The Shining

The plane touched down in a secluded area of the forest, clearing the surrounding trees from its path. The door to the aircraft swung to the side, Skipper, Private, Rico, and Kowalski carefully stepped down the stairs. Marlene trailed behind them lugging their luggage with great difficulty.

Skipper inhaled the fresh air with a smile "well boys, we're here".

"Why did you ask me to come, if I was just going to be your maid?" Marlene grumbled as she tugged the suitcases down the small set of stairs, straining and groaning with each one.

"Well, you said you wanted to come" he replied, she set the luggage down and glared at him.

An orange lemur approached them, clipboard in hand. She smiled at the five, and held out her paw "welcome, we've been expecting you".

They each shook it with a simple greeting of their own, "I'm Clover, and I'm Julien's personal bodyguard, as well as captain of the royal guard" she explained.

"It's nice to meet you, M'aim. I'm Skipper, and theses are my cohorts: Kowalski, Rico, Private, and Marlene" Skipper replied, he gestured to each of them, who waved in response.

She nodded and led the way through the forest, large dark green leaves hung above them blocking out the sunlight, to the sides numerous fruit grew in the bushes Marlene noticed, considering it was her first trip to the island of Madagascar.

"Well, Julien informed me that you would be the caretakers of this place, and I trust you can handle that task" Clover spoke as she walked along at the front.

"It would be our honor" Kowalski said with a bow.

"Now, thd kingdom pretty much takes care of itself" she continued "you just have to make sure everything runs smoothly, and keep it in working order".

Skipper raised an eyebrow "so, no danger?. What happened to the Fossa?".

"Oh, we haven't seen them since Mr. Alex scared them off" she answered nonchalant.

"What about the guards? They must need help, right?".

She shook her head "relax Skipper, everything's fine. Just enjoy yourself. Now, how about I show you to your living courtiers?".

Private, Kowalski, Rico, and Marlene trailed behind her as she began telling them of the island's rich history. Skipper remained where he stood, he looked around at all of the lemurs carelessly going about their normal lives.

A couple gathering fruit.

No danger

Children playing.

No danger.

Two lemurs walking together

No danger.

He shook his head and followed the tour, that was fine he could easily relax and take it easy. Clover guided them to a plane perched precariously in the gnarled branches of a tree.

"This is where you'll stay. Now, I have to tell you that this plane is believed to be owned by Amelia Air Heart; who as you all know vanished without a trace many years ago" she informed. Next she gestured a paw to the tree "this tree is also said to have grown over the bodies of the last humans here. Some say this place is haunted, but I'm sure you'll be fine" she reassured with a wave of her paw.

Private gulped and followed the others as they climbed up the vines dangling down from the branches.

"Well, here we are" Clover announced, she stepped aside allowing them to enter.

Private stepped forward, he eyed the lay out of the place wearily; the rows of seats had been removed and placed with carpet, numerous photos were framed on the walls, along with paintings. Dust and cobwebs cluttered the corners and hung down from the ceiling. Sunlight filtered through from the windows giving the place an ancient appeal. He cringed and stepped away from the small spider dropping down on its silk string.

She wiped her finger across the wall and rubbed the dust off "as you can see no one has lived here for quite some time".

"It's a nice plane" he simply said, a nervous edge in his voice.

Marlene walked past him and through the aisle curious to check out her new surroundings. With each step she took the floor moaned beneath her feet, she was afraid it would give out beneath her. She hugged her arms to her body subconsciously and breathed deeply to prevent herself from going feral.

The aisle ended at a door, she quietly pushed it open with a low creak. Stepping inside she realized it was the remains of the cock pit. She couldn't see much, from the shadows a large window stood out. Marlene stepped forward and looked out of it, gasping in awe she could see all of Madagascar; from the leafy trees to the sandy beaches.

She felt something brush against her fur and turned to the right, the remains of a skeleton stared back at her, sitting limply in the corner. She jumped and stepped back a step, it was adorned in a pilot's vest.

Okay, it's just the body of Amelia Air Heart she reassured herself she's dead, she can't hurt you.

She felt something wet on her head and looked up, with a scream she stumbled backwards and fell onto the floor.

REDRUM

The words stared back at her written in what looked to be blood, it drizzled down the ceiling, and plopped onto the floor. She stared wide eyed at the word, in a blink it was gone. Marlene slowly found her footing with the help of the steering wheel, she put a paw to her head, there was nothing there. Footsteps approached from behind her, she turned around. Clover stared down at her, concern written across her face "are you alright?".

Marlene wanted to open her mouth and say something, but no one would believe her, instead she gave a nod.

"What were you doing in here?".

"I was just curious" it wasn't a lie, she hadn't known what was behind the door. Without another word Clover ushered her out and left to rejoin the others. Marlene looked back at the door, the word reverberated in her mind; what did it mean, and why did she only see it?. She quickly trailed behind Clover, finding her way back to the group who were beginning to unpack.

"Well, I'll leave you to get settled" Clover announced "if there's anything you need, just call". The group thanked her and she left, Marlene opened her bag and pulled out a feather duster. She set to work dusting the walls and trying to force the image from her mind. Kowalski, and Private went out to check out the forest and search for herbs for one of Kowalski's experiments.

That left Skipper, Marlene, and Rico. With nothing else to do Rico flopped down in the large throne for a nap. Skipper looked out the window of the plane, watching Kowalski and Private as they strolled through the forest and picked leafs. With a sigh he sat back and stared down at the floor. Everything was serene, he didn't like it. Where were the citizens in distress? The havoc, the fear?. His eyebrows furrowed, and his flippers began to curl into fists.

Marlene stared at him quietly as she tidied up, he was not handling the boredom well. This worried the otter, Skipper had always had to be kept busy, in New York it wasn't a problem, but Madagascar was a whole other story. She decided to talk to him

"Skipper?".

He lifted his head, his left eye twitched and stared at her as she approached him "what, Marlene?" he demanded tensely.

She cringed at his tone, she looked down at her paws and twiddled her thumbs avoiding eye contact. "Are you sure this was a good idea? I know you can't sit in one place for long".

His eyebrows furrowed even more "what are you saying?".

Marlene sighed and chose to come right out with it "I don't think we should stay here" she told him.

"Is that so?. What, you don't think I can handle it?" he questioned, his voice raising a pitch.

Marlene shook her head "no, I don't think that at all. But I just saw this weird message, and I thought that maybe this isn't a good place...for Private" she lied, despite the fact the she was actually concerned about his well being.

"Oh, so you see one message and all of a sudden you think we should pack our bags and go on home". He stood up and stepped towards her, his chest heaving as he continued his spiel. "Ring Tail bestowed this upon me, and if you think that I'm just going to quit because of something you claim you saw, and a little boredom you have another thing coming!".

She took a step back startled by his sudden change in attitude, he roughly pushed past her and stomped outside. Marlene blinked and stared blankly at the swinging door, an image of blood gushing from the windows of the plane and down the tree flashed across her eyes. She blinked and it was gone, without another thought she hurried back into the cock pit and searched through it. Amongst the possessions she found an old type writer. She blew the dust from its keys and tuned it up to see if it would work.

Hitting a random key Marlene saw it indeed still functioned, without fully processing her actions she began typing. She regained control of her paws and looked up at the page, the word ' REDRUM' was imprinted over and over. She stared at it with a raised eyebrow, there was something about that word; it was like it was trying to tell her something.

With an exasperated sigh she tore the paper out and crumpled it into a ball, tossing it onto the floor. She stood up and left the plane, deciding to walk through the village to help clear her mind. She found Clover patting down another lemur, and approached her.

"Clover, we need to talk".

The orange lemur faced her with a slight smile "what's on your mind?". Marlene stared at the lemurs with a confused look "you have to check them, we don't want a conspiracy" Clover explained, noticing her confusion.

She nodded slowly "I keep having these weird visions, and I saw this weird word" she rubbed the palm of her paw against the back of her neck feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment "I'm not really sure what it means".

Clover raised an eyebrow "what word?".

"REDRUM" she answered hesitantly.

She blinked and stared at her for a second before replying "I don't know what to tell you, Marlene. Are you sure you weren't just seeing things?".

Marlene looked down at her feet "to be honest...I don't know. I just have this weird feeling about this island".

Clover turned back to the lemur, and shooed him away "I guess you have it" she mumbled as she jotted something down on her clipboard.

Marlene raised an eyebrow "have what?".

She set it down and looked around them before grabbing her arm and pulling her close so no one else would hear "the shining" she whispered.

"What?".

"It's this special ability that only a rare few have, I thought I was the only one" Clover went on.

"You have it?" Marlene asked in disbelief, she nodded.

"And let me tell you something, Marlene. If I were you I'd keep an eye on that friend of yours" she cautioned, eyes narrowed. She released her grip on her.

"Skipper? he wouldn't hurt anyone" Marlene reassured with a dismissive wave of her paw.

"This island does strange things to people who weren't born on its soil. Just be careful, okay? And if there's trouble just use your ability to contact me".

She gave a slow nod before Clover disappeared back into the forest. Marlene tracked back to the plane thinking about what she had said. She found it in ruins; photos were scattered across the floor, the glass shattered, and the frames buckled, the throne was knocked down, and split into halves. Her eyes widened, across the walls a message was carved into the metal.

No danger makes Skipper a dull solider.

She found the typewriter, the same phrase was displayed in numerous lines. Her ears perked up, the floor creaked and moaned with footsteps behind her. Marlene stiffened, she hastily broke off an arm from the skeleton and pressed it against her shoulder.

"Stay back, don't come any closer".

Skipper stepped towards her, a grin on his face "come on, Marlene. I just want to talk".

She stepped back, her legs shaking, she swung it out at him "stay away from me".

"Give me the bone" he ordered.

Marlene shook her head fervently, and swung at him again, he was backing her towards the large window of the plane. She continued swinging at him.

"Give it to me" he commanded, firmer this time.

"No"

"Come on, give me the bone" he smiled, he reached a flipper towards her "give me the bone, give me the bone" he repeated in a teasing, crazed tone.

She swung again "don't hurt me" she pleaded.

"Marlene, I'm not going to hurt you. Give it to me and we'll talk".

Marlene shook her head again, her lip quivered. She tightened her grip around the bottom with her trembling paws.

"Give it to me!" he shouted.

"Stay away!" she screamed. He lunged at her and grabbed the bone, Marlene fought back, and tried to tear it from his grasp. They tethered back and forth, she managed to get the upper hand, and hit him in the skull. Skipper lost his balance, and fell through the window with a scream.

Marlene shielded herself from the shattered glass and looked out, still clutching her weapon. She climbed down and cautiously approached him. He was unconscious, but it wouldn't be long before he awoke, and she didn't want to know what would happen then. Fearing for her life and the lives of the other three she grabbed hold of his legs and dragged him to the nearest tree, and crammed his stubby body inside the knothole.

Shaking and panting she hurried back to the plane to warn the others. Another flash revealed an image of Skipper rampaging towards her with an axe, followed by the same word she had first seen;' REDRUM'. She gasped and picked up the pace, she was met inside by Kowalski, Private and Rico, and frantically locked the door behind her.

"Guys, we need to get out of here now!".

"What's going on?" Private asked

"Skipper has lost his mind" Marlene replied hastily, she peeked out the window, to her relief no one was there. She felt something brush against her foot and looked down, she picked the crumpled ball of paper off of the floor and unfolded it. From the back she could see the word in its backwards order.

MURDER.

Marlene gasped and lowered the paper from her face, a sudden bang made her jump. She stepped out of the area and looked at the door, the blade of an axe broke through. With each chop the hole grew, she shrieked and reached for something to protect them. With each chop she screamed, fueling his rage. Private quickly shattered the window and climbed out, Kowalski and Rico followed. With one last swing the hole was large enough for him to poke his head through with a demented smile.

"HERE'S SKIPPY!".

Marlene screamed in horror, he grinned at her terror and reached his flipper through, feeling for the handle, Marlene backed away as his laughter rang out and hurriedly pushed herself out through the window. She swung down the vine, a torrent of blood shattered through the windows and rushed out behind her. She landed on the grass and joined the others. Skipper climbed down and followed after them with a limp in his step, fuming.

"You can run, but you can't hide!".

Further into the forest Clover felt her tail twitch "sounds like they're in trouble" she ran towards the plane, hoping that she wasn't too late. She came to a stop at the tree and looked up, it was seemingly empty "is anyone here?!" she called.

Skipper sprung out at her and drilled the blade of the axe into her back, she screamed in pain as it shattered her spine and collapsed to the ground. He grabbed the handle and pulled it out, grinning at the dark blood running down it, and coursing through his flippers. She tried to move, but found she couldn't, panic surging through her she pulled her limp body across the ground. Skipper brought the axe down again, with a shriek she went limp. Stepping around the fresh corpse he set out to find his friends.

"PRIVATE, KOWALSKI, RICO, MARLENE!" his voice carried throughout the forest and swarmed down their ears. They forced their tired bodies to continue, hearts pounding, tears mingled with sweat ran down through their feathers and fur- except for Rico who had to be dragged along so he wouldn't confront him. Fortunately Kowalski and Private knew their way through from their visit to the forest and were easily able to get through the various paths.

Skipper advanced towards them screaming out to them in fury, axe grasped tightly in his flippers. Private lost his footing and stumbled to the ground, Kowalski pulled him to his feet, Skipper's cries catching up to them. The plane they landed opened up in the distance, they reached the clearing and climbed aboard in a frenzy.

Marlene was about to climb the small set of stairs, she felt a cold flipper reach out and grasp her foot. She looked back over her shoulder, Skipper clung onto her leering wickedly. She screamed and tried to free herself, she lashied out and kicked frantically at him, but he was too strong. He yanked back and she fell onto the step, smacking her head. Her vision swimming she slashed her claws back, unsure if she hit him. Skipper reeled back with a howl as they raked across his face. He released his hold and held his flippers to his face, she scurried into the plane with the aid of Private.

Skipper roared and slammed the axe into the side of the plane, the four screamed and desperately tried to get it to move. He swung back and struck it again, and again, finally Kowalski managed to start the engine. The aircraft rolled forward, Skipper gripped onto the wing and attempted to crawl across. As the plane rose higher into the sky his grip loosened, he could hold on no more and dropped down to the ground with a final holler of their names.