Flash Fiction

Serengeti Nights

Competition Notes ▼

Daily Flash Fiction Challenge  (13+) Enter your story of 300 words or less. #896794 by Arakun the twisted raccoon

Comp Winner - 298/300 words - 3 word prompt

The lioness stalked its prey through the tall, wild grass that bordered the village. Its shoulder blades moving like pistons beneath its taut muscles as it crouched low on its haunches.

The wall of the pen is a makeshift bricker-brak of car doors, fence panels, and pallets, all interwoven with thick, thorny brambles and vines, surrounds the menagerie of animals who graze peacefully; oblivious to the encroaching danger.

Armed only with a rifle, Amare sat on guard, high on the wooden tower He surveyed his surroundings.

The orange sun sat low on the horizon, bleeding into the parched earth of the Serengeti. Dusk had begun to set in. This was when the predators began to stir. To hunt.

The temperatures cooled and he huddled under the thin, threadbare blanket, listening to the sound of the plains, and watching for the tell tale signs of glow of eyes in the shrubs; his flashlight searching for their reflections.

Close by the cattle and goats stirred.

The lioness crept closer. Her large paws were soundless against the ground as they kicked up plumbs of red dust, while her fawn fur paled to shimmering buttermilk under the moonlight. The rest of her pride lay patiently waiting in the wings.

Amare caught movement to his right and shone his torch toward the stall. He froze.

“Leeu! Leeu!” he shouted. “Leeu! Leeu!”

He raised his rifle and fired a warning shot at the animal’s feet.

The toll of the old, iron bell rang out across the settlement to signal the attack and roused the men from their slumber. Shouts and cries rang out as the huts came alive.

The lioness faltered. Alarmed by the sudden noise, she turned a fled back to the safety of the bush.

Amare smiled. His first lookout was a success.