Emmanuel_Capricorn
patreon
TLK : Chapter 128
🕑 Added 2025-09-11 15:40:11 +0000 UTC[3rd POV]
The researchers who followed Leo and his Pride on their journey were all huddled into their makeshift camp at this moment.
Their camp was more settled than usual because the pride had not moved after reaching their destination. Usually, Leo's pride would be on a constant move through the Serengeti, so the researchers only made tents to sleep while never making a solid camp.
But now, they had the chance to do so. The three jeeps that they brought with them had not been operated for days now. They worked as metal walls that surrounded the camp instead.
The number of researchers in the Serengeti was quite large at this point. Documenting Leo and his pride became the priority in animal science, so there were lots of scientists and zoologists.
However, the group that followed Leo's pride in their journey consisted of only eight individuals. The rest were left in the Serengeti to monitor the land and the effects of Leo's absence in that region.
Although they stayed behind, what they found and the things they were witnessing in this moment were just as intriguing as what was happening in the Pridelands, but that topic was for another time.
For now, let us look at the eight researchers that camped at the outskirts of the Pridelands. Currently, Kyle Ramirez and Joseph 'Jo' Mwangi were operating drones. They were sitting at the centre of the camp with tablets in front of them that showed the footage of what their drone was seeing in real time.
The rest of the members were sitting or standing behind these two. They peeked over their heads and shoulders to look at the footage on the screen.
And in that moment, there was a pin-drop silence.
..
"You're not messing with us, are you?" Malik said while staring intently at what was playing on the screen.
"I wish I were," Ramirez said while controlling the drone with shaky hands.
"So we are all seeing this. All of us," Malik said again. The others didn't even reply, only nodding dumbly at his question.
It's been a full minute now and they still could not believe what they were seeing through the drone.
"That is a lot of hyenas."
The drone was capturing a horde of hyenas gathering in one place. Their number was in the hundreds, around 500 according to their rough estimate.
The crew continued to watch in absolute silence, each one trying to make logical sense of the situation. No one wanted to speak unless they found some sense in the situation; therefore, no one spoke.
In the end, it was Dr. Tonson who spoke first.
"Any idea, Elena?" he asked.
Professor Elena Morales was one of the people who was allowed to join the crew due to her speciality. She had an MSc in Zoology and a PhD in Animal Behaviour studies.
But her main speciality was in social signalling and communication networks of animals. She had been an imperative member of the team and she was also working on a new theory that she had. Leoquor, this basically theorised that animals might have means of communication that humans are not aware of. This theory was inspired by watching Leo interact with not only nature but also the animals around him.
"I don't have the slightest clue," she admitted, "The so-called hyena clans usually only have a few members and are capped out at around 80 members, 100 members in rare cases. But even then, they never gather in one place because that amount of hyenas would devour everything too quickly."
The other researchers nodded, agreeing with her facts. But the scene before them negated that fact by a big margin.
"There must be hundreds of hyenas in this horde. Those are fictional numbers for a hyena clan. But what is really fucking with my head and everything that I know and learned is how they are able to gather in such a group from all over the territory. It's not like an elephant herd had died from a disease and they gather from all over the land to scavenge; they simply gather out of nowhere. That requires coordination and messaging at a scale which we never thought was possible for hyenas to accomplish," she said, scratching her head.
But clearly that was not enough because she began pulling her hair and messing up the locks. For a professor like her, to see that what she learned over the years was proven wrong was definitely frustrating.
And at this age and at the height of her career, she thought she knew a lot. But she found out she knew nothing really.
"Don't you have anything to say, doctor?" she asked him back after admitting her ignorance.
"No. I have nothing of weight to say," he said, "But I think their behaviour points towards a central power among the hyenas. It's the only reason why they would gather. They had been commanded or summoned by their king."
"And you think the lion is their king?" Hana said, her eyes wide.
Dr. Tonson shrugged, "Who knows. But then you will have to question the very fundamentals of zoology as we know it. What kind of situation would lead hyenas to be under a lion? Or how did the lion convince the hyenas in the first place? With their number, they could easily kill all known lion prides in the history of the world. Extinct lions included. So why would they have a lion or any other beast on the earth, for that matter, to control and lead them?"
Dr Robert Hargrove took this time to share his opinion. He had DPhil in Zoology, passing as the best student from Oxford in his batch. He had a varied background and published many research papers, especially on the evolution of animal cooperation tactics.
"It truly is a situation we have never seen before. Just when we thought we knew a lot, Mother Nature finds ways to surprise us," he said. He was of a similar age to Dr Tonson, so the two were quite close.
"The only comparison I can draw is from Wolf Superpacks. Normally, wolf packs are around 8 to 10, but in rare cases, they can form coalitions between packs and their number can surpass 40. But these alliances are formed only in a situation of abundance, not from lack of resources like we see now," he said. The other researchers listened carefully.
They all appreciated each otherβs specialities and knew that the combination of their knowledge and perspective is what would lead them to the truth that they desperately wanted to know.
"Or if you want interspecies, we can look at the ocean. I published a paper on it actually, about how dolphins, tuna and other creatures of the ocean would form alliances to hunt corral prey schools of fish. They team up to trap the prey, and because of the abundance, there was no rivalry," he said.
"But both those cases only happen in times of abundance," Hana pointed out. Then she turned back to the screen and said thoughtfully.
"Do you think that the so-called wasteland used to be a prosperous land and only recently turned into a wasteland?" she said. She was not as knowledgeable as her fellow researchers, but her observations and conclusions from facts around her were sharp.
"That would make sense. The quick transition from an abundant land to a wasteland could be due to factors such as drought and the huge stress put on the resources by the hyenas," Dr Tonson said.
That was a much-needed breakthrough for the crew. They felt like they finally had one piece of a giant, unknown puzzle.
"Which fits right back in with Leo coming from an abundant region where he had all the food in the world during cubhood to grow as big as he did," Malik added.
Now that made sense.
That was starting to make a lot of sense.
"Do you think Leo lost his tail to the hyenas?" Hana asked suddenly.
Dr. Tonson had another moment of realisation, "....and that is why he came back to this place. And with his high intelligence comes grudge and hatred. He wants revenge and to take back the land where he was born?"
The quiet crew finally burst with noise and activity. They discussed their new conclusions and how everything fit with the rest they knew.
Some of the things they discussed were close to the truth, some were exaggerated truths, while most were straight-up false and were mere fictional speculations.
"But none of that would explain why the hyenas decided to gather in one place so suddenly," Elena said after they had had enough time to discuss and what they were saying was starting to become too ridiculous.
"Maybe they are gathering to fight each other and cannibalise due to the lack of resources? It could be an unknown instinct to us because nothing had pushed hyenas to that extreme situation," Robert said.
"You mean like how grasshoppers turn into locusts?" Dr Tonson asked, incredulous.
"It's just a speculation...." Robert shrugged.
At this point, they were starting to throw away what they knew and were ready to be taught by what they saw. Their high-level education was clearly void when studying about Leo; they had to have an open mind on what was possible and what was not.
"Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves because we have a problem," Ramirez said all of a sudden, his voice cutting through and silencing the discussion.
All eyes turned back on the screen.
"The horde is moving," Ramirez said.
He then panned out the scene, flying his drone higher into the air so he could show the horde and where they were headed to.
"And they are headed right to the path leading down here," he said.
The news hit with a heavy impact on the researchers.
"Oh.."
"Oh shit,"
They watched from the drone as the horde began moving like a dark flood through the landscape. They were quickly covering ground like a disease and were heading their way into the outside world.
"Should we do something?" Malik asked, a bead of sweat falling from his forehead.
"What else can we do but observe?" Rober said, and then he adopted a thoughtful look, "This got me thinking, are they gathering to hunt together outside their plateau? Having such a huge number effectively guarantees them a successful hunt, but there will be too many mouths to feed," he said.
"Not if they hunt big prey like a giraffe. We saw Leo take down one and there seemed to be quite a population of them in this region." Dr Tonson added.
"Oh, that's true. But you think the hyenas know all that?" he questioned once more.
There was a moment of silence as each and every one among the crew had a thoughtful look. They continued their own train of thought from Rober's hypothesis but there was a moment where something clicked in each of their mind.
"If they are coming here to hunt, then they would certainly eat anything. They would even fight a giraffe for the meat. They are probably starving..."Robert said.
"That's true," Dr Tonson said and nodded wisely like a sage.
Then he turned to Malik, their driver, "We should leave immediately."
"That's what I've been trying to say!!" Malik said he truly felt like the sanest person in the crew.
The crew then moved immediately. But before they could do much, Joseph, the other drone operator, spoke in a grave tone.
"We have another problem,"
The researchers gathered back and looked at the screen held by Joseph this time. What they saw caused them to blink dumbfoundedly a few times before their face turned into horror.
"Leo and his pride are on the move, and they are going up the plateau," Joseph said, his tone grave.
"That's insane!!" Hana said, wide eyes and panic on her face, "The horde is coming their direction? Don't they know that? I thought Leo had the vultures!"
But while the rest were panicking, Dr Tonson was quiet. He stood there, like a statue drained of all energy.
"Are you okay T?" Robert asked, sensing soemthing was wrong.
"We have to do soemthing! We have to stop them! They can't meet the horde!" Hana and Elena were both nearly screaming, concerned for the lion they had come to root for.
Dr Tonson rubbed his head, hating the conclusion that his mind had come to.
When he gave a look, Robert had a moment of realisation as well.
"Shit.."
"You don't think..." he asked, but Dr Tonson simply nodded, it's like they could understand each other on a deep level.
"That would make sense," Dr Tonson said.
Finally, the other members of the crew took notice of the solemn silence shared between them.
"What's going on?" Elena asked.
"I don't think we need to do anything," Dr Tonson said, "I think Leo and his pride are moving not out of ignorance but because they know the hyenas are coming."
"What?" Hana asked, still not catching on.
"This is war," Robert said, "This is a war between animals, like the ones we use to have as bedtime stories."
"And the hyenas are not gathering for no reason, nor were they gathering to hunt,"
"That was the gathering of an army," Robert said and then his hand went to his head immediately.
"Impossible," Elena said.
The word impossible was quickly losing its weight and meaning the more they discoer about the real explanation of what was happening around them.
But the scene they witnessed through the drone only proved their words.
It was a scene that was going to shake the world when released.
..
..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author : I swear this is not a filler, it leads to an important plot point. I'll try to release another chapter tonight, if not double chapter tomorrow for yesterday's miss.
We are still 10 chapters ahead of Webnovel though and I will keep it like that.
Comments
Isabel Guillermo R.
Anything you give us will be greatly appreciated. At this point, we're on the edge of our seats from the tension.
Quin Bland
Can't wait to see the comments of Leo taking out the horde like Mike Tyson vs an elementary school π€£π€£π€£
