Nakala

Chapter 21

As the sun set over the Pride Lands, Nakala and the hyenas hid in waiting. Their plan was working flawlessly and soon they would be rewarded for their cleverness. With the sun slowly sinking into the distant mountains, shadows crept and stretched over the land.

"Is it time now?" Cheezi whispered from his place in the tall grass.

"Yeah, it is." Janja confirmed. He peeked over the tall, dry yellow grass just a little and checked their surroundings. "The coast is clear, boys." The rest of the group rose from the grass and faced one another.

"And there they are..." Cheezi pointed in the distance to a large group of antelope grazing on the grass near the watering hole.

"Alright, we gotta do this quickly. As soon as we start hunting them they'll start drawing attention to us. Take down what you can as fast as you can," Nakala reviewed.

"We'll have to work together to take the antelope down, but you can do it by yourself," Chungu pointed out.

"And I'm not gonna let us go hungry, either." Nakala nodded firmly.

"Is everyone ready? Let's do this?" Nakala hissed. They all sunk back into the grass and began to slither and creep towards the dense hoard of antelope that grazed not too far away.

"Janja, Cheezi, Chungu. You all flank left and lead some of them here," Nakala told the hyenas. They all broke away in separate directions. Nakala stayed behind, pressed close to the ground. Kneading the earth with his claws, he eagerly awaited the prey to just come to him.

"Alright boys, gently now. We gotta get this just right," Janja ordered. Cheezi and Chungu stood low right next to him and awaited his next word. "Get ready....In...3...2..1...Now!"

The hyenas burst from the grass, startling the antelope. They began to bellow and turn to run, the first few were out-sped with Cheezi and Chungu snapping at the legs causing a rather young looking antelope to trip and fall to the ground. Janja wasted no time, dashing up and going for the throat.

Meanwhile Nakala's ear flicked as he heard the noise and felt the slight rumble as the herd was racing towards him, as they were in sight he burst from the grass and caught one with his claws. He wrestled it to the ground and sunk his teeth into its neck. As he felt the antelope's struggling cease and the taste of it's blood hit his tongue he felt that feeling wash over him once again. That rush of excitement that made him want more. Another antelope was heading towards him and he snatched it up, latching his claws into the shrieking prey's flank.

Nakala felt the rush of power once again, slashing a claw across the neck of the antelope. He didn't have time to watch it struggle to keep it's life. The antelope were running fast and he didn't have anytime to waste. Nakala reared up and grabbed another antelope, clamping his jaws around it's hind leg. The antelope quickly folded and collapsed to the ground. The lion figured he could finish it off later, another was approaching.

Janja, Cheezi and Chungu had successfully taken down three antelope before the herd had all bounded away. The hyenas were satisfied with their results, especially knowing that Nakala was nearby to take down even more. Nakala sunk his teeth into one final antelope before the herd cleared from him. Having caught four antelopes, Nakala felt power coursing through his veins. He licked the blood from his teeth and was actually disappointed to see that the prey had all run away. But then again, four antelope was way more than the usual. He flexed his claws, still wet and a bit sticky from the blood.

Every one of Nakala's being screamed at him to chase after the herd. He wanted to hunt down more, feel his claws ripping through flesh, taste the essence that pooled into his mouth and painted his fangs.

You're just gonna let them get away..? He wanted to hunt down more, feel his claws ripping through flesh, taste the essence that would pool over his tongue and paint his fangs.

You can still get a few more, Nakala...

The startled lion froze in place. He swore he heard a voice speak directly to him. His heart quickened at the thought of the Lion Guard showing up. The rush he had faded off and left him with a heavy guilt, he knew that the feelings that arose when he hunted were far from normal. But now wasn't the time to worry about it.

"Come on, boys. Let's get them out of here," Nakala heard Janja's voice a little ways away. He took a deep breath and did the same. He tugged and towed the antelope towards the Outlands. Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu had soon managed to carry and hide all three of their catches in the dense growth of the border. Nakala still had two left to carry.

"We'll help you out," Janja encouraged, working alongside the lion.

"Thanks," Nakala smiled gratefully. Pulling the limp bodies across the grasslands was hard work, but they more than enough to see the entire clan maybe four times over.

"Not another step?" a voice yelled across the savanna. The lion and three hyenas quickly huddled together and faced the direction of the voice. Fuli stood ahead of them firmly.

"It's the Guard?" Cheezi whimpered.

"I knew they'd be here sooner or later...." Janja snarled and stamped his foot.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Nakala ordered.

"But what about the rest of the—?" Chungu asked.

"We have more than enough?" Nakala growled, turning around and bolting off towards the Outlands. "Let's go!"

Hearing the harsh urgency in the lion's voice, Janja, Cheezi and Chungu left the extra antelope and bounded after him. They all hoped to get away before the rest of the Guard showed up. They sprinted through the tall grass they hid in before towards the border.

"Stop right there?" the group skid to a stop as Beshte stood in their way.

"Huezi?" Fuli yelled, speeding up and trapping them from the other side.

"There's nowhere to escape," a new voice boomed over the others. Coming from the angle opposite of both Fuli and Beshte came a figure that made the hyenas and Nakala all stand frozen.

Simba came storming in with two lionesses at his side. They stood ready to attack and defend, snarling and baring their teeth. "We have you now."

Nakala looked all around him. He was surrounded. There were so many things that swirled in his mind all at once. The prey they caught, the Guard around them, and the King himself; a lion that Nakala had no idea that he wasn't ready to see.

"We're surrounded?" Janja whimpered. "What do we do now?"

Janja's voice was drowned out by the pounding in Nakala's ears. They were from his chest, that felt like it was going to burst. Nakala had no idea what to do, if there was anything he could do. They were surrounded on each side. Maybe he could take on one of them, but they were severely outnumbered and Nakala didn't want to risk the hyenas getting hurt once again.

His head suddenly felt light and felt as if his paws lifted from the ground. He shut his eyes, hoping that would help him get a grip. The floating sensation stopped and Nakala opened his eyes to nothing but pitch black.