Chapter 11- gathering supplies and off to the airport
After Zebedee had finished explain the legend of the Bizarre Birds and Treasure, the surprised looks on the faces of Travis, Cometa, Veggie and the others intensified.
"Well, that certainly is a strange story," said Cometa, "I have never heard of anything like it."
"Sounds like a cross between Jurassic Park and an Indiana Jones movie," said Lightning.
"What's Jurassic what's-it?" asked Estelle.
"It's a movie about dinosaurs," explained Alexandre, "Or those giant reptiles. It-it-it's complicated."
Estelle stared back at him with an intrigued gaze.
"So, you're saying that some of these bizarre birds are living in an isolated place in the Guyanese rainforest where a large natural deposit of treasure is believed to be located?" asked Travis.
"Yes," said Zebedee.
"That is why we're going to Guyana," said Carla.
"We're hoping that the treasure, if and when we find it, might be the possible solution to the debt problem," said Bia. She then became confused when Travis looked this way and that, a disbelieving look on his face.
"That sounds ridiculous," he said, gazing at the macaws, "A hidden deposit of treasure in an isolated place based on some story? How can anyone believe that?"
"Especially if it sounds fictional," said Veggie.
"Do your parents know about your absence?" asked Sunset again.
"They know we've gone to Rio but they don't know that we're going to Guyana," said Carla.
"Well, that's pretty foolish," said Lightning sternly, "Telling your parents a half-truth like that. What if you run into danger over in that country?"
"You could run into all kinds of things," said Orion.
"Not to mention poachers," said Milo, his eyes especially fixed on Tristan, Trixie and Neytiri. "Especially what almost happened to your sister Larimar during your family's last trip to here with Miranda's family."
"We're aware of the risks," said Tristan, "But this is important."
"Actually, some of us have stayed behind at home to tell our parents that we've gone to Rio," said Justin, "That is the reason why Charlotte, who usually comes with us, is absent."
"As is Poinsettia," said Miranda, looking at Alexandre and Spinel, "And my sisters Jasmine and Annette, Azul's brother Wilbur, Chlorophyll's sister Petunia and the rest."
"The reason is our parents had dismissed the story as mere nonsense and non-existent stuff," said Azul, nervous that the falcons, cockatoos and cats might also dismiss the story as myth, "And they wouldn't let us go on the quest. That is why we are here with the rest of us back home."
"Now that we're here," said Carla, "The next step is gathering supplies. We need fruit, fanny packs or bum bags, a map or an atlas and a compass."
"Can you help us get those things?" asked Tiago. The others looked on pleadingly, hoping that their city friends will agree. Veggie, however, frowned at the group.
"But we have our responsibilities; you lot," he said, "Dash and Ginger need to keep an eye on their four new puppies and we also need to keep watch over Henry, the son of Bruno and Susan."
He stole a glance at the toddler as Susan picked him up.
"Also, Cometa and Lightning are too busy with raising Orion and Velocity," continued the aging tabby cat, "And Travis and his family have other activities to do. We don't have time to help you gather the things for some quest to some place that might not exist…"
"But we have to, Veggie," pleaded Carla, "This is super important."
"If we don't find the treasure," said Tiago, "Our home will lose its status as a protected reserve."
Broccoli and Collette looked at their father and the cockatoos and falcons.
"Shall we help them, Dad?" asked the former.
"I know of a place where some fanny packs and fruit are sold," said his sister. Veggie, Travis, Sunset, Cometa and Lightning looked back at the two cats with frowns on their faces while Eustace, Milo, Rosa, Clemont and Serena, and Orion and Velocity said nothing. At first there was silence but then Veggie broke it after a while.
"Alright then," he said reluctantly, "But Broccoli and Collette will have to go with you. The rest of us are too busy."
The macaws all smiled but those smiles disappeared when they saw the stern frown on Veggie's face.
"But I want you lot to know," he growled slightly, "This is going against your parents' approval."
"We're aware of the trouble we're in Veggie, thanks," said Carla. Then Broccoli and Collette stepped forward.
"Right, are we ready to go," said Broccoli. The macaws nodded.
"Okay then. Then let's go to the set of stands where they sell fanny packs and fruit," said Collette. Then with a cheer, the two cats and the macaws left, leaving only Travis, Sunset, Cometa, Veggie, Lightning and the young cockatoos and falcons gazing after them.
"I honestly don't like this, folks," whispered Veggie with a frown, "I don't think Carla and her group know what they're about to put themselves in."
"The rainforests of Guyana are outside any protected reserve, after all," said Travis, "And since Carla, Bia, Tiago, Justin, Matilda and Virgil, together with the two offspring of a macaw friend of their parents, are Spix macaws, and Tristan and Trixie and their new friend are glaucous and Miranda a Lear's, all rare species of birds, if any poachers spot them, they're gonna be in trouble."
"Well, I sure hope they are aware of that," said Sunset. She then looked at Eustace, Rosa, Milo and Clemont and Serena. "Okay, you five, it's time for an outing."
The five cockatoos all cheered and left to get ready. However, one of the cockatoos, Milo, gazed after the macaws as they disappeared down the street with Broccoli and Collette. Cometa then turned to Travis, Sunset and Veggie as Lightning disposed of the pigeon skeleton, the meal finished. "And we're off back to our home," she said "It's nice to meet you lot again and we'll see you guys soon."
And with that, she, Lightning, Orion and Velocity all opened their wings and took off.
"Okay, see you," said Sunset. Then turning to Veggie and Travis, she smiled and the three walked away towards the house. As Cometa's family flew over the houses, Velocity looked down at the splashes of colour of the macaws and smiled.
Later
Collette, Broccoli and Carla's group stood hidden among some crates out of the sight of passing humans and examined the stands. Most of the stands sold fruit but a few sold other items such as books and bags as well.
"Well, here we are," said Broccoli, "We're at the very place where you can get your supplies. However, I cannot see any stores that do fanny packs, also called bum bags…"
As he said this, Bia's gaze crept over the stands until her eyes landed on the bag store. When she saw the familiar bags with belts hanging from the wall of the store like the ones her dad Blu wore during their first trip into the Amazon, as well as a pile of bags behind it, she alerted the others.
"I think I can see some over there, Broc," Bia said. Broccoli, Collette, Carla, Tiago, Justin, Matilda, Virgil and the rest all followed her gaze and saw what she saw.
"That bag stand, brilliant," said Broccoli with a smile, "Good spot, Bia."
"You certainly have eyes like a falcon," said Collette. Bia smiled at the complement. Then Broccoli and Collette led the macaws to the bag store. As the group of birds and two cats arrived at the store and hid amongst more crates, Alessandro peered around the wall.
"So that's what you guys called a bum bag or whatever it is?" he asked.
"Yes," said Justin, "It's what humans wear around their waist. It's also called a fanny pack in the Americas. Bum bag is a term often used by the European countries."
"So how are we going to get those fanny packs?" asked Matilda. As she said this, Spinel, Azul, Chlorophyll and Alexandre began to examine the pile of bags at the back.
"We could do with one big bag as well," said Virgil, pondering.
"But those bags might be too heavy to carry," protested Carla, concerned for the potential weight problems such bags Virgil had suggested might cause, "A fanny pack each is an excellent idea."
"But we might want to take at least one larger bag to carry back more treasure," said Virgil.
"Please, one thing at a time," said Collette, "We don't have much time standing around here, you know."
"True, if any of those humans spot us, they'll drive us away," said Broccoli, "Now let's start thinking how we could snaffle some of those fanny packs."
"Guys," called Spinel's voice. Broccoli, Collette and the others all turned their heads and saw Spinel, Azul, Chlorophyll and Alexandre hold up a couple of fanny packs from a pile of bags at the back.
"Oh, well done, you four," said Carla, "You've saved us plenty of hassle of trying to snatch some fanny packs straight from the store without getting spotted by the stand's owners."
And with that, the group all crowded around the quartet as they began to distribute a fanny pack each to the macaws. Since there were 21 birds 21 fanny packs were needed, one for each bird. As Spinel, Azul, Chlorophyll and Alexandre continued distributing the fanny packs to each macaw, Brooke frowned at the human object as she handled it.
"I've never worn one of these things before," she muttered, "We never use human things in our tribes. This'll be the first time I and the other macaws born in the Amazon have ever used one of these."
Estelle, Sheldon, Neytiri, Finnick, Lavender and Alessandro said nothing to this and took one fanny pack each without objection.
Then as soon as 21 fanny packs and two larger bags that were small enough to be carried by the macaws for the trip were collected from the pile, Broccoli and Collette turned their attention to the fruit stands. This was going to be the most difficult bit for there were plenty of humans around. As the group gazed at the fruit stands, Broccoli called Bia's attention.
"I have something for you," he said as Bia came over. The moment the second chick of Blu and Jewel was before him, Broccoli produced a drawing book and a set of pencils.
"My other drawing book full of scientific drawings of bugs, flowers and other things," squeaked Bia ecstatically as she took it and the pencils from Broccoli's paw.
"I found this set at our house, in our attic," said Broccoli, "You must have forgotten to pick it up when you spent the night in our attic so I saved it for you."
"Thanks, Broc," said Bia, Broccoli smiling and nodding in approval. Bia then went to pack her book and pencils into her fanny pack but before she inserted her precious items into it, she stopped and gazed at the cover of her book on which she wrote, 'scientific drawings'. A look of sadness crossed her face as she stared at it. However, she did not see Virgil notice. Then Bia put her book and pencils into the fanny pack when she noticed Virgil gazing at her.
"Are you alright, Bia?" asked Virgil.
"Yes," said Bia, trying to cover up her problem and putting the fanny pack on, "Let's just focus on getting the fruit next."
Virgil sighed and prepared for the next step. The cats and macaws then crept over to the fruit stores and hid amongst some more crates. As the group looked out, Tristan saw some baskets full of fruit to be placed onto the stands.
"I think we'll take some fruit from those baskets," he said, "It'll be easier than trying to take the fruit on display from the actual stands."
"Hmm, there are quite a few of those stand owners standing around," said Broccoli uncertainly, "If we get spotted, even once, game over."
"I think it's best if only a few of us go to those baskets to snatch the fruit," suggested Tiago, "You know me, I'm quite stealthy."
Broccoli and Collette, however, still looked uncertain but they relented.
"Alright, but be careful," growled Broccoli firmly. Tiago nodded in thanks and then selected some helpers. They were Matilda, Chlorophyll and Miranda, though the latter looked reluctant. Collette then made the decision to go along and help. As soon as the team had been set up, Tiago and the other four prepared to sneak towards the fruit baskets sitting by the fruit stands. With Broccoli, Carla, Bia, Justin, Virgil, Finnick and Lavender and the others in their main hiding spot, the caliby, the two Spix macaws, the great green macaw and Lear's macaw quickly crept over to the baskets of fruit, being careful not to get spotted by the fruit stand owners. As soon as they were near the fruit baskets and after making sure that the stand owners weren't looking, Tiago, Miranda, Collette, Matilda and Chlorophyll proceeded to start snaffling the fruit from the baskets.
"Let's make this quick, you lot," whispered Collette and with that, she and the four macaws took hold of the first few fruit, which were fresh guavas, a pineapple and some apples and quickly passed it over to the rest. Bia, Carla, Justin, Virgil, Spinel and Azul who had opted to be the receivers, took the fruit and quickly stuffed them into their fanny packs and one of the bags. Also, Spinel and Azul passed the fruit to the others and they placed them into their fanny packs and the other bag as well. Neytiri, Estelle, Sheldon, Alessandro, Brooke, Finnick and Lavender wore wary looks on their faces for they seemed quite uncomfortable with using a human object but Carla had insisted to them that they were the best items for carrying heavy things such as the treasure, the material they were made from being far stronger than any material the macaws used to make their bags, which were twigs and leaves mostly, back in the rainforest. At the same time, Tiago, Matilda, Chlorophyll and Miranda also stuffed some fruit into their fanny packs.
As the four macaws and Collette picked up the next load of fruit, Chlorophyll saw one of the stand owners head in their direction.
"Get down," he said to the others, and the five immediately ducked for cover amongst some nearby crates as the person, a man, approached and stooped down to pick up a basket of fruit. However, he did not notice that some of the baskets were missing their contents. Then after he had left with one of the fuller baskets towards the fruit stand, Tiago and his group emerged from their hiding place and quickly resumed snaffling more fruit. However, they had accelerated the process for they knew that they did not have any time for any delays, even for a second. After he had completely filled his fanny pack and while the others continued stuffing theirs and the two bags with more fruit, Azul left to look for the other two items the group will need for the trip.
"I'll look for an atlas and a compass," he said as he left. Broccoli nodded and continued helping the other macaws fill their fanny packs with more fruit. Azul's fanny pack had reached its capacity and the pouch was bulging with fruit. It had put on weight but Azul was used to carrying quite heavy loads for he had often helped his parents bring back fruit and other plant material in leaf and twig bags back home. Azul then fluttered off and scanned the other stands, those that sold second-hand items such as books, for any compasses and atlases. As soon as Azul's eyes landed on something that resembled a compass on the lower shelf of one of the stands, he fluttered over to it. Making sure the stall owner's line of sight was aiming in a direction away from him; Azul quickly seized the circular disc of metal on a chain and quickly flew into hiding. As soon as he was hidden, Azul held the device in his talon and examined its face. However, to his disappointment, the face did not have N, S, E and W and the intermediate directions listed around its edge like in a compass, but numbers one to twelve with two sticks, one long and the other short, stretching out from the centre instead of one arrow-shaped stick as Azul would also expect to find in a compass. Due to him being familiar with human things, he recognised what he had snaffled.
"It's a pocket watch," he whispered in irritation to himself, "I can't believe how similar these things look to a compass from a distance."
Quickly returning the pocket watch to its place, Azul flew off to search elsewhere.
While Azul continued his search for a compass and an atlas of the countries of South America, Broccoli, Collette and the other macaws continued taking more and more fruit. Their fanny packs were now reaching full capacity and the two bags were also almost full. However, the group was about to face some serious shock. The two cats and 21 macaws hid as two humans came by. Their nerves were sparking for they sensed the worst.
"Do you think one of those humans has spotted us yet?" asked Carla in a low voice, her body feeling like jelly as she peered out from a crate.
"No, but we'd better get out of here as soon as possible," whispered Broccoli next to her. Then the group resumed stuffing the fruit into the two bags. This continued, the bags almost full when suddenly, the expectation of the worst fired into reality.
"HEY!" shouted a human voice. Hearing this, Broccoli snapped his head round and to his horror, he saw one of the stand owners dash towards Collette, Tiago, Chlorophyll, Matilda and Miranda who each had a fruit. When the five saw that they had been spotted, the great green macaw, two Spix macaws, the caliby and Lear's macaw immediately made a break for it towards the other macaws and Broccoli as the stand owner shouted and cursed at them in Spanish, his arms waving at them as he chased them. Broccoli then immediately shot the other macaws an alarmed glare as the commotion attracted the attention of the other humans.
"LET'S MAKE A DASH FOR IT!" the tabby cat bellowed and with that the other macaws, with their fanny packs and two bags full of fruit, lofted into flight while Broccoli and Collette charged like rodents escaping a predator as the stand owner rushed towards them, shouting at them, "Get out, you thieving animals, go on, scram!" in Spanish. As the group rocketed off with the stand owner and some other humans with Zebedee, Alexandre, Spinel and Tristan carrying the two fruit loaded bags, Virgil noticed that one of the macaws was missing.
"Where's Azul!?" he squawked.
"There he is," said Finnick, a talon pointing. The other macaws followed his gaze and to their horror, they saw the male blue-and-gold macaw, a look of terror on his face, flap like mad away from a pursuing female stand owner who was armed with a stick of newspaper. He carried something in his talons which were a silvery circle with a chain and a booklet which Bia identified as an atlas of the countries of South America.
As soon as Azul saw the other macaws take to the skies, he immediately made a hasty beeline for them despite the weight of the fruit-stuffed fanny pack around his waist, narrowly escaping being swiped by the newspaper as the female stand owner launched the attack, curses in Spanish exploding from her mouth at him. As Azul caught up with the other macaws, he showed them the two other required items in his talons.
"Guys, I've found a compass and an atlas!" shouted he.
"Well done, Azul," called Carla, "Now let's get out of here."
And with that, the macaws continued rocketing into the air until they were finally out of the range of the marketplace. However, they continued flying and flying, puffing and panting due to the weight of the fanny packs and two bags and their contents until they found a place to hide. As soon as they had found that spot in the alleyway, Carla and the others hunkered to the ground, puffing and panting still.
"Where are… Broccoli and… Collette?" asked Bia between pants. The others looked out and saw no sign of the two cats. Dread came over them like the shadow of a harpy eagle.
"Don't tell me they've been caught," said Matilda worriedly.
"If that is so then those two young cats are in DEEP trouble," said Alexandre. Finnick then slumped down against the wall.
"I am NOT going to go through all that again," he muttered in his silvery voice like that of his father Roberto's, "I thought we weren't gonna escape."
"You got that right," agreed Alessandro as he shuddered from the whole ordeal, "But at least we've got enough fruit. I just hope we have enough to last us for the duration of the whole trip."
As he said this, Azul flicked through the atlas and to his joy, it had the map of Guyana in it. Then Spinel's voice snapped the young blue-and-gold macaw out of his focus on the map.
"Wait, here they come," said the unusual pink-red scarlet macaw. Down the street leading to the alley's entrance, a tabby and a caliby appeared. Their fur was puffed out and their faces were laced with terror and fright, and the two were puffing and panting. As Broccoli and Collette arrived, the two darted into the alleyway and sat down to rest from the mad dash they had to make to escape the stall owners. After he had got his breath back, Broccoli shot the macaws an angry glare.
"We're definitely NOT going to do that again," he growled.
"If we had got caught by those stall owners, we'd have been in DIRE trouble, especially with Dad if that reaches his ears," put in Collette, "I just hope this will be the only time we will have to go through that chaos."
Carla, Bia and Tiago all nodded in agreement before taking a moment to rest. As soon as they all had got their breath back, Carla looked at Broccoli and Collette.
"Now that we've got everything that we need thanks to your help," she said, "Now all we need to do is sneak aboard that plane going to Guyana."
"Tulio's planning on going to the airport from his Aviary today," said Broccoli, "Apparently someone in Guyana has found some Lear's macaws in the possession of a group of poachers and have alerted Tulio and his team, and he is going to fly there to bring those birds here to treat and then release into the Blu Bird Sanctuary. However, due to the debt crisis, he had been distracted from that little trip."
"When is he leaving?" asked Bia.
"Well I don't know," said Collette, "But if you want to catch him, we must make our way down to Tulio's Aviary right away or the opportunity will be missed."
"No, we'll take it from here as we know where it is," said Carla, but then she looked at Alessandro, Finnick, Lavender, Estelle, Sheldon, Brooke and Neytiri, "Apart from these seven of course as this is the first time they have been here. We'll fly there."
"Okay, but make sure to stay out of those humans' sight," said Broccoli firmly, "We got lucky last time but the next time you get caught, you won't be so fortunate."
"Yes, and additionally and most importantly, be ESPECIALLY careful while you're in Guyana," put in Collette. Her eyes then travelled to Tristan, Trixie and Neytiri. "You lot will be far away from any protected reserve in a wide area where poachers will be prowling around and if they spot any of you, particularly you rare macaws," she nodded to the three glaucous macaws and to Carla, Bia, Tiago, Virgil, Justin, Matilda, Finnick and Lavender and to Miranda, "they will not hesitate to catch you and make money out of you."
Collette then stood back with her eyes still fixed on Tristan, Trixie and Neytiri, the latter who shifted with some discomfort, unsettled somewhat by the caliby's rather piercing hazel eyes. However, Collette's look was serious and not predatory for it was not in her nature to catch and eat birds, a trait she had inherited from her father Veggie along with her brother.
"In fact, looking at you three standing here in Rio," continued she to the glaucous macaws, "Far away from your flock is enough to make me shudder and remember what had almost happened to your sister Larimar when she was caught in a trap. And since you are far away from your parents, going to Guyana outside your parents' knowledge, and will be flying through unprotected territory," Collette hardened her gaze, "You three might not be so lucky if you ever... EVER... get caught in a smuggler's trap again."
"Neytiri's not a relative of us," said Tristan.
"Oh, right," said Collette. Her eyes then travelled to the other macaws, "In fact, none of you will. So if you're going to fly around in such an area as that Guyanese rainforest, make sure to look out for each other."
"And keep each other safe," put in Broccoli, "And also, look out for predatory animals like the harpy eagle! The last thing your parents want is you lot returning with some of you missing and if that happens…"
Broccoli trailed off and simply finished his sentence with a serious glare which Carla and her group understood.
"We will be careful, Broc and Collette," said Carla, "And I'd like to thank you both for your help."
The other macaws nodded in agreement.
"We have a saying amongst our tribes, clans and other avian residents' friends, anyway," said Bia, "It was coined by Dad."
"Yes," said Justin, "Birds of blue, red, green, yellow, orange, turquoise, grey, navy blue and drab coloured feathers…"
"Have to stick together," said the others in unison. Broccoli and Collette smiled.
"Then make sure you keep that in mind on your quest, you lot," said Broccoli, "It's a good quote to remember."
Then Collette hugged some of the macaws including Carla, Bia and Tiago. The seven newcomers, however, backed away for they were not comfortable with cats hugging them for they reminded them of a small wildcat that lived in the rainforest, the margay.
"Okay, off you go," said Collette as she hugged the macaws, "Like I've said before, look out for each other, keep each other safe."
"And I hope you find what you are looking for," said Broccoli as he also hugged Spinel, Chlorophyll, Alexandre, Azul and Zebedee, Brooke, Estelle and Sheldon looking on. After he broke the hug with the group and Collette released Carla, Bia, Tiago and some of the other macaws, Carla stood with the others and nodded to them while Azul packed the atlas and compass into one of the bags. After this, the 21 macaws all opened their wings and took off in the direction of Tulio's Aviary, taking their bags and fanny packs with them.
"We'll bring you back something from Guyana when we return," shouted Zebedee as the group left.
"Just make sure to be aware of all the hazards while you're there," shouted Broccoli as the birds faded from view.
"And also, I hope you save the Sanctuary de Amazon from losing its status as a nature reserve," put in Collette. However, the birds were out of earshot. After this, the brother and sister cats exchanged gazes and prepared to go home.
"I sure hope they find that mythical place," said Collette with a hopeful smile. Broccoli, however, looked uncertain.
"I don't know," he said, "But I have big concerns for their parents not knowing where they are going. If they find out that Carla's group has gone to Guyana, there's going to be serious trouble for them and for their friends back in the Amazon."
Collette sighed and left with Broccoli for Susan and Lucy's cottage.
A little while later
Carla and her group had arrived at Tulio's Aviary and sure enough, they saw a truck and Tulio preparing to climb into its driving seat.
"Looks like we're just in time," said Justin when he saw this, "Let's hop aboard before he sets off."
"So that's the place where your mother and father met?" Neytiri asked Carla, Bia and Tiago.
"Yes, and also where Aunt Aurora met Uncle Zephyr," said Carla, "But we don't have time for our parents' stories. We need to catch that truck."
Neytiri gazed at the building that was Tulio's Aviary. She was tempted to go and investigate but was prevented by Tristan and Trixie.
"Stay focussed on the trip, Neytiri," said the former firmly, "We don't want any of us getting separated."
"Yes, especially when we are in Guyana," said the latter, the unusually smaller macaw. Neytiri sighed and put off the idea of exploring Tulio's Aviary. Zebedee looked worriedly at Azul and Miranda. Despite being no more than an equivalent to a young human child while the rest were bordering adolescence due to the hyacinth macaws' later maturation timing than the smaller birds, Zebedee did have some good sense.
"I'm pretty concerned about Neytiri, you two," said the young hyacinth macaw, "She seems to be highly inquisitive and I have a feeling that it might lead her into trouble. Should we keep a close eye on her?"
Miranda gazed at Neytiri as she kept flashing glances at Tulio's Aviary as the group approached the truck. Carla then led the group to a spot where they could sneak aboard the vehicle's trailer. As the group landed behind some parked cars in the carpark, Carla and Azul looked out. The other macaws hid behind the two macaws at the front. Miranda continued watching Neytiri as she gazed curiously at the aviary while Zebedee began to have flashbacks of Larimar when she was caught in the trap set up by smugglers. Larimar had got distracted by a passing insect and had gone after it while she, her siblings Trixie, Tristan and Quincy and parents Levi and Lapis Lazuli, together with Phoebe, Cobalto, Zebedee and Indigo rested during their trip to Rio last year, and that was how she ended up getting caught in a smuggler's trap. If Larimar's occasional proneness to distractions such as a passing bug was enough to separate her from the group and lead her into trouble, how worse would it be for Neytiri who was intensively inquisitive, especially by fascinating things? While Zebedee thought about these things, Carla's shout snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Go," called Carla and with that, 21 streaks exploded from the gap between the two cars and made a beeline for the truck. As soon as they were near the trailer, the group scattered themselves and the two bags among the crates. The last ones to make it were Miranda, Azul and Alessandro and they hid themselves among one of the crates moments before an assistant of Tulio turned up. Zebedee, Chlorophyll, Finnick and Alexandre who had carried the two fruit loaded bags had managed to hide them both in time as well.
"Phew, just made it," said Alessandro as he slumped with his back against the crate. He looked down at the fruit-filled fanny pack around his waist and sighed. The macaws remained hidden as the assistant checked the trailer one last time. After this, she said, "Alright, Tulio, we're good to go."
"Alright, everyone, let's do a headcount," said Carla and with that, she went round counting the macaws to make sure all were present. To her joy, all 21 including herself were present and correct. Then next, the macaws heard the truck start up and then felt it begin to move. Finnick and Lavender almost lost their balance as the truck lurched forward.
"Here we go," said Justin, "The airport."
"What's an airport?" asked Neytiri curiously.
"It's a place where humans fly from and land in a place in flying things called planes," said Zebedee.
"You'll see what one looks like when we arrive," said Azul. His gaze then turned hard. "But you MUST stay by our sides at ALL TIMES! We don't want anyone wandering off and getting separated from the group. Is that clear?"
Neytiri nodded to Azul's satisfaction.
"As soon as we arrive at the airport, we must leave this truck and follow Tulio to the plane he is going to catch," said Carla, "Bia will help us with finding the right plane he is boarding."
The group then gazed at the female Spix macaw. Of the group, Bia was the most intelligent and was not only fond of science and astronomy and maths, but also of complex words and even vehicle timetables such as buses, trains and planes, so she will be the guide through the next step which will involve finding the right plane to board. Then Tulio and an assistant, who had decided to come with him to help get the rescued Lear's macaws, drove the truck, unaware that they had 21 feathered stowaways in the trailer of the vehicle, off in the direction of Rio's airport.