ESCAPE

Pei snorted loudly as he leaned against a large tree. "Something must have happened!" Kun said from above a tree. The gorilla was looking for the slightest movement in the tree branches to see if he could spot any of the birds, but simply, he couldn't. Hua said they hid near a lake, but there was no sign of them. Also, the last time they saw her she was headed to the castle exit to drive out the last group ... her disappearance along with the other birds could not be a coincidence with the fact that peacocks there was still no trace! Qi heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Chong and Ting running towards them. "Once it's all over, don't get involved in operations like this anymore! The stress is far too much! "Bao said rummaging in a bag full of food, looking for a gustatory comfort. "Only the three of us and a few other cats managed to escape! The humans ambushed us near the escape route! Those who were out or just left have been recaptured! "Feng explained heartily. "How did Derek react so quickly?" Ning asked more of himself than others. "Hurry? I remind you that the first group came out hours ago! With all the guards he has, it's odd that he only noticed now! "Wan said that she had just emerged from a bush followed closely by Xun. "We will find a way to free them!" Pei said, not at all convinced. "How?" Ting asked, on the verge of tears both because of the concern and the fear he felt. "Pei is right! But now we have to hide, otherwise we risk taking them back too! "Deshi said showing a clear mind despite the seriousness of the situation. "Where are the other cats you mentioned?" Wing asked looking around. "We parted on the run! We have taken completely different paths, but only to force humans to divide! "Feng replied. "Then we have to move!" Ming said "You are too big to go unnoticed and once identified it would be difficult to lose our tracks" said the deer setting off. He understood that everyone agreed when they followed him without making a fuss. They had been walking for several minutes when a thud followed by a growl made many turn towards a large bush and Lei revealed herself.

"Damn dogs! ... "He said, looking over his shoulder, then turning to his friends" Thanks for waiting for me, you are very selfless! I inform you that Mei and many others have been ... "" ... recaptured! "Xun said interrupting the cat" ... we are the only ones who managed to escape! "Wan explained. "What do we do?" Lei asked more out of curiosity than out of concern. "I don't know!" Xun admitted "We decided to hide! Once we find a safe place and reorganize ourselves, we will act to free those who have fallen before the power of humans! "Wei said making his way through the thick vegetation.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As soon as he regained consciousness Shen heard a continuous jingle and also quite annoying. With difficulty he got to his feet and after stretching he realized he was in the dungeons. In addition to the bitter cold, a current of cold air ventilated those immense caves more than necessary and when the peacock tried to head towards the door of his cell he felt a force holding him back. Shen saw that he had a chain put on both legs! "I'm cold!" The peacock jumped two meters only to see Mei on his left who was curled up under a light linen blanket. On the opposite side was Sheng, still unconscious. Pulling with all his strength, Shen managed to move the heavy iron ball, to which the chain was attached, enough to allow him to look out of his cell. Shu, Xu, Guo and many others occupied numerous cells carved in stone, so that digging could not be a viable option to try to escape!

Voices brought him back inside and lay down on a large pile of straw in his prison. "We have been looking for them for more than twelve hours! They'll already have gone who knows where! "Said a human. "I do not care! Derek left and instructed us to monitor the situation below! "Replied the other. "Yes, but I'm bored! It would have been much better if the boss had taken us with him! I hate to be warned of these sacks of fleas! "Said the first. "Do birds ... have fleas?" Asked his friend puzzled "They are animals, that is, they do not wash, that is ... they will also have worse things than fleas!" Said the first. "Like?" Asked the other "The worms ...?" Replied the first uncertainly. The already surreal conversation became even more so when they started talking about the "vegetarian feline" species, since they could not explain how mammals had done, to live so long alongside lethal predators like tigers and be still alive! Shen decided to ignore them. He knew well that Derek would not forgive them and perhaps they would be forever imprisoned in those cold and dark prisons. This was a big problem for his escape plans, especially since many weapons had remained hidden in his secret laboratory for the simple reason that, the escape plan, presented no problem regarding any battles with humans. And now, reaching them seemed impossible! He hoped that someone from the first group and that of the cattle had managed to escape, so his failure would not have been completely a disaster! And he prayed that they wouldn't try to free them because humans were more alert than ever before! They had to find a way to communicate with Sam, although he was sure that Derek would send him to talk to them, since his role in the last period had been essential to keep the collector calm and cover their actions! Shen got up abruptly when he heard a scream of pain echo in the immensity of that basement. Passing his neck through the bars he saw, not far away, the two guards who beat the poor Dishi, unable to escape because he too in chains! A primitive fury made him twist his bowels and after taking a few steps back, launching a sharp peacock scream, Shen crashed into the bars. He was not their Prince, but he would not let those dirty, insensitive and cruel humans hurt them! He had never acted for the sake of his people, but only to repair the wrong done to his person.

By bandits who often attacked his life, only to take advantage of his death thanks to the coins that would have fallen in rivers from the one who had hired them. For the first time he acted for the common good, as a good ruler should always do! And unfortunately for him, he discovered that it hurt terribly! The guards brought their attention to him and decided to lower the crest in the worst way. Despite the presence of Mei's almost constant roar, the humans did not back down and beat him until he lost consciousness!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Teo hadn't seemed very scared or disappointed, but things aren't always as they appear! Maybe now he was in his room crying bitter tears! Just like him right now! Sam wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt. He had been imprisoned in his room and was forced to go out only to go to school, until his father decided otherwise! But it wasn't the palace room! No! It would have been ... slightly better, so to speak ... He was in his old house not a little, but for him too far from the reserve! Derek had discovered them and inflicted severe punishment on their parents. Unknown punishment, the effect of which, however, had repercussions on them and being a minor, Sam could not do much to be able to even try to rebel ... The boy continued to hope that the collector did not take too much of his friends. Moreover, he had been looking for news in the newspaper for that sudden escape for at least an hour, with no results ... maybe Derek wanted at all costs to prevent such news from spreading, with inevitable lethal effects for his fame! It was the early afternoon of the day following the start of the plan.

Maybe someone had managed to escape. Maybe they had all been recaptured already. Perhaps the collector had killed some of them in an attempt to put him back behind bars. Maybe Hannah was now on her father's side to be able to take revenge for being used ... Okay, this last point was very unlikely since she wasn't for nothing vindictive, but the others continued to worry and make the young man think that because of this, he had not paid the slightest attention to the school homework for the next day, perfectly and strategically placed on the desk on which he was half lying down. Sam understood that they hadn't said anything to her for fear of hurting her, but in doing so they had inflicted a far worse wound on her. Often one acts by thinking of doing the right thing, inevitably making a mistake ... Like him, who during his first visit to the reserve, had run away thinking that leaving this place he feared so much was the right thing to do, finding himself in much worse trouble once lost!

The boy had a brilliant idea! He took pen and paper and started writing: 1. Being able to talk to Rose. 2. Make peace with your ex best friend. 3. Get her to run the animals away. 4. Through her communicate with animals. 5. Think of a second escape plan trying to act as a team. ... Instead of standing still on the sidelines, watching as openly as he and Teo had done since the beginning. Perhaps, if they had asked the animals for advice regarding the bait that was to distract the surveillance, they would certainly have thought of something better ... sure, if he really had to say it all ... .. if he had been able to understand what they said, instead of the many verses he heard every time, then the plan would have been even better than that devised by a professional secret agent!

And perhaps he would have learned of the existence of firecrackers and small bombs placed by the animals inside the castle that had done nothing but sound the alarm instead of acting as an element of distraction as those fools must have thought. Sam folded the sheet and put it in his pocket. He was stubborn, a dowry shared with Rose, and they would not be put off by an initial failure!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm out of the lelelele tunnel, Of fun I'm out of the lelelele tunnel Of fun When I leave the house and get bored I'm really happy When I leave the house and get bored I am much happier " There was nothing to do! When she was stressed, she started listening to music continuously! Caparezza, jovanotti, Baby K, David Guetta ... he didn't have a favorite genre, so the album reproduced completely different songs, one after the other! Rose could swear she had never seen her father so furious! Luckily she wasn't the only one to be terrified of it! And double luck that he immediately left in search of those who were still missing from the appeal, so he would let off steam with the poor people forced to follow him and put up with his anger! "The two most important days of life are the day you were born and the day you find out why!" That sentence haunted her since she received the news of the animal escape! He had continued to persecute her even when he tried to forget the life he led before, when he was completely dependent on animals, but now ... finally, perhaps, he had understood the true meaning!

His special gift was no accident! There was no chance, everything happened for a certain reason, it was the Master who had told him! It was she who could have done a right thing. For good this time! Don't just keep them together and in a cage! There is a moment to understand what is the right thing to do, and another to find the courage to do it! He had to have the courage to say no, to face the truth! She had supported her father by caging other animals using his good heart as an excuse that prevented her from separating families! It was normal for her, her father had kept her imprisoned all her life, preventing her from having a childhood like the one every child should have! But it was all wrong! NO! She would have opposed the tyranny of an absent father! To its rules! He had looked for things he already owned and whose full meaning he hadn't understood until now! The affectionate and proud father he had always wanted was Kang, friends, brothers, all of them, were his family! They hadn't betrayed her by silencing their intentions, they just wanted to prepare her to say something like that trying not to be too brusque! Kang had always been concerned with downplaying his father's irresponsible and bad behavior and was doing the same thing, reflecting on how and when to reveal such a decision to her! It was only because of his pride that their relationship had been severed! It was his fault! It would have remedied! Rose possessed the complete trust of his father. Extraordinary event! So it was not difficult to head to the attic without being stopped or followed in any way. If he really wanted to run away then he would take a picture of his mother with him. In that immense, dusty and dark room, he kept several. Concealed as the most precious of treasures. It looked a lot like her! Rose took a photo of her mother and observed her coppery and wavy hair identical to hers, her small pointed nose and smile, all characteristics perfectly inherited from her!

Her father had married her only for the money she would inherit from her family thanks to such a union. A wedding without love. A family without love. At least he had nothing to regret once you turn your back on the parent! Rose rummaged in a large crate in search of other hidden treasures represented by photos that perhaps had escaped her watchful eye in four years, but found nothing. Fortuna! Or maybe not! Attention shifted to his mother's name engraved on a red booklet. "Isabella". How had he not noticed it before? Once opened he saw some of his photos ... yes, he recognized himself in the infant in his mother's lap! It was her! But how was that possible? She had died in childbirth! How could he hold her in that image if he was no longer alive when ... A drop fell on the image blackened by dust and Rose realized that it was her tear. She had lied to him! Although for a short time, he had known maternal love! But this posed other questions: what had happened to his mother? Was she still alive? How long had they spent together? Leafing through the book, he could read small captions next to each image "The first smile, the Sunday dress, a relaxing moment ..." A sheet fell to the ground as soon as the pages moved away from each other allowing it to slide out. Rose took it and opened it. He felt short of breath as soon as he read "To my Rose ...". Anger added to the pain of such a discovery. Why had her father kept so many things from her? He tried to avoid such thoughts and began to read:

"To my Rose, My beloved daughter, the one behind this pen is Isabelle, your mother. I am aware that when you read this letter of mine you will be by now big and I wish you all best wishes for your eighteen years! I am sure that your father will never make you miss anything and will love you both ... " Maybe, mom, maybe. "... so that I can make you feel the love that I will never be able to share with you! We could not talk about the first courses, I will not be there when you have to choose how to dress for an important evening, or to listen to your fears and give you comfort, but know that you will always be in my heart and I will do my best to support you also from up there!

Now you are a woman, make your voice heard, follow your passions, and never let someone make you think you are worth less than what you are really worth! You are already strong now that you are just two months old and you always will be! Stay close to your father John, stubborn as he is, will never admit to missing me, even if he's right ... " OK it's good! Surely the recipient was someone else! Who the hell was John? "... I will always be next to you and my love will never die! If Derek still makes your life difficult, I ask forgiveness, both of you! I was a fool to think it could change! But sometimes the desire to hear approval from one's parents cloud the mind and make nonsense! Rose, beloved daughter, say yes to an extraordinary life! Remember that extraordinary people were not born extraordinary but I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary! Who said that life must be sacrifice? It is not so! I chose love for this and would do it a thousand times if it were necessary! Being able to be with your father instead of with Derek's selfish is to live life fully! Now, because of that man, I will not be able to see you grow and become the most beautiful and shining star in the sky, but I am sure that like me, you will sculpt your way in the world! Remember, we make choices dictated by events, by our fears, by our instincts ... or we make them rationally. I want you to make your choices, never regretting their nature. Beautiful, just as they are, never worry about yourself because your happiness and your esteem for yourself will depend on them. Many times life puts us in front of situations in which choosing what we consider "right" is really difficult, but the "right" is always what we feel like doing. Sometimes the people you love and love, will turn out to be different from how you believed them, you will see them change ... but things change to live, my love ... and live to change, it is their nature! Sometimes these changes will upset you, as they have troubled me. And it is at that moment that you have to choose. I will continue to live in you and my spirit will always be with you even if you can never see me!

Think with your head and always smile, please, as you will surely be doing now!

I love you more than anything else.

With love, Isabelle "

There were far too many news to assimilate all at once! Rose was definitely dazed! How could it be? Then a "human" father who loved her was there! What the hell had happened? The girl was aware that to such questions, the answers would come with time, so she concentrated on the present. He had made his choice! He would have done the right thing by helping the animals to find their lost freedom!