Chapter 4: To Die For
Part 4: Rude Awakening
“Simba! Simba wake up!” Nala’s mother frantically nudged the sleeping prince with her soft paw until the golden-brown cub finally stirred with a lethargic groan. The first rays of the morning sun were just beginning to shine out over the eastern horizon, casting a pink glow on the scattered clouds left drifting lazily across the sky. On any other day, the sight would have been amazing, but today the sunrise only served to bathe the Pride Lands below in a foreboding blood-red ambience.
“Mmmm, just five more minutes…” Simba yawned before defiantly rolling onto his other side.
“Simba,” Sarafina pleaded, “where’s Nala?!”
The prince finally cracked his eyes open as he realized it wasn’t his own mother who had abruptly woken him from his peaceful slumber. He had been deep within the confines of a happy dream, and the sudden intrusion of the real world had left him feeling disoriented and lightheaded. Still half asleep, the cub peered through bleary eyes up at the worried lioness standing over him. “Huh?” Simba mumbled groggily. “Nala? She’s right here…” The cub stretched out his leg and pawed at the empty ground behind him. When he failed to feel the soft cream-colored fur of his best friend, Simba slowly rolled onto his stomach and turned to face the spot where he had last seen the girl. But there was no one there. Now fully awake, the prince leapt to his feet and frantically scanned the den for any signs of his friend. “I don’t get it,” Simba stammered as a sense of apprehension began to build within him. “She was right here when I fell asleep. Where did she go?”
“It’s okay, Simba.” Sarafina did her best to sound calm for the prince even as her own anxiety was rapidly growing. “I’m sure we’ll find her. Sarabi,” the lioness called as she turned her attention towards the back of the den, “he didn’t know either. Maybe she just went down to the water hole for a drink. I should go look for her.”
“No,” the queen replied gently, “I’ve already sent Zazu to fly over the area. Let’s wait for him to get back first.”
By this point, Simba was pacing nervously in a large circle near the den entrance. There was no way Nala would leave the den at night, at least not without him. Something was wrong here. The cub stopped to sniff the ground where Nala had been lying. Her scent still lingered on the smooth stone, but it was rapidly fading. Whatever happened to the girl must have occurred earlier in the night. Simba pressed his nose closer to the ground in an attempt to get a better fix on the girl’s trail, but there was no hint of her beyond the area where she had been sleeping. Frustrated, Simba continued forward towards the den entrance, still sniffing the ground when a tuft of wiry black fur suddenly blew into his path. The fur carried a strange scent that Simba knew didn’t belong to any of the lions in the den. Yet despite the foreign smell, the cub realized there was something familiar about it. “No…” Simba muttered as he abruptly recognized what the fur belonged to. “No, no, no! Mom! Dad! I know what happened to Nala!”
“Simba?” Sarabi called back to the young prince as she, Sarafina, and King Mufasa all dashed to where he was standing. “What did you find?”
“Look!” Simba pointed at the tuft of fur with his paw. “It was the hyenas! We’ve got to go rescue her!”
Mufasa lowered his head and took a deep sniff of the hair Simba had indicated. After a moment, the king jerked his head back abruptly and turned to face the others. “He’s right,” Mufasa nodded somberly. “That’s definitely hyena fur. One of them must have snuck into the den overnight and taken Nala. Sarabi, get the lionesses ready. We’re going to get her back.”
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4 years, 4 months ago
25 Jul 2020 18:43 CEST
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