All the penguins were at the headquarters beneath the platform. Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private were going over something that was, as Skipper described it, 'classified information that should be discussed by authorized personnel only'. Meaning that Carmen and Addie have yet to become a part of the flock quite yet. While the group was discussing this unknown information, Carmen was sitting on her bunk above Addie's, and Addie was reading a book entitled 'Surviving Military Basic Training'.
"What are you doing?" Carmen asked, poking her head in Addie's bunk.
"Reading about military training."
"Training? Does it tell us what things will be like around here?
"Well…" Addie turned the book over so she could read the synopsis on the back, or at least the last sentence, which pretty much summed everything up.
"We'll discuss what the basic training is, where it is, what you can expect, what you should bring, how you should act, and some basic tips on surviving 6 to 12 weeks of 'Hell."
Carmen stared at Addie with her mouth agape, wanting to either say something, or scream, Addie wasn't quite sure, but no matter the intention, no sound came.
"Maybe they're just exaggerating!" Addie stated to comfort Carmen, who was looking doubtful.
"And even if they're not… come on, what could be more difficult than surviving in Antarctica? We had to learn to use intelligence, instinct, agility and strength. We'll be fine." Addie said, and this was enough to make Carmen feel much better. And with that accomplishment, she continued with her reading, when one passage caught her eye.
"Listen to this, 'The training programs are scientifically and psychologically designed to tear apart the "civilian" and build from scratch a proud, physically fit, and dedicated member of the United States Armed Forces. Go into it with a little foreknowledge, the right attitude, and a few tips, and you'll graduate with no problems. You'll find that boot camp simply gets just a little bit easier each and every day." Addie quoted.
"Fascinating." Carmen replied sarcastically.
"Well, I think that the guys are going over some sort of obstacle course, which is why they don't want us in the discussion.
"You'd think they would have planned this before we got here."
"They're probably double-checking to make sure it's ok before we go through it."
"And by 'ok' you mean…?"
"Hopefully safe, yet traumatizing." Addie said.
"Fun."
"Hey, like I said, we've got this in the bag. They have nothing on us." Addie assured.
"That's what you think." Skipper stood before the two penguins with a smirk.
"Time to separate the men from the boys."
"uhhhh…"
Skipper face palmed. "You know what I mean. Kowalski! Explain the course."
"It's a simple obstacle course going through the entire zoo that strategically tests all areas of your abilities, whether mental or physical." Kowalski pointed to a copy of the zoo map.
"The course is basically a scavenger hunt. There is a crate with a lock at each stage of the obstacle course that contains a clue where the key is. You will begin by finding a way to escape from our exhibit, and continue to your next destination." He explained. The penguins nodded. It sounded more time-consuming than difficult, but if there's one thing that wild animals know, it's not to underestimate anyone or anything.
"So when do we start?" Carmen asked.
"Right about..." Skipper looked at his timer.
"NOW!"
"Wait, what?" Kowalski took out a device and pushed a button that opened a trap door from both the sister's beds, sending them down a slide to the platform.
"How the tuna did we go up? I know for sure we went down a slide!" Carmen ruffled her feathers in confusion, knowing that this was physically impossible.
"Let's not waste time on that. We just have to finish the obstacle course. It'll take both our abilities to get through this, so we'll have to stay together, rather than fall for the temptation of splitting up in order to cover more ground." Addie figured.
"I couldn't have said it better myself. Now let's find a way out of here. If anything, the penguins probably already have some sort of tunnel…" Said Carmen as she searched the area, but to find the tunnel under the food bowl closed off.
"Or, you know, we could take advantage of the oil in our feathers and squeeze through the bars," Addie suggested.
"Right." Carmen took the lead and Addie followed as they approached and struggled through the bars. When they reached the lemur habitat, they hit a brick wall… literally.
"Ok, genius, how do we get past this?" Carmen asked. Addie took in every detail she could, but found no solution. They would have gotten on top of each other to form a tower, and the top penguin could have pulled the other over the wall. But alas, they weren't tall enough to do just that.
"Let's try the chimpanzee exhibit." Addie replied, sliding on her belly to the opposite side of the perimeter. The two squeezed through the bars and scanned the habitat until a glint caught their eye. A brass key was hanging on a branch on the tree in the middle of the cage. The difficult part: Climbing, and trying to get around Mason and Phil without waking them. Carmen, being the strongest of the sisters, lifted Addie to the nearest tree branch. The rest was up to her to get the key.
_
Meanwhile, the elite force of penguins was watching their progress.
"Addie seems to be climbing the tree rather skillfully. At least as well anyone with flippers can climb." Private observed through the periscope. Kowalski was taking notes while Skipper was speaking into a walkie-talkie.
_
Addie inched her way toward the key, with Phil just at her left, and the key to her right. She reached, and-
"ACK!" Phil grabbed Addie still asleep, and held her like a teddy bear.
'CHEESE AND CRACKERS!' Addie screamed mentally. Carmen was still under the tree watching with terror. Addie tried to pull away from Phil, but to no prevail. The chimpanzee had a tight grip. She pulled harder, and Phil turned over on his side with the hand that was gripping onto Addie over the side of the branch. Carmen nearly gasped as she saw the chimp's grip loosen, and Addie was… smiling? Phil let go of the flightless bird. As she dropped, Carmen closed her eyes in fright, while Addie positioned herself in a way so that before she passed one of the branches, she took hold of a more flexible part of the branch which catapulted into the air, toward the key, over the entire tree with Addie landing with a loud smack. Carmen heard the smack and opened her eyes to see her sister on the ground.
"Addie!" She ran over. "How many fingers do you see?" She asked, holding up a flipper.
" Y-you don't have fingers." Addie murmured as she got up and rubbed her head.
"We'll try again, but if you want I can climb this time." Carmen said with guilt.
"No need." Addie said as she revealed the key, which was hanging over her flipper. Carmen hugged her sister tightly, only to get sounds of suffocation as a response. "I love ya, you dork!" Carmen exclaimed.
_
Private let out a loud cheer as he watched the sisters get up and walk toward the crate in the hollow opening of the tree. Rico and Kowalski joined in as well.
"Well done, my opposable thumbed friend." Skipper said into the walkie-talkie.
"That was quite the show. Do you think they'll be as lucky the next time around?" Mason asked through the speaker.
"Hard to say, but the recruits show potential." Skipper replied.
_
Carmen unlocked the crate, and the two pulled on the door tightly to reveal a bright pink feather.
"Obviously the flamingo habitat." Carmen stated. "There aren't any brick walls around that habitat, so we can just squeeze in again." Addie nodded in response.
The sisters glided across the ground and did as they planned. All the flamingos were asleep, their wings tucked in tightly and using them to shield their heads.
"Do you see the key?" Addie asked.
"The clue most likely implies that the key is in possession with one of the penguins. Do you remember what shade of pink the feather was?" Carmen asked, thankful for the precious little light that was shed around the zoo.
"It appeared to be very dark, nearly red." Addie described.
"I'll search the north, you take the south." Carmen said.
"I'm way ahead of you." Addie strained from across several feet in front of a large flamingo with the same coloration as the feather. Carmen smiled, thinking that this was going to be easier than she thought.
"Way to go, Addie!" She whispered. "But how are we going to get the key without waking him?" Carmen asked, eyeing the glittering key grasped in the flamingo's lifted talons.
"Remember that practical joke you played on Uncle Vernon?" Addie asked.
"You mean-? Ohh!" Carmen grew a devious smile. "You have the feather?"
"Of course." Addie replied, handing the flamingos' feather over.
-
"What are they doing?" Kowalski asked, as Private hadn't told him any observations to note.
"Sorry. I'm not quite sure. They're using the feather we left them, and… wicked brilliant!" Private laughed.
"What? What?" Private stepped aside as Kowalski lunged for the periscope.
"Aha! Very clever!" He exclaimed as he observed Carmen gently glide the feather up and down the flamingo's standing leg. It seemed to quiver a bit, so Carmen gave the flamingo a chance to settle down. After a couple seconds, she repeated the same thing, and stopped when the flamingo's curled talons drop the key to scratch his 'itchy' leg. With a sense of accomplishment, Addie pulled the key from the water that the flamingo was standing in, and headed toward a bush where she would have sworn she saw a crate… and there it was!