The Last Elephant Keeper

CODA PART II

As they followed Khumo, the elephants couldn't help but feel a sense of unease and uncertainty. They didn't know what was happening or what had caused Khumo's breakdown, but they were determined to do whatever they could to assist her. Flash led the way, his trunk stretched out as he followed Khumo's scent, and the other elephants followed behind, their footsteps silent as they moved through the sand, but Flash had wanted to do more.

Flash had snuck out early to find Khumo, determined to help her before the sun set and she succumbed to exhaustion. As he approached her, he was struck by how different she seemed from the confident and self-assured woman he had known before. She appeared lost and vulnerable, like someone who had been abandoned and left out in the cold.

Despite his concern for her, Flash found it hard to understand what had caused this change in Khumo. But he knew that he had to act quickly to help her. He approached her slowly, his trunk extended, and gently wrapped her in a warm blanket. As he did so, he could feel the tremors running through her body, and he knew that she was in a state of deep distress.

With Khumo safely wrapped up, Flash made his way back to the herd, which remained a kilometre away. As he walked, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease and worry about Khumo's wellbeing. He wondered what had happened to her and what had caused her to become so lost and vulnerable. Despite his confusion and concern, he was determined to stay by her side and help her in any way that he could.

As night fell, the elephants in the herd gathered closer to Khumo, their ears perked for any sign of danger or distress. The youngest members of the group listened intently, straining to hear any strange slithering or urgent cries for help.

It wasn't long before they heard the sound they had been dreading: Khumo's cries for help echoed across the open plains, sending shivers down their spines. They didn't know what they were up against or what dangers lay ahead, but they were united in their determination to protect one of their own.

Flash, ever the protector, wasted no time in springing into action. He galloped towards Khumo, his massive frame yet undeveloped cutting through the darkness like a bolt of lightning. The other elephants stumbled up from their sleep, groggy and disoriented, but determined to follow Flash's lead.

Khumo screamed out for help, but the strong, muscular grip of something that began to look like a simple tentacle to her was unyielding. She struggled to free herself, her heart pounding in her chest as she realized the gravity of her situation. With each passing moment, she felt her strength ebb away, leaving her helpless and alone.

She wondered what sort of creature, could have entrapped, and as she looked ahead to the dark crevice where she was pulled towards, and every instinct in her had been eager to get as far away was possible.

As the tentacle dragged her towards the crevice, Khumo's mind raced, trying to think of a way out. But all she could see was the surrounding landscape, bathed in the soft glow of moonlight was nothing. The pink soils beneath her feet seemed to shimmer and dance, casting eerie shadows across the plain. In the distance, the hills and valleys loomed like dark, ominous sentinels, their silence broken only by the sound of her own desperate cries.

For a moment, Khumo felt a sense of hopelessness wash over her. She wondered if this was how it was all going to end - alone, in the middle of nowhere, at the mercy of some unknown creature.

She refused to give up without a fight. With a renewed sense of purpose, She had been unwilling to make her peace with that sort of reality, she continued to scream for the elephants to get her. She would not end her journey at such a point of loss, she would carry on, she would find the oasis she had to give elephants, and she would do something to make her mother proud, and so she decided fight.