7. Nightmares and Disputes

Skipper slept very badly. Again and again he rolled around in his bed and was tortured by terrible nightmares. He saw his friends in front of him, as they stood in front of a grave. His grave. Like a ghost, he turned to them. But in this dream, he was already dead, and he already watched the effect of his death.

Private suffered a nervous breakdown, Kowalski lost his faith in science and Rico destroyed everything around him. Skippers team couldn´t hadle the loss. It was so horrible and the leader would do anything to spare them that fate. But he couldn´t wake up from this desperate image of his mourning team. Skipper was trapped in his nightmare and suffered together with his friends and more. He couldn´t bear to watch his friends suffering like that.

"I´m here. I´m with you. I'm not dead, yet!" shouted the leader desperated, but they couldn´t hear him screaming. Skipper could just observe their desperate cries and tears. This was too much for him. This wasn´t just a nightmare anymore but a vision of horror.

The scene changed. Skipper was lying on a bed and his team was with him. He felt a sharp pain in his chest. Almost as if his heart would be torn out. Skipper screamed, but it didn´t stop. With blurred sight he saw his friends stepping away from him with every cry he let out to ease his pain. "Help me, please!" Skipper begged and streched his flipper to reach them, but his team didn´t react at all.

They all just stood there and stared at him in horror. Another sharp pain ran through his body like an electric shock. Skipper writhed with convulsions and cried his heart out. The leader felt that he was close to dying. But why is his body torturing him so much? His friends looked at him with desperate faces and did nothing to help him. They had abandoned him. "Please, help me. I need you. AAAHHHH!" Skipper screamed as the pain increased immeasurably. It felt as someone rammed a knife into his chest.

The leader couldn´d breathe anymore. He just couldn´t do anything. He laid there panting, waiting for his end. Then another wave of pain showed up wich robbed him all of his senses. One last time he glanced to his friends before hís last breath ended his life and he cried, "Please stay with me. ... I... AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH !"...

"Skipper, wake up. Quick Rico, help me!" called Private on the next morning, when he heard a scream from Skippers bunk. Quickly the little penguin hopped into the bottom bunk to see why his leader screamed so tormented. Skipper rolled wildly and almost strangled himself with his blanket. He was drenched in sweat and Private tried to calm him down again.

"Skipper, wake up. Please." Private desperately cried, patting Skippers cheek as Rico got a bucket of water. But Skipper struck wildly and the little penguin jumped on his stomach to hold him tight before he even hurt himself. Private felt Skippers heart racing. Everything was completely out of control. Kowalski couldn´t help them, because he had locked himself in his lab.

Private grabbed Skippers flippers and pressed them on the ground so that he couldn´t strike out anymore. Slowly he calmed down again and Rico lowered the bucket with water, he wanted to pour into the Skipper's face to wake him up. "Skipper, it´s allright. Everything is okay. It was just a nightmare." Private muttered as Skipper opened his eyes. He still had terrible pain.

"Private, what happened?" Skipper gasped out of breath. "You had a nightmare and you screamed horribly. But now it´s over. Are you all right?" asked the little penguin worried and relieved. Skipper could feel his heart clenched and he closed his eyes in pain. "It hurts so much, Private." Skipper whimpered and pressed his flippers on his chest.

"Let me see." Private muttered and put his flippers on Skippers body directly on the place where the leader´s heart was about to burst out. The little penguin felt that it was still beating immensly fast, and that seemed to be the most likley cause of the pain. "Skipper, you need to relax. Then it gets better ... I hope so." Private and murmured and started to rubbing gently on Skippers chest to calm him.

"Breathe deeply, Skipper. Everything is okay. We are with you." Private said and turned for help to Rico. The maniac penguin ran off and fetched a glass of water. After a few minutes Skippers pain found an aprupt end. He laid panting in his bunk with Private on his belly. "Are you feeling better now?" asked the young penguin and sat up. Skipper nodded slightly and also tried to set up. With trembling flippers he reached for his glass of water that Rico had brought him. He quickly emptied it with one gulp and felt a little better.

"Shall I make you breakfast?" Private asked, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. "Just coffee, Private." Skipper murmured with a look of gratitude and the little penguin immediately went to work. "Rico, where is Kowalski?" Skipper asked and wanted to get off his bunk.

"Lab" Rico grunted and pointed to the steel door. He saw that Skipper struggled to get up, but the mad penguin pushed him quickly back on his pillow and shook his head. "Stay´n bed." Rico grunted again and made Skipper clear that he shouldn´t leave the bed.

Private finished making coffee for Skipper and brought it in a huge mug to him. Just then, Kowalski came out from his lab, extremely depressed and angry. His eyes fell to Private, who was bringing the mug to Skipper. "What are you doing?" Kowalski called and looked in horror at the little penguin. "I just made a little cup of coffee for Skipper. He had a terrible nightmare and I wanted to make him a nice breakfast."

Private replied puzzled by Kowalskis angry facial expression. "Do you wanna kill him or what?" the scientis cried hysterically and his voice trembled. "No, why should I ..." Private muttered sheepishly and looked sadly at the floor. "Of course you didn´t intent to. You wanted to kill him with a nice, hot cup of caffeine!" shouted the scientist and his words echoed loudly in the HQ. "I didn´t know ..." Private stammered, trying to understand why Kowalski was so angry at him.

"But of course you didn´t know that. You're just a naive little child. You think you can get rid of all the evil in the world with sun rays, a nice smile and good deeds. Instead of thinking about what is right!" shouted the scientist and the little penguin shrink together. With these words he turned around and went back with angry steps into his lab.

"But, I ..." Private faltered, and tears streaming down his face. He slowly turned to Skipper and Rico looking for help or an answer but both were still in shock from Kowalski's outburst. None of the penguins had ever seen the scientists been so angry. "Private .. I don´t know what to say ... Come here." muttered Skipper and hugged the little penguin trying to comfort him.

"Skipper, what did I do wrong. Tell me, please. I just wanted to do you a favor." Private wept silently, while his tears ran down on Skippers chest. "Shh, calm down. You did nothing wrong. I'm sure he didn´t mean it. I'll talk to him, Private." whispered the leader, and broke away from the embrace. Private felt immediately better, as Skipper said that he would help him. Deep in his heart he wished that Skipper would become more like a father for him.

The leader got and swayed briefly, but he managed to drag himself slowly to the steeldoor, which leaded into in Kowalski's lab. But he was startled when he saw what was going on in here. The scientist sat in the middle of the room surrounded by innumerable books and scraps of paper on which something was scrawled on.

Kowalski pressed his wings on his face and sobbed. "Kowalski, what's going on?" Skipper asked, gently, because he wouldn´t risk an escalation again. "Skipper?" What are you doing here? "You ought to stay in bed." muttered Kowalski and his voice shook, this time of grief.

"Um, yes I should. But how can you be so mean to Private. He just wanted to make me a little pleasure and you scream at him as if he had started a capital crime." Skipper said, trying to stay as calm as possible. "He should have known that the caffeine in your coffee increases your blood pressure and heart rate and that´s exactly what I wanted to avoid in your state. Maybe would´t have got a heart attack from tachycardia, or anything. You ..." Kowalski said, but he was interrupted by Skipper.

"And how is Private supposed to know that? Is he a doctor? And for something ridiculous like that you had to shout at him, so that he feels like crap now and cries his eyes out?," Skipper said and was getting angry and curious about Kowalskis behavior.

"He's crying? I didn´t wanted that to happen. I just wanted to help you, Skipper." muttered the scientis sheepishly. He felt ashamed now that he had treated the small Private so mean. "It's just... I wasn´t able to find a alternative diagnosis for you yet. I don´t know what I should do anymore. But believe me, I just wanted to help." Kowalski murmured, lowering his head down. He made terrible accusations, because he still hadn´t found a cure for Skipper and he had to watch him suffering.

"What do you mean, you just wanted to help. I don´t want you guys to fight. Not now. The only thing it achieves is that you are hurting me with stupid fights. This situation is bad enough for me, and your arguments are making it ten times worse. I need you now. Every one of you. " exclaimed Skipper and a couple of desperate tears were dripping down his face.

But suddenly out of nowhere a loud scream came from Skipper. A terrible pain in his stomach forced him to the ground, but Kowalski was immediatly with him. "Skipper, what's going on? Where is the pain? Is it your heart?" the scientists said in panic. "No, my stomach." Skipper gasped and writhed in pain. "Your stomach? But that can´t be." muttered Kowalski, who questioned his sanity slowly. Is this a ney symptom or is this the beginning of the end now?