LARA: THE god OF HEKO

ESCAPING - Suspense/Thriller Writing Contest I

EPISODE THREE

Lara had been running for two uninterrupted hours. She ran fast and deep into the forest unaware of whatever could be following from behind. She got to a narrow stream not more than two meters wide. Lara jumped over the stream. Just then, a Lion roared from a distance. The ground under her feet shook as much as her heart shook. She was not prepared to wrestle with a Lion this time. The roar seemed to have come from the left wing of the forest. Lara followed the right wing.

She continued to run without looking back. Leaving behind tall trees with thick foliage, Lara found herself in a Savannah of grasses and shrubs. She continued to run. It's been three hours of marathon and gradually, the sun was going to sleep. Lara continued running, trampling grasses and shrubs as she raced off. Then suddenly, there was another roar, this time more deafening than before. Lara skidded to a halt. The awe in the roar was made more profound by the utter silence in this wilderness. Lara stood firmly rooted to the spot. Lion, the king of the jungle, had become more assertive and he deserved the obedience of all, man and animals alike. This time, Lara's heart shook more than the ground upon which she stood. The shrubs and grasses waved to and fro in deference to the roaring Lion. Lara stood still. Only after a few minutes when the threatening voice of the Lion had dissolved into the distance did Lara turn to look at the left wing of the jungle and there was Lion the king, his mouth wide open revealing some canines that had torn into flesh since he was a cob, shedding more blood than necessary and putting definite ends to lives that were consciously created to serve specific purpose here on earth; lives of buffalos, of deers, of antelopes, zebras, rhinos, elephants, hyenas and the likes. The list of his preys may not all so often include hippopotamus, baboons and crocodiles for obvious reasons. These ones flagrantly defied the king and his draconian rules and they always got away with their disobedience and most times, they had frustrated Lion the king leaving him with enormous resentment.

And so, the Lion stood there, mouth open, his tongue breathing in and out; the fur on his skin spoke of sterling strength. His face was not smiling. He looked hungry and expectant. On either side of his face was the natural mark of tears which drained into his nostrils. His stern piercing eyes burning with fire commanded awe. The Lion was facing the left wing of the forest away from where Lara froze to a standstill. She had heard many stories about Lion, his exploits in the jungle, the massiveness of his might and his predatory fearlessness. They had then sounded as fables and myths. But now here she was, standing a respectful distance away from Lion, the king of the jungle.

Just about then, as though responding to his call, a family of warthogs numbering about ten appeared in the open. They grazed the field with grace and gait, their minds unperturbed. Sighting the herd, the Lion stood alert but remained still. He moved stealthily as he dodged dry grasses. It was all too sudden when the Lion launched a surprise attack. Putting this family asunder, he succeeded in isolating the weakest member of the herd. Chasing after the warthog, the Lion seized her hind legs and the animal fell flat. The Lion then closed his powerful jaws against her throat giving her a short while to suffocate.

While admiring the hunting skill of the Lion, Lara heaved a sigh of relief. With the massive meat of a warthog to feast on, the Lion wouldn't give much concern to her presence in the jungle. Leaving the Lion to devour his prey, Lara pressed on, racing farther into the wild. It was now getting darker, the sun having completely vanished from the horizon. Far into the distance was a dark figure not more than the size of an anthill. Lara decided to see what it was. Several minutes later, she was standing at the entrance of an old shack, long abandoned.

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The old shack had many valuable items in it but those could wait. She looked around for any evidence of recent patronage and there was none. On the top of her priority was her safety and security. She thought it would be wise to have fire burning around here. It would provide illumination, ward off intruders and possibly cook her food. It was dusk and she could still see her environment clearly. She quickly gathered logs of wood and dry grasses suitable for making fire. She searched the shack for any trace of matches and there was none. 'Where would the fire come from', she reasoned. Then she remembered how fire were made among Bunu people without the use of matches. It was a system used by early men who were by nature wonderers and gatherers. The system was passed down generations and still widely practiced among the people Lara grew up with. She sighted a dwarf palm tree nearby and rushed there to gather wools from its neck. The wools were so light they would attract the smallest grains of fire. Then she collected two stones which she struck against each other right on top of the wools from palm tree. After several attempts, grains of fire produced from the stones dropped on the wools and the fire started to expand through the wools. Soft dry grasses were added to the wools. First, a soft thick smoke emerged. Then the wools and the dry grasses burst into flames. Lara made her fire from nature. More logs were added and the environment burst into life.

There was no trace of food in the shack. Lara was as hungry as a Lion starved for three days. She might have to sleep on an empty stomach tonight and hope for some provisions in the morrow. While she was yet putting her thoughts together, she heard sounds of movement a distance away. As she lifted up her head, she saw a cheetah dragging along her prey. It was an antelope freshly killed and yet to be eaten. Lara had heard from stories that the big cats would run from humans by merely screaming at them. Lara braved up. Holding a club in her hands, she dared the cheetah: "Who are you? Where are you coming from? You stole that meat. Go away. Go away from here". She wielded her club as she spoke. The cheetah growled, dropped the meat and fled into the woods. Lara picked up the antelope and dragged it to the burning fire. In the shack were all kinds of knives and machetes. The narrow stream Lara jumped over a while ago provided her with spring water for all functions.

After taking tasty meats and leaving the rest beside burning coals to dry, Lara entered the shack and sunk her weight into a waiting sofa. She slept like a baby.

Olu Majek