Outlawed In-laws (A TNC Novel)

Chapter 13

A few days have passed since Kunto met Zane. At first, she was wary of a lion without a Pride, but she quickly warmed up to him. He wasn't all that bad, and he did promise to help her find her father and get back home, but she wasn't sure what she could do for him in turn other than keep him company. For now, that's the only thing that Zane wants.

As for Zane himself, he couldn't believe that he was travelling with a crocodile. A small youngster, but a crocodile nonetheless. His resentment towards their kind is not as strong as it once was, but he is aware that it is still there.

Why do I feel like this? Zane thought as he prowled about, looking for a meal.

Zane stopped when he picked up the scent of sickness. Usually, he was alright with hunting sick animals; all predators did it all the time. However, there was something about this scent that felt off. It left an uneasy feeling in Zane's gut.

By the stars, that does not smell good! Whatever it is, I'm certainly not gonna eat it. Might as well leave it for the buzzards. However . . .

Stricken with curiosity, Zane followed the horrid smell to its origin.

I hope Kunto stays patient for a little while longer, because something tells me I'm going to be late for dinner.

Not much later, Zane got his answer . . . but it wasn't what he was expecting.

"By the spirits," Zane breathed. He had just arrived at a vast expanse of a dark, forested swamp. Desolate, except for insects, which buzzed wildly all around, overjoyed with their own personal buffet of various animal corpses, including crocodiles. Many crocodile corpses.

I am so glad that I did not bring Kunto along. As a predator, I have never seen anything like this . . .

To find out what happened, Zane carefully walked over to the crocodile corpses, passing by a whole host of other animal carcasses on his way. The putrid stench of rotting flesh filled his nose, much to his displeasure, but he was even more displeased with the swarming bugs. He shook his mane to try to get them to go away. Instead, it just seemed to make them want to swarm even more. Zane eventually decides to ignore them once he reaches the crocodile corpses. He stops in front of one that seemed recently deceased and prodded it with his paw.

And I hope for spirits' sake that I don't have to ever again. This is absolutely disgusting, and by stars, this would definitely mean nightmares for Kunto if she were to actually see any of this . . .

"What are you doing?"

"CRAP!" Zane shouted, scared out of his hide, as he wasn't expecting to hear a voice. He jumped into a defensive position and scanned the area. "Who said that?"

"I did."

Once he calmed himself down enough to focus on his surroundings, Zane noticed the rise and fall of pale scales that belonged to a still-living crocodile.

"It's alright, I can't harm you. I can't harm anyone anymore."

"What happened?" Zane asked as he cautiously approached the crocodile.

"Sickness, my dear, young lion," the crocodile answered weakly. "You should leave very soon, or else . . . well, you can see for yourself."

Suddenly, the crocodile started convulsing. Zane stopped where he was a couple tail lengths away. He wanted to know what was going on, but he didn't dare get any closer.

"I can see that," Zane said. "But what kind of sickness could do this to all of you?"

"You wouldn't know," the crocodile wheezed. "None of us did. It is a sickness that is not from around here, but from another land . . . a land far, far away from this one. The sicknesses that run rampant there . . . they don't exist here. That is why so many have fallen victim to it . . . because it does not belong here."