If you missed the previous part, check it out here
Alistair Karume looked back. It was still following him. A big hyena, which hoped he would drop dead any moment, so it found it safe to follow him at a considerable distance. He felt tired, so tired that he needed a rest.
There was still a long journey before he could catch a glimpse of his destination. It was the presence of the hyena and the fact that he was still in the forest that made it impossible for him to rest. The animal meant serious business and Karume felt it would be a threat to his life.
Karume’s knees peeped out any moment he folded his legs to take a step. If you had looked at them from the sides, you would have thought they were playing peek-a-boo. His big hands swayed as if a weak string on his shoulders suspended them.
He Nearly Jumped out of his Skin
The tall man looked back again and he nearly jumped out of his skin. The ugly and hungry-looking animal had caught up with him. It had been waiting for one of his hands to fall and if not so, then it must have been betting that the man would not go for more than a hundred metres before he collapsed. From behind, the man looked like he would collapse but this was because of the way he carried himself.
The desperate hyena was about one metre high. Strong teeth were the predominant characteristic of the open mouth. A tired tongue hung loosely several inches to the ground. Saliva oozed freely from the big mouth like a stream.
The animal had big round eyes. Its yellowish-grey fur was covered at random with dark spots. The tough fur on the neck stood erect. The hyena did not look very healthy; it could have been starving for days.
The Scientific Classification of Hyena
In high school, they had learned about animals in boring Biology lessons. The scientific classification of hyena was: – Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Carnivora Suborder: Feliformia, Family: Hyanidae. Now as he was about to be turned into a meal, all he had learned would not help him.
For heaven’s sake, Karume had to do something. He snatched a big stone and sent it flying towards the beast to scare it. The stone moved swiftly towards its target. He expected the hyena to run away yelping if the stone got it. The stone nearly missed the hyena but all the same, it bruised its back. It gave out a small yelp and bared its fangs. Then it charged like a wounded lion.
The Man Was in Grave Danger
Since he had no weapon, he had to show a clean pair of heels. He felt a sudden rush of adrenalin and he bolted like he had been released from a powerful spring. The hyena even in its natural wobbling gait charged after the fleeing man at a terrifying speed. As it chased him, it gave out its silly giggling noise. Hyenas are opportunistic animals and this was no different.
Karume ran as fast as a deer towards the nearest tree. He found one with low branches and began hauling himself upwards. The animal had already caught up with him. Luckily for it or unluckily for Karume, it closed its strong jaws on his wide-bottomed trouser and pulled. Karume tightened his grip. If he gave in then he would fall on the hyena’s back.
There Had to be a Winner.
It was a tug of war and eventually, there had to be a winner. Karume couldn’t fathom himself as a loser so he gave out a blood-curdling scream, which caught the hyena off guard. It released his leg and although it had done damage to his trouser, he was lucky it had not touched his leg.
The animal backed off its cowardly instincts having taken over but then it seemed to sense it had the upper hand, so it went back to the base of the tree. It looked at him with watery eyes and bared its fangs.
He hauled himself to the top most branches. A cold sweat had wet his pants in the process of the struggle. He wiped his forehead and looked down. The hyena was still waiting for him. He waited and waited.
Time went by and the hyena hung around like death. Maybe it knew that whatever goes up must come down. It was unsafe to remain on the tree for the rest of the night. What if a lion came or a leopard and they decided to have him for dinner?
He did not like it at all. He had a future and a life to live, not ending up in the intestines of wild animals only to be disposed of the following day as lion’s shit or worse still, as hyena’s shit.
The story continues here.
