Chapter 9 – Tragic Aftermath
It was then that Rod stepped down from the cliff shortly after the flood of wildebeest cleared up and he was walking around in the still, dead silence as he heard vultures shriek with their high-pitched, shrill cries; he was still shocked and stunned at what just happened at the gorge and he was stuck in a daze when suddenly a lone wildebeest flashed by him and galloped away into the horizon, right where Doug's body lay.
Rod gasped softly as he bolted towards his father and slowly approached him with an apprehensive and crestfallen face as he saw him up close for the first time, without any sign of movement, without any sign of life. He then looked at him for a few moments as he studied him closely and his fur shook terribly as he could hardly believe what he was seeing.
The air felt cold and dry as Rod took in a shaky breath and whispered, "Dad? Dad?" He then inched closer to him as he nudged up his face as it dropped abruptly on its side. "Come on, Dad! You got to wake up please!" he pleaded as he shook him awake and slapped his face while licking him urgently.
"Come on, Dad! We have to go home! Don't leave me here!" he wailed as he tugged on his ear and he glanced around for anyone there as he was suddenly filled with panic and terror; in a matter of moments, Rod dashed across the gorge as he let out a loud, blood-curling scream that echoed in the air as he started screaming at the top of her lungs.
"HEEEEEEEEEEELP! HEEEEEEEEEEELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME! HEEEELP ME FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as his frantic and mortified cries rang out through the savanna and he then broke down into hysterical sobs with tears streaming down his face as he finally rushed to his father's side in defeat; he then scurried over to Doug's lifeless corpse as he snuggled underneath his arm while he lay down beside him and then sighed deeply with shaky sobs before resting his head to go to sleep.
Rod then took in deep breaths as more tears ran down his face and he was lying beside his father in his private and silent mourning; it wasn't long before Stefano emerged from the shadows and peered down at both father and son as he found his distressed and grief-stricken nephew snuggling close to the dead body.
"What have you done?" he whispered harshly as Rod whipped his head to face his uncle and his body shuddered in convulsions as he barely managed to suppress a single sob and buried his face in his dad's arms as he was rocked by yet another fit of grief. "I-it was an accident! I didn't mean to… I didn't mean to hurt him! I was just trying to practice my roar! I didn't want to hurt my dad! I didn't mean to kill him!"
"There, there, there now, dear child; your father's suffering is now over; he is at peace with the Great Kings as he should be. He was not long in this world anyway," he sympathized with the young cub in a rather callous and insincere manner as Rod broke away from Doug and turned to him with a stricken face.
"I didn't mean for him to get hurt badly; I didn't want him to die; I was just practicing my roar and then the earth started shaking and…" he stammered rapidly as he started breathing in rather too quickly and Stefano nodded while shushing him and pulling the boy into his arms while caressing his back soothingly with Rod sobbing quietly in his arms.
"There, there, now Rod; it's going to be all right. We can fix this, believe me; I know you never meant to kill your father but you did. The King is dead and has no ruler to take his place. Oh, what will your poor mother think if she were to find out about what you've done? What will your friend Lee say if she were to find out that her best friend was a murderer?" Stefano murmured gently to Rod as he continued crying and his ears pricked up at his words as he glanced up at him. "What should I do?" he whispered to his uncle.
"Run away and never return," was all Stefano said without so much as batting an eyelash and then Rod immediately broke away from Stefano was dashing farther into the gorge as he never looked back from his father. It was then that Rodney, Jackson and Buckley emerged from the shadows as Stefano stood there placidly yet stoically while ready to give out his order. "Kill that fucking bastard," he hissed in an ominous voice as the hyenas lunged straight for Rod.
Rod then found himself standing in front of a tall pile of rocks that led him out of the gorge as he spun around to see Rodney, Buckley and Jackson drawing near him with menacing, low growls.
Rod then scampered away from the hyenas as he hastily scrambled up the pile of rocks with his claws as the hyenas were lunging at him with raspy snarls with Rodney landing one paw right at the right side of his back, producing a long slash mark. Rod then yelled out in pain as he leaped over the pile while barely avoiding even more swipes as he raced over to the edge; he then dove into a thicket of thorns as he weaved and slithered through the prickly branches as they scratched and scarred his skin several times, including across his face and backside.
He then raced out of the thicket as he suddenly skidded over on the promontory and he glanced over to see the hyenas charging straight at him.
Rod then took in a deep breath as he jumped off the cliff and tumbled down the steep, precarious slope as he took a terrifying and death-defying plunge towards the ground and he landed hard on his right shoulder, bruising it and breaking his front right leg; he then kept on running even as his foot was surging in unbearable pain and it was dangling loosely with every shaky and unsteady footstep he took.
The hyenas then saw the thicket of thorns coming straight at them as they suddenly came to a stop while slamming right into each other; Buckley then dove right into the thorns and jumped into midair as he was cursing out obscenities with thorns protruding all over his body. "GODDAMN IT!" he shrieked as Rodney and Jackson started laughing and cackling immediately at his unfortunate luck as Buckley staggered up to the edge while wincing and whimpering in pain and his two brothers pulled him up onto the surface as he proceeded to pick the thorns out of his butt and backside.
"Man…! That little piss ass! I cannot believe he just led us into those fucking thorns!" Buckley grumbled angrily as he kept on pulling the thorns out of his fur.
"Well, at least that prince is gone; with him and Doug out of the way, Stefano would be able to take over the kingdom and do things his way," Rodney scoffed as Jackson observed Buckley taking the thorns out painstakingly with odd fascination. "Fascinating," he muttered as Buckley scowled and then threw his head back to glare at Rod's retreating form and then took a deep breath to send a clear message to the young cub. "And if you ever come back, we'll kill you!"
It was then that same afternoon, word had spread about King Doug's death and Rod's subsequent disappearance and the pride was immersed in deep mourning and grief. Julie herself was devastated and heartbroken to learn of her mate's tragic death and had mostly confined herself to her cave to sort her feelings out. As for Marlena, she was shocked and in disbelief at the horrific incident at the gorge and was troubled by the prospect of having to break the sad and disturbing news to her young daughter Lee.
The elderly woman then slunk into the cave looking rather silent and thoughtful as she saw Lee prancing around the cave while chasing her tail and rolling around in giggles and sighed deeply while shaking her head sadly. No child should ever have to go through this, she thought to herself as she lifted her head up and approached her daughter.
"Lee; we need to talk," she informed her as Lee perked up at the sound of her mother's voice and raced over to hug her legs lovingly with a purr. "What is it, Mama?" she asked her as Marlena sat down rather abruptly and pulled the vivacious and spirited young lioness cub into her arms while holding her gently.
"Lee, I-I don't know how to tell you this, but there is something you should know. King Doug just died today; one of the lionesses found his body at the gorge and Stefano arranged for some of the lionesses to bring it back home so he can have a proper burial. It was a terrible accident; he was trying to save Rod and he was run over by the wildebeest stampede," she informed her as Lee gawked in astonishment and amazement while shaking her head slightly.
"What happened to Rod?" she stammered fearfully as Marlena hung her head sorrowfully. "He's gone, Lee; they couldn't find his body anywhere. He must have disappeared during the stampede; I'm sorry," she muttered sadly as Lee shuddered in horror and consternation as she shook her head wildly since she was not willing to believe what she had just heard.
"No… No… You can't be serious! You're lying to me! Rod can't be dead!" she growled at her mother angrily as Marlena stood back with concern written on her face. "Lee, I am telling you the truth; I would never lie to you if it wasn't true," she insisted patiently with yet another sigh and Lee's face darkened into a scowl with her fur bristling as tears rained down her face.
"No… You're wrong. I cannot accept the fact that he's dead… I know he's out there somewhere…" she sneered at her mother as Marlena growled deep in her throat. "Lee…" she admonished her sternly. "You're lying! Rod will never leave me out here, all alone! He would never leave me out here with those fucking mangy hyenas! He would never…!" She then tore out of the cave as she hastily galloped down the steps of Pride Rock and quickly took off from the Pridelands and towards the Outlands.
Marlena then raced out of the cave and headed off to Pride Rock as she watched her daughter disappear off into the horizon and was stricken with panic at the possibility of her being in terrible danger. "Come back here, Lee! Goddamn it!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as Caroline, who was a saffron honey golden lioness with sapphire blue eyes, walked up to her anxiously.
"What's wrong, Marlena?" she asked her as Marlena shook her head and glared at her. "Go after Lee and make sure she comes back here for the funeral; I don't want her to be in any further trouble," was her answer as Caroline nodded in comply. "Yes, ma'am," she said as she took off from Pride Rock and headed off to fetch Lee.
Meanwhile, the young mahogany lioness cub was dashing and speeding through the grass as she could heard the distinct growls and snarls of the hyena pack wandering around the borders of the Pridelands as she was edging closer to the borders of the Outlands. She was just about 30 miles away until she reached the notoriously barren and perilous wastelands when suddenly she skidded to a halt upon being surrounded by Rodney and the hyenas.
Lee then whimpered with her tail tucked in-between her legs as the pack was advancing closer to her and then Rodney snatched her tail as he pulled her closer to her and she screamed as the adult hyena hugged her in her arms and unsheathed his claws as he held them near her throat. "Why don't y'all come and get some if you want her?" he hollered to his comrades as they cackled shrilly and madly while dancing around them in celebration.
"Now, princess, we'll make this easy, by having you let us do whatever we want with you or if you fight, we'll kill you," Rodney hissed softly in Lee's ear as she squirmed and thrashed to break out of his arms and he sunk his teeth into the pelt of her neck while wrapping his legs around hers. "Get her," he snarled as the hyenas cackled and were approaching her slowly in order to sodomize and perhaps sexually assault her.
But then Caroline burst into the scene with a explosive roar as she swung her paws at several of the hyenas as they all darted right for her while lunging at her to attack; she then backhanded one of the hyenas in the face while she struck and swatted several more of them while grabbing another one by the skull and tossing it hard into the sky, snapping his neck cleanly.
Lee then struck Rodney hard across the face before breaking for cover and fleeing for the safety of the Pridelands. "Run, Lee! Go back to your mother! I'll catch up!" Caroline bellowed at the young cub as several of the hyenas leaped right at her in great numbers and she was quickly becoming overwhelmed as she slashed and clawed at them as many of them tumbled to the ground dead.
"Mommy!" Lee wailed as she rushed back up to Pride Rock and jumped into Marlena's arms with the elderly lioness hugging her tightly. "Oh, my poor baby! I'm glad you're safe!" she sobbed while burying her face into her fur and weeping softly.
"Where's Mama?" Bo, a white cub with vanilla-silver hair tufts and grey-blue eyes, piped up shrilly as he scampered up to Marlena.
"Everybody attack!" Maggie yelled at the top of her lungs as several of the lionesses surged right into the area near the Outlands and went in for the offensive, with Maggie roaring at the top of her lungs.
It was then that several of the Pridelander lionesses fought viciously and bravely against the hyena packs as many of them were killed and slaughtered in the battle, with some of the women carrying a beaten and wounded Caroline to safety.
Marie even pursued one of the hyenas madly as she tackled him onto the ground and tore at it savagely while disemboweling him and ripping his throat and heart out. As for Marlena, she carried her daughter back into the cave and stayed with her as Lee privately mourned the terrible loss of her dear friend Rod and expressed her outrage and grief with Marlena silently commiserating with her.
After a few hours of bloodshed and violence, nearly all of the hyenas were dead, and Jackson, Buckley and Rodney were forced to retreat due to grievous wounds that would have exacerbated if they were to try and fight any longer. The lions soon trudged onward home and got ready by washing and cleaning their wounds with pure water as well as grooming themselves; it was not long before Stefano organized a memorial service as he stood on the promontory with all of the lionesses grieving and wailing profusely. Marlena then stood with Julie while the old woman sobbed hysterically in her arms, with Lee burying her face in her mother's arms as she cried.
"Doug's death was a terrible tragedy, a tragedy that should have never happened," Stefano declared to the entire congregation as he was dapping his eyes in an attempt to look sorrowful and rueful while lowering his head so no one could see his face within the shadows. "It was a tragedy that should have never happened, a tragedy that affects us all. But poor Prince Rodrigo, who had barely begun to live… his death will be the end of us all, for without a living heir, this kingdom shall perish…"
"But now, we will rise once again with the dawn and glory of a new era, where hyenas and lions will join together in peace and harmony as we will stand before all the world and create a new and ultimate empire!" Stefano proclaimed at the top of his lungs as the hyenas marched out of the darkness with glowing red eyes as their cackles and mad shrieks echoed in the air and everyone gasped in horror with Lee huddling close to her mother in fear.
Jack, who was also standing with Julie to comfort her, squawked as he hid behind the former queen. It would not be long before darkness would spread all over the Pridelands, and Stefano's reign of terror would begin.