yeah, but I pulled it off," Rod shot back while pointing at himself with his right paw cockily.

"With me!" Lee insisted as she stood up to her feet and confronted him with her fur bristling slightly. "Oh yeah? We'll see about that, darling," Rod shot back defiantly as Lee dove for him with a snarl and the two cubs started wrestling with each other as they rolled into a tumble for a few minutes when Lee was pinned flat on her back with Rod grinning at her smugly.

"Hey, no fair, Rod!" Lee pouted with a gusty sigh as she got up to her feet while shaking her fur wildly. "I'm the prince, Lee and I'm stronger than you," Rod insisted while continuing to circle around her arrogantly and the young mahogany lioness cub seethed with rage.

"That's not true and you know it! Lionesses are stronger than lions! They are the ones that do all of the hunting for the pride and they take care of the cubs!" Lee fired back indignantly at her friend as Rod glared darkly at her with a cruel smile. "And the king gets to mate with whoever he wants; I don't have to be faithful to you," he chuckled demurely as Lee scowled while walking away from him in anger. "You're an asshole and you are completely insufferable!" she snarled back as she was about to storm off.

"Lee, wait!" Rod pleaded as he caught up with her while rubbing his head against her body apologetically, catching her off guard. "I'm sorry; I was just playing with you, understand? I would never forgive myself if you were to never speak to me ever again; you're my best friend and I love you."

Lee smiled as she rubbed him back while purring and she bumped noses with him. "It's all right, Rod; why don't we play now?" she accepted his apology as Rod's smirk widened and he tackled her onto the ground as they began to tumble over each other again while giggling; this time, Lee was able to pin Rod onto his back.

"Hey, let me up!" Rod insisted as Lee began to walk away with a triumphant smirk on her face and then he charged right at her as he leaped at her again before they rolled into yet another tumble; they were rolling over each other as they were infected by a strong fit of giggles and they plummeted down into a large pit where Lee finally landed on Rod and pinned him down on his back once more. "Pinned ya again," she declared as the cubs heard a green geyser go off and they whipped their heads around to see what the sound was coming from.

The moment they did so, they got off each other as they were astounded and stunned with disbelief as they saw hundreds of green geysers go off in large shoots and they began to venture deeper into the elephant graveyard, which occasionally contained large clusters of elephant skeletons that had been lying about for several months. Harsh, raspy screeches of vultures can sometimes be heard from a distance as Lee shivered in anxiety and nervousness as she stayed close to Rod.

"I don't like this Rod; we shouldn't be here," the young lioness cub whimpered as Rod snuggled with her to assure her. "Don't worry; Rodie's going to protect you," he assured her gently as he headed off towards a particularly large elephant skeleton and they soon reached a long and thick tusk as they came across an entire field of bones. "Wow…"

"Isn't this great?" Rod smiled at Lee as Lee grinned at him excitedly while giggling slightly. "Yeah, it's really creepy," she answered as they walked away from the tusk and were heading off.

"You know, they say that elephants come here to die; that's why they call it the elephant graveyard," Lee informed Rod as they kept on walking. "Says who?" Rod scoffed as he climbed onto an elephant skeleton. "Says my mama," was Lee's answer as Rod broke out into laughter.

"Your mama is full of crap," he taunted her snidely as Lee let out a low growl from her throat while approaching Rod menacingly. "My mama's not full of crap! I'm telling her on you!" she snapped angrily as Rod just kept on laughing and mocking her mercilessly.

It was then that Jack suddenly flew up in Rod's face and Rod let out a scream as he tumbled onto his back and scrambled up to Lee while huddling close to her. "Jack? How did you find us?" Rod gasped in surprise as his eyes were widened in fear.

"Apparently you brats were loud enough for the entire elephant graveyard to hear and I'm afraid it's time to go home," Jack insisted snappishly as he was about to usher Rod and Lee straight home. "Buzz off, dodo; I'm not afraid of you," Rod growled at Jack as he stormed off.

"Hey! I wouldn't go off if I were you; the place gives me the creeps," Jack shouted after Rod as he shuddered in trepidation. "Ha! Danger? I walk on the wild side, tubby; I laugh in the face of danger. Mu-hu-ha!" Rod taunted Jack crudely as he approached the large elephant skeleton and started laughing cockily.

Suddenly, he heard the sounds of hyenas cackling from out of nowhere and he bolted straight for his friends while gasping in terror and he cowered closer to Lee and Jack as three hyenas emerged out of the darkness while advancing towards them with gleaming, maniacal, keen eyes and tongues lolling out of their mouths. They are Rodney, Buckley and Jackson.

"Well, well, well; what do we have here?" Rodney cackled as he turned to Buckley. "I don't know; what do you think, Jackson?" Buckley asked Jackson while turning to him and Jackson just laughed maniacally.

"You know what I was thinking? A trio of trespassers!" Buckley mused to his friends as he turned his sharp and merciless glare onto the three helpless heroes.

"Well, you see, there is absolutely nothing to be concerned about; we were just on our way out," Jack stammered nervously as the hyenas just cackled hysterically as Rodney glared at him suspiciously. "Hey, I remember you! You're Doug's majordomo!" he cried as Jack shuddered under his harsh glare and swallowed hard. "Yes, yes I am, but we really must be going…" Jack began to speak but Buckley cut him off.

"Oh, no, no, no; we really would like for you to stay for dinner; we're having whatever's on the menu," Buckley insisted as the hyenas began to circle around them and Lee gasped as Buckley grinned at him seductively while caressing her face softly with his right paw.

"Awww, look at this sweet thing," he cooed. "She is so beautiful," Rodney chuckled demurely as Jackson smirked at her evilly. "Too bad we can't have our way with her because we gotta eat her instead," he quipped as Lee curled up into a ball and whimpered fearfully.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Rod snarled as he got into Rodney's face. "Oh, this must be the prince to the Pridelands; you are so scrawny and weak. You will never amount to be king," Rodney mocked and teased the young golden yellow cub as the others joined in their laughter.

"Stop that!" Rod growled as Jack pulled him close to him to have a little talk. "Rod, I don't think we should provoke them any further; they can be very dangerous, you know," he whispered through their side mouth as the hyenas continued to circle around them while proceeding to make sexually suggestive comments towards Lee.

"Jack, didn't you say once that they are just a bunch of dodo brains?" Rod retorted to Jack as he waved his wings down frantically so they wouldn't hear.

"What did you say, punk?" Buckley snarled at Jack angrily as he gulped and was about to step away from the vicious trio. "I didn't say anything…" Jack interjected but then he was snatched by Rodney and they rushed over to a geyser as they were putting him inside it with the black hornbill quivering in fear.

"Let's put him in the birdie boiler!" Buckley cheered as Jack began to scream hysterically. "No, not the birdie boiler…!" he wailed as he was then hurtled out of the geyser and he was sent flying out of the elephant graveyard at 500 mph back into the Pridelands.

"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Rod hissed at the hyenas as Rodney smirked at him evilly through the geyser steams. "Like… you?" he suggested wickedly as Rod's ears flattened in horror. "Oops."

It was then the cubs let out a chorus of horrific screams as the hyenas gave chase and they raced over to one of the enormous skeletons as they climbed up its long yet thick spine, with Rodney snapping his jaws at Lee just as she barely made it past him. The cubs then jumped down the sloping rows of bones as they were screaming at the top of their lungs and upon flying out of the tusks and landing onto a pile of bones, they scrambled for cover.

It was then that the hyenas charged right for them as Rod was climbing towards a large skull when he suddenly heard Lee scream. "Rod, help!" she wailed as he spun around to see Lee slipping away towards the hyenas' grasp and not even her claws were helping her maintain her grip.

Rod then charged right for the hyenas as Rodney was drooling greedily just as he was about to dive for Lee; Rod then suddenly struck him across the face with his claws and he developed a huge scratch mark that blinded his vision and enraged him.

The cubs then bolted into a dark area as they were scrambling for another elephant skeleton and upon jumping onto it were trying to get to safety when the back finally gave way, sending them straight into the skeleton and trapping them inside. The cubs gasped as they realized they were trapped with no way out.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty," Rodney growled menacingly as he and his cronies advanced towards them threateningly. Rod then took in a deep breath and tried to roar but to no avail since it came out as a harsh, raspy mew.

The hyenas then laughed and cackled at him as they were amazed at how weak his roar was. "Oh my God, that was so rich! That little punk can't even come up with a great roar!" Buckley cackled as he and his brothers kept on laughing with Rodney constantly taunting him. "Do it again."

Rod then took in a deep breath and was about to roar again when suddenly a huge roar erupted out of nowhere, making him shocked and in disbelief; this made the hyenas confused and puzzled too.

However, they had no time to reflect on where the source of the sound came from when Doug suddenly burst into the scene and let out a series of thundering, loud roars as he started to swat and strike at them with the hyenas flying all over the place; as Buckley tried to lunge at him with his claws and teeth, Doug then backhanded him with another strike as he was sent flying to the floor, with Jackson being shaken violently like a rag doll upon being caught in his jaws.

The cubs were shocked and amazed as they watched the fight proceed for about 10 minutes with the hyenas being mercilessly mauled and beaten savagely as they finally gave up fighting and were now pinned down to the ground with Doug hovering over them with a fierce snarl on his lips.

"What the hell are you assholes doing here?" the elderly lion growled as the hyenas cowered in his commanding presence and Rodney chuckled nervously. "Oh, is this your son? This is your son? I didn't know this was your son! Did you, Buckley?" he squeaked fearfully as he turned to Buckley. "No, no, I didn't; did you, Jackson?" he replied as the two turned to Jackson, who nodded dumbly as Doug let out a threatening roar, which sent them scattering immediately.

Jack then flew down in front of the king and nodded to him approvingly, only to receive a warning growl at him. Rod and Lee then approached Doug as Rod lowered his head down in shame. "Dad, I'm sorry," he whispered as Doug promptly ignored him and just kept on walking. "Let's go home," he growled as they walked out of the elephant graveyard with Lee whispering to Rod, "You were really brave."

However, from out of the shadows was a pair of glowing, red, malevolent eyes that had witnessed what just transpired and was not very pleased.