Chapter 10 Remake

Hazel looked down at the lifeless body lying before her. "It had to be done" she kept telling herself, but that didn't make it any easier. She noticed the line of blood flowing from the wound. "That was me. I just... I just killed him."

She looked at the gun in her flipper, then dropped it it disgust. She then turned to the bird beside her.

"Don't look so shocked, I made a promise." But he didn't move, he too was staring at the lifeless corpse. "I, uh, I didn't think it would come to this, but you know what I said, a deal's a deal."

Still no response.

Hazel finally gave up. She shuddered, wiped away a few tears, and turned away from the body. "Well, what about the others? They can't just lay here."

This brought him to his senses, and tore his eyes away from the spectacle, replying, "Yeah, I suppose they need to get back to the zoo."

He still seemed to be in a daze, as if what Hazel had done had shocked him speechless. And of course, he had good reason to be speechless. He should have been dead. Yes, that's right. Dead. But there he was, all in one piece and alive. Somehow, when Hazel had fired the gun, the bullet had ended up in Hans's chest! So Kowalski continued staring, still breathing, recovering from the shock.

Although he should've been grateful, Kowalski couldn't get this one thought out of his head. "Yes, she saved us. From herself...." Now that his life was no longer in danger, it was easy to ignore the sudden flood of emotion which had overtook him only moments ago. Before you could say, "Let's book 'em!" he had most of his feelings locked away once again. Even though his life had been spared, he knew he would never look at Hazel in the same way again. She was a murderer.

Hazel worked in silence, dragging each of their comrades to the exit, and carefully bandaging their wounds. She then left and came back a few minutes later with the car. She slowly loaded them each into the back seat, and buckled the seat belts around them, just to be safe. She then returned to Kowalski, who was still lying helplessly in the corner.

Without a word, she set to work re-wrapping the wound in his side and pulling the various shrapnel from his wings and chest. When she had finished, she helped him stand on his good leg, and they slowly waddled over to the car. Still silent, Hazel got into the drivers seat and began driving back to the zoo.

She drove a lot slower than Rico had, and Kowalski calculated the drive would take over 23 minutes, if proper traffic laws were followed. He thought about making some form of conversation, but decided against it. No amount of small talk, explanations, or even apologizing would change his opinion of this girl. So he rode in silence, brooding over what had happened.

Hazel didn't even try to talk. She was still in shock, only going through the motions. She had told herself that it might come to this, but now... She sighed, bringing her thoughts back to the present, consoling herself with the fact that at least all the penguins had survived.

When they got back to the penguin habitat at the Central Park Zoo, Hazel still had not spoken a word, and neither had Kowalski. The three unconscious penguins were transferred once again, this time to their bunks, and Kowalski was walked into the habitat. Then he and Hazel sat down at the table, waiting for the others to awake. Even though it was late at night, neither of them dared to sleep.

Kowalski finally broke the silence, "You know, the only reason you're not tied up is because I am incapable of doing so. Don't start thinking you're going to get out of this. Four counts of treason and one of murder. And that's just the standard punishment, who knows what else the jury will find."

Hazel didn't answer, she just continued staring around the room, with that same unbroken stare. Every now and then she looked at Kowalski, but he only looked away. If he could see any reaction at all, it was a little more pain in her eyes, and a little more hopelessness in her expression.

Darkness. Dancing shadows moved across the black, like a vision of a cloudy dark night. Now and then an image would appear, and he would try to grasp it, only to find he had no wings, and the image would fade into black oblivion once more. After days, or was it only hours? Seconds, perhaps? a sort of horizon began to appear, as if a new day was breaking. The blackness began to fade, ever so slowly, into dark grey fog, then wispy grey clouds, and finally a slight tint of blue, which quickly changed to pink, and then yellow, although it remained faint and distant.

He heard someone calling for afar, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. Their voices were muddled and unrecognizable. After a while, he noticed one word seemed to stand out. He focused upon that word, and soon he could make out what it was. "Private." "Private? What is a Private?" He thought. A pause, followed by realization. "That is my name!"

With this final thought he forced open his eyes and groggily looked around. At first he didn't recognize anything, as everything was blurred beyond identification, and the glare of the early morning light was shining in his eyes. As his eyes cleared up, he found himself in a room which seemed vaguely familiar.

"Private, you're awake!"

This final wake up call brought him to his senses, and suddenly he knew where he was. He tried to lift his head to acknowledge the speaker, but he only managed to give himself a headache. Moments later he felt a wing around his back and neck, and with that help he was able to sit up. He blinked his eyes a few more times and looked around.

Standing next to him was a penguin, who he recognized after a moment. "Hazel..." he began, addressing this penguin, but before he could continue he was interrupted by a shout from beside him.

"Don't talk to her! Hazel, you've done your job, get back to the table."

Private turned to the side and saw Kowalski sitting at the table, a mean expression on his face. He noticed Rico was sitting on the stairs beside him as well, but he looked just as confused as Private felt.

They both looked to Kowalski, but he was busy watching Hazel as she made her way back to her seat. Private noticed the thick bandages on Kowalski's wings and body. Then he looked down at himself, and saw he, too, was covered in bandages. With this realization, the pain began to come back, though not as strongly as it should have been, due the the prolonged effects of the knock-out dart.

Kowalski had visibly relaxed since Hazel had returned to her seat, so Private tried again. "Kowalski? What is going on?"

Hazel flinched, and Kowalski looked away. Then he turned back, and while staring at the ground, he softly answered, "Think about it for a while, Private. You'll remember."

So, Private racked his brain, trying to remember something, and gradually it began to come back to him. Hans, the fighting... And Hazel. He turned in shock, and stared at the table where the two of them sat. "How are you alive, Kowalski?"

"She didn't shoot me. She shot Hans. Now that's enough of this conversation, save it for the trial."

Private only stared. He couldn't believe his ears. Hans was dead, killed by Hazel. He finally spoke, choosing to ask, "A trial? But why?"

"She conspired with the enemy."

"But... didn't you say... she killed him?"

"Enough, Private! She betrayed us! Now stop!"

Private shrank back, alarmed at this sudden outburst. Hazel looked like she hasn't even noticed. Private turned away and laid back down on his bunk, lost in thought.

A few minutes later he heard movement above him, and then he saw two feet hanging over the edge of the bunk. Skipper must have came out of the blur of the anesthetic much faster than Private had, because only moments later he jumped to the floor, ready for action.

Unfortunately, this macho attitude didn't last long, for when he landed on his leg, he fell to the ground, and nearly cried out in pain. Rico rushed over to help him, and soon he was sitting comfortably on the step.

"Looks like we're all pretty beaten up." He began. "But now, Kowalski, I'd like to hear how you got us all back here alive afterrrrr what the deuce!? Hazel?! Is this some kind of sick joke?" For Skipper had not noticed Hazel when he first began.

"No sir, I brought her back for interrogation and trial." Stated Kowalski.

"It looks to me like she brought you back, along with the rest of us." Interjected Private.

"Private. As if now, she is officially a prisoner. No fraternizing with the prisoner!"

"But Skippah!"

"No buts, Private. I've had enough of your buts."

"Sorry sir..."

"We'll start the trial promptly at 1600 hours when the zoo closes. But for now, Rico, guard the prisoner, and Private, gather our court supplies."

Please review and tell me what you think. This is the first chapter with visible changes.