Survivors (Preview)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was dark outside. A young adult lion walked through a field of grass. It had all been burned down. It was hot, even at night. A few weeks ago this place was a complete chaos. Flames everywhere, animals running around not knowing where to go, and then there was that damned virus. Nobody knew where it came from, but it spread fast. It was most likely caused by the heath.

Kopa found himself lucky to have survived it all so far. It wasn't easy though. He avoided contact with others as much as possible, not knowing who was and who was not infected. And when he got hungry he couldn't just eat some meat. He had to make sure that whatever animal he found was not infected. For that reason he never ate an already dead animal, which made finding food even harder. There weren't many survivors left. In fact, he hadn't seen anyone in a few days.

He sat down at the waterhole and drank water. "That should last me a few days." he said to himself. The water was warm, but that didn't matter to him anymore. He hadn't had cold water ever since the flames.

He was carrying a dead gazelle which he managed to hunt down a few days ago. He ripped off a small piece of its leg. He didn't eat much at all, knowing that if he did, there would be nothing left of the gazelle in no-time. One gazelle would be able to last him at least a week, as long as he was careful with how much he ate.

It was late, and he was tired, but he still put the gazelle onto his back and started walking. It felt like he was walking for ages as his paws started to hurt, but he eventually found a small cave he could sleep in. The sun was about to rise when he finally fell asleep.

It was late in the afternoon already when Kopa woke up. His fur was wet from all the sweat that came from his body while he was sleeping. The days were just so warm. He let out a sigh as he stretched his body. "At least the warmest part of the day is over already. Let's go search for a waterhole." he said, after which he put the gazelle from earlier on his back and started walking.

It did not take long for Kopa to find a waterhole. He put the gazelle down again, after which he slowly walked into the water. He had to keep himself from jumping in, knowing he would get sick if he just jumped in and cooled down too fast, because even though the water was really warm, it still wasn't nearly as warm as the air.

He started bathing himself with the water, trying to wash all the sweat out of his fur. Sweating was a big problem he had to deal with regularly. The more he was sweating, the more he had to wash it off and drink to stay hydrated. It wasn't easy, but he succeeded so far.

It was dark by the time he had cleaned himself. Pretty usual by now. Wake up late in the afternoon, search for water, which he could drink if he was lucky enough to find clean water, start walking when it's dark, go sleep when it is close to sunrise. It was the best way to keep moving. He was hoping to maybe find other survivors someday, preferably as soon as possible. Not that he would not be able to survive on his own, but a group would make it so much easier and bearable, and maybe, just maybe, those survivors would have a pretty lioness among them, with who he would be able to make sure lions wouldn't become extinct.

Kopa chuckled at his own thoughts. The world was the worst it had ever been, and here he was, as a lone survivor, thinking about pretty lionesses. He didn't know how to feel about it exactly. Part of him thought these thoughts were inappropriate for now, another part of him was happy he didn't just think of survival, so that once this was all over he could just go back to a normal life easier.

There had always been one lioness on his mind who he liked a lot. She seemed like someone who would survive this too, but he never managed to find her.

"Vitani." he whispered her name with a sigh. He wanted her back with him so badly now. They had always been just friends. He never admitted to himself how he really felt about her, until she was gone, or at least got separated from him. He never told her he loved her, which is something he regrets a lot. What if she felt the same about him? Then they would have been together more often, and maybe they would have even been together when this world, the world that used to be so peaceful, turned to hell. Then they could have survived together.

His eyes had filled with tears by now. The thought of what could have happened if he had been honest to her, and to himself. It hurt him to know that it had not happened, and never would happen anymore. He missed her a lot, but he also knew he had to move on. He would never find her. Even if she survived, how big would the possibility of them finding each other be? The answer was simple. Impossible. It was impossible. He was so far away from their original homes.

He wiped his tears and sighed before continuing to walk, but he could not get his thoughts off of his family and friends. He was not just worried about Vitani, but about his family too. His father and mother, his sister Kiara, and his younger brother Kion. He was so young, and had barely been able to experience the world the way he should have. His world was one in which all that mattered was survival. No fun, no friends, just survival. And that was if he even managed to survive. And what if he survived, but mom and dad did not. He would have no one to take care of him. He was still so young. He needed someone.

Kopa had no doubt that Kiara would have been able to take care of their youngest sibling if it wasn't for the whole mess the world was in. She wouldn't have time for him, even if she wanted to. Kion was just that young. A lot of time was required to take good care of him.

New tears had filled Kopa's eyes as he sat down again and remembered the day Kion was born.