The Last Elephant Keeper

Part 34

The first rays of the sun peeked over the horizon, but they did little to brighten the gloomy sky. Some dark clouds hung low and heavy, casting a shadow over the barren land. Khumo and the elephants had been walking for hours, following an ancient trail that led to the hidden oasis. It was their only hope of finding water and shelter in this harsh desert. As they trudged along, Khumo spotted something strange in the distance. It looked like a dark tower, rising above the treetops.

She squinted her eyes, trying to see what it was. Then she realized with a jolt that it was not a tower, but a massive thunderstorm brewing on the horizon. Khumo felt a surge of fear. She had witnessed many thunderstorms in her life, but none like this one. The clouds were a sinister gray, and they seemed to crackle with an unnatural power. She could sense that this storm was not just a natural phenomenon, but something more. Something evil. She urged the elephants to move faster, hoping to reach safety before it arrived.

The storm was rapidly approaching them, and Khumo could feel its ominous presence. The air around them was getting hotter and drier, and the wind was whipping up a frenzy, hurling sand and dirt into their eyes. It seemed as if the storm was draining all the life and energy from the land, leaving behind an already heavily damaged land.

The elephants were becoming agitated, making loud noises and waving their ears nervously. Khumo knew that they had a keen sense of the weather, and they could tell that something was wrong. She tried to comfort them, gently touching their trunks and whispering words of encouragement. But she could see the fear in their eyes, and she felt it in her heart too.

The storm was now looming over them, and Khumo could see its terrifying beauty. The dark gray clouds had turned into a sickening green colour, and she could see streaks of lightning dancing inside them. It was a storm unlike any other, and she knew that they were facing a deadly threat. Without warning, a huge bolt of lightning struck the ground near them, creating a blast of fire and smoke. The lightning had melted the sand into a sharp glass spike, standing two metres tall. The elephants shrieked in horror, and Khumo knew that they had to escape from the storm before it was too late.

She pushed the elephants to run faster, feeling their massive bodies shaking the ground as they tried to outrun the storm. But it was no use. The storm had caught up with them, and they were swallowed by a raging whirlwind of wind, rain, and lightning.

Khumo felt a surge of panic as she led the group in their desperate search for shelter. But they had wandered too far from the last hills, and even if there were any nearby, they couldn't see them through the blinding storm. She felt hopeless and helpless, knowing that they were at the mercy of the storm.

Khumo's heart raced as the lightning bolts continued to strike the ground around them, sending up clouds of dust and debris. She could feel the electricity in the air, and her hair stood on end as the static charge built up. The elephants trumpeted in fear and pain, their massive bodies unsure of what more they could do, as Khumo clung to Blaze's trunk, trying to shield him from the worst of it, but she knew that they were all in danger.

"Come on, we need to find shelter!" Khumo shouted over the roar of the storm, as she scanned the desolate landscape for any sign of cover.

The elephants were in a state of panic, their survival instincts drowning out Khumo's voice, and instead scattering in different directions to find shelter. Khumo could feel the earth shaking under her feet as the elephants dashed forward, their frantic calls piercing the air. Suddenly, Khumo spotted a small rock formation that resembled a cave from a distance. It was their only chance for shelter, and she tried to guide the elephants towards it, hoping they would follow her lead and make it in time, before any of them could get struck and ensnared by the ruthless storm.

As they made it to the mouth of the cave, Khumo felt a surge of relief as the herd of elephants squeezed into the cave just in time. She urged them to move in quickly, as the lightning storm showed no signs of stopping. Thunder, Whisper, and Flash used their last strength to help Blaze through, as Hope scanned the cave for a place for Blaze to rest.

Their massive bodies shivered with fear as the lightning flashed and boomed near the cave, creating a deafening noise and a blinding light. Blaze let out a soft rumble, trying to reassure the others, but even she couldn't conceal her own fear. They were safe for now, but they didn't know how long the storm would last, or what would happen next.

Khumo could feel her heart racing in her chest as the elephants huddled together in the cave. She went around to check on each of them, making sure they were all okay, starting from Hope, who insisted that she focus on the others instead of herself, and moving on to Whisper, who was a bit shaken, but spent her time soothing Blaze. Blaze seemed to have not aggravated her sprained ankle too much.

Thunder was the only one who seemed relaxed, as he tried to match the thunder of the storm with his own loud calls, in a clear attempt to show his courage to the rest of the herd. But his efforts soon backfired when a lightning strike caused a small avalanche of rocks behind him, making him jump and squeak in fear.

Khumo laughed at his reaction, as Whisper soon headed over to comfort him as he finally rested calmly on the ground. They all felt a sense of calm wash over them as they realized they were safe and together. They had survived the storm so far, and they would face whatever came next as a family.

The lightning had grown vicious as the other elephants slowly settled down around her, their breathing beginning to slow as they too tried to recover from the shock of the storm, and the incessant strikes on the home. Khumo took a look over the cave, momentarily surprised they could find such an outcropping, that was so massive to find shelter in.

The stagnalites that decorated the walls, had also produced a drip source of spring water that could keep the elephants hydrated, but a part of Khumo had wondered more about exploring vast, open space, with high ceilings and the smoothened cave walls, and the faint smell of earth and minerals that gave the space a wonderful fragrance.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart, knowing that she could use the chance given by the heavy storm, and the rested elephants to explore the her surroundings. It would be a nice way to shave off sometime after all.