"They already killed someone?" Nala cried in alarm. This sounded serious. If there were monsters—killers—out there, then something was very wrong indeed. "But—but, how?"

"They just grabbed him," Wafu told her. "And then… ripped him in half."

"It was horrible," Aibu whimpered. "The blood was all over the trees. Everywhere. I almost threw up."

"I sympathise," said Haiba, an unpleasant sensation forming in his own stomach. But maybe that was just a result of seeing Binamu again… "If there are monsters out there, then what do they want?"

"They don't want anything, stupid," Binamu retorted. "They just want to kill things! That's all monsters are for! They're evil!"

"I think you should calm down," Nala advised. "You're not exactly helping us out here."

"Don't you tell me what to do!" Binamu yelled. "I'm the boss around here! If you can't deal with that, then I just might have to throw you to the monsters."

"No one is throwing anyone anywhere," Simba said sternly. "Nala's right—we need to relax. It's not like anything's going to happen to us just by standing here. We can think up a plan."

"And when have any of our plans worked before?" Haiba asked.

"Well, they've… half-worked," Simba replied. "I guess that's something."

"Yeah—and maybe it'll get us half there," Binamu said sarcastically. "Are you all just completely incompetent?"

"Let them think, Binamu," Aibu said quietly.

She glowered at him. "And since when do you get to order me around?"

"Just… let them come up with something," he said, shifting nervously in his spot. "That's all."

"You just keep your mouth shut," Binamu said, before turning to the three cubs. "Look, if you're going to come up with a plan, then it'd better be quick!"

"Why not just walk the Path of Death?" Nala suggested with a shrug. "It's not like we can do anything else."

"Excuse me?" Binamu couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Have you been listening to what I'm saying? It's the Path of Death! Path! Of! Death! Am I getting through to you?"

"And what other bright ideas do you have?" Nala retorted, unfazed. "If anything, you're making us stupider by the minute."

"Why, you little…" Binamu got ready to attack her, only for Wafu to intervene.

"Binamu, fighting with each other isn't going to help," he said. "We need to work together if we stand a chance of escaping from this place."

Binamu opened her mouth to argue. "But—" She saw the stares everyone was giving her, and backed down. "Fine. Let's just think of a stupid plan."

"Now, stupid plans we can do just fine," Haiba said cheerily. "It's the smart ones that stump us."

"All right, so think of a stupid plan," Binamu said. "Come on!"

"I still say we should try that Path of Death," Nala said. "We're just trying to ignore that it's the only option."

"Is it possible to outrun these monsters?" Simba asked.

"Yes," said Wafu. "We did—otherwise we would have ended up in the same way as our friend. They're still quick, though. Once they've got you, you're a goner."

"We can run," Simba said. "All we do is run away—like the cowards we are."

"We're not cowards," Haiba said. "It's just that everyone likes to chase us. Why are all the bad guys so cheesy?"

"You're cheesy," Nala responded. "So, if we can outrun these monsters, then we should be fine—shouldn't we?"

"I guess," Wafu said with a shrug of his shoulders. "It'll still be hard, though. These things… they're just not right. They'll kill you without mercy."

"Then we'll be careful," Simba said, before striding into the maze of trees. "Very careful."

Nala and Haiba shot an unsure look at each other before following him. Binamu, Wafu and Aibu trudged after them. "You sure about this?" Wafu asked.

"No," Simba responded, "but it's not like we have much of a choice. I'm not spending the rest of my life sitting around doing nothing."

The area suddenly became thick with fog. It became hard to see. Despite this, the Path of Death didn't seem so fraught with danger after all. Hopefully the monsters had gone away because they'd had enough fresh meat for one day…

"I don't see anything," Haiba said, peering through the fog. If there were any monsters, then they sure enjoyed keeping themselves hidden… "You sure about these monsters?"

"Very sure," said Wafu. "This is how they attack. They like to make everything as quiet as possible, and then… they strike."

"You have a habit of making things sound very dramatic, don't you?" Haiba asked, suddenly preferring the silence to Wafu's rather fictional-sounding descriptions. "Can't we go five minutes without danger lurking around every corner?"

"Gee, you're getting very irritable, aren't you?" Nala said, walking alongside him.

"I'm just stressed," he replied, looking like he had seen better days. "I know Binamu is making me out to be some kind of psycho, but… you know I'm not—right?"

If there was one cub Haiba trusted, then it was Nala. She… just seemed to have it all sussed out. She was smart and kind. If that meant nothing in life, then Haiba wanted to commit suicide.

"Of course I know you're not," Nala said with a smile, and that was enough to make Haiba feel better already. "You're sick, Haiba—but never in that way. You and your cousin… it was just a misunderstanding. Am I right?"

Haiba nodded, grinning. "Yeah! She's got it all wrong. She just has to understand that and move on."

"I wouldn't listen to him, if I were you," Binamu said, strolling past them. "You don't know what kind of lies he could be telling."

Nala rolled her eyes. "I can see why you don't like her. Does she trust anyone?"

"She used to be nicer," Haiba told her. "Until… well, you know. She kinda lost faith after she found out we were related."

"You don't still love her, do you?" Nala suddenly asked.

"What? No! But… I still care about her," he admitted. "In a cousinly way, of course."

"Maybe you could patch things up," Nala suggested. "Well, if you're careful about it, I mean."

"I guess so," Haiba agreed. "She'd have to be in a really good mood to listen to me, though—and she's not exactly the polite type."

"So, uh, you always this quiet, Aibu?" Simba asked, trying to make some friendly conversation with the almost silent cub.

It was certainly a lot better than walking around in the deathly silence.

Aibu just mumbled something that Simba couldn't understand. The guy sure liked to keep himself to himself…

"If you don't want to talk to me, that's fine," Simba told him. "I'm just trying to be friendly."

"I know I don't say much," Aibu admitted. "It's just because… I'm kind of shy."

"That's okay," Simba said. "We all get shy sometimes. I guess Binamu doesn't let you get many words in, huh?"

"Not really," Aibu replied with a little laugh. "She's just yelling most of the time. That… cousin of hers really upset her a while back."

"I don't think it's Haiba's fault," Simba said. "He just gets confused sometimes. After all, it wasn't like he knew they were cousins, right?"

Aibu shrugged. "I suppose so." He glanced ahead nervously. "I just hope I don't trip."

"Huh?"

"When the monsters come along," Aibu said. "I hope I don't trip. I saw what those monsters did… It was horrible. Binamu and Wafu are tough—they can deal with it. But me… I don't think I've ever felt more scared."

"It's fine," Simba assured him. "I'm scared, too. We're all scared. You'd have to be crazy not to be scared."

And Aibu smiled.