[3rd POV]
When the rangers and the researchers heard the sounds of roars and gunfire, they gathered their forces and set out immediately.
It was past midnight when they arrived at the scene.
Four vehicles and nearly thirty members came to check the situation. The non-violent women or the non-combative researchers were left in the headquarters; the people who came here were all trained and were ready for conflict.
They were prepared.
But no one could prepare or be ready for what awaited them.
The vehicle that had crashed on its side was the first thing they found and the first place where they stopped. The rangers came out of the vehicle and quickly surrounded the area; the others remained in the jeep.
Dr Emmanuel came out first, along with the chief ranger. They headed towards the front of the crashed car and they stepped on some blood and brain matter.
At that point they didn't know what it was.
"Ew, what's that?" the chief asked when he stepped on something wet and soft.
Dr Emmanuel shone his light at his feet. It was red, and flesh that looked chewed up along with what looked like glass shards.
"I don't know," he said.
He shone his light on the ground and on the pile that the chief stepped on. It was hard to tell what it was, but when they saw an ear along the mass of red, it clicked in their mind.
"That's..."
Both ran towards the windshield of the fallen vehicle. When they shone their light in the driver seat, they finally saw the broken windshield and the corpse without a head that was barely strapped down by a seatbelt.
Dr Emmanuel gagged.
"Oh, fucking hell," he cursed out loud, trying his best not to vomit.
The chief looked away and reported in his radio phone, "We found a body, a dead body. Male, from what I can see and his head is gone, likely crushed by something a few metres away from the body."
It was hard.
The two of them got back in their vehicle. They left a few operators and a ranger to take care of this scene while they headed towards where the fallen pick-up truck came from.
It was dark in the night, and the path in front of them was barely visible even with the headlights of their vehicles. But the group knew exactly when to stop and where.
The smell of blood and flesh was strong, and they saw a horde of vultures in the area.
When they got out of the car, they could hear the sound of drones flying lower to the ground due to the sky being taken up by the vultures. They headed towards the treeline immediately.
There, the group found vultures piling on top of each other and having a feast. They tried to shoo them away at first, but that didn't work. Their numbers were too many. So the chief ranger shot his gun in the air.
Finally, the vultures took flight and left whatever it was they were feasting on.
And that was when they were greeted by the ugliest sight they had ever seen.
Corpses. Not just any corpses but half eaten corpses. The kind that had no nose, no eyes or ears anymore. The kind that had their clothes ripped and their skins half peeled or completely peeled.
Dr Emmanuel could not hold it anymore as he vomited on the spot.
"Check the area. Tell me how many corpses you find," the chief ordered before quickly covering his mouth.
He, too, found it hard to stay stoic.
In total, they found thirteen corpses in the sparse forest. All bodies were dismantled and half eaten so it was impossible to identify them anymore. Due to the vultures, they couldn't even tell how they died yet.
This was a wild savannah, doctors or forensic individuals could not come here and check the crime scene. So these dead people would just die like that, their cause of death forever unknown.
Unexplained Fatality. That would be their fate in their death certificate.
But although there would never be proof, everyone had a clue on the beast that did this.
An animal that could topple a small truck, an animal that could kill humans with ease and one that was closely associated with vultures for the deaths he brought everywhere.
...
"What do you think happened to them?" the chief asked while looking at the sky. The sheer stench of blood made his head dizzy.
Dr Emmanuel continued gagging even after he emptied everything. He wiped his mouth and closed his eyes.
"The wrath of the king," he said.
"They provoked him by hunting in his territory so he treated them like any challenger," Dr Emmanuel said.
"It's a massacre."
How ridiculous it was to worry about Leo and his pride. Dr Emmanuel had been protective of them when he heard that poachers were in the North. He prayed for them.
Now he realised he had been praying for the wrong side.
..
..
////////////////////
[1st POV]
The baby rhinos were extremely playful and slow. Not only do they tire quickly from the walk, they could never walk in a straight line more than a few minutes.
They had to zig zag, smell everything they saw, play touch butts frequently and come back to hug me whenever they remembered I exist.
And I didn't have it in me to scold them.
It was only at sunrise that we reached the pride.
When we got close to my pride, the two rhinos finally slowed down. Perhaps they realized instinctively that a group of predators were dangerous. They came and hid behind me while we approached.
"My king," Eshe was the first to greet me while coming up. The rest of the pride also moved along with her.
"You didn't return yesterday so we were a bit concerned," she said.
"I had things to take care of," I said with a nod.
Then she looked behind me. The two rhinos were hiding but since they were so big even at a young age, they were very obvious. Even my large frame couldn't cover them.
The rest of the pride stopped around me and sat down. They too curiously glanced at the rhinos much to their further embarrassment. One of them tried to hide under my legs but that was obviously not possible.
"May I ask who they are?"
"Right," I said and moved away. They stood up and tried to run behind me again but I stopped them with a paw.
"Everyone listen," I said in a loud voice so everyone could hear. The sun was peeking out in the horizon, washing everything with orange light while I introduced my new babies.
"We have been having new members in our pride recently, and these two are just another addition," I said, scanning everyone to make sure they were listening.
The rhinos perked their ears and looked around as everyone scrutinised them. I was not sure whether they were siblings but they behaved like so.
"They are Jumbo and Mambo, the newest members of our pride," I said in a firm voice.
"And children," I said while looking at them.
I smiled, "Welcome to your new family."
..
..
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author : This was half chapter and half something else on patreon so sorry for the short chapter.
1200 words is average!! What do you mean it's small?!