The Next World

by Gerry Griffiths

  “How did you know she was in pain?” Ally asked.

  “She’s been pawing her mouth. It’s very important that lions have good teeth.”

  “Tell her the story,” Dayo said as she injected a long syringe needle into Sasha’s gum tissue below the rotted tooth.

  “Well, over a hundred years ago workers building a bridge for the Kenya-Uganda Railway were being killed by two lions known as the Tsavo Man-Eaters. They even made a movie about it with Michael Douglas, The Ghost and the Darkness,” Dr. Tomie said, concentrating on her work as she placed the tip of a chisel at the base of the decayed tooth then slammed the end of the tool with a hammer. She quickly grabbed the uprooted tooth out of the lion’s mouth and dropped it in a small tray on the cart.

  “In about a nine-month period,” she continued, “the lions had killed twenty-eight workers. Some were even ripped from their tents while they slept.”

  “Oh my gosh,” Ally said.

  Dayo held a thick gauze compression pad on the bleeding gum.

  “Ally, can you take over for Dayo so she can stitch up Sasha?”

  “Yes, sure.” Ally moved around Dayo and applied pressure to the wound and swabbed away the blood.

  Dayo threaded the catgut in the eye of the curved needle.

  Dr. Tomie went on with her story as she observed Dayo stitching the lion’s gum. “Finally, the engineer of the project had to hire a hunter. When the lions were finally killed, it was later discovered that one of them was suffering from a toothache, which might have attributed to its bad disposition.”

  “That really happened?” Ally asked as she watched Dayo skillfully sew the hole closed.

  “Honest truth,” Dr. Tomie said. “It can be very dangerous out here.”

  “And very beautiful,” Dayo said, completing the last stitch and snipping off the end of the catgut.

  Ally glanced at the observation window and was happy to see her mother, Frank, Ryan, and Dillon all giving her the thumbs-up.

  6

  While Ally stayed behind to spend more time with Dr. Tomie and Dayo, Frank and the others continued on through to the rear of the building where an African man wearing a long white shirt, loose trousers, and sandals was waiting by the doorway that led outside.

  “This is Gatura, one of many volunteers from a nearby village that come and help take care of the animals,” Isoba said.

  Gatura gave everyone a big smile.

  “I will leave you with Gatura as I and Adanna must go on patrol.”

  “Then we’ll see you later?” Frank asked.

  “Perhaps for supper,” Isoba replied and walked hastily back down the corridor.

  “Come,” Gatura said. He stepped out onto the dirt where there were numerous stable-like enclosures, a few small corrals, and a mud-walled building with six steel bar doors. The compound was somewhere around eighty feet by two hundred feet and was further surrounded by a twelve-foot tall cyclone fence.

  When Dillon came outside, two white goats with black heads came up to greet him. One of the animals went for the packet of peanuts in the boy’s hand.

  “Hey, little fella. You want some?” Dillon tore open the bag and shook some peanuts into the palm of his hand. Both goats nibbled at the nuts and slobbered his hand.

  “Looks like you found yourself some friends,” Frank said.

  “Can they come sleep with me?” Dillon asked.

  “Maybe another time,” Wanda told her son.

  Ryan walked over and approached a large dog sitting by a gate.

  “I don’t recognize this breed,” Ryan said.

  “Samson is an Anatolian shepherd,” Gatura said.

  Samson had black ears and a thick, wiry, creamy-white coat. The canine had a similar body type as a yellow Labrador but with a slimmer stomach. He was a whopping 140 pounds.

  A rugged four-door truck with big all-terrain tires pulled up outside the gate and stopped. Isoba was behind the wheel. He gave a loud whistle.

  Gatura opened the gate and Samson charged out.

  Adanna was sitting up front in the passenger seat. She reached back and pushed opened the rear door and Samson jumped in. The door closed when Isoba sped off.

  After shutting the gate, Gatura said, “Please, have a look around.”

  Ryan went over to where an ostrich was standing inside a railed fence. Its right eye was a glazed milky white and looked infected.

  He saw a Thompson gazelle with a large boil on its neck that needed to be removed in the next stall.

  Dillon ran ahead of Frank and Wanda.

  “Slow down,” Wanda called out as they passed more animals that were in dire need of medical attention.

  Dillon raced around the corner post of a corral. Seconds later, he returned with a three-legged animal walking at his side. “Look what I found.”

  Wanda took one look at the animal and turned to Frank. “Is that a hyena?”

  “Looks like it,” Frank replied.

  Wanda turned and shouted, “Dillon, get over here now!”

  “But Mom...”

  “It is all right,” Gatura said. “Hobbie is friendly.”

  To show Wanda there was no danger, Gatura went up to the young hyena and gave him a scratch behind the ear.

  “Aren’t they supposed to be dangerous?” Wanda asked.

  “When we care for them, they learn we mean them no harm. They are grateful. Hobbie was only a pup when Isoba found him. The leg was badly broken and Dr. Tomie could not save it. Hobbie has been here ever since.”

  “So all the animals are friendly?” Dillon asked.

  “No,” Gatura said. “The animals out there know only one thing, and that is to stay alive. If they feel threatened, they will not be friendly. So you must be careful.”

  “So you live near here?” Wanda asked.

  “Yes, in my village.”

  “And others from your village come here to volunteer?” Frank asked.

  “Yes. We all do. Dr. Tomie has taught us to care for the animals.”

  “How big is this reserve?” Wanda asked Gatura, but when he shrugged his shoulders, she looked to Frank for the answer.

  “Somewhere over two hundred square miles. I believe there is a national park bordering on two sides of the reserve, the rest being open land.”

  “Open to poachers,” Gatura said with disdain.

  “You mean poachers actually come onto the reserve?” Wanda asked.

  “Yes. It is Isola and Adanna’s job to keep them away.”

  “Two people to guard two hundred square miles,” Wanda said. “That hardly sounds right. Talk about an impossible task.”

  “Yes,” Gatura said. “It is impossible.”

  7

  It took six of the strongest volunteers to carry Sasha to her enclosure and lay her on the straw covered dirt floor to recover from the anesthesia. Dr. Tomie thanked them as they filed out and returned to their duties caring for the other animals.

  Ally and Dayo stood at the opened doorway while Dr. Tomie sat beside the big cat and placed the disc-shaped resonator of her stethoscope on Sasha’s chest.

  “How is she?” Dayo asked.

  “Her heart sounds strong,” Dr. Tomie replied.

  “How old is Sasha?” Ally asked.

  “She is almost ten. Lions can live to eighteen years if they remain healthy.”

  Ally saw Sasha’s tail swish in the air. “I think she’s waking up.”

  Sasha slowly opened her eyes.

  Dr. Tomie remained beside Sasha and gently stroked the white lioness.

  “Shouldn’t we be leaving?” Ally asked, stepping back.

  “You need not be afraid,” Dayo said.

  Sasha shifted her body to get her legs under her body and struggled onto her feet. She stood wobbly and almost fell when she took a step but managed to remain standing.

  Dr. Tomie stood and walked toward the doorway.

  Sasha followed the veterinarian and they came outside.

  “She’s so tame,” Ally s
aid, seeing how docile the huge lioness seemed standing next to the woman a fourth her weight.

  “Sasha has learned to trust humans. Which, I’m afraid, makes her very vulnerable, especially to poachers and big game hunters.”

  “Then why not keep her here?”

  “Sasha is an important member of her pride. And she has a cub.”

  “Is it white like Sasha?” Ally asked.

  “Yes, and we have the cub here,” Dr. Tomie explained. “The mortality rate of lion cubs is very high: only one out of eight generally survive. That is why we could not separate Sasha from her cub.”

  “But won’t the other lions protect it?”

  “Male lions are known to kill the cubs.”

  “But why would they kill their own kind?” Ally asked in disbelief.

  “Animals are not that much different from us. They’re merely eliminating the competition should they grow to be stronger. It’s rather common for one species to seek out and kill the offspring of another species, especially when they know that animal will hunt it one day.”

  “Survival of the fittest.”

  “Exactly.”

  Sasha followed Dayo over to a ramp that led up into the bed of a transport vehicle that had high railings on each side.

  The big cat hesitated.

  Then came the sound of her cub mewling as it appeared at the edge of the tailgate and looked down at its mother.

  Sasha lumbered up the ramp and licked her cub. They moved toward the back of the cab of the truck and sprawled on the floor, the playful cub and the lioness happy to be reunited.

  “Let’s take Sasha and her cub home,” Dr. Tomie said and they all climbed into the truck.

  8

  Adanna was the first to see the vultures circling high over the grassy plain. She knew the scavenger birds had keen eyesight and, from the air could spot a dead animal from two miles away. She counted more than twenty birds in the air, which meant that there was something big drawing their attention.

  Isoba saw them, too. He cranked the wheel to avoid a deep ditch but kept his foot pressed down on the gas pedal, keeping the speedometer needle pegged at thirty.

  They had been driving for almost an hour.

  A small pack of wild dogs was up ahead, congregated near a patch of mesquite.

  They had large ears and long, thin legs. The size of German shepherds, their coats were a patchwork of black and brown. Isola knew they were skilled hunters and would often split up into groups while chasing small impalas. The wild dogs were compassionate with their own kind, letting the feeble eat before the others.

  Isoba sounded the horn and they scattered.

  He stuck his head out the window and looked up. They were almost directly under the hovering funnel of birds, so he stopped the truck. He turned off the engine and climbed out.

  Adanna reached back, opened the door for Samson, and the dog leaped out.

  She grabbed a pair of binoculars and got out of the truck. She climbed up on the roof of the cab and did a complete sweep of the area with the binoculars.

  “See anything?” Isola asked.

  “No vehicles.” Adanna hopped off the roof onto the bed and jumped down on the ground.

  Isola reached inside the cab and took out his rifle.

  Samson bounded over to the spot where the wild dogs had been gathered. He let out a forceful bark.

  Isola and Adanna rushed over and came to an abrupt halt.

  They were shocked at the brutality, no matter how often they saw it—and it was becoming more frequent. The rhino’s head had been savagely mutilated, leaving a massive open wound where the face had once been.

  Lying on the blood-soaked ground, the big gray looked to be about four tons.

  Isola and Adanna were standing by the herbivore’s back when they heard a high keening sound. Samson ran around the front legs of the rhino and stared at the underbelly.

  Again, there was the same high-pitched cry.

  Isola stepped around the rear of the fallen rhino while Adanna approached from the other side. As they came around the carcass, they saw something move. It was pressed against the dead rhino’s belly.

  A baby rhino. Refusing to leave its dead mother’s side.

  9

  Dr. Tomie, Dayo, and Ally watched from the truck as Sasha and her cub ambled down the sloping knoll to an open area surrounded by boulders under a few umbrella-shaped acacia trees. A pride of lions was sharing the shade to escape the broiling sun.

  “That’s her family down there,” Dr. Tomie said.

  “How many are there?” Ally asked.

  Dr. Tomie looked over at Dayo. “Last time we counted, twelve?”

  “Yes,” Dayo confirmed. “Three males, five lionesses, two little ones, and Sasha and her cub.”

  “They look pretty relaxed,” Ally said.

  “They’re somewhat lazy when they’re not hunting,” Dayo said.

  The three thick-maned lions watched Sasha intently as she strolled out of the sun and found her place in the shade. Her cub curled up against her chest. The other lionesses gave her a glance then shut their eyes. Two other cubs were play fighting in the grass despite the torrid heat.

  “From up here, they look so peaceful, like a bunch of housecats,” Ally said.

  “Maybe so...”

  The radio speaker on the dashboard crackled with a man’s voice. “Dr. Tomie?”

  Grabbing the mike from its holder, the veterinarian answered, “Yes, Isoba.”

  “Are you out in the field?”

  “Yes, we’ve just returned Sasha and her cub back to her pride.”

  “Then you are not far from us. We are five miles to the east.”

  “We’ll be there shortly,” Dr. Tomie replied. She hung up the mike and started up the truck.

  As they headed across the open plain, following the compass mounted on the dashboard, Ally had an opportunity to see large herds of zebras and wildebeest grazing on the grassland. She saw giraffes standing under the acacia trees, nibbling the leaves on the tall branches.

  Isboa and Adanna were waiting by their truck when they arrived. Dr. Tomie pulled up and turned off the engine. She climbed out of the cab. Ally and Dayo got out as well and walked over.

  “This way,” Isoba said and took them around an entanglement of mesquite.

  “Oh my God,” Ally gasped when she saw the disfigured rhino lying on the ground.

  “Dayo, go fetch a tarp,” Dr. Tomie said. The woman ran back to the truck and, a moment later, returned with a folded white tarpaulin. Dr. Tomie and Dayo shook out the canvas and covered the head of the rhino as a show of respect.

  “Did an animal do that?” Ally asked.

  “Poachers,” Adanna said with disdain, like the word tasted foul when she spoke it.

  “But why?” Ally thought she might cry but remained strong.

  “On the black market, a rhino’s horn goes for $60,000 a kilogram—which is more than gold,” Dr. Tomie said.

  “But for what?”

  “The horn is ground up and sold as an aphrodisiac, mostly in Asia.”

  “But aren’t there laws to stop it?” Ally asked.

  “Yes, but they are hard to enforce. Elephants are still being killed today for their tusks even though there is a ban on the ivory trade.”

  Adanna looked down at the dead rhino. “This animal was killed just so an impotent man could get an erection.”

  “Adanna!” Isoba said sternly.

  “It is true. Africa suffers just so the rich can pleasure themselves.”

  “I know how it upsets you,” Isoba said to Adanna, “but let’s not forget why we asked Dr. Tomie to come here.”

  Adanna motioned for everyone to come around to the other side of the dead rhino.

  “Oh my,” Ally said when she saw the baby rhino.

  “She is sleeping,” Isoba said. “We thought you could take her back.”

  “We’ll take it from here,” Dr. Tomie said. “You and Adanna go and see if you can tr
ack the poachers. Hopefully they’re headed for the national park and we can alert the park rangers.”

  Isoba and Adanna rushed over, jumped into their truck, and raced off.

  Dr. Tomie, Ally, and Dayo stood by and watched as the baby rhino slept.

  “How much do you think she weighs?” Ally asked.

  “I’d say around one fifty,” Dr. Tomie said. “Let’s wake her up and get her up on her feet.”

  Dayo had gone to the truck and returned with a long pole with a noose on the end.

  “Are you afraid she’ll run off?” Ally said once she saw the snare.

  “Quite the opposite. We might have a problem getting her to leave her mother.”

  Dayo patted the baby rhino on the shoulder and the animal abruptly woke up. As soon as it opened its eyes it began to cry out. The young woman braced herself and lifted the animal up.

  The baby rhino stood. Its large head was a third of its body length. The ears stood straight up. Its oversized feet looked almost comical and too big for its legs.

  Dayo looped the noose around the baby rhino’s head and pulled. The animal refused to budge.

  “Looks like we might have to push,” Dr. Tomie said.

  Ally joined the doctor and they both got behind the reluctant rhino and guided it toward the back of the truck. It took the three of them to lift the baby rhino onto the bed.

  “Why don’t you two sit in the back and keep her company,” Dr. Tomie said.

  Dayo jumped up first, then Ally climbed into the back of the truck.

  Dr. Tomie closed the tailgate and walked around to the driver’s door. She got in and they started back to the clinic.

  It was a jostling ride in the back, so Ally and Dayo had to hold onto the side railing while making sure the baby rhino didn’t fall and get hurt.

  “You’re okay,” Ally said, doing her best to steady the animal. “No one is going to hurt you.” The baby rhino leaned against Ally. She looked over at Dayo.

  “She thinks you are her new mother.” Dayo grinned.

  “Can I give her a name?”

  “Sure. She will be with us for quite some time.”

  “Okay. How about... Lucy?”

  “Lucy it is.”