Grains of Sand

Chapter 1: The Desert

The sand blew underneath the elephant's giant feet. They danced away into the night sky as if a messenger was carrying a message to the heavens. The night was as silent as could be with only the moon as a distraction for the hundreds of faces hiding in the loneliness of the arid desert. People never had the thought to care for the biomes of the Earth as they should have. Their destruction left a resounding impact on the animals of the rainforest. Fire and brimstone can cause great damage to any small thing, even the ants.

The elephant sauntered on. The desert was slippery beneath him. He looked onto the horizon with zero hope for his life. His thin bones crumpled, and he slid down a great sand dune. The sand was dislocated as he slid down and blew away in a huge cloud towards the horizon. The elephant stopped at the bottom of the dune. He looked towards the cloud with empty eyes, eager in his mind to join it in its journey to the sun.

His name was Emerald, and he was alone.

The effects of the Great War had completely destroyed him. His long and heavy footsteps reflected the years of suffering he faced in the past. Emerald had been the leader of a troop of solders in the War. He led his animals with hope for the refreshing of humanity. The animals in his troop were killed mercilessly. Emerald had seen first-hand the horrors of war and its effects after. He witnessed the deaths of his most trusted associate and his most beloved calf. He saw fire and ruin coating the great surface of the Earth as a product of humanity's distaste for compassion towards animals. He saw humans with tanks and rifles tried to kill his friends as if they were of no importance to the Earth. The crashing of the trees in the rainforest and the shrill grinding of the chainsaw still enraged Emerald. The horrors he witnessed enveloped his brain like a blanket on a cold winter's night. Oh, how he longed to see his family again. Oh how he longed to see his calf again. Oh, how he longed to see his life again.

The Great War had not started because of the animals. It was the humans who waged war on the wildlife. The humans were the ones who ruthlessly marched through the homes of millions of animals in search of profit. Their faces were splattered with lust and their hearts bulged with a longing for money. It was a silent night when the war started. The Hyena patrol had started to cackle. The humans were coming. Emerald had looked outside his cave to see animals running into formation. The time had come. He quickly put his cow and calf into the safety of the underground burrow and went to join the others. He found his troop and saw the lions roaring into the night sky.

All of a sudden, a loud creaking sound rang out. A tree had been cut down and it crushed the bones of any living thing that lay in its path. The animals watched helplessly as they saw more trees coming down and blood and bones splattering out from beneath them onto the dull savannah grass. Suddenly, the lead lion roared a mighty roar, and all the animals charged. Blinding headlights flashed into eyes as humans became surprised at the oncoming onslaught. They summoned for backup from their metal helicopters and gigantic tanks. Missiles fired into the air and landed on troops, exploding them instantly. Emerald carried on and pushed a tank away from the other animals. A human got out of the tank and shot him in the ear. The mighty elephant roared in pain but carried on. Then a hyena came and ripped the human from the tank. The hyena mauled the human and tore its face off, leaving a bloody hole in the place of its jaw. Emerald smiled proudly at his best troop member. The hyena cackled back and stepped forward.... right on the human's gun. He stepped on the trigger and a bullet went up through his neck and out his head. Blood went flying into Emerald's eyes. The hyena twisted and turned in agony and cackled loudly. Emerald went towards him. The hyena twitched once before dropping dead on the fiery savannah. He closed his eyes and blood started to ooze out of his mouth.

A sudden knock on the head made Emerald come back to his senses. A large coconut had fallen on top of his head. Emerald looked forward with heavy eyes. He had stumbled upon a little patch of trees in the middle of the desert. Emerald knocked a tree and more coconuts came tumbling down. Each coconut was rotten. The elephant kicked a coconut away. Birds scattered at the sound of the coconut and a little foxes ran about. There was no point staying here. He knew herds had already moved on towards the Basin. But how much could the Basin hold? And couldn't humans have already taken it over for themselves? These thoughts hurt Emerald's head. He had to rest here for the night. The elephant laid on his said and closed his eyes. The millions of twinkling stars in the black night sky were the last thing he saw before he fell into a deep slumber on the desolate and never-ending desert.