Invasion

Rapid footsteps interrupted the sound of a peaceful jungle with calls of the wild. A boy, drenched in sweat, was running for his life, away from the new king of the jungle and his minions. By his side was a lion cub, the heir to the old throne.

A rival pride had attacked the lion kingdom and imprisoned the old guards. Years of betrayal and losses had moulded the lion at the head of this new pride into a cold and heartless beast. There was nothing left in his life but to conquer and destroy all things living. In the midst of the chaos, the boy managed to wriggle his way through the bushes and escape with the lion cub. They hardly ran a few kilometres before hyenas and snakes blocked their path. Soon, they were surrounded. The only direction they could go was down a steep cliff. Beneath the cliff was rocky terrain created by the sea with waves so strong that each splash sounded like a thunderclap. It was instant death in the hands of the evil creatures or take a leap of faith. The boy hugged the lion cub, and they both jumped. 

~~~~~

The sound of laughter was welcoming. The boy was at the beach, splashing water at his sister on one side and his father on the other. The fun was all about splashing water at each other.

“Ha, ha, ha! You ain’t getting away, Tib!”

“I’m not trying to!” Tiberius replied.

An elephant blared from the rear. It filled its trunk with water and sprayed at the trio. In the distant, the sound of a roar pierced through the day. The king of the jungle announced his arrival. A lion emerged from the bushes with his cub. When they reached the water, he encouraged the cub with his muzzle to join his friends.

"Go on, Lionel, your friends are calling you. It will be fun."

But the timid little cub clung on to his father. The lion picked Lionel up with his teeth and dipped him in the water. Within moments, Lionel and his human friends were splashing water at each other. Through generations of friendship, Tiberius’ royal family had become close allies with the animal kingdom, both protecting each other’s domain.

Suddenly, a giant wave appeared right in front of Tib. The sky turned dark as the wave blocked out the sun and came crashing down on to Tib, his family and friends.

SPLASH! 

Wave after wave of water crashed down on them. Tiberius was pushed underwater. He choked and gasped for air. No matter how hard he tried to swim to the surface, the pressure was so strong that it pushed him back under. He was drowning. In one last attempt, he gathered all his strength and thrust upward with his hands and legs. The surface, only an arm's length away, still seemed too far. His lungs were on fire and about to burst- 

-Tib woke with a start. He was not on a familiar beach with his family and friends. He was being washed ashore in a strange place. He scrambled to look for Lionel. He found the cub further up the beach, its body appeared devoid of life. The boy knelt beside it, not willing to touch it because he was afraid to confirm his suspicions that Lionel drowned. He wept but opened his teary eyes when he heard Lionel coughing out water. Overwhelmed with joy, the boy hugged his little friend.

"We have to get out of here and look for help," Tiberius said to Lionel. They scoured the place but soon discovered that they were lost on an island. Accepting their fate, they worked together to survive. To Lionel's disgust, his friend's diet became mostly of fruits and fish. Eventually, out of hunger, Lionel became the first lion to live off fruits and fish as his staple.

Curiosity got the better of the island's natural inhabitants. When they were convinced the boy and lion were harmless, they approached them. They sent their messenger, a blue parakeet, to test the water.

"Ahoy there! State your names and purpose for invading our island!" it squawked.

"We... we mean you no harm. We... we're lost," Lionel stuttered and eventually told it their story.

After the parakeet returned into the jungle and relayed the story word for word, the island's origins left the protection of the foliage and revealed themselves. The earth shook as a tribe of men and women, elephants, giraffes, horses and flocks of birds made their way forward.

"We came here centuries ago when our ark crashed into this island. Half perished, but our ancestors of this island pulled the rest of us out of the wreckage and saved our lives," a giraffe said. "This was initially a paradise island for giraffes but ever since the incident, this is a peaceful island for all."

"We sympathise with you. You are welcome to stay as long as you are willing to live among us in peace," a squirrel said, climbing on to the head of the lead giraffe.

Tiberius felt a little awkward because all eyes were on him. Shouldn't they be more concern about a lion instead?

"Especially humans," a tall, angular tribe member said. "It took years to correct a terrible mistake one of us made. In the name of progress, he tricked all of us and nearly destroyed the environment."

"Do not be alarmed. From where we came from, we lived in harmony with the rest of our jungle folks. That was until-"

"We do not wish to interfere with the outside world," the giraffe interrupted.

~~~~~

And so years passed. Tiberius and Lionel lived among the tribes and animals. The passage of time slowly dulled the pain and sorrowful memories of their families. Lionel grew to become a handsome lion that ate vegetables and fruits with the occasional supplement of fish.

Unfortunately, their past caught up with them. It was a mild afternoon. The inhabitants of the island were sunbathing on the beach when the evil lions and their minions landed. They had used their human and animal slaves to build them a ship to find new lands to conquer.

The tame and complacent islanders were no match for the invaders. Before dusk, the minions had captured most of the animals. Tiberius and Lionel managed to evade capture. The boy, drenched in sweat, was running for his life, away from his old, ruthless emissary and his underlings. Next to Tib was the grown Lionel, the heir to the old throne. Their nightmare was beginning all over again.