Jeffery Leroy Poole flew to South Africa with one thought in mind—find the elusive unicorn, rumored to roam the grasslands of the Savannah. He was a cryptozoologist with a degree in zoology. In Johannesburg, he rented a Jeep for his two-week stay in South Africa. He drove down to the Wildlife Sanctuary where his wife, Danielle, was working.

Out in the desert, a female alpha hyena had a similar idea. With her clan of eighty other hyenas, taking down a unicorn would be nothing. The members of her clan weren’t amused by her idea. She had risen to alpha only two days earlier and was supposed to mate soon.

“The blood of the unicorn will make us immortal.” She informed her clan. ”We just have to find it.”

“No one fears us.” A lower female insisted. “We don’t need immortality.”

“Go your own way.” The Alpha answered. “You’ll never be my rank.”

The clan went their separate ways to protect their territory. She wasn’t about to give up on finding the unicorn. Living forever would make her a legend among the clans. Jeffery also wanted to be a legend, but his wife wouldn’t believe the unicorn existed.

“The unicorn doesn’t exist—it’s a myth.” She attempted to tell him. He had his bags packed and ready for the road.

“Legend, darling.” He replied, kissing her on the cheek. “See you in a few weeks.”

She watched him drive off in a cloud of dust and sand.

The Alpha watched Jeffery pull into his camp, a new idea in her mind. If this man wanted to find the unicorn as well, she could follow him.

Jeffery set up all his equipment in under two hours, with no idea that a hyena was watching his every move. The Alpha couldn’t get too close to the man—it would ruin her plan.

Jeffery headed out of his camp in the early morning sun. In the vast desert, no one was around for miles. The elusive unicorn was rumored to have her own personal waterhole, somewhere in the grasslands. He could hardly fathom it at first, since the desert heat can cause hallucinations. It was really no different from when he was tracking Bigfoot in California with his fellow cryptozoologists. All he discovered then was a man in a Chewbacca costume.

The Alpha kept her distance as the man continued his search. She laid down on the ground. Her sister came over.

“We could attack.” She suggested, “Easy prey.”

“No. He’s the one who’ll find the unicorn.” She convinced herself. Her sister wasn’t sure how to respond—she stayed quiet.

For the next seven days, Jeffery continued his search, without finding any hint of the unicorn. Danielle called him on his satellite phone that evening.

“Have you found anything?” she asked.

“No, not yet.” He replied. “The unicorn’s here. I can feel it.”

Danielle scoffed, “Be careful out there. Someone else is waiting for you too.” She patted her swollen belly, she was eight months pregnant.

“I know. I’ll be back in a week.”

“You better be.” She responded, with a chuckle.

Back in his tent, Jeffery spotted a white flower atop his collection of research books. He held it up, and realized it was a rare flower—one that couldn’t grow without water. He glanced around his tent. Clearly, someone had put it there while he was gone.

            The wind whistled with the imminence of a sand storm.—not unusual for this part of Africa. He scoured his books to find where the flower could’ve come from. Only a waterhole could have been it grew, it was too hot anywhere else. Using his book and map, he circled the possible locations it could’ve come from. The Alpha watched him from the distance, she realized that he’d found something.

Early the next morning, he headed out. With his camera and plenty of water, he started out into his eighth day of the Savanna heat. He couldn’t take his Jeep—it would’ve been too easy to miss the flower. The Alpha noticed his determination and excitement from the man. She followed close behind him for the day. It seemed to be getting nowhere as he aimlessly headed to his mapped out locations. The flower wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Jeffery sat by one of the African trees, its name he couldn’t remember. He still had a few days. He drank water and used a rag to wipe the sweat off his forehead—when he spotted something—a small patch of white flowers surrounded by lush green leaves and grass. He stood up and realized this was it. He knelt down to touch the flowers, the ground shook under his feet. The impending sand storm was coming. He stepped off and saw a crevice in the ground. It opened further. He heard the sound of flowing water. He carefully crept down the winding stairs and saw a waterfall surrounded by more flowers, of many colors. The Alpha stood close behind, watching from the now-open crevice in the ground. She still kept her distance from the man.

The unicorn appeared by the waterfall. Its horn a shiny gold, adorned with the stripes and spots of all the animals in Africa. It was a horn like no other. He pulled out his Polaroid camera and snapped a photo. Once the shutter clicked, the Alpha came down the stairs and lunged at the unicorn. It stumbled in surprise, falling down with a neigh. Jeffery watched in shock as the unicorn was torn apart. The Alpha turned and pounced on him. He collapsed, blood gushing from

his leg. The hyena finished off the unicorn. Gold blood soaked into the ground.  The Alpha became immortal. She sauntered out of the cave, leaving the unicorn’s horn behind.

Jeffery’s mind focused on Danielle. He attempted to crawl up the stairs—his injured leg made this an impossible feat. The sand crevice slammed shut, blowing sand in his eyes. He had no way to escape.

Jeffery remained trapped in the cave, his body undiscovered. The Alpha is known as The Hyena Queen to this day.

Danielle stayed in Africa, waiting for Jeffery to return. He never did.