THE ONE THING I HAVE 1.9

He awoke in the middle of the night with the claws of Zeppel the Beast around his neck. He tried to scream, but could not because of the force with which the Matriarch squeezed. The others slept, unaware that Fleas was being dragged mercilessly in front of the other two Matriarchs and Kkelea. Fátrwa the Silent Death was not among them. She had been absent all day. If she had been there, would it have been any different? Zeppel let go of him. He coughed, his knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground. Kkelea, embarrassed, scratched her shoulder and looked away. What was going on? He was in trouble, but why? He started to cry. He was so scared.

"Little scum, stop whining and face your fate like a hyaenid", Zeppel said, her mouth so close to his face that he could smell her breath. Sharp teeth flashed in the moonlight.

"Stay back, Zeppel", Kkrya approached, staring at him with dead eyes as if he were nothing but a pile of dung. "You can imagine my surprise when I heard that my daughter, instead of attending this historic event with her mother, chose to waste her time with you. I was even more surprised when she started scratching herself and I discovered that she was full of nasty fleas. Do you know what fleas are?" He didn't want to look at them, but she grabbed him by the nose and lifted his head. "They are worthless little animals that only serve to suck the blood of those who are superior to them", she began to squeeze with her claws, feeling her nails digging into his flesh, "little insects that must be crushed."

She let go. He didn't know what to do, how to save his life. He began to tremble with nerves, felt his heart beat faster and faster. He was going to die, he was going to die, at any moment. But how? Would they torture him? Would they tear off his limbs one by one? No, please don't...

"If we were in the savannah, the result would be different", Kkrya continued. "But in this, the world of men, you will be punished with the worst dishonor a man can face. You will wish for death, but you will not receive it. You are not a hyena, you are nothing more than an insignificant flea."

He looked at Kkelea one last time, waiting for her to defend him, to do something for him, to throw him another saving piece of meat. She turned her back on him. Zeppel punched him in the gut. He was out of breath, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fill his lungs. Then she kicked him in the head. He felt the blood, but this time it was not rich like the rabbit's, but bitter. He fell face first to the floor. Kicks followed kicks. Luckily, he eventually passed out.