4 – Pb
It's the chemical symbol for lead… you'll understand once you get about halfway through the story. This entire week I've been walking around in sleeveless shirts, because it was about 283 Kelvin. Imagine my surprise when I woke up yesterday and saw everything cowered in snow. I said to myself, "Damn, how much did I drink last night? I must still be dreaming," so I went back to bed. Anyway, sorry for the apparent cliffhanger, sorry for making you wait, but there was no way I could've finished this thing yesterday (grandmother's 70th birthday) so sit back now and enjoy!
Disclaimer: Katy Lynch belongs to chatterbox45, thanks for letting me her
A dark shape is scaling the side of a skyscraper. If you take a closer look at its silhouette you can make out a beak, a rather flat head and some sort of cloak it was wearing. Aiding him in his feat was only a rope secured to the top of the building.
His target was, of course, the penthouse, the home of one of the wealthiest New Yorkers. But it wasn't the home owner he wanted to see, but someone else, his pet. With that goal in mind he fearlessly braved on.
He looked up and saw the edge just a few feet away. He smirked in his confidence and pulled a couple more times. He grabbed the ledge with one of his flippers and pulled himself over it. "Nothing like a little adrenaline to get your heart pumping," he said to himself and stepped forward into the light. It was Skipper the penguin.
He was currently on the balcony and the light was coming from the inside, shining through the glass door. He waddled closer and peered inside. There were numerous paintings and statues around the place, no doubt to show off the owner's wealth. He couldn't care less about those things, a kindergartner could draw a better picture. He scanned the place for his target.
He saw a large shadow coming from one of the rooms and he quickly moved away from the glass to avoid detection. With his back pressed against the wall he peeked over his shoulder inside and saw the shadow getting smaller and smaller until a lemur walked through the door. It, or rather she, had a towel wrapped around her body and was currently humming something to herself.
The mammal walked across the apartment and once her back was turned to the penguin, it was time to act; Skipper pushed the sliding door open, quickly entered and closed it again. He jumped behind the couch to hide. "Is someone there?" asked the female's voice, but Skipper obviously didn't answer.
The lemur took a quick look around, but saw no one. She shrugged it off and walked through another door, unaware that she was being followed. Skipper slid after her and peered inside.
The furniture was small and it all seemed as if it were custom made for the female lemur. There was a bed, several wardrobes, chests and trunks, most likely containing clothes and jewelry.
Skipper didn't pay much attention to the details of the room though, he was focused on her. He searched a pocket on his cloak and pulled out a small needle syringe. He still disliked that pointy piece of steel, but he didn't mind since it wasn't meant for him. He pulled the hood over his head and removed the safety cap from the needle.
The cloaked penguin slowly waddled into the room, making sure not to make a noise. The lemur was standing in front of an open trunk and was facing him with her back. She had no idea what was about to come to her. Skipper was focused, but like all males, that concentration can be easily broken.
The girl dropped her towel and Skipper froze at the sight of the nude mammal. His heart started pounding and he got really nervous. Next, the lemur bent over, searching through her chest, while waving her tail around.
Strong as he was, Skipper couldn't help but be aroused at the display, but there was already someone else in his life, and he managed to shake himself out of the daze. He continued waddling closer and closer to the lemur, who already managed to find a nice purple tank top and some black shorts, which she quickly got on. She closed the trunk and turned around to see the cloaked figure.
The lemur let out a girlish shriek, but Skipper cut her off by closing her mouth with his free flipper. He pressed her back against the wall and watched her. Skipper saw the panic her eyes were radiating. He decided to end it quickly and stuck the needle into her neck. Once the syringe was empty, everything went black for the light gray lemur.
The first thing she noticed, as she was slowly regaining her consciousness, was that she was incredibly thirsty. "Somebody get me some water," she muttered still half asleep. She continued lying there for a few more minutes before the encounter in her room crossed her mind. Her eyes shot open and she jumped up.
Her heart was racing and she frantically began looking where she was. The room was small, dark, cold and unfamiliar. "Hello Katy Lynch. I want to play a game."
Her heart skipped a beat, when she heard her name being called. It was a deep emotionless voice, which gave her shivers. She tried finding out, where it was coming from, but the echo made it impossible.
"Raised by a human, since the age of two (months), you've had everything handed to you. Your owner got you things some animals could only dream about, but what were your responses to these gifts? Did you ever show any sign of gratitude? You have no values and no humility, but that's all about to change. I will make sure you appreciate the life you have."
"Is this supposed to be some kind of joke? Where are you, you sick pervert? SHOW YOURSELF!" Katy demanded, but the voice continued undisturbed by the lemurs screaming.
A light turned on and revealed a door with a gray cloak next to it. She walked over to the cloak and touched it. She immediately knew it wasn't fabric, but some sort of metal.
"The door before you leads into an approximately 30 foot long hall with the exit located on the other side. All you have to do to escape is reach it alive, but you might find the journey itself to be a bit of a health hazard. I have installed several tomographs along the length of the corridor. They will generate x-rays, which will destroy your body beyond recovery. Your only hope of survival hangs right next to the door."
The lemur looked at the cloak again and tried taking it off the wall, but the thing seemed to weigh a ton.
"It is made of lead and will protect you from the harmful effects of the radiation. Will you push your body to its physical limits, or show the world just how empty you really are on the inside. The choice is yours, live or die, good luck!"
The voice went silent and she heard a click from the door. "Is this for real? Am I really in danger?" she asked. The lemur turned back to the cloak and looked it over, "If this is a trick to get me into wearing brand-less clothing I'm killing somebody."
She grabbed the cloak and put all her strength into getting it off the wall. The 30 kilo attire fell on her and knocked the wind out of her lungs. She wiggled around, trying to get from underneath it, and barely managed to do so. "Oh you do NOT really think I'm wearing that," she scoffed and walked to the door with her head held high. She pushed it open and entered the hallway.
Katy noticed flashes coming from her left and right, but only smirked in response. She did some modeling poses instead of recalling what was told to her. She continued her walk, from this point on, like a fashion model on the runway, trying to taunt the "pervert", as she called him, who captured her.
With a wide smile she got about halfway across the hall when the nausea hit her. She grabbed her snout, thinking she might throw up, but forced the contents of her stomach back down. "That was disgusting," she said to herself. She looked back up and saw the door, which was supposed to lead her out. The mammal took a step forward, but she didn't quite seem in control of her own body. She stumbled to her right, trying to catch her balance, but failed and fell onto her knees.
She supported her body with her forelegs to keep herself off the floor. She stared at the cold concrete as it spun in front of her eyes, even though she was sure it was still. That dinner made another attempt to escape but she just shut her eyes and forced it down again. As she gasped for air she could taste the acidic flavor of fruit, as it was escaping into her mouth.
Smell and taste seemed to be the only two senses working right now, the others were playing tricks on her mind.
She tried standing up, but her body wouldn't listen, she couldn't get the message through to her limbs. She tried again, but it became impossible to even think once the headache hit her. She clutched her head and pressed it against the floor. The relentless throbbing made her want to cut herself just to move the pain hotspot from her head.
She took a last look up, no closer to the exit than she was before. "What's going *pant* on with me?" she managed to ask when a familiar feeling returned. This time, however, she was too late to intervene. A green puddle of half-digested fruit spilled onto the floor. The rotten stench it was emitting almost got her to throw up again, but thankfully her stomach was empty.
Everything started rocking back and forth and she collapsed onto her side, just barely avoiding her own stomach juiced, while the flashes were still sparkling in her eyes before her lids closed.
Watching the show on some computer screens were two penguins. They both stood in the exact same pose; the back straight, with their flippers crossed over their chests and looking with serious expressions. "Any comments?" the Rockhopper asked.
The second penguin stayed silent.
"Is something wrong soldier?"
Skipper shook his head, "The animals aren't taking this serious. It took me ten hours to get all that lead out of the batteries, melt and cast it, to even create the "Heavy Metal Suit" and she just goes and spits on my work."
"Anger is just an emotion, you must control them. Anger leads to affects and affects make you do things in blind rage."
"Sorry… I think I'm done for the day," said Skipper walking away.
"What about the girl?" asked Rockgut.
"With the amount of radiation she's been exposed to she'll die sometime in the next two days. Until then, she still has time to get herself out," replied Skipper and left the room.
Rockgut turned back to the screens smiling, "Well, since she's dying anyway," he turned a knob on the control panel, "There's no harm in turning things up a notch."
Back with the Central park penguins, Kowalski had silently waddled straight back to their vehicle. Private and Rico had a hard time following their taller friend and they were rather confused since he didn't say a word.
The genius bird reached the car and took the driver's seat. He waited for the others to climb in as well and then they drove off. The drive was silent, giving the impression that Kowalski was mad at someone or something, but that wasn't the case. He was actually concerned for the mental health of his team mates. He was aware that his thinking capabilities were superior to those of the rest of rookery, but he wasn't sure if the either Rico or Private managed to piece everything together the way he did.
'Do they know the incidents half a year ago and the one from last night might have been caused by the same guy? Should I investigate the matter further?' he asked himself. It was a horrible dilemma he was in; he just managed to get his team out of the depression they had been lying in for the last few months just to push them back. 'I doubt they could take it,' he thought and made a sharp left turn, pressing both Rico and Private against the right side of the vehicle.
In fear of the possibility that their leader might snap at them, they stayed silent.
'This mission seemed like the new begging the team and I needed… why can't the past just stay, where it was, in the fourth dimension,' he asked himself.
"Kowalski… Kowalski… Kowalski?"
The scientist turned around to see Private trying to get his attention.
"What is it?"
"Err, could it be that we did something wrong?" the chubby bird asked, "Is that the reason you're so angry?"
The scientist drove left into a side alley and stopped. "I'm not angry, well I might appear angry, but I am currently not experiencing that emotion," he reassured.
"Then what is it?" Private asked again.
The scientist still wasn't sure if he should tell them the truth, but Skipper was always honest with them and he should act as a role model for the youth.
He let out a sigh before answering, "I fear we might be dealing with the same perpetrator here as the one six months ago." It didn't take the other two penguins long to figure out what their leader was referring to.
"I would completely understand the two of you if you would want to abandon this case, considering the state the last one had-"
"WHAT THE BULLOCKS DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"
The scientist flinched at the yell. He slowly turned around and saw how angry Private was. The kid was shooting him a glare that was making him shake in fear.
"This guy is NOT getting away with what he's done to Skipper! We're chasing him down no matter what!" the Private demanded.
"It might just be a copycat," Kowalski suggested.
"THEN WE CHASE DOWN THE COPYCAT!" Private proclaimed and sat back down in his seat. "Kowalski, options!"
The scientist smiled and pulled out his clipboard. He went through some pages and then showed some poorly drawn sketches, "May I suggest we go to the hardware store and investigate the crime scene ourselves. We are bound to find more clues there," he suggested.
"Excellent idea Kowalski, take us to there," ordered Private.
The scientist put the vehicle in reverse, backed up and bumped into a fire hydrant on the sidewalk.
"On second thought, why don't you let Rico drive."
I know what your thoughts were back in the apartment, but I just thought it would be funny. I'm aware that animals walk around naked all the time.
Seeing your reviews, I don't think this trap lived up to your expectations. But I think it was a suitable punishment for a spoiled diva. Hope you liked it and review!