The Last Elephant Keeper

Part 46

Khumo breathed a sigh of relief as she helped Flash out of the soil. He was safe, but he was also shaken and exhausted. Khumo felt the same way. She looked at the soil that had almost swallowed him, and she felt a shiver of fear and curiosity. She wondered what was behind this strange phenomenon, but she knew they had to leave, and fast. They had lingered too long in this dangerous place. She urged the elephants to move on, away from the craters that kept erupting around them.

She could not help but marvel at the sight, despite the peril they had faced. As they left the area where the craters were concentrated, she saw bubbles rising from them. They caught the sunlight and reflected of a dazzling display of colours, creating a contrast with the blackness of the soil.

The bubbles were mesmerizing, but they also filled Khumo with dread. She sensed that the land had a mind of its own, and that it was hostile to them. It was a living entity, a mysterious force that lurked beneath the soil. It did not welcome them, it did not tolerate them. It wanted them gone.

Khumo decided to take some precautions as they resumed their journey through the Blacksands. She tied a rope around the right front foot of each elephant, creating a safety line that would prevent them from falling into any hidden traps. She also warned them to stay away from the mushrooms, which seemed to trigger the soil's eruptions.

The elephants trusted Khumo's leadership, and they followed her instructions without protest. They moved on cautiously, with Khumo in the front, carefully examining the ground for any signs of danger. She did not look up from the sand, afraid to miss any subtle clues of movement or collapse.

As the group continued their journey, Khumo couldn't help but think about the future, and about the chasm, and their most recent fiasco. What would happen to what few animals that called this place home? Would they be able to survive in this new, unforgiving land? And what about the few people who lived here? How would they cope with the changing landscape, that wanted them all dead.

As she witnessed the ongoing devastation, a surge of concern and duty flooded her. She felt compelled to intervene, to save this precious land and its inhabitants. But how could she make a difference? She was a lone voice against a powerful enemy. She followed Khumo through the Blacksands, remembering the tales her mother had spun of a different world.

A world where life thrived, where the air was clean, and where the skies were blue. But that world was gone, replaced by a barren and polluted one. She clung to the hope of the oasis, the sanctuary for the elephants that she had seen illustrated in her mother's notebook. But what if it was too late?

Khumo felt fear gnawing at her heart and sadness weighing on her soul, but she did not succumb to them. She kept her gaze fixed on the distant horizon, and steered the elephants through the hostile landscape. She knew that the journey ahead would be fraught with hardship and danger, but she had a fierce determination to see it through.

She battled her own doubts and fears, until Thunder's ear-splitting trumpet jolted her back to reality. The herd had escaped the Blacksands, and they erupted in jubilation. But they had also pushed themselves to the limit, walking for 15 hours without rest, spurred by the threats of the Blacksands threatening traps.

As the group finally emerged from the Blacksands, Khumo looked back at the strange, otherworldly landscape that they had just traversed. She knew that the experience had changed her in profound ways, and that she would never forget to remember that the land here was alive, and maybe the shortcut hadn't been worth as much as she thought.

The sense of danger and uncertainty that had lingered over them like a dark cloud was finally lifted. Blaze, now fully recovered from her injury, suddenly broke rank and began to pull the others with her as they were still tied together on the rope. The sudden jolt caused Khumo to lose her balance and fall down. As she stumbled to her feet, she realized that Blaze had led them to a small watering hole.

Khumo took a deep breath and turned to the group. "We need to keep moving," she said, her voice steady. "We're still behind. We'll have to travel through the night."

The elephants seem to groan in their trumpets, clearly exhausted from the day's trek through the Blacksands, as Khumo realised that they had been through a tough day, and some rest might be justified. Khumo felt a sense of relief of being able to set without the risk of sinking, and had made sure to remove the rope that connected them all, and allow the elephants to have some space to themselves.