James didn't even see the cheetah move properly. One moment its body was coiled tight, and the next it was gone. A yellow blur shot forward like lightning, no buildup or gradual acceleration—just instant full speed.
The pronghorn herd reacted immediately. They didn't even bother turning back to see what was chasing them. The moment danger hit, they scattered in every direction. At the same time, the white fur on their backs flared up all at once like little warning flags.
"…damn it."
James knew the timing was gone. The herd was already breaking apart. If he waited any longer, he'd be going back hungry.
He moved.
He locked onto a young pronghorn and sprinted straight at it. On the other side, Mom and Dad did the same. No more hiding or waiting—each of them picked a target and went all in. The difference between them and the cheetah was only a few seconds, but in a chase like this, that was already too much.
The cheetah had already chosen an adult female pronghorn and was chasing it at full speed. Its body moved in a way James had never seen before. With every stride, its spine bent and stretched like a spring snapping open and closing again, pushing its speed even higher. Each step dug into the ground and launched it forward with terrifying force.
It had to be pushing close to a hundred kilometers per hour. Not quite a modern cheetah, but close enough.
And the worst part was that the pronghorn wasn't slow either. It was one of the fastest land animals, easily reaching speeds most predators couldn't even come close to. But what made it worse was its endurance. It wasn't just a sprinter —it could keep running like marathon runners .
" this is just unfair."
The female pronghorn ran blindly, legs moving so fast they blurred. Behind her, the cheetah was closing in fast. The distance shrank rapidly until there were only a few meters left between them.
At the last moment, the pronghorn tried to cut direction sharply. But the cheetah adjusted instantly. Its tail lifted, its body leaned, and it turned cleanly without losing speed.
" we would've faceplanted doing that."
The next second, it was already on her. It lunged forward and slammed into her back, dragging her down. Once she hit the ground, it was over.
The cheetah clamped onto her throat and held it there. It didn't have the power to kill instantly, so it just kept pressure on her airway, cutting off her breathing. The pronghorn struggled for several minutes before finally going still.
Dead.
The cheetah let go, breathing heavily. That chase had clearly taken a lot out of it. Still, one full-grown pronghorn meant food for days.
"…lucky bastard."
It grabbed the body and started dragging it away.
Then it froze.
Right in front of it stood five saber-toothed tigers. All of them were staring directly at the kill. There was no hiding the intent.
"that's a robbery."
A few minutes earlier, James had already given up on stealth the moment the herd scattered. He chased the young pronghorn with everything he had. For a moment, it felt possible. Then reality hit.
"…you've gotta be kidding me."
The thing didn't slow down at all. It stayed right behind its mother, matching her speed perfectly. And slowly, the distance widened until it was completely gone.
"…great."
There was nothing he could do. Saber-toothed tigers weren't built for speed. Even at full sprint, they couldn't match pronghorns.
On the other side, Mom and Dad had the same result. They chased hard, but in the end, all they could do was watch their targets run off. The whole hunt failed.
Meanwhile, that single cheetah had already secured a full-grown adult
James stared for a moment. Then something clicked.
"Wait."
The cheetah was fast, no doubt about that. But in a fight?
"No way."
Against one saber-tooth, maybe it could struggle. Against five? Not happening.
"…so why are we even chasing our own prey?"
He almost laughed.
" Lets just take it from him ."
He was about to signal Mom and Dad, but they were already moving. Same idea. No hesitation.
They turned and walked straight toward the cheetah.
Hunger doesn't leave room for "fairness" or "sportsmanship."
The five of us just started walking toward the cheetah. We were basically a gang of five tigers coming to take a sandwich from a tired kid.
Cheetah: "Are you serious right now?"
Us: "Shut up and move."