Awakening In A New Land

The first thing that Leo Franklin noticed as he found himself waking up was that he wasn't lying on a mattress. Instead, it felt like he was lying on a grassland of some kind.

And there was the fact that he heard what sounded like wildlife all around him and the wind brushing against grass and leaves.

Plus it seemed wherever he was, it was hot, like a really hot summer day.

Leo opened his amber eyes, instantly regretting it, as they were assaulted by direct sunlight from the sun beaming right down at him.

He covered his eyes with his left hand and sat up with his right arm pushing him up.

Feeling that it was safe enough to open his eyes, he looked and was stunned to find himself not in his bedroom, instead out in the middle of nowhere, and based on the terrain and plantlife, in the African Savannah.

"What the actual hell?" Leo said aloud to himself in shock and confusion, running his hands in his short black hair, not understanding how he got here.

The last thing he remembered was going to sleep after he had a heated argument with his foster father for the umpteenth time. And he didn't even have a watch, so he can't even tell how much time has passed. But he did recall that he heard a faint whisper right before he dozed off: it was a deep male voice that radiated royalty and wisdom, which said 'It is time'. And he felt a familiarity with that voice.

Leo was so focused on the fact that he was now in Africa that he was oblivious to a burning sensation on his right upper arm until it was too painful to ignore.

"Ow!" He gritted through his teeth, pulling his short sleeve up to see what was causing the burn and was shocked to see that it looked like some kind of symbol that had been burned onto his skin, like a brand. And it resembled a lion's head roaring.

"What is going on?" Leo asked himself aloud, getting more and more confused and baffled by the minute.

After examining his new mark, Leo took another look around the terrain and had spotted something far in the distance in front of him. It looked like some kind of rock formation. One that reached a great height, akin to a skyscraper, and there seemed to be a peak as well. And despite being so far away from it, Leo could also see what looks like a village surrounding it.

It may be a slim chance that they have modern technology this deep in Africa, but it was better than nothing.

And so, with determination to get some help, Leo got to his feet and started making his way to the rock formation and the village.

He decided he wasn't going to run his way to his destination, simply because he could easily tire himself in the heat, not to mention he had no food and/or water to keep him full and hydrated, so he had to be careful.

At least it was windy, though, which gave Leo a cool breeze that brushed him contrasting against the heat.

As he's walking, Leo was thinking about all the people in his life, knowing that his foster parents won't miss him, not that he cared anyway, but he will miss his next door neighbour, an African man who only went by Jabari

Whenever his foster parents were gone for a number of days or Leo had enough of them after heated arguments, he'd always go to Jabari's home and he'd be treated well. Not only did he make him such delicious African dishes, but also taught him so much about Africa as a whole, especially the wildlife. He was more of a father to him than his foster father.

Of course, with him thinking of Jabari, Leo thought of what he was taught about animals in Africa.

Looking around, he spotted herds of giraffes, elephants, zebras, antelopes and gazelles all around him in the distance. Thankfully, there weren't any herds behind him as the wind was going the opposite way he was walking, meaning his scent would be downwind behind him.

After a while of walking, now having a layer of sweat on him, Leo made his way past a few trees when he heard the sound of a twig snapping behind him.

This made him freeze with horror. Something had caught his scent. He slowly looked behind him and was barely able to see what looked like dark fur hiding among tall grass.

"I know you're there. Show yourself." He called out to whichever animal it was.

And much to his horror, the response he got was cackling, which meant only one particular animal: hyenas.

And he was shocked to find that not only were there four of them as they showed themselves out of the grass, but also that they were bipedal and very humanoid. They wore tribal clothes, which looked like furs of other animals, and wielded spears and swords.

"Well, well, boys, look what we have here. A hairless ape." The only female of the pack of hyenas grinned maliciously. She must be their leader.

"Never seen one like this delicious morsel in my whole life." A male to her right said. "Please let me take the first strike, Shenzi."

"Back off! You may think you're scary, but you're nothing compared to lions!" Leo warned them, even grabbing a branch that was next to his foot and held it like a weapon.

"Oh, look at you, with your deadly branch." Shenzi cackled with her fellow hyenas, the loudest of them looking cross eyed and distant. "What are you going to do, hit us with it?"

"As a matter of fact, I am!" Leo snarled, his voice having a hint of a lion's growl, which he didn't notice, nor the fact that his eyes were shimmering for a second.

"Well, you hairless ape, you just made the biggest mistake of your life. Get him, boys!" Shenzi barked before she and her pack all leapt at him.

Now, any other normal person would've turned and ran for their lives, but Leo, having been forced to learn how to fight by his foster parents, the only good thing they did for him, didn't. Instead, he dived and rolled under the hyenas, hitting one of them hard in the leg, causing them to whine and crash onto the ground.

"Ooh, a fighter. This will be even more fun than expected." Shenzi grinned as she and her pack turned around to keep facing Leo.

"Don't get your hopes up." Leo challenged her, twirling the branch before gesturing at them to come and get him.

One of the hyenas leapt at him but he stepped to the side and swung the branch right into his throat, hitting him so hard that he now choked on his own blood and coughed it up.

Leo then grabbed the hyena's sword, which looked very much like a khopesh from Ancient Egypt and stabbed the hyena he downed right in the chest, killing him right away.

"Oh, you'll pay for that!" One of the hyenas, probably their best friend, growled before charging at Leo, who blocked his attack with the sword and then headbutted the hyena, giving him an opening to slice at the hyena's forearm, making him whine and drop his weapon. Leo then kicked him in the head, causing him to crash into the other hyena that isn't Shenzi.

"Great, looks like I have to take care of this myself, as always!" She roared before she leapt at Leo, who made another dodge, but Shenzi was able to kick the back of his head, making him crash into the ground.

As he tried to get back up, Shenzi swung in and sliced at his back with her claws, making Leo cry out in pain and slump back down on the ground before he made another effort to get back up.

"Unlike my fellow hyenas, I actually use my brain. So you have little chance against me, mister." Shenzi coolly said as she walked up to Leo, both of them holding their weapons out at each other.

"Then you'll be disappointed, Shenzi. I've been trained to fight for my life." Leo hissed through the pain in his back, feeling blood travel down his back. "And one thing I was taught, no matter how much pain you're in, you keep fighting!"

He then thrusted the sword at Shenzi, who stepped to the side and swung her sword down on it. She then tried to swipe at Leo's face, but he moved back in time to avoid being hit and then he kicked her on the side, making her stumble and then he slashed at her right arm, cutting it and forming a large gash that spewed blood.

"You're going to regret that!" Shenzi roared before she launched herself at him before he could react.

This caused him to crash into the ground and she ended up digging a claw right into his shoulder, causing Leo to scream in agony, as she continued digging it deeper, inflicting pain.

"I always enjoy seeing my latest meal squeal in agony. It makes it more fun to eat them afterwards." Shenzi taunted in Leo's ear.

This actually struck a nerve in him. His will to live was just too strong for him to let some scavenger hunter to kill and then eat him. His anger and fierce determination to live consumed him.

Shenzi was about to bite his neck when she saw the lion symbol on Leo's right arm glow through his shirt and then noticed his eyes shimmering right before seeing clouds form above them.

Then, much to her shock, Leo ended up unleashing the loudest roar she had ever heard, the roar of a lion. And the clouds formed into the heads of lions, also roaring.

The wind then blew right into Shenzi and her hyenas, becoming so strong that they were lifted off the ground and were carried elsewhere in the savannah, leaving Leo, who's eyes stopped shimmering and the symbol on his arm stopped glowing.

The clouds then dissipated and the sky now turned back to clear blue.

Leo felt so much pain from his injuries and was bleeding quickly. He realised that he had no chance of reaching the village he saw at that rock formation.

But he wasn't going to give into despair and give up.

He got to his hands and knees, caked in blood and dirt, and crawled towards the village.

However, his vision was starting to get blurry with black creeping in on the edges and his breathing was getting shallow and uneven.

Leo went on for a few metres until he couldn't move anymore and face planted right into the ground.

Just before he lost consciousness, however, he heard voices approaching. They were faint, but he was able to hear one of them say something right before he blacked out.

"Your Highness, who is this?"

I'm aware that this may seem short and rushed, but I wanted to get this story out as soon as possible. And in this story, big cats, hyenas, Timon and Pumbaa are all anthropomorphic.