2004-01-23 - 1:41 p.m.

The Devil

Their tall peaks white no more, the mists hung low on the mountains when Mboomba Doky defeated the greatest King Lionkin would ever know, the Mighty Warrior Mutato.

Mutato was a just and powerful King, but justice and strength were no match when it came to defeating The Devil. Before the majority could gather around the battle for succession, it was over. The Devil stood leering into the face of the dying King, grinning evilly as he ate Mutato�s still beating heart before his fading eyes.

Mboomba destroyed the remains; tore the fallen King limb from limb and his subservient twin discarded the sections to the borders of Men-Nefer. �The Perfect Place.� Their home.

No King had ever died so cruelly.

There was no mourning for the Dynasty which had just fallen apart, for Mboomba�s first act as King was to destroy Mutato�s brood. And destroy they did.

The Twins showed no mercy to the small cubs; together they made a game of toying and battering the Younglings before swallowing them whole � eating them alive.

A low growl of disgust rumbled deep in the chest of one of the Old Mothers and in a heartbeat she was torn tail to tongue by The Devil. There were no more shows of dissention. From that moment forward it was clear who was the new Pridelord.

As grotesque as this first act was, this act is always a Pridelord�s first and as disdainful as it may seem, it is always expected. It was Mboomba�s second act as King that set himself apart from all others. For his second act he rallied the Pride for the First Hunt.

This one vile command would remove their Pride forever from the Life�s Order.

�I WILL NOT SEE MY PRIDE DIE A COWARD�S DEATH! We are Lionkin�and these lands ARE OURS!�

Instinctively, they knew what was to follow.

�The herds have gone yet we are surrounded by cattle. Only, you CHOOSE to cower from these herds like craven jackal! Tonight�THIS ENDS!�

There were several rumbles of approval.

�Tonight we eat meat! TONIGHT WE TAKE BACK THE PRIDELAND!�

If the thought of Humanmeat had ever, even in these times of dryhunger, crossed any one of their minds, it was suppressed. Humanmeat was as taboo as the flesh of Lionkin, for the blood of Humankin was well known to carry such properties as to cause in a Lion an unquenchable thirst. And the blood of Humankin is all that will settle the soulgripping pang.

And still there were many roars of consent.

But - and they hated that there was a �but� � as repugnant as the idea was and reluctant as they were to admit, the Devil Cat made sense. Humankin were their Prideland�s last herds and bred at rates they�d never anticipated.

They were hunters and if they did not soon eat meat, a withering starvation was what waited for them. It was obvious by their ribbed hides and protruding hipbones that they were well under way.

The Devil be damned, did they really have any alternative?

Previous Chapters:

I. The Slaughter
II. The Hunt

1 of you fuckers have been accounted for.

old shit. - newer shit.