The Pack : Prey Vs Predator Read online

  “Stay out of this Kyle!” Aaron roared.

  “And let you have all the fun,” he said and smiled to himself, “I don’t think so. Am the chef. Only I know how to serve up the best dish.”

  “So what? I found ‘em first, that means I get first dibs on them…or maybe just the fat one right there.” He said while setting his eyes on the lioness, who grew even more cautious by the second.

  “Yeah right, like am gonna let that happen.”

  “No one’s eating anyone before me alright. I get first dibs.” Hunter growled.

  His word was final and they were not too happy about that.

  Fuelled by anger, Kyle was prompted in making a side comment, “Who died and made you king?”

  “What was that?” Hunter roared in his face.

  “Nothing!” He hurriedly replied, a little bit nervous and shaken.

  Aaron was so delighted with the display of Kyle’s embarrassment that he let out a loud laughter that lit up the place. He suddenly felt a hard and firm slap across his face. He stumbled down, his face turning red hot. He picked himself off the ground and stared down in utter shame. If only his self-esteem could save him now, but that too had abandoned him.

  “Now, where were we?” Hunter resumed.

  Suddenly, from all that fear and despair, rose an ever-growing hope and courage that could withstand all the misfortunes that the universe threw in its way. He spoke with a burning incense in his heart. A flame that would not only engulf the forces of evil, but also wipe them off the face of the earth.

  “Leave us alone!”

  Hunter turned around only to spot a male sabre-toothed tiger standing firm and unshaken.

  “What was that?” Hunter furiously asked, still in disbelief.

  The gang silently whispered to Rycka. They desperately urged him against it, but it seemed like he had made up his mind. Only God could save him now.

  “Let us go!” He said. This time more confident than the last as the rest said their last goodbyes. Thanks to him, that would probably be the end of their lives, however short and miserable it was.

  “Mel!” Jayd screamed as he searched every nook and cranny.

  Despair grew stronger and Mel’s parents began to lose hope in ever finding their daughter. By now, the wildebeests had surrounded Jayd, not allowing him even a single peep. He kept bugging them to let him go but they just wouldn’t allow it. They repeatedly kept saying that it was protocol. Uncle Varn, having crawled out of his wormhole, finally came over and intervened. Guess someone should have warned him never to mess with a bunch of over protective wildebeests. Maybe it didn’t occur to him that when you try to get in their way, they would retaliate in the worst way possible. A kick to the groin definitely counted as the worst way possible. Therefore, plan-B it was.

  He walked over to the nearest corner and peeked. His face suddenly became mortified in horror. He dashed their way and yelled out, “Predators!” Upon hearing that, the wildebeests broke their formation and took off running in the same direction as the assumed predators. They instructed Jayd to stay put until they returned. After they vanished from sight, Varn strolled over to Jayd and winked at him. He didn’t understand at first what he meant by that. Then suddenly, it hit him.

  “Tell me you didn’t just do that.”

  “Yeah I did.”

  “You do know that that’s just gonna to make ‘em even angrier, right?”

  “Then let’s get outta here.” He nudged him to the side.

  However, Jayd still had some unfinished business. He still had to make sure that Mel was safe before taking off. Before he could even start his search for the lost princess, they heard a loud cry coming from the same direction the wildebeests headed.

  “What was that?” Jayd asked.

  “I don’t know pal, but let’s get outta here before something actually does happen…TO US!” He said.

  He suspiciously kept a look out. His fur on erect while his shaking feeble legs could barely support him. Jayd was afraid too, but he somehow managed to sum up all the courage he had left.

  “Come on uncle Varn, let’s go check it out.”

  “Are you insane? That’s the craziest idea I’ve ever heard in my entire life, and I should know, am an expert at it.”

  “Fine, you stay here then. I’ll just do it by myself.”

  He slowly walked away, leaving poor old stressed uncle Varn all alone. He was almost at the corner when he turned back and softly whispered, knowing that only he could hear it.

  “Wish me luck.”

  “You’re going the wrong way,” he shouted, “Home’s this way.” He raised his hind limb and pointed to the hills in the background.

  Jayd finally disappeared, and this made him even more worried.

  “Am so dead,” he said to himself.

  He knew that Jayd was his responsibility. If anything were to happen to him, his life would be at stake. Eventually, and reluctantly, he decided to go after him in defence for his own life.

  “Wait up!”

  He finally caught up with him.

  “You came?”

  “Of course, you’re my nephew. I’ll always be there for you no matter what.”

  “Thanks uncle Varn.”

  “No problem kiddo. Let’s just get this over with and get outta here. This place gives me the creeps.”

  Suddenly, they found themselves caught in the middle of an attack. What was previously a joke actually turned out to be true.

  “I did not see that coming.” Varn sarcastically commented.

  They ran and took cover behind a log, letting the grownups work it out. For a herd of wildebeests, they sure were mighty against the den of lionesses. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they had hooves, which they used to kick the hell out of them. On the other hand, it could have been the tough horns that actually made a dent through their skins. Sadly, things began heading sideways for the wildebeests. For a moment, they were overpowered. They lost control of the entire operation. They were boxed in, surrounded on all sides with no way out.

  “Oh no, they’re trapped. We have to help them,” said Jayd.

  “I think we have our own problem to worry about.”

  Jayd turned around, only to find his uncle stunned by the presence of a male lion stalking them. He had a dark bushy mane. His eyes were mesmerizingly bright red. They stared directly into them and saw their very souls drifting away. They slowly stood up and backed up into the dens’ corner. He closed in on them and reunited with his pack. All that was left now was but a word of grace. Varn, greatly terrified, looked down at Jayd. In his heart, he knew he had failed him, but no way was he going say goodbye, not yet. It was just too hard for him. Instead, he parted with the only three words that came to his mind, “Any last words?”

  Chapter 8: Endurance.

  “You’ve got guts kid, I give you that.” Hunter said. “But there is no way out of here.”

  “Yeah, no way out.” Aaron confirmed.

  Rycka stood still with his head held high, no fear in his eyes. Even when his teammates shed a tear, he still looked on. Maybe he could see the future, I don’t know, but he could definitely see a way out of this predicament.

  “Wait a minute Hunter. Doesn’t he look familiar to you?” Kyle suddenly took a keen interest in Rycka, studying him from a far.

  “I don’t know, maybe.” He took a closer look. “I think I had his sister over for lunch yesterday.”

  Aaron hysterically laughed aloud and just couldn’t resist saying, “Nice one!”

  “I know right?”

  Kyle came in closer and persistently whispered, “Am serious guys, that face looks oddly familiar.”

  “Maybe it’s your imagination running wild again. Just let it go.” Aaron disrespectfully replied.

  “My imagination huh? You wanna see some imagination? I’ll show you imagination. Get over here!”

  “Knock it off you two. I don’t have time for this, am hungry. What do you say we have
ourselves a bite first, and then we can argue all we want.”

  With a powerful speech from their fearless leader, they were now back on the same page. They all agreed upon something for once. After their final amen to the creator, there was but only one thing left to do. Which was…

  “Let them go Hunter!”

  A loud masculine growl pierced through all the darkness embellishing that God forsaken graveyard of a place. It was clearly heard throughout all the corners of that wretched place as it echoed back and forth. They all glued their eyes to the shred of light approaching, and it all became clear to them as they glared upon a familiar sight.

  “Dad!” Rycka acknowledged his father’s presence.

  “Saber! Long-time no see.” Hunter growled as he once again stood face to face with his mortal enemy. “I see you’ve changed since we last met.”

  “You too Hunter. You’ve moved on from hunting poor defenceless preys to hunting your own kind.”

  “What are you gonna do right? I gotta go with the flow. Isn’t that what you always say?”

  “Used to, not anymore.”

  “Oh yeah, I forgot. You decided to be a family guy instead.”

  “It was time to move on hunter, you knew that.”

  “You left me all alone with these pathetic excuses for predators…for them?” His eyes glowed fiery red as he pointed at Rycka and the gang.

  “Hey!” Kyle and Aaron shouted in unison to the dis-respective comment made by Hunter.

  “Just let ‘em go Hunter.”

  “I was going to, but now that you are here, I am going to kill them all and make you watch every second of it.”

  “Do that and I’ll reap your throat out.”

  “I’d like to see you try.” He smiled.

  He crept over to Rycka, whose eyes shimmered in fear. A tear escaped him as he gazed over to his loving father before finally shutting his eyes. Saber grew angrier at the thought of losing his only son and so he too closed his eyes. He listened to all that surrounded him. The sound of the cubs shivering in fear, and Hunter growling as he drew near them. He could hear Aaron and Kyle cheering on. He even heard the wind as it gently caressed the dry leaves, and finally grazing his skin. He willingly slowed down his heart rate, and for a mere second, time slowed down. Slightly lifting his eyelids, he saw nothing ahead of him but a mere challenge. Like a bolt of lightning, he sprinted his way through Aaron and Kyle. They just stood there perplexed by the sudden feel of a cold chill on their skin.

  Hunter was but a paw away from grabbing Rycka when he was abruptly whisked away. He tumbled and his helpless body made its way down the pit. He landed hard on the desolate hard and rough surface of its ground. Aaron and Kyle swooped down to Hunter’s aid, helping him back on his feet. His entire body cracked and tore as he limped his way up. He didn’t have the strength to go on, but he definitely had one more fight left in him. This time it was his turn to make a move. Saber stepped down into the pit to confront him, but Hunter still had one more trick up his sleeves.

  “Get him!” He attacked.

  “Got any ideas?” Varn reached out.

  From all that pacing, his heart might soon give out before he even does endure the worst part of it all.

  “I got nothing.” Jayd honestly replied.

  The lionesses tightly boxed them, and for a second, everything was silent. Only the growls of the very hungry lionesses echoed. Their paws forcefully stamped the ground. Their retracted claws escaped their domain and their sharp carnassial teeth reflected the rays of the setting sun. Their highly sensitive nocturnal eyes narrowed, as they stood affixed on their targets. As for the cornered preys, their reaction to the whole incident was very much opposite to that of the predators. For starters, their hearts paced as their limbs grew weary from all the blood rushing to their heads. Their eyes widened to the sudden approach of death. They just stood still, not that they had a choice. In their minds, thoughts flooded in, in a slight rush that gave them all temporary headaches. Compared to being a prey, predators had it easy.

  “Who should we have first? The wildebeests or the antelope?” The lion abruptly spoke up with authority, addressing his den. A vicious and heart-rending smile affixed on his face, while his long grown mane shattered the view of his blind right eye.

  “I don’t know. What do you think dear?” A lioness replied in a greedy and eager growl. She licked her lips with her long and slobbery tongue.

  “I think we should start with the main course, work our way over to the appetizer, and then save ourselves some desert for later.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  The preys debated amongst themselves who the main course was, but it was all very clear to them which role they were all going to play. They just couldn’t admit it.

  “I guess this is goodbye eh buddy.” Varn finally came to terms with reality. With his last day on earth almost upon him, there was only one thing left to say, “I love you pal. We surely had some great times, didn’t we?”

  “Yes we did. I love you too Uncle Varn.”

  For a moment, the world stood still while they closed their eyes and hugged for one last time. Unexpectedly charging in, were two triceratopses dinosaurs leading ahead as two deers followed. All the attention shifted to them. The tables were now turned. This time the predators feared for their lives. However, for a predator to succumb to defeat was a huge shame to all his kind. Therefore, they stood their ground.

  “The cavalry is here!” He taunted.

  “Oh no, they’re going to hurt us! Whatever shall we do?” She added.

  The rest joined in laughter but Zafeen and Kart were not impressed. They stood from a distance with affixed expressions on their face. Kart, being the loving mother that she is, gazed upon her frightened son and her heart grew numb. Zafeen noticed her weak heart break. He just had to do something to get his son out of harm’s way.

  “This is Praemar, prey’s territory. No predators are allowed in here. Get out!” He commanded.

  “Oh yeah? Or what?” The lion confronted him.

  “I’ll force you out.”

  “Really? You and what army?”

  “You’re looking at it. You’re no match for a full-on charged triceratops.”

  “We’ll take our chances.”

  Kart became too overwhelmed with emotions that she cried out in sorrow. She pleaded with the savage beasts to let Jayd go.

  “Please let my son go! Take me instead!”

  “What about me?” Varn screamed.

  She slowly began moving in their direction when Zafeen stopped her. She begged and pleaded with him to let her go but he just couldn’t let that happen. He then commanded the triceratopses to hold her back for her own protection. He moved in closer to the leader and confronted him face to face.

  “Let them go or none of you will leave here alive.”

  “Are you gonna let him talk to you like that Derek?” She intervened.

  He didn’t take kindly to her interference and roared her way, “Silence Sarai!” After shamefully shunning her away, he came right back to his confrontation with Zafeen.

  “Is that a threat?”

  “Take it however you want. You are not leaving here with them.”

  “I’ll take that as a challenge.” He said, stirring up heat between them.

  Chapter 9: Confrontation.

  Heeding their master’s command, Aaron and Kyle unhesitantly took turns at Saber. They surrounded him and preyed on his life. Saber’s senses were now on high alert as he crouched. He shifted his view from Aaron to Kyle simultaneously. Thoughts raced, hearts paced and blood rushed. This was but a mere effect. There was still a lot to come. Aaron now stood in the back while Kyle was in front of Saber. Rycka and Eury stepped out of their mashed up cocoon and came closer to the edge of the pit to support their father. When they saw how ganged up he was, they couldn’t help but feel sorry. It was entirely their fault.

  “Dad!” They called out to him.

  “Stay back!�
� He roared, noticing their presence.

  Aaron and Kyle suddenly moved in, crouching and growling. Saber was pinned. There was no way he could attack them both at the same time. Instead, he cleverly devised a way to kill two birds with one stone. His view rapidly shifted as they got nearer, anticipating, and patiently waiting.

  Aaron made the first strike. He pounced with all his might after noticing Saber’s distraction to Kyle. With all his sharp carnassial teeth and claws leading the way, he let gravity do all the work. However, Saber’s evasion was an unexpected twist. It interfered with his trajectory. Thereby causing him to collide with Kyle, whose reaction to Aaron’s out of control body left him rattled. Saber had won the first round. They then came at him together on one side in hope of overpowering him. Aaron attacked from the left, raising his paw. Saber however saw it coming and shield himself. Nevertheless, what he did not see was Kyle charging in from the other side. He knocked him off the ground and flat on the pile of dusty bones. Even for a tough and aged sabre-toothed tiger, one has to admit that that was gruesomely painful.