The Last Elephant Keeper

Part 41

Khumo started to make her way back towards the entrance of the cave, but the wind was so strong that it made it difficult for her to keep her balance. Eager not to find herself trapped in another situation where an elephant would need to come and rescue her, but slowly the rain built up, the wind howled viciously knocking her down to her feet. Flash had seemed ready to pounce in to save Khumo, but Hope had force the young elephant to pause for a moment.

She was left immobile, as she realised, she had gotten herself trapped in another dire situation where either her or one of the elephants could get hurt in a rescue attempt. What had she been thinking? She had known they made it through so much that it felt they could make it through a simple storm, or cavern chasm; it seemed so easy.

She contemplated it all for a second, but it soon came down to her. A vicious bolt headed straight to her. It landed a meter above her head as she finally rose up, and grabbed her GPS that had fallen. It seemed damaged, but it was a concern for another moment. She ran back to the cavern as is seemed the lightning had followed her there. The elephants moved aside for her, as she jumped back into the cavern. Passing out after barely making it alive.

She woke up with a start, shivering in her damp clothes, but too cold as the elephants had slept around her. She reached for the radiator, hoping it had some energy left to heat up. Luckily it did, after over a day of no direct solar energy. It was barely lukewarm, but she wrapped herself around it anyway. She was hungry, but she ignored the sensation for the time being.

She had more pressing things to worry about. She thought about the events that had led her to this point, and the ones that awaited her. She was on a mission, a vital one, but it seemed hopeless. The world was changing too fast, and the elephants were falling behind. She felt a kinship with them, a shared fate. They were both victims of a larger problem - a changing place.

As the night grew darker, the storm seemed to intensify, and the sound of the rain tapping on the leaves and the thunder rumbling in the distance made it nearly impossible for the elephants to sleep. Khumo found herself tossing and turning, unable to quiet her mind. She couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had been gnawing at her all day, even after preparing a warm meal, a bath with the spring water that came through the cave's teeth, and a change of clothes.

She tried to focus on her breathing, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, but it was no use. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw flashes of lightning and heard the rumble of thunder, making her heart race. She wondered if the other elephants were feeling the same way.

As she looked around, she saw that most of the other elephants were awake, their ears perked up and their trunks twitching with every sound. Hope, who was sleeping next to her, let out a low rumble of distress, and Khumo reached out to touch her trunk in comfort, but even as she tried to calm herself and the others, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She had a nagging sensation that danger was lurking just beyond the darkness, waiting to strike. And as she lay there, listening to the storm rage on, she realized that the night would be long, and sleep would be hard to come by.

Khumo couldn't shake off the curiosity that had been gnawing at her since she discovered the bag. She knew that exploring the cave alone was risky, especially with the storm raging outside and it distracting everyone, including Flash, but she couldn't resist the pull of the unknown especially without the so much energy undevoted to walking.

Quietly slipping out of her bed, Khumo made her way back to the chamber with its chasm. She gazed into the darkness, and for a moment, hesitated. The chasm seemed to go on forever, and while earlier the strange mist that had provided a bit of illumination below and gave the sense the chasm was shallow, she had no way of knowing that what she had seen had been real.

Khumo peered over the cliff edge, scanning the dark abyss below. She was about to give up hope when she spotted a faint glimmer of light, similar to the mist she had seen earlier at a far off in the distance along her side of the chasm. It was barely visible, but it was enough to rekindle her curiosity and determination. She felt a strange pull towards the light, as if it was calling her name. She decided to follow it, even if it meant risking her life. She carefully made her way along the edge of the chasm, inching closer to the light with every step. The going was slow and treacherous.