7 The Death of Le Lwenje (2/2)

The side that Lwenje twisted to was exactly where Sibuor's real strike was coming from. The lion's real strike landed squarely on Lwenje's left cheek. The latter was sent flying five or six metres away.

CRACK!

The cracking of bones was heard immediately Lwenje landed. Ochieng', who had found his way out of the muddy pit and was currently lying behind a fallen treecould feel his heart beating fast. He realized that what Nyakam told him was true. This place was dangerous.

Just when Ochieng' thoughtthat Lwenje had died, the animal stood up with its lower jaw hanging and blood copiously flowing from its mouth. Its lower jaw bone had been broken. It tried to say something but it couldn't.

Even in it's condition, Lwenje still rushed to the lion, though it was way much slower. The blow it suffered just a moment ago seemed to have been severe. Seeing this sight, Ochieng' felt his tears rolling down his cheeks.

This predicament was worse than he thought. He had thought that with Lwenje by his side, he would be safe in the forbidden land. He realized how naif he was, he had to face everything alone... He was thinking of how to help Lwenje when the latter arrived before the Lion.

Lwenje tried jabbing it's paws into the lions face but its movement was too slow and weak. The lion held the limb and sent its sharp claws into the other animal's neck. Five claws viciously pierced Lwenje's neck like a needle pricking a balloon. At its death, Lwenje did something brilliant.

Lwenje used it's other free forelimb to destroy the lion.

It used its remaining strength to blind the lion. The saying that 'the last kicks of a dying horse are very important' could perfectly describe this situation. With its claws, it pulled off the lion's eyes. It died but left the blind lion running up and down, knocking down every tree here and there.

Ochieng', though furious that Lwenje died, was too weak to move. Falling down hard two consecutive times had made his body ache almost everywhere. His muscles were too painful to help him in making any movement. He regretted being too weak to avenge Lwenje, but if regrets had cure, many dead men could be alive today.

”Kid! Come out before I come for you because even though I can't see you, I know where you are. You must know that this is the forbidden land and you will die sooner or later. Considering how Lwenje decided to die for you, it goes without saying that you aren't ordinary. ”

”I won't harm you either because you may be as utile to me as you were to him. So, be good and come out of your hiding place since I will treat you even better... I won't harm you. ”

Sibuor roared. The helpless Ochieng really wanted to kill Sibuor to avenge Lwenje but the question is, was he in a position to do so? He remembered carrying medicinal herbs in his gourd. He struggled to reach it on his waist only to find it absent. He couldn't have fallen two times without it cracking, right?

'Why must everything be like this?' He wondered. 'There's no hope for life at this rate. I will die anyway, why don't I just push myself and kill the lion... '

Those were his thoughts. Having lost everything he had except for the skin on his body, he endured the pain he was going through and picked up a tree branch that was lying nearby.

He sprinted towards the beast, determination written on his better-looking face. With all his strength, he smashed the tree branch at the animal's head. Before the piece of wood reached the animal, he found himself being levitated by an invincible power.

A few seconds later, he found himself hovering above Sibuor Mudho. Beside him was another animal that resembled Sibuor. The only difference was that the animal was much smaller than Mudho, just three metres long, a metre wide and a metre high. The animal had black pair of wings with purple patches.