Rocky in the Wilderness

With global warming taking a tremendous toll on the wildlife of the reserve, Sean and Rocky do their best to provide water and feed for the animals. They meet Qui, Gao, and Xama in their travels and set off on a quest for the sacred cavern of the San in the deep desert far away. Meanwhile, the lust for diamonds by modern man has forced their tribe from their ancestral lands. This action pits Sean, Rocky, their San companions, and Shogi, a mystical wild dog, against the wicked machinations of Captain Mohale, a ruthless soldier who will stop at nothing to obtain the precious shiny stones. Vultures circle lazily on heat-driven thermals over an arid and dry landscape. Far below, heat waves shimmer over dry and brittle grass and rock-strewn semidesert. A lone figure claws its way through bush and the unforgiving landscape, the midday sun beating down on his ebony skin and dry parched lips. The hot rocks under his feet and hands sting layers of desiccated, dried-out flesh. Impisi's long bony fingers reach out and grab a hand-full of rocks as he works his way up a low kopje in an effort to find water; loose rocks and dirt smother him. Anger flashes over Impisi's face as he picks up one of the rocks to throw it . . . As the vultures eye the man hungrily, the sun's rays flicker off the dusty rock. Impisi stays his arm as he peers at the rock intently, turning it over and over in his hand. He rubs it on his soiled loincloth then holds it up to the sun. The transparent rock glitters. Sunbeams dance and glow in the crystalline interior. Blue-white rays radiate from the stone. Impisi smiles, and with each passing moment, his mouth becomes wider, turning into an evil grin . . . A diamond!