So Evie downed the grub. It wasn’t nice, but she did it. She had just finished shuddering when they heard a strange sound like a laugh and a groan and a cough, all mixed up. It seemed to come out of the air. But the laugh didn’t sound funny. It sounded threatening.

Bear was quickly attaching his knife back to the spear. He held it in both hands, with the blade pointing forward. That was not a good sign.

“What is it?” Evie asked quietly.

“Hyenas,” he answered. “Nasty, cruel animals that could have your arm off with one bite. Stay close to me, Evie. We need to handle this situation carefully.”

8

FOOD ON THE HOOF

Evie stuck close by Bear as he chose a path up the side of a low hill.

She saw them as soon as she reached the top. The three hyenas were about a hundred metres away. They had shaggy fur, long, lanky legs, and powerful shoulders. They reminded her of dogs, but they didn’t move in the right way. They slunk around with their heads low, like they were embarrassed to be seen.

The hyenas were taking turns to run in and bite at something lying on the ground. They were constantly snarling and snapping at each other, letting out those chilling, laughing howls.

“I suppose it’s good that they’ve got something to eat,” she said quietly.

Bear nodded.

“Yes, everything out here has a purpose. Even scavengers. But if that lot saw us, they’d attack us because they’d just think we wanted to pinch their meal.”

“Which we don’t,” Evie said firmly, before adding, “Do we?”

“Not yet.” Bear grinned. “There’s enough for everyone to share.”

Evie looked at him in surprise.

“Are we scavengers too?”

“We’re survivors,” Bear said simply. “Which means that …”

“Every meal’s a feast!”

“Exactly. Whatever’s down there – that’s our feast for tonight. We just need to be patient and wait the hyenas out.”

After a while the hyenas trotted into the long grass, and their calls got further and further away. When Bear thought it was safe for them to come down from their hill, he made sure his knife-spear was at the ready, just in case, and led Evie towards whatever was left of the dead animal.

Soon their meal came into view. It was a zebra. Its head and front legs were still intact and covered with unbroken black and white skin. The rest of it was a mess. Large chunks of meat had been torn out from its back legs.

Evie remembered the dead rhino they had seen, and how it had died.

“Did poachers do this too?” she asked.

“No,” said Bear. “This was all done by wild animals. Several different types.” Bear untied his knife from its spear handle, and knelt down by the zebra’s undamaged front legs. He pointed at the back legs with his knife.