Crash!

Another wave of booming thunder echoed out across the Pride Lands! It was terrifying in intensity, and the noise sounded loud enough to shake the whole ground!

It was a stormy night in the Pride Lands. It was rare that the kingdom ever received all that much rain – most of the days were nice and hot and sunny – but when it did, then the rain sure wanted everyone to know about it. It was loud. Very loud. And, for some reason, just the tiniest bit frightening.

The rain pounded the ground. If you went outside, then you would most likely drown from how heavy the rain was. It was that bad. All anyone could seem to hear was the rain. It wanted itself to be known. The sun wasn't like that. The sun was just… there.

Crash! More thunder. It just never seemed to end. This had to be the worst storm in the Pride Lands for years. Maybe ever since King Ahadi's reign. No one had ever seen anything like it. The rain kept falling, the thunder kept crashing, and as for the lightning…

Well, that was the worst of all. The lightning just wouldn't stop. Crash! Crash! Crash! Bolts of lightning attacked the ground viciously – so much so that you would think the ground might crack.

It truly was a miserable night. Thick, black clouds had enveloped the night sky, so that you couldn't even see the stars or the moon. It was just the blackness. The empty blackness. It was such a terrible night.

"This is such a terrible night!" Haiba exclaimed, as he, Simba and Nala sat in the corner of the den.

The three cubs had nothing to do at all. The horrible storm had rendered them unable to leave the den, so all they could do was just sit there. The next few hours were sure to be filled with boredom, followed by monotony.

"Look at the bright side of things," replied Nala. "At least you're not stuck out there," she said, gesturing to the raging storm just beyond the den. "You could get struck by lightning and die."

"At least that would be something exciting," Haiba muttered, before gesturing to the den. "More exciting than this, that's for sure. Just the thought of sleeping here makes me feel sick to my stomach."

"You don't seem to mind any other night," said Simba. He was lying flat on his stomach, a glum look on his face. He was more bored than the two of them put together. He wanted to get out. He wanted to go somewhere. Where? Anywhere. As long as it was out of here, then he was happy.

"Hey, I've got an idea," said Haiba. "Why don't we play a game? I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with 'R'"

Simba sighed. "Rain?" he answered, prompting Haiba to look very surprised.

"How did you get that right?" he exclaimed, shocked. "You're a clever cub, I'll give you that. Now it's your turn."

"I don't think so," Simba responded. "I've had enough of games. Why don't we go outside or something?"

"Simba, you know we can't go outside," Nala told him. "For a start, there's so much rain. You could slip on a puddle and break your neck. Secondly, there's lightning striking every few seconds. What if you get electro-frazzled or something?"

"I think the term is 'electrocuted'," Haiba corrected her. "But then again, I like the word 'electro-frazzled'. Keep it in your head, I want to use it more in conversation."

"And third…" Nala struggled to think of a third reason. "Well, there isn't a third reason because the second one was so great."

"Okay, so we can't go outside," Simba said, before hanging his head in despair. He felt so trapped. Like he was in a cage and couldn't ever escape. "This is terrible!" he exclaimed, hopping to his paws. "Look around! We're stuck here!

We're trapped!" He scraped the wall with his claws. "There's no way out!"

Nala pulled him to the ground. "Simba! That's not going to help. Besides, it's only one night we have to stay here. Look on the bright side. I'm sure the storm will be all cleared up by tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning?" Simba repeated, a horrified look on his face. He slid to the ground, frowning. "We're doomed. Like, really doomed. The type of 'doomed' when you're about to be eaten by a huge, scary monster."

"Oh, it's not that bad," Nala said. "I'm sure there's lots of things we can do around here. Like… like…"

Simba motioned for her to continue. "Yes…? Like…?"

"Uh…" Nala couldn't really think of anything. "Well, I can't think of anything now – but I'm sure something will come to me."

"Of course it will," Haiba said flatly. "Hey, here's an idea: let's fight each other to the death. That should take care of the boredom."

"I don't think so," Nala replied. "I say we just go to sleep." She slid to her stomach, her head resting on her paws. "And, by the time we wake up, it'll be morning. Doesn't that sound good to you?"

Simba and Haiba looked at each other. "But we're not sleepy," they both said in unison, surprising themselves.

"Well…" Nala rose to her paws. "I can fix that." She stared into Simba's auburn eyes. "Simba… look into my eyes… deep into my eyes… you are feeling sleepy… very sleepy…"

Simba stared back into Nala's eyes, looking completely entranced.

But then, he smiled, chuckling. "I don't think so, Nala," he said, stepping back from her. "That old hypnosis thing doesn't work on me any—"

Simba slumped to the ground, and began snoring, his eyes closed, totally asleep.

Haiba was wide-eyed. "Um… Nala?" he called. "How did you do that?"

Nala turned to Haiba and shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "Lucky guess? Anyway, you're next!"

"Err, I don't think so," Haiba said, taking a step backwards. "I'd rather keep my free will, if it's all the same to you."

Nala rolled her eyes, and lay beside Simba, snuggled up to him. "Ah, suit yourself," she said. "All I know is that I'm getting a good night's sleep – whether there's a storm or not." She closed her eyes.

Haiba shrugged. "Whatever." He turned around, walked past all of the sleeping lionesses and their cubs, before reaching the den entrance. He gazed outside, watching as the rain assaulted the ground mercilessly. "What part of 'rain, rain, go away' don't you understand?" he jokingly asked, before staring out into the night.

It wasn't long before his eyes started to glow a crimson red. He could feel something poking his mind.

He shook his head, blinking a few times. His eyes returned to their usual blue colour, temporarily pleasing him.

But that still left one vitally important question on his mind.

What was that?