Zeff's Journey

Chapter 1

Zeff huddled behind a twisted acacia, breathing heavily. He listened fearfully to the high-pitched laughs of the hostile African wild dogs. He tried to estimate how close they were by the volume of their unsettling cries. He stayed still and silent. His ears perked. Then they flicked back, folding onto his chocolate brown pelt, which hadn't yet earned its great spots. The pack of canines had surrounded the young hyena. He could hear them sniffing around. He dropped lower to the ground, looking similar to a panther about to pounce on an unaware gazelle. But he was most definitely not the hunter at this moment, in fact, he was the hunted. He knew he was doomed. If only he was a big, strong adult hyena. He could kill an African wild dog with one swipe of his claws. But that time was far, far away.

He realized that the African wild dogs had picked up his scent better, as they began cantering toward him, eventually forming a circle around him. The biggest African wild dog with one blind eye, and ear missing, and a twisted jaw, slowly stalked toward him, growling. Its ears were tucked back, and its tail was high. It was in a threatening position. There was no hope in surviving.

He then heard a heavy body spring through the jungly area. He saw a massive lion approaching the back of the African wild dog, leaping through the ferns. He thought it had gotten worse, until something very unusual happened; the lion leaped onto the African wild dog, flinging it into the air. It yowled, banging onto the ground. The lion begun tearing through the dogs. Zeff was so focused on the lion that he did not notice an African wild dog about to strike behind him, and before the lion could kill that dog, it snatched Zeff into its jaws. It began sprinting through the jungle. Why was all of this happening in the jungle? The wild dogs had followed Zeff's scent into there. The lion snarled and bolted behind the African wild dog, ignoring their constant nips. This lion was absolutely nothing like most of the lions inhabiting this savanna. The other lions would constantly steal food from the hyenas, and even kill cheetah cubs for fun! But no, this lion was full of nobility and love. Unfortunately, she could not keep up from the African wild dog's pace, but that did not stop her from trying to save the small cub. She started loosing sight of the dog. But then, out of nowhere, she performed a five second speed burst, catching up with the dog.

The river was in front of the African wild dog, and the lion was just about to scratch the dog, but then it made an extremely sharp turn to the right, avoiding the river. However, the lion did not see the river, and she fell in, making a giant splash. The river ran the opposite way of the dog. The lion drifted down as she tried to swim against the current, which slowed her down. She lost strength for a few seconds and she was pulled down, her upper leg getting brutally scraped by a sharp stone. It left a terrible scar on her side of her leg, causing crimson blood to stream out of it with the force of the current. How could this get any worse? Just wait. A crocodile drifted toward her, hungrily. But right before it snapped, the lion leaped out of the river onto the reptile's head. The remaining African wild dogs barked, leaping into the river at the lion. But the lion leaped out of the water, collapsing on the ground. Her wound bled, but she stood up and sprinted toward the hyena cub and the African wild dog.

The African wild dog who jumped into the river first, got caught in the crocodile's massive jaws. The dog almost escaped, but its leg was grabbed by the crocodile. The crocodile flung the dog up in the air and caught it in its mouth, soon after, performing the death roll. The remaining African wild dogs ran away as quick as they could.

The lion had almost caught up the African wild dog, which was losing stamina. The African wild dog only had one way of escape. It heartlessly tossed Zeff far into the bushes. The lion glanced over at where Zeff had landed. The African wild dog cackled coldly and bolted away into the other bushes, impossible to find. The lion roared ferociously, thundering rage inside her. She searched around the bushes and found the hyena cub, passed out. She carried him back to her den.