Chapter 16- difficult situations
The cloaked group, which were Nigel, Cazador and their group with three of Lysandre's grunts pushing the wheelbarrows containing the caged macaws and cockatoos, continued moving like a spooky black object down the street. The group was careful not to enter a seriously busy street where a lot of people were present. Though the thieves were hidden by the cloak, if anyone saw a large black ghost-like thing seemingly gliding down the footpath or sidewalk would have suspicion bubble within them, so the cloaked group chose a route where fewer pedestrians and vehicles were present. In the wheelbarrows, the frightened and angered macaws and cockatoos were kept under strict watch by the falcons, crows and cats who made sure that none of them let loose loud squawks. Nigel was standing by D'Artagnan and his family, his mate Sapphire and chicks Miranda, Jasmine and Annette feeding on the joy of taunting the Lear's macaw family with threats and intimidating looks and postures. While D'Artagnan and the three chicks were frightened by the sickly cockatoo's menacing leers and comments, Sapphire looked back with bitterness and disgust glinting in her eyes. In an adjacent cage to D'Artagnan and his family's, Phoebe, Cobalto, Zebedee and Indigo could only look on for they were under strict watch from Moggy and two other cats who had their claws poised to scratch them if they ever rebuked Nigel. All the macaw families and Travis, Sunset, Eustace, Milo and Rosa, those that weren't Spix, Lear's or glaucous macaws, were kept under watch by more cats, the cockatoos and the falcons who threatened to claw them if they misbehaved even in the slightest. It truly was an extremely difficult ordeal for the adult macaws, especially when their chicks wouldn't stop whimpering and crying with fright. Zephyr and Lapis Lazuli struggled to keep their chicks quiet as well, despite shouts from their cat watchers, and Swoop who had been put in charge of watching these macaws to shut up 'their irritating whining'. In Zephyr's wings, Justin, Charlotte and Matilda kept allowing frightened squeaks to emit from their beaks. Zephyr tried his best to keep these three quiet, with Justin, who didn't whine as much, helping. Zephyr's mind was filled with thoughts about Aurora who was in another wheelbarrow but his main focus was on his chicks.
"Shhh," he said gently to Virgil and his two sisters, hugging them close to him, "Please try and be quiet."
He then stole glances from the piercing eyes from the cats and Swoop as they continued watching them. Lapis Lazuli also tried keeping Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and Trixie quiet.
"Please try to cut your moaning," she said in a low voice but the three daughters wouldn't stop whining.
"But I'm scared, Mom," moaned Larimar, tears of fright streaming down her cheeks.
"We wanna be outa here," moaned Tristan. Quincy and little Trixie then began to let loose sobs. Lapis Lazuli stole glances from the watchful eyes of the cats and Swoop and began to feel her nerves buzz with fear.
"Will you tell those chicks of yours to shut up, blue and grey bird," snarled one of the cats. Lapis Lazuli's head jerked up and she saw the speaker, the male black cat, glare at her with irritated eyes. He pointed a paw at the four chicks in Lapis Lazuli's wings.
"Shut those four chicks up, now," he snarled impatiently. The other cats made their irritation and impatience clear with leers in their faces. Lapis Lazuli did so and tried to quieten her two sons and two daughters but all four of them were too scared to get their whimpering and sobbing under control. Zephyr also struggled with three of his four chicks, especially Matilda who was crying her eyes out like a frightened human baby. Suddenly, a paw bashed against Zephyr and his chicks' cage. He and Justin looked up and saw Tom striking their cage with a paw, an angry and impatient glint in his eyes.
"You chicks' wails are irritating us, blue macaw," snarled Tom, "Get them to shut up RIGHT NOW!"
He then shot Lapis Lazuli the same glare and growled, "You too, glaucous macaw!"
Zephyr and Lapis Lazuli tried to but to no avail. Justin then cuddled and tried to calm his two younger sisters and brother. But even that didn't calm his three younger siblings and they kept emitting terrified whimpers and sobs. Then Tom's voice exploded nearby, startling Zephyr and the four chicks and also Lapis Lazuli and her brood of four.
"Will you TELL YOUR CHICKS to SHUT THEIR IRRITATING SQUEAKS!" yelled the cat, thumping Zephyr and Lapis Lazuli's cages with several hard strikes with his paw.
"Yeah, their moaning is starting to drive us around the BEND!" put in Swoop, his feathers on end and piercing eyes boring into the male Spix macaw and female glaucous macaw. Zephyr shot Swoop a frustrated glare as Virgil and Charlotte continued groaning while Matilda continued crying in Justin's wings. Lapis Lazuli did the same as her four chicks continued moaning and crying.
"They're too frightened," snapped Zephyr stressfully, clearly under the pressure of the impatience from the cats, crows and falcons, "And besides that, you lot staring at us is not helping!"
"If only our mates were here with us," put in Lapis Lazuli as she tried to keep Tristan from uttering an ear-piercing cry. From the background, Cometa looked on with a sympathetic look on her face. She wished she could intervene but could not for she could get herself into trouble and Cazador did issue her a strong warning if she helped the caged birds.
As Zephyr and Lapis Lazuli continued to struggle to keep their chicks quiet, in another wheelbarrow, Sunset, Travis and Eustace, Mio and Rosa sat in their cage under the watchful eyes of more crows. Sunset had her wings protectively around Eustace, Milo and Rosa as they timidly huddled against their Major Mitchell's mother, their eyes closed and faces buried in her feathers. However, unlike Zephyr and Lapis Lazuli's chicks, they were quiet which Travis and Sunset were glad for but the three hybrid cockatoo chicks were still saturated with utmost fear. While Sunset continued huddling her chicks in one corner of the cage, Travis looked warily and bitterly around at the leering faces of the crows.
"I don't believe those creeps would include us in their catch," he muttered under his breath ad he looked around, "Why would they include us?"
"To answer that question, young sulfur-crested cockatoo," said a grating and oily voice, drawing Travis's attention in the owner's direction. If it were a liquid, it would be a puddle of water grotesquely contaminated with some oil. When Travis saw who was approaching his family's cage, his bright yellow crest, brighter than the voice owner's crest feathers due to his younger age, flared and his face morphed into an acidic look. Sunset also looked up and gasped when she saw who was coming, hugging her three hybrid chicks closer to her in the process.
"What do you want, Nigel?" growled Travis bitterly and hostilely as the ugly older sulfur-crested cockatoo sauntered towards the cage and stopped at the bars, his sickly and sadistic gaze glaring at the cockatoo family.
"We decided to kidnap you five because you could be worth something, especially for your hybrid chicks," crooned Nigel wickedly, his brown eyes gazing at the three chicks in Sunset's wings, but Sunset was not going to have this psychotic cockatoo glare in an intimidating way at her two sons and daughter.
"Get away from us," growled the female Major Mitchell's cockatoo fiercely, her pink, red and yellow crest flared while Travis spread his wings protectively across his family. However, he was also struck with utter shock.
"Wait, you're kidnapping one of your own species as well?" he snapped in response to Nigel's answer. Nigel's eyes then turned hard and mean.
"And another thing," he growled bitterly, "It's because you are friends with these disgusting pretty birds including those two blue sewer rats, so you might as well come with us."
Travis, however, was unfazed by the older cockatoo's leer.
"If you think you're gonna get away with all this, especially after what you have done to one of Blu and Jewel's chicks, Nigel, don't count on it," he hissed. A scoffing laugh escaped Nigel's beak.
"Oh, I could count on it alright," he crooned mockingly. He then leaned forward and shoved a tattered wing feather dead centre at Travis's forehead, "I can count on you lot being smuggled out of this country to be sold to especially cruel owners. I will explain more on that when we get to our new friends' group's hideout, youngster."
And with that, he left before Travis could protest. Sunset glared at the older sulphur-crested cockatoo while her three chicks continued huddling against her feathers, her wings around them but Travis didn't say anything. However, he was clearly bitter and was not going to allow the older sulfur-crested cockatoo to take him and his friends out of this country against their will.
Outside the cloaked unit as it continued travelling along through a quiet street in the direction of Rio's slums, a stealthy calico cat was following them. Catina was creeping after the cloaked group, being careful not to get too close. She kept her ears pricked to the sounds emanating from under the cloak and deduced that it were the macaws and Travis and his family, and also the cats and Nigel and their new friends. As Catina continued creeping along after the cloaked group, she had all sorts of thoughts go through her mind. Catina wanted to give Nigel a piece of her mind for disobeying her strong warning about going anywhere near an exotic bird, but she was yet to hear that Nigel had done worse things, including to one of her sons Broccoli, as well as Carla, one of Blu and Jewel's chicks. Catina was a stealthy and crafty cat, and she had years of experience of utilising these traits from her life as a smuggler's cat to call upon. Those traits used to be used by the calico to help capture birds during that life. Now she was going to apply those skills in rescuing her feathered friends and tracking the apparent new group of smugglers' hideout. As Catina continued sneaking after the cloaked group, she listened closely and intently as a familiar voice sounded within the cloak. It sounded oily and aged, and it had a sickly tone in it. Catina immediately knew which bird this voice belonged to, but it made her fur spike out. However, she must maintain her concentration on following the cloaked group to its hideout. Pushing away the thoughts about Nigel, Catina continued to follow the group, keeping at a safe distance from them.
Meanwhile
Dash, James and Avellana had managed to find Tulio's Aviary and were now hiding behind a parked car. James and Avellana gazed at the building complex in amazement and could not believe that this was where Blu met Jewel, Levi met Lapis Lazuli, Aurora met Zephyr and Brisa and so on, but Dash had explained to them and their two siblings that this place was the centre point of bird conservation and treatment, especially of extremely rare and critically endangered species, and was the birthplace of Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Aurora, Levi, Lapis Lazuli, D'Artagnan and Sapphire's chicks. The other chicks were born in the jungle while Travis and Sunset's three hatched in their birdhouse. Tulio's Aviary was busy today, and there were dozens of workers walking in and out of the building, some carrying birds in cages. Avellana thought she got a glimpse of a parakeet with a broken wing carried by a woman before she disappeared through the door and into Tulio's Aviary and remembered Jewel, Ruby and Zephyr's stories of how they suffered broken wings: Jewel at the clutches of Nigel, and Ruby and Zephyr at the paws of Brutus. The thought of Nigel sent shivers down Avellana's spine and she could not believe what he had done to her sister Esperanza and also to Carla and Broccoli, one of her macaw and cat friends but she had to stay focussed on the most important task at the moment: alerting Susan, Lucy and Tulio. However, the three dogs had one big problem.
"Are you sure about this, Dad?" asked James, "You know that humans don't understand us."
"I'm afraid we have no choice, son," replied Dash firmly, "We MUST alert our owners and Tulio of what had happened at home."
"I hope Susan and Lucy get our message even if they might not understand our barks," said Avellana in a hopeful voice. Then Dash looked hard at the crowd of people and saw two familiar women walk out of Tulio's Aviary and to the side of the building with Tulio and Linda, apparently to take a break or to chat about something. When he saw those two ladies make their way to the side with the red-haired lady wearing glasses, and the man also with glasses, Dash saw this as an opportunity. But before the trio could seize it, James noticed something different about Linda's figure.
"Is Linda expecting a baby, Dad?" he asked, pointing a paw to the red-haired lady wearing glasses. Dash gazed at Linda and saw her large tummy, characteristic of pregnancy. He could tell whether a human mother was expecting or not based on her figure shape, especially when viewed from the side.
"She is," he said, making James and Avellana pop their heads up, "We must be careful not to agitate her too much as, like female dogs and cats expecting puppies and kittens respectively, expectant human mothers can get moody really easily. Just make sure you try to keep out of Linda's way, okay?"
Avellana and James nodded and prepared to make their appearance with Dash as the trio then sneaked out from behind the car and towards Tulio, Linda, Susan and Lucy as they talked.
While the three greyhounds continued making their approach, the four humans were chatting.
"So, when is your baby due, Linda?" asked Susan as she sipped a cup of tea.
"Four months or so away," replied Linda as she smiled at her unborn child in her tummy before gazing at her husband with a shining and loving smile.
"We've been struggling to think of a name for our child," said Tulio as he sipped from a mug some coffee, "But Linda has told me that she would like to name our child Christine after her mother if it is a girl."
"I look forward to seeing it when it arrives," said Lucy with a smile and as she sipped some hot chocolate from her mug. The four tittered slightly before Lucy's gaze turned slowly to the side until it landed on three forms, two of which were light grey and the other, chestnut coloured. When she saw that these forms were three of the greyhounds from her and her sister's house, shock sparked through her and also the other three humans.
"What in the world!?" gasped Lucy.
"Dash, Avellana and James!?" shouted Susan incredulously. The moment Dash, Avellana and James saw that the four humans had spotted them; they immediately rushed in and started barking frantically at Susan and Lucy. Tulio's face then morphed from a look of shock to one of displeasing while Linda's look maintained in its surprised state.
"What are those three greyhounds doing on the aviary's premises?" growled Tulio. Susan and Lucy then put down their mugs of hot drinks and began to see to the three barking greyhounds.
"Dash, you two," yelled Susan over the barks, "You know full well that you're not allowed on these premises!"
"You should be at home," put in Lucy. Dash, Avellana and James continued barking frantically, desperately trying to get the message through to their owners of the incident that had taken place back home. It was then that Susan caught sighted the newly healed cuts and bruises and missing fur patches dotting the three greyhounds' light grey and chestnut fur. Upon seeing those marks, she snapped from irritation to alarm.
"Looks like something has happened to them," Susan told Lucy. Lucy, however, was too clouded by irritation and anger at the dogs' barking to hear her sister's shock. Then Tulio angrily commanded, "Get those three greyhounds back to your house this minute! Their barking could frighten the birds inside and attract the attention of the other workers from their tasks!"
Susan and Lucy obeyed and began to set to scooping up the three greyhounds who continued to bark like mad. Linda looked on and said nothing, but she wore an irritated look on her face. Susan reached her arms at Avellana to scoop her up but Avellana dodged and continued barking.
"Come here, you naughty girl," growled Susan angrily. Avellana continued barking and latched her mouth onto Susan's sleeve to pull her along while James and Dash continued barking to Lucy and dodging her attempts to grab them.
"It's no use, Dad," cried James during the profuse barking, "They don't understand us."
"Just keep trying," snapped Dash and before James could protest any further, he continued barking. James did so despite the situation not going their way and did the same. Tulio then got a glimpse of the cuts and bruises and patches of missing fur marking the three greyhounds' bodies.
"And I suggest you take those three to the vet's as well," he yelled over the profuse barks, his hands over his ears in an effort to shield them from the row Dash, James and Avellana made, "Looks like they've been fighting or something."
Susan and Lucy then lashed out with their arms and finally caught the three greyhounds, Lucy with Avellana and Susan with Dash and James, one in each arm. Then the two ladies began to make their way back home with Tulio yelling after them, "And make sure you discipline those dogs of yours and get back here as soon as you can."
Susan and Lucy nodded and continued walking away with the three barking greyhounds in their arms.
Soon, both Susan and Lucy were walking at a fast pace down the streets en route to their house with Dash, James and Avellana barking profusely all the way. The dogs' barking had attracted an unwanted audience much to the embarrassment of Susan and Lucy, so they kept yelling orders to the three dogs like "Shut up" and "Be quiet". It clearly was an embarrassing situation for Susan and Lucy, carrying three greyhounds barking like mad along, and some of the passers-by actually laughed when they saw the spectacle. Susan and Lucy picked up their paces in an effort to get back to their house quicker, but they were not prepared for the horrors that lay within their house once they get inside.
Back at Susan and Lucy's house, Veggie, Collette, Daisy and Danny were trying to clean up some of the mess made by Nigel and his group while Ginger, Esperanza and Broccoli lay in their beds. Ginger was talking with Esperanza while Broccoli lay by himself in his and his three siblings' bed, his painfully bitten paw dangling over the edge of the rim. He was replaying the events that had happened during the skirmish with Nigel and Otis and their gang and new falcon and crow friends, including how Nigel had attacked him and Esperanza as they tried protecting Carla, Bia and Tiago. As the Veggie-lookalike son lay in his bed, a flash of an image of Collette and Daisy being fiercely chased around the kitchen by two of Otis's minions, resulting in plates being knocked off the sink's draining board and onto the floor in a series of smashes, played in his head for a few seconds. Then an image of Veggie trying to fight off some of the crows played, followed by Avellana as she combated one of the falcons, before escaping with Dash and James to fetch Catina and Ginger. Back to present, Broccoli opened his eyes and stared at his badly bitten paw and an image of himself and Esperanza trying to protect Carla, Bia and Tiago from the disgusting cockatoo Nigel began to play.
Nigel chased after Carla, Bia and Tiago around the living room, knocking over two of the vases and sending them smashing onto the floor by the hearth, a cage in wing ready to grab the three terrified chicks.
"Come here, you three little blue brats!" snarled the cockatoo furiously, his pale yellow crest raised and feathers puffed out, but Carla, Bia and Tiago continued flying away from him, terrified looks on their faces and screams erupting from their beaks. When Esperanza and Broccoli saw Nigel chase after Blu and Jewel's chicks, they immediately took action. Esperanza charged at Nigel and tackled into him, knocking the cockatoo down while Broccoli ran for Carla, Bia and Tiago and scooped them up in his forepaws.
"Don't you DARE hurt those three chicks, you CREEP!" barked Esperanza and with that, she raised a paw and swiped Nigel across the face to knock him down again. Nigel got up and dodged another swipe that flew in from Esperanza. Then the oldest puppy and daughter of Dash and Ginger began growling fiercely at the cockatoo. For the first time in her life, she was furious and defensive. Her hair was spiked out as though she had had an electric shock, and her eyes were ocean blue flames like burning sulfur. However, the fiendish cockatoo was unfazed by the young greyhound's fierce growl and furious and defensive pose. As Nigel approached, Esperanza increased her growling intensity, and threatened to bite the cockatoo. In the background, Broccoli was trying to carry Carla, Bia and Tiago to safety when he saw that Esperanza was locked in a fiery confrontation with Nigel. Noticing this scene, the tabby cat and Veggie-spitting image stopped in horror. Then as soon as Nigel was a foot away from the young greyhound, he and Esperanza locked glares as though ready to fight.
"You know what happens if anyone messes with me, dog," snarled the cockatoo, his crest fully raised and his feathers on end.
"I don't care about that, you creep!" snapped Esperanza hostilely, "YOU oughta know what happens if you mess with my friends, especially the chicks of Blu and Jewel…"
Esperanza's mentioning of Nigel's two most detested macaws sent hot rage burning through the cockatoo and he exploded into a violent temper.
"Those two blue macaws ARE MY MOST DETESTED BLUE BIRDS ON THIS PLANET!" screeched he and with that, he jumped up and leaped at Esperanza, talons poised to attack. A short gasp entered through the mouth of the young greyhound, defensive hostility immediately flashing to fear in a heartbeat. The dog then covered her head protectively with her front paws as Nigel's claws made contact, hitting her side. An extremely loud howl erupted from Esperanza's mouth as she felt searing pain shoot from her side. Carla, Bia and Tiago screamed while Broccoli gasped. Then within seconds, Esperanza was lying on her other side, a paw grasping her stricken side where Nigel had slashed a talon into her skin. Then some drops of blood oozed through the greyhound's paw digits and the greyhound's face was twisted in agony. Nigel looked on with sadistic eyes before turning his attention to Broccoli as he sat on a window-ledge, looking on in utter horror. Seeing the flashes of blue in his front paws, the cockatoo rushed off after him. A wild chase then started up between Broccoli who had Carla, Bia and Tiago, and Nigel who had a cage. In the process, Carla's Ipod along with Justin's were smashed as Nigel chased after Broccoli. Around the kitchen and living room, the fight between Veggie, Daisy, Collette and Danny and Otis and his gang, the falcons and crows continued to rage.
Broccoli continued fleeing from Nigel with Carla, Bia and Tiago in his paws until finally, he found himself cornered by the evil cockatoo. Broccoli, seeing no escape, gazed back at the cockatoo with brown eyes flooded with fear as that cockatoo, crest fully raised and eyes bulging and blazing brown flames, paced towards him, a cage in a wing. Carla, Bia and Tiago cowered in Broccoli's paws as Broccoli huddled them protectively close to him.
"Right, hand me those three little blue birds, cat, NOW!" snarled Nigel in an acidic voice. Broccoli refused and kept the three terrified chicks close to him.
"Over MY DEAD BODY, you foul PARROT," he retorted, courage briefly replacing his fear, "You know what the parents of these three chicks will do if you EVER hurt them!"
Nigel finally snapped his temper erupting full throttle.
"THEN I'LL MAKE YOU!" he bellowed, his body poised to leap at Broccoli, "NOW give me THOSE CHICKS RIGHT NOW!"
And with that, Nigel's talons heaved the rest of the cockatoo's body off the floor and sent him flying towards Broccoli, his beak opened wide ready to bite the cat. Broccoli, seeing Nigel launch at him, raised his left front paw but before he could deliver a counterattack in the form of a swipe to stop Nigel in his tracks, Nigel's beak connected with it first, clamping onto it EXTREMELY hard. An ear-piercing cat screech of agony erupted and carried through the entire living room and kitchen as Nigel's beak clamped EVER harder onto Broccoli's paw to the point of drawing blood. Veggie heard his son's cries of agony as he continued fighting a group of crows.
"BROCCOLI!" he yelled. Then after Nigel had tasted Broccoli's blood, he jerked his head violently to one side like a dog and released the cat's paw, throwing him aside and making him accidentally release Carla, Bia and Tiago, and looked on sadistically as the injured cat seized his bitten and bleeding paw. Then the next thing Broccoli knew; several pairs of cat paws and crow talons appeared and shoved him into a cage.
As the playback of the disturbing scene ended, Broccoli gazed down at his bitten paw once again. It was still red raw, the painful mark where Nigel's beak had made its brutal contact and ran back and forth where the wrist would be clearly visible, but at least those cuts had stopped bleeding. However, the forelimb was extremely painful both inside and out, and Broccoli suspected that Nigel's bite had done some internal damage as well. Even moving the injured paw an inch sent shooting pain through Broccoli's forelimb. Then Broccoli, his eyes beginning to ooze tears, remembered Nigel bringing up the cage containing Carla and Bia into the attic and giving them a real fright by screeching them extremely loudly right into their faces with his eyes bulging and crest fully raised, before his talon entered their cage and lashed at the two daughters of Blu and Jewel, catching Carla ion the side and inflicting her with a scratch. A tear ran down Broccoli's cheek as he remembered the terrified looks on the two sisters' faces and heard the maniacal laughter of the sickly cockatoo, as well as the chubby green-eyed one clutching her side with a bit of blood dripping down her hip.
"I hope Blu and Jewel really show that cockatoo what for after they hear and see what he had done to their two daughters," whispered the cat bitterly under his breath. As Broccoli continued to go over the horrific ordeal Nigel and his gang and new friends have put him and his group through, Veggie's voice reached his ears.
"Hi, Broccoli, son," said his lookalike father as he approached the side of his offspring's bed. Broccoli, wincing from the pain of his injured paw, looked up and established eye contact with his near-identical looking dad.
"How are you doing?" asked Veggie, a paw gently stroking Broccoli's cheek. Broccoli sighed.
"Just been going over the skirmish, Dad," he replied sombrely before his brown gaze returned to his injured paw, "Including Nigel's attack on me and Esperanza…"
Veggie made a sour face when Broccoli mentioned Nigel.
"I know, I saw what he did to you when you tried protecting Blu and Jewel's chicks," he growled, his fur spiked out slightly, "And I actually very nearly clawed his face. Honestly, that cockatoo's an UTTER PSYCHOTIC BEAST!"
"But I wish I had done better," moaned Broccoli, wincing from the pain in his paw's wrist again, "I wish I had done more to protect Carla and her brother and sister."
"But son, you ought to be proud of yourself," said Veggie, "You tried your best to defend those three chicks of Blu and Jewel from being caught by that cockatoo but sadly, you paid quite a nasty price."
Broccoli's mouth fell slightly more and his injured paw lifted off the rim of his and his siblings' bed. Broccoli's face twisted in pain as he lifted it. Veggie, with a sigh, examined the paw closer. The sight of the painful injury where Nigel's beak had sunken into Broccoli's flesh, and its raging redness made Veggie's stomach wobble slightly. However, Veggie was glad that it had stopped bleeding but he was still concerned about the possibility of any bones in Broccoli's forelimb being broken for Nigel had bitten him so hard. Then Veggie turned his attention back to his son.
"Well, when Susan and Lucy get home, Broc," he said, "We'll get you and Esperanza to the vet's as quickly as we can and we'll perhaps get an X-ray of your forelimb to see if there are any broken bones in it."
"What's an X-ray?" asked Broccoli.
"It's a medical device used for imaging bones," said Veggie, "It gives doctors and vets a clearer picture about, for example, a broken bone in an arm or a leg without being damagingly invasive with surgical tools."
Veggie smiled proudly. "Useful things, X-rays are. The scientist who discovered them should be honoured."
"Maybe God created X-rays so that they could be used for medical purposes," said Broccoli with a slight smile. Veggie smiled and nodded in agreement before looking up at Ginger as she continued talking with Esperanza.
"How's Esperanza scratch, Ginger?" he asked.
"It looks very painful," said Ginger as Esperanza lay beside her on her left side, the unscratched area. It was too painful to lie on her right due to the scratch Nigel had inflicted her, and the claw marks looked angry and raw. Veggie then breathed a sigh of relief and went over to Ginger.
"I'm so glad you and Catina had been absent when Nigel and his gang intruded into here," he said, "Had you both not left, Catina would have been badly injured because of Otis and his cat gang's desire to avenge her for the death of Brutus and her abandonment of them and your unborn puppies would have been seriously jeopardised."
"Otis pressured you into telling him where Catina was?" asked Ginger.
"He did," said Veggie, "But I made up a story to divert his attention away from Catina's whereabouts as there was no way I was going to betray her to her former groupmates. It's wrong to lie, I know but still..."
"It's a good thing you did," said Ginger sternly, "If those cats are after getting revenge on her that badly, it's a good thing you created a diversion for them to protect your mate from betrayal."
She then sighed and looked down at her large abdomen containing her next litter of her and Dash's pups. "I just hope Catina knows what she is doing as she tracks that group and their new owners and find out where their hideout is."
Veggie nodded. He knew Catina was a stealthy and sneaky cat, the experience in those areas built up during her time as a smuggler's cat. Because of this, Veggie had trust in her.
"I just hope she can find and rescue our feathered friends before Nigel does any more emotional damage to them, especially Aurora and Levi, and also any more physical damage to the others like Carla," he said, his face turned away as he thought about what horror Athos and company, particularly Aurora and Levi, will be facing at the clutches of those wicked monsters, especially the cockatoo, "And also locate this new group of poachers' hideout…"
Suddenly, the clicking of the front door's locking mechanism cut Veggie off, and he, Ginger and Esperanza looked up. Broccoli also looked up but slowly due to the pain in his injured paw. Then the door opened and in came two women carrying three light grey greyhounds. The smaller lady shut the door as soon as she was in the house. Veggie, his face lit up with hope, left Ginger's side and bounded over to meet Susan and Lucy as they carried the greyhounds, which were Dash, Avellana and James, through the hallway. However, his face fell when he saw the annoyed and angry looks on Susan and Lucy's face, added with what they said next and the tones of voice their used.
"Now you will STAY here and DO as you're TOLD!" growled Lucy as she placed Avellana onto the floor and Susan did the same to Dash and James. The three greyhounds tried to bark again but Susan snapped, "SHUT UP! You three have been bad dogs today!"
Dash and his son and daughter then shut their mouths. Then Susan angrily left to check the kitchen and living room while Lucy walked over to Ginger, Esperanza and Broccoli. Veggie dodged her stomping feet and ran to meet Dash, Avellana and James who wore exasperated and disappointed looks on their faces.
"That went well," said James flatly.
"Did you manage to alert Tulio as well?" asked Veggie.
"Yes, but…" began Dash when suddenly; an ear-piercing scream cut him off. The three greyhounds and cat all jumped and shot an alarmed look in the direction of the hallway door.
"LUCY, COME AND HAVE A LOOK REPLACE!" cried Susan's voice from through the door. As these words erupted from Susan's mouth, a ginger coloured blur rocketed into the hallway through the door. Danny then made a beeline for Ginger and dived behind her, frightened by Susan's terrified scream. Close behind came Collette and Daisy, the two sisters of Broccoli timidly scurrying past Lucy's legs and made a beeline for the cats' bed, being careful not to knock Broccoli and his injured paw. Then Lucy left Ginger's side upon hearing her sister's horrified scream and ran through the hallway door. Veggie, Dash, James and Avellana cautiously followed while Broccoli and Ginger watched. Collette, Esperanza and Daisy sat by Broccoli while Danny timidly peered out from behind Ginger. Then the group of cats and greyhounds heard a sharp breath get drawn in by Lucy.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED!?" she screamed after the gasp. Danny continued cowering behind his mother's body, shaking as he watched the forms of Susan and Lucy begin to survey the carnage-like living room and kitchen. Dash went over to his younger son to comfort him. He had a look of thunder on his face at the intruders.
"Look, you've done nothing wrong, Danny," the light grey father assured his son, barely able to control his temper, "It was them bunch of intruding creeps led by that tacky vulture of a cockatoo and his new friends that have caused this."
"But we were the ones who unintentionally caused all the mess, Dad!" sobbed Danny, frightful tears falling from his eyes. "If we hadn't panicked and did what you said when we saw those intruders, we wouldn't have been in this mess."
"I doubt that would have made a difference," said Ginger, her mood about to boil again, "Those intruders still would have turned the living room and kitchen into a pigsty-like mess searching for you and Carla, Bia and Tiago."
Dash sighed. Then suddenly, footsteps pounded on the carpet as Lucy strode through the hallway door towards the dogs and cats. Avellana and James had joined Broccoli, Esperanza, Collette and Daisy and when they saw the look of thunder on Lucy's face, they cowered.
"You lot are in SERIOUS TROUBLE, you BAD CATS AND DOGS!" snarled the owner furiously, her equally furious eyes raking all ten mammals, "You have…"
But when her eyes landed on Broccoli's injured paw, she gasped and rushed over to the adult cat's side. James, Avellana, Collette and Daisy backed away as Lucy approached Broccoli to examine his paw. Avellana was about to step forward but Veggie stopped her with an outstretched paw across her front legs. Then as soon as she had examined Broccoli's injured paw and then checked Esperanza's scratch on her side, which had also caught her eye, Lucy called, "Susan, call the vet's! We have an injured cat and dog here!"
Susan, without hesitation, pulled out her mobile phone and began to call the vet's for an emergency entry. As she did this, Lucy turned her furious gaze back at the ten mammals.
"I am appalled with you lot," she growled, "I can't believe you turned our house into a bombsite and have been fighting..."
At this statement, Dash let loose a disagreeing bark while Collette came forward and brandished a feather she had kept as evidence that the carnage in the kitchen and living room was not the cats and greyhounds' fault. It was a ragged white-grey feather that had been dropped by Nigel during the skirmish. However, Lucy was too blinded by anger and alarm for Broccoli and Esperanza's wellbeing to take notice.
"Susan," said Lucy through the hallway door, "I'm going to fetch two cages to take Broccoli and Esperanza in while you contact the vet's."
Susan nodded and continued waiting for a reply from the vet's emergency service while Lucy left upstairs to get two said carrying devices. Before she left, however, she shot the cats and dogs a furious glare.
"You lot stay right there!" she barked, making the group flinch. Then as Lucy disappeared upstairs, Veggie looked on, his fur puffed out in anger and a look of thunder on his face.
"Nigel REALLY has crossed the line in EVERY aspect," he snarled, "First he intrudes into our home with a bunch of bandit animals, then he injures my son and one of Dash and Ginger's daughters, cages and traumatised Blu and Jewel's daughters and injures one of them, torments our feathered friends and now he leaves us to take the blame for the mess they had caused us!? That cockatoo's sick in the head, honestly, and his cat friends and their new falcon and giant jay bird friends or whatever corvid they are, are CERTAINLY NO BETTER!."
"Let's just focus on getting Broccoli and Esperanza to the vet's," said Dash, pulling his tabby cat friend's attention back to the main priority. He then gazed at the cuts and bruises marking his body and the others apart from Ginger, "We might want to be taken to the vet's as well to get these looked at."
"I don't think your cuts and bruises are that serious to be checked out," said Ginger as she examined those marks on Dash and the others' bodies. Dash glanced at her as Daisy walked in, wrath clearly storming her face.
"Susan and Lucy haven't fully examined the evidence to conclude who the REAL mess makers were," she snarled. She seemed to have inherited Catina's short-tempered streak.
"Look, your brother and Esperanza need their injuries looking at, daughter," said Veggie firmly, "I know this situation and the mess Nigel and his gang have left us in is infuriating but... we need to focus on the two main casualties and getting them to the vet's as quick as we can."
"But Susan and Lucy have jumped to the conclusion that we have been in a savage fight," snapped Collette. Veggie did not answer and kept by Broccoli's side, issuing him words of comfort and encouragement until Lucy finally appeared with two plastic cages, one large and the other small. These cages were not like the cages Nigel and his gang had used to imprison Veggie and company including the macaws and cockatoos, but were more like the cages used in carrying rabbits or other small pets but bigger. The cages had bedding in the bottom to make the animal inside more comfortable, and they each had a handle on the top for easier carrying, and one of them was large enough to house a young greyhound. Susan and Lucy had kept three of these cages should an emergency happen with any of the cats or greyhounds, and now two of them were going to be used for transporting Broccoli and Esperanza to the vet's. Veggie backed away and commanded the other adolescent and adult greyhounds and cats to do the same as Lucy then knelt down beside Broccoli to gently lift him into the first cage, the small one.
"I sure hope Broccoli doesn't have a broken leg," said Collette worriedly. "Nigel certainly did bite him pretty badly."
"That cockatoo's a bloodthirsty vulture, honestly," growled Veggie as he watched Lucy pack Broccoli carefully into the cage, "Let's hope your brother's injury isn't too serious."
Then the group continued watching Lucy as she had Broccoli carefully placed into the cage.