The Stand at the Mossy Archway
Before the sanctuary rangers could intervene, a heavy rope net dropped from the high branches above the moss-covered log archway. It snapped shut with horrifying speed, missing Nia by mere inches as she scrambled back into the dark recess of the decaying trunk.
The sound of human footsteps crashed through the underbrush. Two armed poachers stepped into the clearing, their eyes wide as they spotted the rare white gorilla huddled inside the log.
“Get the secondary net!” one of the men called out, advancing with a heavy canvas sack.
“This is the score of a lifetime!”
They hadn’t factored in the dark twin.
Kito emerged from the dense ferns like a shadow coming to life. He didn’t roar out of fear; he charged with pure, instinctual fury. Throwing his full weight against the lead poacher, he knocked the heavy net away before the man could position it over the hollow entrance.
The noise of the scuffle echoed through the valley, reaching the ears of the distant troop. The dominant silverback, who had spent months trying to drive Nia away, paused atop a rocky outcrop. He listened to the fierce battle cries of the young black male defending his twin.
Inside the log, Nia didn’t stay hidden in fear. Seeing her brother surrounded, the white gorilla let out a piercing scream and lunged forward, her sharp baby teeth biting into the boot of the second poacher.
“Get these wild beasts off me!” the man shouted, stumbling backward into the thick mud.
“They’re working together!”
Samuel and Marcus burst into the clearing with their siren blaring, the sharp noise driving the terrified poachers into full retreat through the dense thicket……
