The Pack : Prey Vs Predator

by Adams R. Young

  Eury, still shocked by their survival, uttered in disbelief, “I still can't believe we are alive."

  Rycka overheard her little side comment and reassured, “Believe it. It’ll take a lot more than that to get rid of me.” Turning his address to the universe, he yelled, “Is that all you’ve got?”

  From a far, a group of young mammals came their way. The herd consisted of; a reddish vixen with a pointed nose and thick bushy tail, a brown yellowish male puma, a light brown lioness, a black female jackal, a black spotted greenish male cheetah, a black striped yellowish tigress, a dark spotted yellowish male leopard and a dark grey male wolf. Take a closer look and you’ll realise that they are all predators. Eury and Rycka stood still as they approached. However, their eyes defied that command. They shifted from left to right, studying the strangers, who by now were standing right before them. It was nothing but utter silence as they stared back at each other. To ease the tension between them, the leopard strolled over.

  “Hi. My name is Ranus...” He greeted, breaking off the silence. “…and these are my friends, Loksi…” He pointed out as he introduced them.

  “Hi," the vixen replied.

  “That’s Kris..."

  "Hey," said the lioness.

  “He’s Leron…"

  “What’s up?" The wolf replied with a deep masculine voice.

  “Qelshy..."

  “Hi," said the jackal.

  “Daphy..."

  “How you doing?" Said the puma.

  “Lystra, fastest cat ever..."

  "Hey! That's what it is. Don't hate the player, hate the game." The cheetah bragged.

  “Alright Lystra, I think they’ve got it.” Ranus chuckled. He then went back and finalized the introductions. “And that’s Caren, our little miss sunshine."

  “Hi." The tigress softly replied.

  Rycka gazed upon Caren, filled with so much love and glee. He became distracted from what Ranus was actually telling them. Lost in her ever-bashful eyes, daydreaming gave him comfort towards his Mrs Right than reality could.

  “So, what about you?" Ranus asked.

  “Am Eury and this is my brother...” Eury gently replied. She paused and waited for Rycka to complete the sentence. Seeing how distracted he was, she patted him in the back. He finally came to and nervously stammered.

  "…Ry…ry…cka…cka…Rycka."

  “You are new around here?”

  Still in a state of shock, Rycka hurriedly replied, “No."

  “Yes." Eury rectified.

  “Yes." Rycka finally agreed with her.

  “Come on guys, what do you say? Show ‘em around?" Ranus said.

  "Alright!" Loksi cheerfully agreed.

  “Sweet!" Lystra joined in.

  Reluctantly, Rycka and Eury agreed to the offer. They took a stroll around the lakeshore. Rycka moved in closer to Caren to get a better peek at her beauty. She glanced back, resulting in an immediate blushing on Rycka’s part who quickly shied away.

  “Stay close," she whispered his way.

  “Whatever you say princess," Rycka humorously replied.

  She smiled as she walked away. He followed up behind her, and let her take the lead.

  "This is Lake Guilderm,” said Ranus as he pointed out to the lake, “Everyone comes out here. It’s the closest place to a home that we know."

  “It’s where we all first met." Qelshy added.

  “One would call it paradise…minus the brawls of course.” Ranus continued.

  Eury suddenly displayed a worried look on her face. She just couldn’t resist asking, “What brawls?”

  Ranus, aware of her concern, assured her worries away, “Don’t worry. They rarely even happen.”

  Feeling a lot safer, she nodded her head, letting all her worries fade away. Lystra however felt that things were getting too serious for him.

  "Alright! Alright! That's enough lecture for today. I don't know about you guys, but am definitely in the mood for some landslides." He suggested.

  "What’s that?" Rycka curiously asked.

  “Only the most epic game ever. It’s so much fun. What do you say?" Lystra replied with zeal.

  "Count me in." Rycka was thrilled.

  “What about you doll face?"

  “Sure, why not?" Eury agreed.

  “Then what are we all standing around here for? Come on, let’s go."

  “Wait!" Ranus suddenly intervened.

  "What now?"

  “Race you there!"

  He shoved Lystra out of the way and ran towards the hill’s peak across the lake. They all followed up behind him. It was all smiles and laughter as they ran to the starting point of the game. As soon as they reached the top, every one grabbed hold of a tree bark. It was thick and hard as a rock. They got on them and faced the lake. They were now set for the race. Lystra however had a better idea. He voted that they ride on the opposite side of the hill for it was much steeper. They were all terrified at the mere sight of it and voted against it. As cunning as Lystra was fast, he managed to convince them of the idea. They all hid their fears and took a leap of faith.

  “On three!” Loksi Shouted. “One ...Two ...Three!"

  “Let’s slide!" Leron screamed.

  Down they went, at such an incredible speed that they suspended a few inches in the air. It was both thrilling and terrifying. They were having so much fun that the thought of stopping hadn’t crossed their minds. The breeze hitting their face felt like cold snow on a hot summer day. The adrenaline soon gave way and levelled the playing field. They vigorously shook to the ground’s roughness as they steered their way down the hill.

  “Woo hoo! Best game ever!" Rycka screamed.

  “Yeah!” Eury admitted.

  "Hey Eury, Rycka, check this out!" Lystra called out to them.

  He slowly and carefully moved back to the edge of the bark. He applied all his weight to it making its front side rise up. As he slid down, he waited for the right moment. Just as he had planned, a raised level of the ground came his path. He went for it and flew ten feet in the air while still grabbing hold of the bark. Still suspended in mid-air, he took hold of its sides and rotated it clockwise. He finally came to a touchdown and re-grouped with the rest of the gang.

  “Show off." Kris murmured to herself.

  “Whoa! How did you do that?" Rycka exclaimed.

  “Pure genius!" Lystra replied.

  "Yeah right!" Qelshy sarcastically butted in.

  They were almost at the bottom, and the closer they drew the faster they got. At last, they were off the hill. One mystery remained unsolved though; how will they stop? They spanned uncontrollably, sliding through trees and bushes that left cuts and bruises.

  "Hey genius! How do we get off this thing?" Qelshy called out.

  “How am I supposed to know that? Umm, Ranus?" Lystra worried.

  “Calm down everyone!" Ranus assured them.

  Leron, feeling rather nauseous, added, "I don't feel so good." His face turned pale green.

  “Ranus?" Loksi alarmed. Her eyes bulged to the oncoming turn of events.

  “Oh no!" He muttered to himself.

  Suddenly, they landed in a wide yet shallow giant pit filled with skulls and bones. There was no sign of life anywhere. It was seemingly dark, creepy, and quiet. Still hurting from the intense crash, they slowly and painfully got up. They looked around, mesmerized by the lack of hope surrounding them as despair encroached the place.

  “Where are we?" Caren was the first to speak.

  “The Red Zone," warned Leron.

  “The what?” Rycka was utterly confused.

  “The Red Zone, an enemy territory. Strictly forbidden." Ranus confirmed.

  “And whose territory is this?" Eury enquired.

  “Coyotes." Leron replied.

  “Uh-oh!" Qelshy exclaimed.

  “We’re so dead." Lystra joined in.

  “No we're not. We just have to get out of here before...” Ranus encouraged.

  Suddenly,
they heard a loud disturbing yet fearsome chuckle beyond the pit. Lystra trembled in fear but still managed to stammer out a shivering gasp, "D…d…di…di…did y…you…hear…that?"

  Injured and worn out, they limped to the edge of the pit and climbed out. They staggered away and began heading back to the Lake. Before they were completely out of the Red Zone, they suddenly stopped at a barricade in front of them. They lifted up their heads and came forth upon a creature so huge and terrifying standing in their way.

  Chapter 6: Experience.

  At that same glance, the female fawn who previously took notice of Jayd, suddenly walked up to him. The sight of his uncle who laid down on the ground, breathless and out of shape distracted him. She slowly crept up behind him, and with an angelic voice, she spoke, “Hi." He was so startled by her presence that no words came out. For a moment, he completely lost all form of speech that he ever knew. Embarrassingly, his entire body shivered at the mere sight of her. He wished his uncle was here to back him up, but this time he was all alone. He had no choice but to go at it solo, and maybe, just maybe, hope for the best.

  He regained his composure and replied in a cool gesture, “Hi."

  “Am Mel.”

  “Jayd.” He smiled. He was glad that he was off to a good start, and they were finally hitting it off.

  “Who was that?”

  “My uncle…step-uncle.”

  “He seems like a cool guy.”

  “He’s actually insane, but yeah, he’s a cool guy.”

  She giggled.

  “Haven’t seen you around here before?”

  “Yeah, my family and I are just passing through.”

  “To the Museum?”

  “Nope, Lake Guilderm.”

  Jayd was terrified at the sound of that. He wondered why she and her family even considered going over to Huxton, the predator’s continent.

  “What? You do know that that’s the predator’s land, right?”

  “Yeah, I do, but it’s not up to me. It’s my parents’ decision,” she said as she pointed out to them.

  “Why not wait ‘till the hunting season is over?"

  “We can’t. It’s the only fresh water source left. The rest have all dried up."

  Jayd felt sorry for her. However, the whole of Praemar would soon face the same epidemic. All preys would have to migrate to a more substantial and sustainable source. Unfortunately, the only permanent source for miles is at the border of both Praemar and Huxton; Lake Guilderm. They then took a walk around the park and got more acquainted.

  “What about you? What’s your story?”

  “My story?”

  “Yeah.”

  He paused for a moment and thought of the right words to say to her. When he found none, he just winged it.

  “Well, for starters, am royalty.”

  “What? No way!”

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “Am serious.”

  “Then prove it.”

  “Okay.”

  He nudged her to the right and inconspicuously pointed out to the back. Past the dancing animals to a pair of wildebeests positioned at every corner. Their eyes locked onto him.

  “So what? You are some sort of prince?”

  “You could say that.”

  “So what are you doing out here? I thought all royalties are always on lockdown?”

  “That’s my parents, not me. I prefer being adventurous.”

  “So you ran away?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Aren’t they going to be…?”

  “…mad? Nah.”

  They both laughed in unison. For a prince who had spent his entire life locked away, he was surely having the time of his life. Suddenly, all hell broke loose when an uninvited guest crashed the party. All senses were now on high alert. The few that had spotted the outsider kept yelling only one word; Predator. Afterwards, only one word came to everyone’s mind; Run. Helter-skelter, they all ran in utter confusion and dashed out of the park. Absolutely nothing was fun at the oh-so-awesome fun park anymore. Paralyzed with fear, Jayd and Mel got lost in the fuss. Everyone ran in every direction and forcefully bumped into Jayd and Mel along the way.

  “Stay close to me!” Jayd shouted.

  She moved in closer and pushed on side by side. They tried to make their way to the wildebeest bodyguards on the other side, who ruthlessly pushed aside anyone who stood in their way. Their number one priority was Jayd, who seemed nothing more but a mere ant amongst that frightened mass. The struggle for survival seemed hopeless for them. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, Jayd and Mel instantly got separated. They screamed while slowly drifting apart. Jayd suddenly found himself all alone, wandering around the park. He accidentally bumped into Mel's parents and together they searched everywhere for her. All was quiet and peaceful once again for everyone was gone.

  Amazingly, the news about the predator invasion travelled fast across all four corners of Praemar. Everyone heard about it, including Jayd's parents. They too got a whiff of this famous rumour.

  “Predators? Here? How is that even possible? It’s not even hunting season yet?" Kart worriedly asked.

  “I don't know. They must have crossed the border somehow." Zafeen unknowingly answered.

  "Oh no! Jayd could be out there?"

  "Don’t worry. We’ll find him."

  Concerned for their son's safety, they set out for the very same crime scene. Their two-triceratops bodyguards accompanied them.

  Chapter 7: Encounter.

  “What do we have here?” He lowered his neck, tilting his head side to side, as he stared face to face in their unblinking eyes. “A couple of stray sheep.” He moved in closer until he could hear the sound of their pacing hearts.

  “Where’s your flock?” He taunted.

  The silence grew weary around them. It tormented and forced them to utter nothing more but a mere gasp of their soulless lifeform. A lifeform that left their bodies shaken and infringed.

  “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” He teased.

  He stood right in front of them and stared sharply with his black demonic eyes. His dark brown and rough unkempt fur stood still, revealing his dark pale skin. The stench emancipating off him fit perfectly like a favourite cologne.

  “What’s going on here?” His fellow mate emerged from the bushes. He majestically walked towards them, furious and burning with rage. His eyes portrayed a role of authority, that and the fact that the other coyote seemed afraid of him.

  “Aaron, what’s this? How many times have I told you not to play with your food?”

  He stopped right across from him. The cubs were stuck in the middle like a stuffed breakfast sandwich.

  “I wasn’t.” He defended himself.

  “Really? Then what’s this?” He pointed at the cubs.

  They were stiff stricken at the thought of ending up as someone’s meal.

  “They are strays, that’s what they are.” He said.

  “Strays huh?” He growled.

  He came in for a closer look. His breath seemed to startle them. It must have been the smell of the dead carcass emanating from his shockingly terrifying oral cavity. Maybe it was the pieces of flesh stuck to his sharp carnassial teeth, or perhaps the dark red blood stained all over his jaw.

  “What should we do with them Hunter?” He asked.

  “I don’t know. What do you think?”

  He toyed around with them. His mouth slowly salivated to what his crazy and unstable mind had thought of.

  “I don’t know. Eat ‘em.”

  “Nah. That would be too easy.”

  “What do you propose?”

  “A hunt!” He devilishly smiled, giving them a sneak peek at what they were up against. “What do you think?” He addressed them.

  They almost peed themselves.

  “Come on guys. That’s no way to treat our guests.” A third member joined in.

  He seemed rather normal and sane f
rom a distance, until he approached the canvas. By the judge of the cover on that ‘book’, he was no different at all.