by VesVes » Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:56 pm
I guess I'll give it a go...It might not be that scary, since it's hard with animals. Oh, and you may notice that the antagonist is a lion, I have absolutely nothing against lions; I just like writing from a hyena's point of view, especially when it's my clan of hyena characters (the Acacia Valley Clan). So, here goes.
The hyenas of the Serengeti Plain tell of the legend of the ghost lion that nearly wiped out the Acacia Valley Clan. However, they tell it as a legend, a myth, a fairy tale. But the ghost lion is a reality. A reality that killed many hyenas: Moon, Stick, Flame, Tree, Rain, and even Wheat, the strongest, bravest adult deputy the hyenas knew. The threat started with Moon.
Moon was a young female ready for a bright future. She was one of the best hunters in her clan, the others being her sisters; Star, Berry, and Fern. She was on her way to becoming leader of the Acacia Valley Clan. And then, it happened. Moon, along with her sisters and other hyenas, including River, the clan's leader, were back from a long and exhausting hunt at night, in which they were unsuccessful. Moon, feeling really tired, flopped down in her den to go to sleep, when she entered a nightmare.
It started as a normal fight. "Lion attack!" River yelled. Lions were everywhere, and the hyenas were fighting for their lives. However, she didn't get much time to observe when she felt a huge paw on her back. It was a huge male lion. It growled, and loomed over her. Moon, momentarily frozen in fear, just barely found her voice enough to yell, "Star! River! Berry! Help!" The hyenas she called appeared at her side, and the lion backed off, growling, but not before saying, "Remember pretty, I know where you live."
Moon woke up. Good! Just a bad dream, she thought.
"Star! Fern! I want you to help Wheat and Tumbleweed patrol the area. Look for enemy hyenas." came River's voice. Fern and Star bounced up to their feet and joined Wheat and Tumbleweed, leaving Moon alone in the den. Suddenly, Moon heard pawsteps.
"Didn't I tell you I know where you live?" It was the lion. Moon screamed. When the other hyenas rushed to her aid, they found Moon lying dead in a pool of blood. Since she was killed in a dirt area, the others searched for tracks that could lead to her killer. But they found no tracks. None at all.
The next hyena victim was Stick, a cub of River's. Since River is the leader of the Acacia Valley Clan, Stick would at least be high ranking among the low ranking males. But one day, River left Stick playing with his sister Leaf to ask the morning hunting party about what they managed to catch. But right when Flower was telling the story of a buffalo that they almost but didn't manage to catch, Leaf came running up to her mother.
"Mom! Mom! Come quick! This ghost lion jumped out of nowhere and killed Stick!" Leaf squealed.
"Leaf, you know very well that I am having a talk with this morning's hunting party and I don't have time to play any of your imaginary games right now." River scolded.
"But it really did come and kill Stick and it was so big and scary and...and..."
"All right, I'll come if it makes you feel better." And sure enough, they found Stick dead. And once again, there were no tracks leading to a possible killer.
Flame, Tree, and Rain were also killed in the same way. Each time, every hyena's back happened to be turned, and--BAM!--one hyena just happened to turn around and find their clanmate dead. But the biggest shock of all came when Wheat died.
"Wheat! Star! Pine! Petal! Berry! I want you all to go on a hunt." River told them. Of course, the five hyenas nodded and set off.
As I mentioned earlier, Wheat is an adult deputy. If River dies when Leaf--River's heir--is still a cub and too young to lead the clan, then the adult deputy steps in and leads the clan. Wheat is also strong, fit, and brave, not one you'd expect to be killed. But it happened. The hyenas came across a herd of gazelle, in which one had strayed from the herd. Wheat of course went after it, but that turned out to be the biggest mistake of her life. The gazelle leapt and landed on top of Wheat and turned into none other than the ghost lion. The other hyenas watched in horror as Wheat's life was taken from her, and then the lion vanished into thin air as easily as a mouse slipping into a small hole. The lion has never struck since, but to this day, none of the hyenas know when or who he will strike next.