Chapter Five:

First Contact

Nothing shook the feeling that had been steadily creeping into his stomach. Private knew in his heart that the little figure has been their leader. It was easy to brush it off at first, but now every bone throughout his body screamed for him to accept that this was no coincidence. Kowalski's research with the chimps hadn't made him feel any better, either. Kowalski was able to confirm that the writings were written in some ancient language—something Latin American from the looks of it. It gave Private goose bumps all over his wing feathers as he thought about it.

He sat up, looking around the dark bunker they called home as he breathed in another sleepless night. The air was thicker than normal, tasting like a mixture of summer moisture and heat, and the rotten sewer smell that seemed to hang over New York like a rain cloud. He exhaled, letting go of the city, and keeping his thoughts to himself as he slid down the ladder towards the cold hard concrete that lay below him. As his webbed feet collided against the smooth surface, he felt for an instant his spirit joined with the earth, reminding him of his mortality.

His eyes lifted from the ground, falling on his accomplished leader who lay in the center of their headquarters. Tubing ran all around him now, an IV drip they stole to keep him hydrated but was much too long for them to use lay coiled up and twisted around the penguin. Another one to feed in nourishment to his quickly deteriorating body came from the other side, this one slightly shorter but still much too long for the small creature wrapped around a little hook under the table they'd propped him on and sat underneath him.

Not being able to withstand his own deeply wounded spirit, Private breathed another silent promise to him as he made his escape away from the wonderful memories that brought tears to his eyes, and started to slide down his crescent shaped beak. He couldn't escape the feeling that no matter what happened, things would never be the same again. But he would fight it. Just like Skipper taught him to.

He pushed away every feeling and thought from his mind as he pulled himself up the skinny ladder that led to freedom, freedom from pain and guilt and all these things he still couldn't understand. One by one as the rungs ran underneath his flippers and propelled him towards the sweet night air, he knew that he would soon be under the shadows of the night, hidden from all the truths that were too big for him to handle right now. Even though they were too big, he hoped with all his heart that soon he could handle all of the things that were too big. Skipper leaving them, leaving him here, expecting them to be able to handle all of this important-ness without him. Private wasn't used to being counted on, it was painful and overwhelming. He was one miniscule penguin, too small to make any threats or commands like Skipper could. For some reason he was now the one who had to be big though, bigger than himself. He hated it, and he prayed to the stars that hung over his southern home that he could handle all of the bigness that was overtaking him.

Fresh. That's the smell that overwhelmed him as he reached the top of their headquarters. The water lapped against their concrete iceberg as he pivot his webbed feet, canvassing his surroundings. He was never worried about it before, Skipper had always watched out for him. He knew that even if he was careless, his leader would be there to help him, see things he wouldn't, be paranoid enough for the both of them. He was becoming more paranoid by the day though, every sound and whisper sending chills down him as he whispered in hopes that he could handle it. Breathing in the night air, he slowly relaxed as he felt the peace of the night overcome him.

It was a mistake though. A mistake he knew he would make more than he could afford. Relaxation was for infants, for the weak and the taken care of. He shook his slick black feathers, eyes narrowing as he spun around. Something had moved, not much but just enough for his peripheral sight to pick up on it.

There it moved again! Black shadows, too fast for him to catch. Private froze in terror, his breathing grinding to a stalling halt as he recognized the feeling, the presence it brought with him. His heart pounded as he tried to make his feet move, one in front of the other, but they refused to listen.

"Priiiiiiiiiiiivaaaaate…."

It was whispering his name! His name! The chubby bird felt his heart stop, his muscles tensed as he prepared for the feeling that would surely come. He grimaced as the shadow moved again, wincing in preparation for the sure attack.

"Play with me….Speak to me…." It cried.

"N-no thanks, I'll have none of that," He said, his voice cracking and not as sure as he wanted it to be. He checked himself as he slowly regained some of the confidence that he had lost in the moment of terror. He fixed his eyes on the image that was blurrily moving across the sky, too fast to make out any sort of shape other than a phantom-like appearance. The only thing he was sure of was the eyes, beady and red, staring back into his soul. He wondered if this is what happened, why Skipper had been so weak.

No! Privates own mind shouted back at itself. Skipper would never be so weak as to fall to an enemy purely out of intimidation. There had to be more, he knew it.

"Priiiiiiiiivaaaaaate…"

"Alright, what do want then? Get on with it!" He cried, locking his knees and bending forward, ready to fight.

"Tell him… Goodbye."

As quickly as the presence had appeared, it left, vanishing in the night air not to be seen or heard. Private stayed there, too stunned to move. Tell him goodbye? Suddenly, the implications of what he said screamed inside him, and he dove down the pseudo-manhole that covered their base.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Skipper still lying there, chest still moving up and down. How the twisted figure in the night would have been able to get in there or hurt him he didn't know, but for some reason it still sent shivers down him. Private released his flippers from the clenched fists they had been formed into and turned back to his bed, ready to attempt more sleep.

"Priiiiiiiiiiivaaaaaaaaate...Goodnight."

His heart stopped as a flash of smoke filled the headquarters, and his vision went dark.