Unlikely Love

Chapter 1

The last brown tufts of grass burned away as a scorching breeze flew past. The smallest ponds of water dotted the Earth's surface, steam wasting away into the air. Corpses of dead animals lay on the ground, in cages, or outside of the zoo. Raion yawned, his large jaws parting as he let out oxygen - well, at least what was left of it. Trees were a rare sight now, but there were enough around to keep the last species alive. His claws extended as he stretched his back and toes, his pale-golden pelt shimmering in the too-warm sun, which beamed so bright it could blind you. He pondered round, his rib cage sticking out of his fur-less skin as he hadn't eaten in a while. The only thing he had eaten were the remains of the chunks of meat that the flatbacks threw over into his cage, which had been a few months now. Flatbacks, as Raion thought, were extinct, and wouldn't be around to feed him. He hadn't been in the zoo his whole life, but he felt like he had. Every day felt like an eternity, some feeling longer than others as the hot days dragged on. Every few days, a skinny blackbird would flap its wings loudly and land on the ground where Raion would be. He would lie very still - as if he were dead - and it would think he was a carcass to eat, but, of course, like a dumb blackbird would be, it was wrong. He'd twist round and flatten it to the dusty sand, and grasp it between its teeth, shredding it hungrily until it was nothing but a bundle of ripped feathers and bones.

But today, he'd have to go hungry. He'd feel so bored, and there would be nothing he could do to feel better. He wished he had a pride of his own, but knew that in his state, he would not be able to escape his cage and find any lionesses, and in the world's state, there may not be any lionesses nearby, or any left. He had to face the truth, that someday, he would have to die, just like the rest of the animals who died of over heating, or starvation, or dehydration.

Raion felt another gust of wind head his way, but it wasn't cool, or filled with sand. It was pretty cold, which felt good in his opinion, but he could feel liquid dripping from it. He glanced up to the sky to see dark, awful clouds head his way. It was as if the clouds were moving at the speed of light. The wind seemed to push harder through the deserted zoo until leaves and sticks and bones flew up into the air and rushed passed Raion. He growled to himself, to try to show strength against this powerful weather, but he could not do anything. He rushed into a small den, where he rested when the weather was cold, or too hot. He curled himself round as vines of leaves and stalks covered the entrance of the little den and he blacked out into full darkness.

He heaved as he gasped for air under his heavy mane. It was a light-ish orange-red, and it seemed to weigh a ton. The storm had soon passed, but Raion didn't want to move anywhere. He's rather die in a cooling den than outside in the death-trap the sun set out for everyone. He would always be trapped, and there would be nothing he could do about it.