KING SCAR- ON THE EDGE OF SANITY

CHAPTER ONE: THE TRAGIC ENCOUNTER

The glorious beautiful morning seemed to promise the Pridelanders a blessing, blossoming and fruitful day. Even the birds of the air sang melodiously across the air above the greenish, peaceful savanna, as if in agreement with the wonderful atmospheres around them. Queen Sarabi and her hunting party were on the early morning hunt, and King Mufasa and his hornbill advisor, Zazu, were marking their territories. Mufasa's younger brother Scar was in the deep gorge centered in the pridelands with Prince Simba, talking about the near-death encounters that Simba and Nala, too young, had the day before. Deliberately ignoring his father's command of not going anywhere near the outlands, Simba, in his innocent, curious personality together with his best friend Nala, tresspassed into the shadowy outlands, where they had themselves a terrifying experience with three hungry hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. Mufasa had come to their rescue, and on going back to the Pridelands, Simba sat under a harsh scolding by his father, who warned him against jeopardizing the future of their Pride.
"My dad was really upset with me yesterday," Simba recalled, as he and his uncle walked to a nearby boulder in the shade of a bamboo tree.
"Well I suppose you could do something about it, " Scar answered.
"What?"
"A gift," Scar replied, "A gift that will make him forget it ever happened."
"What type of gift do you suppose I should give him?" Simba inquired.
Scar looked at Simba straight in the eye. What he was about to tell him reminded him of some incident in the dateless past- the day he lost his roar after maliciously using it to murder his Lion Guard team, who refused to bow to his command of helping him exterminate his brother.
"Your roar," Scar answered.
"My roar?"
"Yes. He'd be proud of you!" Scar answered. "This gorge is where all lions came and come to find their roar..."
"All lions? Even my dad?" Asked Simba curiously.
"Yes," replied his uncle, "even Mufasa came here when he was your age. He refused to live, until his roar, could be heard, above Makuni waterfalls..."
"All the way up there?" Simba wondered, staring above the gorge.
Scar nodded. "With a little practice, you'll never be called a young cub again..I'll check you on you later. And by the way, your father's a marvelous surprise for you."
As Scar walked away, Simba was elated at his news, and offered to go with him.
"No..." Scar answered, in a rather serious, authoritative voice. "Just....Just stay on this rock. I'll come back."
Simba sat on the boulder, watching Scar as he left.
"Hey Uncle Scar," Simba called. Scar sighed and glanced over his shoulder, now growing tired of Simba's disturbances. "Will I like the surprise?"
"It's to die for!" Scar responded, with a malicious burning determination and a secret evil grin on his countenance. Scar left for the savanna. Above the gorge, in the shade of a raised boulder, waited three hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. Scar set them in place in order to execute his plan. The plan was to chase the wildbeast herds down the gorge towards Simba, thereby raising the alarm and prompting Mufasa to come to the rescue of his son, and have them crushed to death by the stampede and assume the throne as the new King.
Scar gave the signal from the other side of the gorge, and the three hyenas swooped into action.
Deep in the gorge, Simba was busy practising his roar. Making one last seemingly successful roar that seemed to sound high above the gorge, Simba smiled, satisfied. Just then, he looked down towards the floor of the Canyon, and felt the earth beneath his paws shake. Reluctantly, he raised his eyes to the savanna, and to his horror, a tsunami of wildebeest herds descended down the gorge, racing toward the young, now endangered prince Simba. The poor frightened cub fled for his life, as fast as his little feeble legs could carry him.
The stampede raised a big cloud of brown dust that flew high above the Canyon, raising Mufasa's and Zazu's attention from miles away.
"Look sire," Zazu said. "The herds are on the move..."
"Odd," Mufasa commented. Suddenly, Scar emmerged. "Mufasa! Quick! S...Stampede! In the gorge! Simba's down there!" He cried, pretending to be shocked. The two lions scurried off for the gorge.
Meanwhile, the wildebeest stampede was catching up with Simba. Caught between the frightened, running herbivores, the young cub embarked on a bent stem of a dead tree. Zazu arrived in time to find Simba dangling from the tree branch, and pointed Mufasa toward the direction of the tree. Within no time, Mufasa climbed down the steepy slopes, placing himself in the middle of the stampede. A wildebeest horn cut loose the dead tree Simba was dangling on, sending the young cub into the air, but landed safely on his father's grip. Safely taken to the side of the gorge, standing on a boulder, Simba watched in horror as his father was carried further down the gorge. However, bravely, Mufasa emerged from the stampede, and clawed his way up the steepy slopes that walled the Canyon. Simba rushed to his help.
On reaching the edge, Mufasa, to his great relief, found his brother Scar watching, and who had indeed been watching all along. Rocks crumbling beneath his strong paws, Mufasa cried out for his brother's assistance.
"Scar! Brother! Help me!" He shouted. With a malicious, grin look on his dark face, Scar dug his claws into the flesh of Mufasa's paws, causing the King to roar in pain. Going closer to the King's ears, Scar uttered these last, venomous words, "Long live the King...." Before Mufasa could process what his brother had just uttered, Scar let go of Mufasa's paws, and watched as his brother tumbled down the gorge, vanishing within the slashing hooves of the stampede.
"Nooooo......." Simba shouted, as the stampede died away, leaving a whitish brown mist covering the Canyon floor. Scurrying down the gorge, Simba hurried to find the King.
Searching for him, Simba found his dad lying lifeless under the branch of the dead tree.
"Dad?" Simba whisphered, terrified. He bit his dad's ear like old days, and nudged at his snout, but the great King did not stir. "Dad! C'mon! We gotta go home!" He cried. No response. Glancing this way and that way not knowing what to do, Simba cried for help. No good Samaritan seemed to be close. Simba stared at his father's dead carcass, and Mufasa's body began to swim a little in his eyes as they got watery with painful tears.
Overwhelmed with intense feelings of grief, the young cub mourned under his father's paw. Slowly, a blackish figure begins to form in the brown mist. Scar emmerges from the shadows.
"Simba..." he calls, in a rather gentle voice. "What have you done?" Simba stood up and quickly wiped his tears away. "The wildebeest....he was trying to save me....it was an accident! I...I didn't mean for this to happen!" He explained, tears once again formimg in his big, golden brown eyes.
"Of course you didn't mean it," Scar said, in a quiet voice, taking Simba into his paws. "No one...ever means for this things to happen. But the King is dead...and if it weren't for you he'd still be alive." He uttered, planting seeds of guilt in Simba's young heart.
"Oh...What will your mother think?" Asked Scar.
"What am I gonna do?" Simba wondered.
"Run," Scar uttered, much to Simba's surprise. "Run away Simba. Run away and never return..." He said in a muffled convincing voice. Simba made one quick glance at his dead father and retreated. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed appeared behind Scar's back.
"Kill him..." Scar ordered, with an evil smile.