The Power of Silence
Chapter 49 – A Deadly Chemical
DMITRI PLAYED WITH THE VARIOUS CHEMICALS.
He did it partially just to keep his mind and flippers busy, and mostly to give him a reason not to stare at the bound lemur on the opposite side of the closet. He glanced at a few of the vials, trying to make out what might compose them. He had never seen anything like them, though, so he just kind of sloshed the liquids around inside their vials and containers until he grew bored.
The disheveled penguin looked at his friend, who was clinking two bottles together numbly. Her face looked blank, as it had ever since that lemur was dumped in with them. Not a word had been passed between the two since Irena had told him his true purpose. The truth was out, and it was as if neither of them wanted to deal with it. Or maybe it was just that neither of them knew what to say about it.
Dmitri then took a glance at the lemur, whose eyes cried for help in the same way they had when he was first thrown roughly in. He had shifted slightly, as if to be more comfortable in the pile of boxes were he sat. Besides a couple of low mumbles, incomprehensible through his bound snout, he had been silent. Those big, yellow eyes did all the speaking for him.
Dmitri looked back down at the strange vials. His stomach grumbled lowly and he realized just how hungry and thirsty he had become. He wondered for a moment if one of the chemicals was edible. Maybe one of them was just a container of water? He wasn't sure, and he didn't want to risk a slow and agonizing death over a bit of cottonmouth.
A tapping sound from his side drew his attention once more to Irena. She seemed to have found a small, metal case and she was gently tapping on it with one of the vials. Curious, Dmitri asked, "What's in the box?"
Irena responded dully without glancing up. "I dunno."
"Here, let me have a look." Irena passed the case to the smaller penguin and he fumbled with the latch for a few moments. It wasn't locked, but it definitely wasn't designed to accidentally fall open. When he finally opened it, his eyes grew wide at its contents. He snapped the case shut immediately, before Irena had a chance to see what was inside.
"What?" She asked, startled by his harsh movement.
"Do you know what's in here?"
"Obviously not."
Dmitri looked at her with fear, causing her to arch her brow. "You look like you've seen a ghost," she said.
To Dmitri, what was inside the case might as well have been. The sleek metal frames, the blue feathers on the end, the sharp delivery points. He'd recognize them anywhere. "These are sleep-bringing darts."
Irena looked surprised. "Really?"
"Yes." Dmitri opened the case once more and held it up for Irena to see.
The emperor gently grabbed one of the darts up from inside the case and ran her flipper gingerly up and down its side. Then she picked at the feathers on the end as she said, "Well, it definitely looks like one."
"Where did you find it?" Dmitri asked.
"Up there." The emperor pointed to a similar-looking case, except it was much bigger. The top was left ajar from when she had gone rifling through it. Dmitri set the case of darts down and climbed up to it.
When he opened it, nothing seemed to far out of place. There were some more vials inside, and they matched the ones he had been playing with on the ground. Small, glass, and hardly big enough to hold a few drops of water. Assuming this is where she'd found them, he dug further into the case. He found an outline of where the metal case of darts would have fit. But why would such a thing just exist inside the broom closet of a random human structure? Dmitri continued looking, and discovered that the velvety covering where the vials were snugly fit was movable. He lifted it off, and gasped at what was underneath.
It was separated into three pieces, but he it was more than recognizable. It was one of the hunters' guns. It had a wooden butt, scope, and a long barrel. It was nearly identical to the ones he had seen the emperors get taken with on the day of his coming of age. Whoever the person was who had once lived where they were now trapped had been a hunter.
Dmitri came back down, and Irena wasn't satisfied by the look on his face. She had placed the dart back into the metal case and closed it. She didn't ask any questions as Dmitri took a seat near her again, so he said, "It's some sort of hunter kit."
"What do you mean? Like, it's got all the gear needed for capturing penguins?"
"Exactly. It's got the gun, these extra darts," he picked up one of the vials, "and I'm sure this is that tranquilizer that Edgar was talking about. They must put it inside the darts."
Irena grabbed the case again, looking over it. "What are the chances that we'd see something like this here? I mean, we've only been in this human city for a few days. And most of that time was spent in this closet."
"Pretty high, I guess," Dmitri shrugged.
"Huh?"
"Think about it. The Penguin City was being terrorized by hunters on a regular basis. Then, when those researchers—or whatever Edgar called them—came to supposedly help us, they also shot at us. Now the first human home we enter has one of the hunter kits. Personally, I'm not surprised."
As Dmitri finished his explanation, Irena sighed. "Well, it's a good thing they're gone now, eh?"
The smaller penguin didn't immediately respond. Ever since he had seen his father's rotting corpse hunched over the Sun shortly before they annihilated all human life from the planet, he had a distinct feeling that it wasn't the correct choice. His father had died fighting to prevent a evil penguin from using it to rule over the earth, both humans and animals. That was different, though. He had no idea if his father would have used it to save the Penguin City if he had been in Dmitri's place.
He can only assume his father would have, judging by the stories he had heard. His father was driven to insanity from the grief of what Caspian did to the original Penguin City. Yeah, that must be true. His father would have used the power of the Sun to annihilate the hunters that wanted to capture him and his mother. He knew he would have. Or, maybe he was thinking too deeply.
Why did he even care what his father would have done? He knew he wanted to respect his father's wishes, even though he had never met him, but he wasn't even entirely sure what those were. He knew he shouldn't let that dictate his every move, though. He was his own penguin. He should figure it out on his own. It was just that last part that was beginning to be a struggle for him. Was it good that the humans were gone?
He didn't actually have to respond to Irena as suddenly a click was heard at the door. Irena quickly moved the metal case behind her back, though a few of the chemicals still stayed within view. Dmitri's heart began racing as the door cracked open. The lemur across from them seemed to whimper. Dmitri couldn't be sure what this meant, and wanted to be prepared for anything.
When the door opened most of the way, he didn't see anything. That was at least until a familiar penguin stepped in, his rifle slung over his shoulder. All of the animals remained quiet as the small rockhopper settled before them, just inside the door. He looked the three of them over and then went to remove his rifle.
Dmitri's heart slammed into his throat. Had he been sent on orders to kill them? He looked around the room; there was nothing in his reach he could grab to defend himself. Even then, he was sure Gier was a good shot and would hit him before he could get close. What would the do?
His fear subsided, if only slightly, as the penguin across from him didn't put the rifle's stock to his shoulder or line up a shot. Instead he set the weapon down against the door, and disappeared into the room beyond the closet once more. Dmitri wasn't sure where he had gone, but was too tense to move. He briefly thought about trying to grab the rifle, but then realized he'd have no idea how to use it, even if he got it. Bolting wasn't an option either. They'd have no clue where to run and would probably just be shot in the back.
Gier reappeared, and Dmitri relaxed a bit more as he saw the small rock-hopper was carrying what looked like a stack of open cans. He came up to Dmitri and Irena and set them down, remaining silent. Dmitri reached over and picked one up as Gier disappeared into the room beyond the closet once more. It was small and filled with what smelled like pulverized fish.
Gier reappeared at the doorway, this time holding two bottles of water in his flippers. He rolled one over to Dmitri and Irena. Dmitri picked up the bottle when it came to a rest near him, but didn't immediately move to open it. Gier waddled over to the bound , who seemed terrified but also looked at the small penguin with what almost seemed like hopefulness. Dmitri leaned to see Gier's face as he approached the lemur, and noticed he was gesturing for the lemur to hush.
The penguin then gently removed the duck tape from the lemur's snout, who winced as the adhesive pulled at his fur. The mammal took a deep breath, obviously relieved to have the tape off. Gier then took the cap off the water bottle and held it up for the lemur to drink, who happily accepted. He drank for nearly a full minute, and then Gier set the bottle down. Water dripped off the mammal's chin, but he didn't seem to care.
"Er, penguin," the lemur said as Gier turned his back. The penguin viably flinched at the sound of his voice. "When can—"
"Shhh!" shot the penguin sharply, spinning around. The lemur nearly fell over from surprise and his eyes grew to the size of quarters. Gier glared at him for a moment, and then turned back around to waddle over to where Dmitri and Irena were sitting. Irena already was nibbling at the canned tuna, which she had opened, and Dmitri toyed with the cap of the bottle.
The rockhopper spoke slowly and clearly. "I apologize for my father's judgment. He is... quick to decide what he wants. However, once we capture Skipper, everything will be brought into the light. Then you will be set free."
Gier waddled back to the door, obviously not expecting a response. He stood there for a moment, looking directly back at Dmitri. Dmitri tried to read the penguin's thoughts, but his face was a blank slate. He had no idea what was going through the small rockhopper's head. All he knew now was that the small penguin wasn't necessarily on their side, but he wasn't against them either.
The room hadn't even been quiet for a few moments before the mammal opposite the two penguins spoke up once more. "Please to be passing me some tuna?" It was then that Dmitri realized Gier had not made an effort to replace the lemur's gag. The creature looked at the disheveled penguin expectantly, running his long tongue over the sides of his crooked snout.
Dmitri didn't respond, and instead got up and waddled over to where Gier had left the spent tape. "Oh no, you are not needing to be doing dat," insisted the lemur, but Dmitri roughly wrapped the tape around the mammal's snout anyway. The critter squirmed and shook his head to prevent Dmitri from fastening the tape over his mouth once again.
"I'm not having Buck think we took this off you," Dmitri said.
"Wait!" The lemur choked out. Dmitri gave up on trying to fix the tape; it was no longer sticky and he couldn't get it to stay. Defeated, he tossed the tape aside and began looking for something else he might be able to use.
"Hold on," the lemur insisted, "Don't you dink we could be, you know, helping eachoder a little?"
Dmitri scoffed. "Yeah, the three of us against all of them? I'll take my chances and follow Buck's orders for now."
"You'd be surprised. I'm quite de fighter." When Dmitri didn't respond, he added, "Really, I am."
Dmitri had discovered a small coil of twine a few shelves up, and began to climb for it. It would be perfect for tying the lemur's snout shut. When the penguin was about to pull himself up off the ground, Irena's voice stopped him. "What's the point in shutting him up, anyway? I doubt it's going to change anything Buck has planned for us, anyway."
The penguin turned around, and saw the female once more playing with the chemicals. "That red lemur said he wants to kill you too," she referenced the lemur, "so as far as I can tell, we're all dead in the water. It can't hurt to work together."
Dmitri couldn't help but realize how her speech was directed more towards the mammal and less towards him. She wasn't outright telling him to stop, but she was clearly making an alliance with this new animal. Had she thought that he wouldn't listen to her? He arched his brow slightly, as the lemur responded.
"Dank you very kindly," he said and smiled. "De name is Julien, by de way."
"Irena."
Dmitri paused, looking between the two animals. "Dmitri."
"Pleased to be meeting you," affirmed Julien. "Now, would you kindly be passing me some of dat tuna?"
Irena got up and brought him one of the opened cans, which she set down on a nearby box. She also placed some of the small vials of chemical that she had carried over, there. Then, much to the glee of the lemur, she reached down and began fumbling with the ropes that bound him.
Dmitri felt resistance rising in his throat, like he should say something to stop her. Bucks words still rang fresh in his head. He threatened to kill Irena if they set Julien free. Dmitri wanted to believe he was bluffing, but found enough reason to believe the massive penguin wasn't to cause a fear to rise inside him. Buck obviously wanted him for his connection to his father; Irena didn't have that saving grace. Dmitri couldn't predict what was going to happen to her.
Even so, it was her freeing Julien. Not him. She must know the risks she was taking, he figured. She wasn't dumb, so why stop her?
"Ah, got it," Irena said, and the ropes fell loose around Julien. He immediately stretched out his cramped limbs and then pushed the ropes off of himself. Irena took a seat near him on some of the fallen boxes.
"Much better," Julien announced, then reached for the can of tuna. He then stuck his snout deep inside, hungrily eating the pulverized fish in huge globules.
"Wow," Irena commented. "I thought you mammals eat... not fish."
Julien stopped eating and looked up from the can. "I've, er, acquired a taste for tuna. Besides, what else is dere to be eating around here?" Irena shrugged.
Dmitri decided to take a seat near where he already was, keeping his thoughts to himself. He inspected the lemur as he ate. He was tall and lanky; considerably more scrawny than the defined muscles of Clemson or Buck. Would he be a decent fighter, maybe even just enough for them to escape in the confusion of a scuffle, if it did break out? He wasn't so sure.
"Ah, now I am being full." Julien had finished his tuna and discarded the can behind the boxes. He patted his tummy and looked around, eyes hovering over the female emperor. Dmitri couldn't help but look in her direction as well. She looked bored, almost a bit disappointed. Like she was expecting Buck to barrel down the door and kill her the second she freed Julien.
The lemur picked up one of the small vials of chemical Irena had left. "What's dis?" He peered over the vial's label, holding it up for better light. "It says 'E... tore... fine'".
Dmitri perked up at the sound of the word Julien spoke. He had heard that before. "What did you say?"
"Dis chemical you fishy penguins keep playing with," Julien explained. "It says it is being called Etorefine. What is dat?"
"Etorphine?"
"Yeah, I dink so at least."
Dmitri locked eyes with Irena, who also had immediately recognized the name of the tranquilizer that had put him out of commission for several days. Very nearly killed him. It only made sense, Dmitri realized. The darts, the rifle to fire them, and now the deadly chemical. Everything a murderous hunter would need to take down an emperor penguin.
"Give me that," Dmitri said, waddling over and grabbing the vial. He turned to Irena. "Maybe we can change what Buck has planned for us."
Irena went to the other side of the closet and grabbed the case of darts, holding it over her chest. "Do you think we'd be able to shoot them with the sleep-bringer?"
Dmitri looked up at the air rifle. It was huge, and even if they could get it set up, in these close quarters he figured it would be useless. "No." He then held the vial over his head like it was a knife, and slammed it down. "But there's no reason we just can't stab them old-fashioned."
"Er, sorry to be de king of butting in," Julien said, "but what is it we are talking about, exactly?"
Dmitri turned to the lemur. "This chemical; it's like poison. We give those jerks a little bit, they'll be asleep for a long time. We give them a lot, and they'll be dead. I got hit with some of this stuff once. It was nasty. It was only because a friend gave me something to counteract it that I survived."
"So we are to be poisoning de Clemmy-son and de other Hoboken animals?"
"That's what it's looking like." Dmitri turned back to Irena. "How many darts are in the case?"
"There's five," she said, counting, "and this one you pulled out earlier makes six."
Dmitri counted off the possibilities in his head. There were six enemy animals, and three of them. That meant that in the worst case, each of them had to successfully stab two of the other animals. "Looks like it's two darts to each of us," he commented.
"One for each paw—or flipper," Julien added.
~Author's Note: I know I've been saying this for a while now, but now we are really on the edge of the end. I hope the climax of this story will deliver everything you readers are hoping for. It's going to be a multi-chapter epic, spanning two continents, and longer than the fight in the Antechamber of The Speed of Darkness.
A quick question, for those who are kind enough to offer their opinion: What do you feel about the length of this story so far? Too long? Something I've been wondering myself, lately.
