Woo! Chapter 10!

"AUSTRALIA! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!" roared Iggy.

"No, Iggy, I'm not kidding," replied Jeb.

Iggy set Jeb down. "That's like a 4 day flight!"

"Fortunately, boating to Australia takes a very long time. Oh, by the way, thanks for putting me down," explained Jeb.

Iggy nodded and stepped back. "Why are they on a boat and not just taking a stupid plane?"

"Bambina can fly and would easily escape from the airplane. Bambina is being held in the bilge so escaping is significantly harder," answered Jeb. He seemed to be very calm.

Iggy nodded.

"So, lets pack some supplies. We leave tomorrow," announced Max.

"Oh, and Max?" said Jeb. "The crew of the ship consists of M-Geeks and well trained soldiers."

Max simply nodded and let that bit of information sink in.

Bambina awoke in a cage in a wet and musty room. She felt the rocking of the tides and immediately knew she was on a ship. The cage was a little small and the rocking made her feel queasy. Where am I?

"Hello? Is anyone there? Iggy?" Bambina called out. But nobody answered. Where is Iggy?

Then, like a pile of rocks, it hit her. She remembered being taken from the house, and being wrestled into the cage, then being shot with a sedative. She also remembered the M-Geeks and thugs fighting her flock. Gawd, she hoped they were all right.

She heard the door hinges whine as the door opened. Bambina sniffed and smelled the familiar scent of sweat and man. She clicked her tongue, trying to use her echolocation (which she wasn't very good at), and knew a huge man was approaching her cage.

"Hello, bird kid," the man hissed. "I'm taking you to your death."

Bambina summoned some spit and hawked it right in the man's face. Show no fear! She thought. The man wiped the spit off his cheek, reached in the cage, and slapped Bambina. It left a white, hand-shaped mark on her cheek. It stung like crazy, but Bambina remembered not to show fear or pain.

The man left, leaving Bambina alone. She held her cheek and curled up in a ball. It was so lonely and depressing in the cage. It dawned on her that she would never see Iggy or Nudge or Angel or Gazzy ever again. Tears threatened to fall over her eyelids, but she blinked them away, still determined to show no fear or pain.

Her stomach growled. Bambina wrapped his arms around her belly. She was really hungry. Did the people on this freaking boat plan on feeding her? Probably not. Bambina felt around the cage just in case there was a doggy bowl full of some sort of food. But there wasn't. Damn. She was so hungry.

Bambina sat there for hours trying not to cry or scream or throw up. She wanted to go home and be with Iggy.

The door opened again. Bambina scooted towards the back of the cage and tried to use her echolocation. It didn't work as well this time, but she was able to make out a person, smaller than the last. It's an M-Geek!

But it wasn't an M-Geek. "Uh, I'm going to be supervising you. So, uh, be good."

It was the voice of a boy. A young boy, maybe 18 years old.

"Who are you?" asked Bambina quietly.

"I'm Bryce. This is my dad's boat. I, uh, am in training."

Bambina nodded. She smelled the strong scent of turkey. The kid must have been eating some. Bambina's stomach growled really loud.

Bryce looked down at poor, starving Bambina and felt bad. He grabbed a chunk off his turkey leg and handed it to Bambina. She gobbled it down in seconds, and her stomach seemed satisfied. "Thank you, Bryce," said Bambina.

"Uh, you're welcome. You know I'm not really supposed to do that. In fact, I could get in huge trouble."

Bambina nodded sadly, but was still grateful. "Hey, Bryce? Where am I and where am I going?"

"I'm really not supposed to tell you that," explained Bryce.

"Please! It's not like I can do anything with that information anyway."

Bryce paused and considered this. "We're on my father's ship somewhere in the Pacific ocean. And we're going to the company headquarters in Australia."

"Oh. Thanks."

So we're going to Australia. That is odd, considering how long the journey will be. Why didn't they just freaking kill me the first chance they had?