[1st POV]
I threw my head back and roared.
It wasn't just a sound. It was everything I had been carrying all these years, forced out of my chest in one earth-shaking cry. Rage. Victory. Loss. All of it poured out of me like a storm tearing through the land.
The echo thundered across Pride Rock, down the battlefield, over the plains beyond. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath as my voice split the air apart.
This was not the roar of a lost rogue. Not the roar of a cub who had been wronged. This was the roar of a king.
The battle below froze. The lions stopped mid-strike. The cubs watching from the den pressed closer together, their small eyes wide and fearful. Even the sky seemed to darken for a heartbeat as if nature itself was listening.
It was the sound of one reign ending and another beginning.
I felt it shake through the stone beneath my paws, felt it push out everything weak, broken, and old. My roar tore the last pieces of Scar's rule off this land like a storm ripping apart rotten trees.
When it finally faded, there was only silence.
And in that silence, a new order settled over the Pride Lands. My order.
For I am king.
..
I panted after the intense roar ended. I felt like that singular action alone took more out of me than Scar did during the pathetic display of battle.
"It's done," I declared in a soft tone.
I watched as the battle below stopped. Scar's pride of lions no longer had the will to fight after realizing their king was gone. They stopped fighting, some got low on the ground and showed their underbellies to display absolute submission.
I took a deep breath and stood tall and proud atop Pride Rock. I remembered the time where I saw Mufasa do the same, how I envied him and wanted to be a king too. But now the moment was here and it honestly felt surreal.
It seemed my story had come to an end.
I closed my eyes and just for a moment, I rested, like I had finally accomplished my lifelong goal.
But maybe destiny was still not done with me. My peace was disturbed by the sound of a bird. Grim, I realized instantly. And the sound he made from above was only sung in emergency situations.
My eyes opened with focus and concern. My mind wandered to the worst-case scenario. I waited and dreaded equally that I would receive that maybe a group had lost the battle to the hyenas.
"My lord, it's the humans," Grim said while hovering in front of me. His wings stirred the air, making my mane dance wildly to its tone.
When I heard the word human, I felt some relief off my shoulders. But what he said next immediately put weight on them again.
"They climbed up to the Pride Lands to follow you and the pride. And now they are in danger, the hyenas are coming for them," he said.
I twisted my body and without wasting even a single second, I began scaling down Pride Rock.
"Lead me!!" I commanded and started my run.
After I climbed down the kopje, I exploded out faster on even ground. I did not spare a glance at the battlefield and chased after Grim who was flying above me in the sky.
It had been quite a while since I sprinted as fast as I could, but that's what I did. If it was a month before, I wouldn't even care that much about the humans. I would still try to help them but I wouldn't have desperately run to them the moment I heard they were in danger.
But things changed a lot during the past week. The humans helped me in my time of need, and they had interacted with my pride as if they were my own.
The humans, perhaps at one point I accepted them into my kingdom. They were under my protection. I would be damned if I let some lowlife hyenas harm even a single one of them.
I carried my ginormous weight at a very fast pace. I was not running as fast as I could because I would tire fast. I was sprinting at a speed which I could hold.
I controlled my breathing, making sure the panic in my heart did not translate into a panic of the body. I felt adrenaline pump through my body and the temperature increased sharply.
I released a growl so loud that it sounded like a roar.
I ran with two rhythms. I imagined myself pulling the earth with my front legs and then pushing the ground off with my hind legs.
But even at that speed, it took me more than three minutes to reach the humans. They were decently far away from the battle.
When I saw them, they were grouped together very tightly. The two women were at the center while Ramirez, Tonson, Mo, and Malik made a formation. They were holding out weapons, some had daggers while the others were using random equipment to fend off the hyenas.
The hyenas were around a dozen. They were circling around the group like how hyenas would surround a wounded prey. They had wide smiles and laughed like animals as they tested the humans.
They were poking them and searching for a weakness. They were also waiting among each other. If one hyena took the initiative, the others would follow and they would end the humans instantly. But it seemed they had no leader among them so it took time for a hyena to take the initiative.
I roared towards them, it was a beastly roar that I barely even recognized. I never knew I could make such rageful and monstrous sound.
The hyenas perked their ears and looked towards me. It was then that their perked ears dropped instantly and their raised tails came down between their legs.
They had no time to move as I slammed into the nearest hyena. The powerful shove of my shoulder sent the hyena flying into the air.
I did not stop there.
"You vile things!!" I screamed, enraged.
And then I proceeded to tear through them like they were paper dolls. I did not realize how I tore through them even. Everything I did, I did with such power that they broke instantly.
One hyena I tried to slap and then bite at his skull. But that one hit made the hyena go limp with wide eyes, so I never got to finish the blow. When I turned to attack another, my action had somehow thrown him away and he was sent tumbling on the ground with broken bones.
I managed to kill five hyenas before the rest had the privilege of running away. I had been sprinting for quite a while so I was too tired to chase after them. That was the only reason they survived.
..
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[3rd POV]
(Researchers)
They thought they were gonna die. No, they were certain they were going to die.
They were so entrapped by battles happening around them that they forgot about their own safety. No one noticed the hyenas until it was too late.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Hana cried with a shaky voice. She was the main reason why they came up here, she got too caught into researching and seeing everything. Now her curiosity was going to kill them all.
She was a woman too naive to realize the danger.
"Hey, hey, hey, listen to me," Ramirez said while grabbing her by the shoulder. His forearms and hands were bleeding profusely.
The hyenas had initially attacked Hana and Elena. The predators knew from instinct to attack the smallest and weakest of their prey.
But Ramirez had stepped in and taken the brutal attack of the hyena to protect Hana. Just as it was instinct for the hyenas to attack the weaker prey, it was also the instinct for man to protect the weak.
"It's gonna be alright. It's not your fault, we all agreed to come here. We'll make sure everyone survives," Ramirez said. He quickly retracted his hands when he realized he was bathing her with his blood.
"Okay... okay..." Hana said, her eyes red. She took a deep breath but even that was hard for her to do.
Ramirez gave her a smile. It was a stupid-looking smile like usual, giving her the illusion that everything was truly okay and that they were not surrounded by a dozen hungry hyenas.
After seeing her calm, Ramirez turned back and faced the hyenas once more. He let Hana only see the protective barrier of his back.
The men of the crew surrounded the women and the older gentleman Robert. They stayed close to each other in a protective wrap. Each of the four men covered all angles. But they rotated ever so slowly due to Ramirez and Malik pushing and always wanting to face the most hyenas.
Luckily for them, the hyenas were quite cautious. If they knew just how vulnerable humans were, they would've surely attacked. But their number and their height while standing worked like an intimidation front.
"Hey, you remember our argument? I said you couldn't possibly take a wild animal larger than a dog but you said you could take on leopards and have a solid chance against a grizzly bear," Malik said to Ramirez as they stood shoulder to shoulder.
"You still believe that now?" Malik asked with a grin.
"One hundred percent," Ramirez replied, hiding pain behind a grin.
"Well, this is a good chance to change my mind," Malik said.
"Bet. Let's bet," Ramirez said. The both of them were trying their hardest to make light of the situation and calm the others. It was also a coping mechanism for them.
"What do you want?"
"If I save all of us from this and fight off the hyenas, I get to call you the N-word three times. If I fail, you can get all the money I have in the pocket of my corpse," Ramirez said.
"Three times?!" Malik asked, aghast, "One time, but you can use the hard R."
"Deal, no take-backs," Ramirez replied with a smile.
Malik paused suddenly, "Wait, how much do you have on you?"
"I have a lucky penny," Ramirez said with a grin.
"Son of a—"
But their banter was cut short as one hyena tried her luck. But she immediately turned back again when Ramirez stepped forward and swung his camera stand which he used as a weapon.
The action caused a few other hyenas to try their luck but they were immediately chased away by Malik with his dagger. There was blood on it. When Ramirez got attacked in his attempt to protect Hana, it was Malik who stabbed a hyena to save his best friend.
A man who seemed to be the most cowardly, when push came to shove he was one of the bravest. It was like the saying that courage was not lack of fear but actions taken despite fear.
"Fuck off hyenas!!! I'll have you know my star sign is Leo!" Malik said, screaming loudly not only to calm himself but also to sound dangerous to the hyenas.
The bravery shown by these men in that moment did not defeat the hyenas. But it did give them enough time for the real help to come. Their courage definitely saved their lives.
"It's Leo..." Dr. Tonson whispered when he saw their lion running towards them from afar. Leo was still far away, only a small dot on the horizon but he was coming.
"It's LEO!!!" Dr. Tonson screamed.
That lit up new hope among the crew. They craned their necks and they too saw Leo in the distance. He was not even here yet but they already felt much relief.
"Quick, the hyenas have not seen him yet. Distract them!!" Dr. Tonson said.
And so, the crew started waving their hands and making weird sounds to get the attention of the hyenas.
"Here! Here!! You try and eat me? Joke's on you, we're part of Leo's pride!!" Malik said.
"Uno reverse baby!!" Ramirez also screamed, his pain half forgotten.
And when their favorite behemoth reached them and immediately ragdolled the closest hyena into orbit, the researchers knew they were saved.
Kindness begets kindness.
Helping begets help.
A shattering roar left Leo's throat, monstrous and loud. But for the first time, the humans felt no fear.
..
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[IMAGE]
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900 stones, almost two chapter but that's one extra chapter.
Thank you for all the stones and support!! We are always at the top for months now but I can't get used to it. Always have a smile when I checked it and see us there.