Hey people! Thanks again for the great reviews! Here's chapter four! Probably not my favorite chapter for some reason, I might edit later. But for now… tell me what you think! Read, review and enjoy!
□Chapter Four■
When the smoke cleared from the explosion, Marlene realized that she was holding on to Kowalski. "S… sorry, Kowalski." She murmured, releasing him.
Kowalski just nodded slowly, looking distracted. "Marlene… did Skipper ever come up the ventilation shaft?" He asked quietly.
Marlene's eyes widened. "I… I don't know… all I remember is him sending me up the ventilation shaft… then the explosion…" Her voice quavered.
Kowalski stood slowly, being careful not to put too much pressure on his twisted foot. "Private? Rico?"
"K'walski?" Private stood up from behind a wooden crate. Rico stood up next to Private; the explosion-happy grin that usually covered the weapon expert's face was not there. "Have you seen Skippah or Marlene?"
Kowalski offered Marlene his flipper to help her up. She took it, and the intellectual penguin pulled her up off the ground. "Marlene's right here. We haven't seen Skipper yet."
Marlene started to shake with fear. Kowalski placed a flipper on her shoulder. "We'll find him," He promised.
"Should we spread out and look for him, K'walski?" Private asked.
"Good thinking, Private!" Kowalski replied, sliding on his belly through the shattered remains of the hideout.
Marlene walked through the charred metal and broken glass, carefully looking underneath every piece of scrap metal and broken weapon. She thought for a moment. Skipper must've been close behind me… maybe he was in the ventilation shaft as the hideout exploded! The otter desperately began searching for the scrapped remains of the shaft.
After digging through the scraps of metal for what seemed like an eternity, Marlene found a huge chunk of the ventilation shaft, dented in many places and charred as well.
She lifted the broken pieces of the shaft.
Sure enough, Skipper was lying underneath, completely motionless. He was tangled in the charred remains of rope.
"Skipper!" Marlene gasped, gently untangling the commando penguin from the rope. She dragged him out into the open, where she could really get a good look at his wounds.
Skipper was covered in deep, bloody scars and bruised badly. His normally white feathers were covered in ash and smears of blood, and one of his flippers was bent in an awkward position, probably broken.
Tears filled Marlene's eyes and made the edges of her vision blurry. Skipper… was gone. "This is all my fault," She sobbed.
Kowalski came up from behind Marlene. "Marlene, what-" He stopped mid-sentence as he saw Skipper's mangled and bruised body. He put a flipper on Marlene's shoulder in attempt to comfort her, but she just shoved him away.
He barely noticed that Marlene pushed him away; He just couldn't take his eyes off of Skipper. The commando penguin had his usual hard-core military expression on his face. He looked… determined, like his mind was set in stone… focused on one thing and one thing alone- Marlene's safety. He gave his life for Marlene, to make sure that she got out of the exploding hideout safely. Their mission was to save Marlene, and Skipper never failed a mission.
Then Kowalski noticed something. Skipper… was breathing. His chest rose and fell slowly, just barely noticeable, his breath coming out in shallow, rasping gasps. "Marlene… he's alive!" He exclaimed.
Marlene looked at Skipper. She looked closely at the commando penguin's mangled body, and she, too, noticed the hoarse breaths escaping from his mouth and his chest rising and falling. She let out and unsteady sigh of relief, tears still streaming down her face.
Kowalski thought for a moment. "Rico, Private. Come help me find some supplies to clear up Skipper's wounds before infection sets in."
Rico coughed up a cloth and a roll of bandages and tossed them to Kowalski.
"… And we still need water." Kowalski said. "We'll be back soon, Marlene." The three penguins disappeared into the remains of the hideout.
Marlene watched them go, when suddenly she felt something brush against her cheek.
Skipper had raised an unsteady flipper to wipe the tears off of Marlene's face. "Y… you oka… okay, Marlene?" Skipper managed.
"Skipper!" Marlene hugged the penguin gently so she wouldn't hurt him. "You saved my life… you could've died!"
Skipper smiled. "Yep… t… that was p… pretty clo… close…" He managed, taking quick gasps of breath between words.
"Skipper… why did you do that? Why did you risk your life for me?"
The question caught Skipper off-guard, although he knew the answer. He just couldn't bring himself to say it right away. "You… you're im… important to me… Marlene…" He murmured, his breathing becoming unsteady.
Marlene felt herself leaning in closer to Skipper. "How important?" She asked, her brown eyes shining.
Skipper noticed Marlene leaning towards him, and he sat up a little higher and leaned towards her. "V… very…" He whispered. Come on, just say it! He thought. "I… I… love you…"
Marlene smiled, and the two kissed. Skipper placed a flipper around Marlene's waist, and Marlene threw her arms around the commando penguin's neck. Skipper knew at that moment that the risk he had taken was definitely, definitely worth it.
Kowalski, Rico and Private found no water to clean Skipper's wounds, so the group returned to Skipper and Marlene.
Kowalski looked up to call to Marlene, and what he saw shocked him. He slapped one flipper over Private's eyes, and elbowed Rico in the side with the other.
When Rico looked up and saw the two kissing, he turned away. "Ick." The weapon-crazed penguin muttered.
Kowalski mentally kicked himself. He forgot that Rico had 'gooey love-mush syndrome.'
After a few moments, Skipper and Marlene pulled away from each other. Suddenly Skipper gasped, "T… team!" He removed his flipper from Marlene's waist.
Kowalski, Rico and Private approached the two. "Feeling okay, Skipper?" Kowalski asked irritably.
"No… I me… mean… yes… I… umm…" Skipper rasped, feeling his face grow hot under his feathers.
Kowalski sighed. So it was true. Skipper and Marlene did love each other. Well, Marlene had never shown interest in him anyway.
Marlene blushed, turning around to face the tall penguin. "I…"
"No need to explain," Kowalski interrupted, his voice sounding harsher than intended. "Let's just get out of here." The intellectual penguin spun around and started sliding towards the truck they arrived to the hideout in.
Skipper struggled to his feet. Marlene assisted the injured penguin, and grasped his flipper gently to help him keep on his feet. The commando penguin took a deep, uneven breath, and limped to the truck with Marlene.
Rico and Private caught up with Kowalski. "K'walski, what was that about? You seemed pretty upset-"
"I'm fine, Private." Kowalski muttered, jumping into the truck.
Private turned to Rico with a questioning glance. The weapon-crazed penguin just shrugged and said, "I dunno."
Marlene and Skipper finally reached the truck, and climbed inside. Kowalski took the wheel this time, and Private stepped on the gas pedal. The truck drove onto the road, and the group was off back to the zoo.
Marlene and Skipper sat close to each other, Skipper grasping the otter's paw with his good flipper. Marlene smiled and rested her head on Skipper's shoulder, closing her eyes.
Kowalski saw the two out of the corner of his eye, and muttered something under his breath.
Marlene glanced at Kowalski. The tall penguin seemed a bit distracted, like something else was on his mind; she was sure it wasn't about driving. "Everything okay, Kowalski?" She asked curiously.
Kowalski kept his eyes on the road. "Yeah, I guess." He muttered.
Marlene looked at Skipper. The injured penguin shrugged, and leaned his head back against the seat, closing his eyes.
Marlene did the same. Everyone was exhausted, especially Skipper. She felt something rest around her shoulders. Skipper had placed his slipper around her, and pulled her close to him. "I promise… that n… nothing will ever… happen to… you again." He managed.
Marlene cuddled against Skipper, gently resting her head against his chest. He chuckled softly.
Kowalski snapped an order at Private, and the young penguin slammed on the brakes, causing Marlene and Skipper to slam into the windshield.
"B… biscuits and gravy… Kowalski!" Skipper exclaimed, seeing stars.
"We're home." Kowalski muttered irritably, leaping out of the truck.
Skipper helped Marlene up, who was also seeing stars and having trouble standing. "I'll… be right back, Skipper."
Skipper nodded, and Rico and Private followed their leader towards the H.Q. Private offered to help Skipper, who was limping badly, but the bold penguin refused and shook his head.
Marlene saw Kowalski sitting on top of the truck, resting his head on his flippers. He looked sad, and very distracted. The otter leaped up next to him. "Hey, Kowalski." She greeted the intellectual penguin.
"Oh… hi, Marlene," Kowalski replied, not even turning his head towards her.
"Kowalski… is something wrong? You've seemed really upset lately…" Marlene began.
Kowalski hesitated for a moment. Come on, Kowalski. It's time you've told Marlene how you really feel about her, he thought to himself. "Umm… yes, actually. There is something bothering me."
Marlene waited.
"Marlene… I just want you to know something…" Kowalski whispered.
Marlene raised one eyebrow.
"I can't keep it from you any longer, Marlene." Kowalski said. "I love you."
DUN DUN DUN! I bet this chapter's got you wondering how Marlene will react to Kowalski's… 'news.' Please leave me a few reviews! Chapter 5 might be a bit slow to add, but it'll be up within the next 3 days, hopefully.
