Chapter 44- the investigation part 1

Broccoli (who carried the rolled up mag in his mouth), Collette and James all screeched to a halt, Daisy arriving moments later but as the three cats and greyhound stopped and gazed at Tulio and Linda's cottage, immense horror tore through them. Tulio and Linda's cottage was a disaster zone and looked as though a bomb had been detonated within it. The majority of the downstairs windows, those leading to the kitchen and living room, were smashed with shards of glass lying scattered all over the concrete floor and grass like sharp ice shards. Amongst the shards of glittering glass, hard lumps of grey and other drab colours lay scattered. Inside was much worse. Broken fragments of porcelain and glass from smashed cups, plates and vases littered the floors of the kitchen and living room and piles of dirt with plants sprouting from them lay in a mess by their broken containers. Nearby the ransacked cottage, in the trees, the birdhouses and hollows where Blu and company stayed were in absolute shambles. Some of the birdhouses bore dents where rocky projectiles had struck but one particular birdhouse, the one Travis and his family lived and stayed in during sleepovers with Blu and his family, was blackened to a charred pile of smoking wood, and was the part that had been on fire, especially based on the glowing orange lines marking some of its corners and a few small flames dancing lazily in some parts of the construction. Broccoli, Daisy, Collette and James gazed at the pile of charred wood that remained of the cockatoos' birdhouse as a midair river of high-pressured water gushed from the pipe held by a fireman as he dowsed the remains of the flames with the hose, before turning their attention to the humans.

The garden was dotted with workers dressed in the uniforms worn at Tulio's Aviary, net guns held in their hands and their eyes scanning the scene for any toucans. The team of firefighters stood by their fire engine operating the hose and the vehicle and checking that the fire hadn't spread while a group of humans from an insurance company inspected the damage to Tulio's Aviary and the birdhouses to determine which parts needed replacing. The three cats and greyhound's disbelieving eyes then found a group of familiar humans. Then a horrified gasp entered Daisy's mouth.

"Tulio, Linda, Fernando, little Tommy!" she shouted and with that, she dashed off towards the four said humans, Broccoli, James and Collette following. As the quartet screeched to a stop near Tulio and his family, they saw that the lead ornithologist and his wife were being treated by some first-aiders from Tulio's Aviary for a number of scratches strewn over their faces, arms and upper bodies. Linda was missing her glasses and had two claw marks running dangerously close to her left eye, right through where her eyebrow would be. Linda, alongside Tulio and Fernando, were badly shaken and little Tommy was crying in Fernando's arms, his adopted brother trying to soothe and calm him due to Linda's arms being too painfully scratched to hold the toddler. Tommy had been severely frightened by the nightmare Broccoli, Daisy, Collette and James were determined to find out.

"Looks as though Tulio and Linda had been in a fight with a bunch of cats," said Collette, commenting on the two humans' scratched appearances, before her gaze turned to Fernando and Tommy, "And those two looked like they had had a narrow escape from a bunch of intruders."

As she said this, Broccoli (his mouth still grasping the mag) felt his left-hind foot land on something. The tabby cat turned and looked under his foot to see a sliver of black in the grass. A suspicious frown came upon his face and one of his paws went to pick up the thing. James and Daisy looked on in utter disbelief.

"Who in the world would DO THIS to Tulio and his family, the LEAD ORNITHOLOGIST and WHO DEEPLY CARES FOR ALL THE BIRDS ON THE SANCTUARY!?" asked Daisy in a fragmented voice as the shock threatened to overwhelm her. Next to her, Broccoli glared at the sliver of black in his paw and saw that it was a feather.

"I don't know," said James, a look of outrage flaring on his face, "But whoever has done this is gonna be in a massive HEAP of trouble, I can tell you!"

"Where are Blu and the others?" asked Collette. Broccoli continued examining the black feather in his paw and began to pinpoint its source. He ruled out Ónix the red-tailed black cockatoo for Broccoli remembered that she was at her owner's house. He also ruled out Rafael, Diantha and Tom for they had moved to the place where the majority of the Blu Bird Sanctuary residents had evacuated to, to escape the rambunctious toucans. Rambunctious toucans. As those two words repeated in Broccoli's mind and changed his suspicious glare to an infuriated one as he continued examining the black feather, Daisy's voice snapped him back to reality. The tabby cat shot his sister a look as she began to frantically search for a certain group of birds.

"Blu, where have you gone?" called the caliby cat. Collette and James were also searching around the vehicles and the humans for Blu and company and shouting their names as well. Dropping the feather and grasping the precious mag and its important information, Broccoli darted off after the other three to help in the search while Tulio, Linda and Fernando began to explain to a group of Tulio's Aviary employees what had happened when asked by one of them. Broccoli stopped and began to listen when his ears caught the conversation.

"W-w-we were attacked b-b-by a fl-fl-flock of t-t-t…" stammered Tulio as the shock from the ordeal interfered with his ability to form words. Broccoli called for James, Collette and Daisy and they came in to listen.

"Toucans," said Linda, completing Tulio's sentence and wincing from the treatment of her scratches. As this word reached the ears of the three cats and greyhound, a massive flash of horror and outrage tore through them.

"TOUCANS!?" repeated Collette incredulously.

"Why would they attack Tulio and Linda?" asked Daisy in equal disbelief. Broccoli dropped the magazine into his front paws and began to speak. His eyes were blazing brown fire and his fur was bristled with pure outrage.

"I KNEW it!" he snarled, "I KNEW those ROTTEN BRATS would cross the line eventually and unleash their wrath on Tulio and his family."

"How do you know?" asked James. Broccoli then glared at him but as he did, a flash of worry fired up in his mind as he remembered a group of certain animals.

"Blu and company," he said, "I wonder if those wretched toucans have come here and have caused this mess," Broccoli's gaze examined the destroyed birdhouses, including the charred one, and the smashed windows of Tulio and his family's cottage, as well as the cuts and bruises marking Tulio and Linda's face and arms, and the shaken looks on Tulio, Linda and Fernando's faces and the frightened cries of Tommy in Linda's arms, "Forcing Blu and company to evacuate and those four getting caught in the crossfire."

As he said this, James's ears picked up what Linda said next.

"Blu and Porthos and some of the other birds staying in the birdhouses by our cottage came to help us ward off those vicious toucans," said the red-haired lady. Daisy, Collette and Broccoli cocked their ears to listen to these words, "However, the blue-and-gold macaw, Porthos, when he went to fetch my cellphone for Tulio, he somehow cut his leg on, I believe, a sharp shard of glass…"

Immense shock and a pained wince tore through the greyhound and three cats, especially at the pain Porthos must have suffered as a result of that unfortunate accident.

"I hope he's not injured something important in his leg," whispered Collette to the other three.

"…However, Susan, Lucy, Jack, Jill and Bernardo have arrived and have rushed Porthos to Tulio's Aviary now with Blu going along with them…" continued Linda. A determined frown was thrown onto Broccoli's face.

"THAT is where we're going," said the tabby cat firmly, "If Blu and Porthos have gone to Tulio's Aviary, then the majority of the others will have gone there too, possibly including Jewel."

"But Broccoli, you know we're not allowed in that building," protested Collette.

"Yeah, especially cats like us," said Daisy. However, Broccoli, the magazine in his front paws, shot his sisters and James a glare.

"That may be true but Blu and the others MUST see these images in this mag," retorted the Veggie-like tabby, "Especially Carla, Bia, Tiago and their mates and those flying fox friends of theirs."

And with that, the tabby cat darted off.

"But I still don't think it's a good idea!" protested Daisy as she and Collette dashed off after their brother. James threw on an agreeing glare as he overtook the caliby girls.

"If we don't get that mag to Blu and the others," he told the two sisters seriously, "They'll NEVER see where their missing kids have been taken to at all."

And with that, he charged off after Broccoli. Admitting defeat and remembering how important it was to show Blu and the others the magazine's pictures, Collette and Daisy followed.

Meanwhile

It was night-time in Iquitos, Peru and like in Rio; the night-time activities in the Milky Way-like city (flooded with artificial lights) were happening with people on nightshifts or just going out for the night. In the Sanctuario del Paradíso, both in the indoor artificial jungle and in the outside regions, the daytime animals had pretty much gone to bed while the nocturnal animals were preparing for their nightly activities. In Dundee and his community's artificial jungle compartment, quite a lot has happened between the second confrontation with Dalek and now. Lusamine and her group of lizards, primates and fruit bats had been confronted by Dundee, alongside their parents, with Olympia the cassowary, Mina the Tasmanian devil and Betelgeuse, Rigel, Antares, Aldebaran, Lillie and Sugilite, gathered with a number of other animals. Gladion, who had suffered a broken wing and Altair had been carried to the medical zone by kiwis Flax, Harakeke, echidna Kiara and platypus Reepicheep, who had rounded up Lusamine and company's parents to come and see Dundee and his inner circle animals. Greg, Sardonyx, Shade and Sadie were also there, having heard what had happened.

During the confrontation, Lusamine and her gang tried their usual tactic in making up a half-truth to get out of trouble and direct the blame at Gladion and his group, with their parents backing them up by saying that they (their sons, daughters, nephews or nieces, depending on their relation to Lusamine and company) would never cause other kids trouble, much to Lillie's outrage. However, unlike last time involving Sandalwood and the others who had wandered into the Compartment of the Carnivores to escape Dalek previously, the tide began to turn in Gladion and Lillie's favour for there had been distant witnesses. Mina had come forward and had explained that she and her pups/joeys had seen the whole thing from a distance, especially how Dalek had suddenly appeared out of nowhere when 'that rainbow lorikeet-like macaw chick' as she called Altair for she didn't know or had forgotten his name, shouted at Lusamine and savagely went for Gladion's group. This had shocked Greg, Shade and Sadie and also Sardonyx. Once Mina's witnessing had reached the inner circle animals' ears, Dundee had made the final decision: to ground Lusamine and her gang and confine them and their parents and relatives to their area. He had also commanded the parents and other elders to discipline Lusamine and company. After this, three chimps came in and led Lusamine and company and their parents away in disgrace but on their way out, Lusamine and company had shot and Betelgeuse, Rigel, Antares, Aldebaran, Lillie and Sugilite a bitter glare at being outsmarted and her plan backfiring, something the Livingstone's flying fox and her gang detested most, obviously indicating that they were planning on getting revenge on the group at some point in the near future.

After Lusamine and company had gone, Dundee had also lifted the grounding penalty on Sandalwood and the others, including Atreyu, JD, Tiana and Jacques for he believed that Dalek had attacked them without provocation as well, much to the immense joy of Lillie and the others, and Sardonyx had planned to talk to Sandalwood and the others tonight about the nature of Dalek and about her tussle with the chameleon before the kids' bedtime. When the news of the grounding had been lifted had reached the ears of Sandalwood and company and also Atreyu and the other three penguins, they felt a surge of joy, true joy for the first time since being brought here.

It was nearing bedtime for the young animals, and parents were calling them to their burrows, trees and hollows. While all this happened, Sandalwood stood with Lillie, Sirius, Spica, Bellatrix, Polaris and Achernar, their saddened gazes on Gladion in the medical zone, his broken wing being set in a cast by a group of bizarre looking mammals with reddish fur. These mammals looked like racoons but also seemed to share some traits with cats. Connie, Shade and Sadie's daughter, and Greg and Sardonyx's sons Steven, Lars and Kevin, had noted to Sandalwood, Lillie and the five Spix macaws that these mammals were called 'red pandas', and like Mulan's species, the giant panda, and orangutan, which was Wally's species, originated from Asia. The group of red pandas were medically trained and helped to treat basic injuries like cuts, bruises and broken limbs, and they were assisted by several animals, among them a couple of lizards of another rare species but not of the species of the mischievous group of bright green lizards led by the patriarch Ronno, and Bellatrix thought she had spotted a quoll, another mammal native to Australia, among the group as well. The quoll, along with a proboscis monkey and two lizards, were caring for Altiar who had regained consciousness, and treating his injuries as well.

"Gladion's not gonna be able to fly for weeks now," whispered Lillie sombrely, "I can't believe that chameleon had the audacity to injure him like that," she felt a spark of hot outrage course through her as she thought of the sci-fi peppershaker-like alien hat-wearing chameleon and his flinging of Gladion hard into a tree trunk as he tried to protect the macaw chicks with his tongue as she said this.

"That chameleon has damaged the wings of other birds before," said Steven, "Most of the victims being parrots." As the scarlet chick said this, Sardonyx was flying over to the group.

"What's it with that chameleon and the parrots anyway?" asked Sirius angrily.

"We have been told of three other incidences involving that chameleon hurting other parrots," said Sandalwood, "All involving a hyacinth macaw, that yellow-crested cockatoo and the two kakapos, by Atreyu last night."

"But to hear that Sardonyx had been attacked by that chameleon unprovoked," said Bellatrix, "I'm still surprised."

"I'm afraid that's true, little blue macaw, um… Belle was it?" said a voice. Steven, Connie, Lars, Kevin and Sandalwood, Sirius, Spica, Bellatrix, Polaris and Achernar all turned and saw an orange scarlet macaw, her plumage more orange than Betelgeuse and a large patch of growing feathers marking her torso, touch down and walk over to them.

"My name's Bellatrix," said Bellatrix as Sardonyx joined the group, which she smiled and nodded as she stood corrected. The chicks, Sandalwood and Connie then turned to the scarlet macaw as she gazed at Sandalwood, Lillie and the five Spix macaw chicks and also Steven and his brothers.

"It's time for bed," she said gently, before turning to Connie, "The same goes for you as well."

Connie nodded and darted off to a rock to take off and fly to her little group's tree where Shade and Sadie and the other bats were waiting. Sirius and the other four Spix macaws also took off and left for the hollow with Steven, Lars and Kevin while Sandalwood left with Sardonyx to the foot of the tree where he slept.

"So was your tussle with Dalek unprovoked?" asked Sandalwood, "Did he just jump out at you while you were foraging?"

"Yes," said Sardonyx darkly, "That chameleon has always jumped out at parrots in an unprovoked attack. The same was true for that hyacinth macaw, the two adolescent kakapos and Claude the yellow-crested cockatoo," she shot the Brazilian flying fox pup an apologetic look, "That's why I doubted Lusamine and her gang's story that you deliberately provoked that chameleon and Dundee's subsequent grounding of you, Atreyu, JD, those two chinstrap penguins and the others who had escaped into Carnassial's grounds. I came to the conclusion that it was an unprovoked attack since some of you are macaw chicks, with the macaw being a type of parrot, Dalek's most detested type of bird."

"We had nowhere else to go or any idea of where to run," said Sandalwood, "Since we're still new here. And besides that, we didn't know that we had entered the Compartment of Carnivores until we met that horrible gang of caracals and servals…"

Sardonyx sighed.

"I know," she said regrettably. Sandalwood's head then tipped to one side. "Why does that chameleon despise parrots, anyway? Did he intentionally force Claude and the two kakapos into the Compartment of the Carnivores to get killed?"

Sardonyx gazed at the pup and shrugged.

"I don't know the answer to both those questions, I'm afraid," she said, much to Sandalwood's disappointment, "We believe that the demises of both Claude and those two kakapo adolescents had been purely accidental. Dalek just happened to chase those three parrots into that highly dangerous area and they were found to have been eaten by Carnassial and his gang…"

Sandalwood gazed at the orange scarlet macaw with an unconvinced look. Based on his forced entry into Carnassial's grounds through that hole in the barrier mesh alongside Atreyu, JD, Tiana, Jacques and some of the macaw chicks including Sirius, Bellatrix, Vega, Regulus and Sylvester by Dalek when he chased them and how they were almost eaten alive by Carnassial and his savage gang of caracals and servals, Sandalwood had begun to think that Claude the yellow-crested cockatoo and the two kakapo adolescents might have been forced into the Compartment of the Carnivores by that same chameleon as well, especially based on the fact that a pile of feathers of all three of those birds had been found in Carnassial's zone, indicating that they had been eaten.

As these two incidences as described by Atreyu echoed in his mind, suspicion began to well within Sandalwood as the burning question of Dalek's intentions of forcing him and his group into Carnassial's grounds returned: 'What if those intentions had been deliberate? What if he had intended us to fall into the claws of that caracal and his gang to be eaten, especially the macaw chicks?' however, he put this thought off as Sardonyx told him that it was his bedtime. Reluctantly, Sandalwood followed Sardonyx to the foot of the tree where the other bats slept and entered the hole, bidding Sardonyx goodnight before Sardonyx herself left for her hollow and the other macaws including Greg and her sons.

Later

The nocturnal animals of the artificial jungle went about their nightly business while the humans who worked on nightshift in the conservation area were at work. A trio of humans, all equipped with cleaning apparatus and bags of animal food such as meat packed into a four-wheeled thing they called a trolley or cart, went up to one of the doors leading to Dundee's artificial jungle and opened the first door, entering a pocket between that door and another and pulling the trolley in with them. This pocket was intended to prevent birds and bats from flying out of the compartment whenever the humans entered or exit the jungle. As the three humans then closed the door behind them and turned to open the second door, movement shifted a few leaves of a shrub growing nearby. Two pairs of eyes gazed at the humans as they opened the second door to enter the compartment itself. The eyes belonged to two of the Catalina chicks, Adenine and Guanine, but the older siblings of Cytosine and Thymine were not alone. Several more eye pairs peered from the shadow under the shrub's tight cluster of branches and leaves and gazed in parallel to the trio's eyes at the humans as they then closed the door after pulling in the trolley loaded with equipment and food, locked it and proceeded into the compartment with some sort of bottles and cloths in their hands, leaving behind the trolley or cart. One of the eye pairs belonging to Adenine then locked onto the wheeled object.

Adenine and Guanine had sneaked out of the hollow as soon as everyone else, including the adults, had gone to sleep, the intentions on investigating the other rooms of the conservation area to answer some burning questions compelling them to do so. Thymine and Cytosine, however, had opted to remain behind for they felt that they were too afraid to go with their two older siblings, so Adenine and Guanine had recruited some of the other youngsters. These were Betelgeuse, Rigel and Antares, Bellatrix, Sylvester, Lillie and Acerola, all of who had opted to join the investigation, including Sylvester despite his tattered tail. However, he had managed to learn to fly somewhat with that tail. The birds including Adenine and Guanine had all sneaked out of the hollow while Acerola had left her branch and tree where the other flying foxes except Sandalwood slept. The nine had then met together under the shrub, staying out of sight of the nocturnal animals, and now they were on this little scout trip. As Adenine, who had opted to lead the group, gazed at the trolley and at the three humans as they set to cleaning the mesh near the double doored pocket entrance to the compartment, he turned his gaze to the other eight.

"Alright, as soon as those three humans are a good distance from that trolley thingie, we make a beeline for that thing as fast as possible, okay?" he spoke in a low voice, "We must not stop until we are aboard that trolley, or else some of those night-time animals could spot us and alert the leaders."

"Okay," whispered the others. Then Adenine returned his gaze to the trolley.

"Right, here we go," he said, his gaze also observing the proximity of the humans to the trolley.

Adenine waited for the three humans to move a suitable distance away from the trolley and as soon as they were a good distance away, he nodded to the others. Without a second's hesitation, the shrub's leaves shook somewhat and nine shadowy comets darted one by one dashed across the clearing and dived amongst the equipment of the trolley. Adenine went first, followed by Guanine, Bellatrix, Acerola, Lillie, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Antares and then Sylvester last of all. As the nine zoomed across the clearing and dived amongst the equipment of the trolley one by one, another pair of eyes gazed at the action from the shadow of a large tree. The owner of the eyes, a flightless aquatic bird, then darted from out of the shadow of the tree and hurried over to the trolley. In the trolley, Sylvester, the last in the line, climbed onto the lower level and joined the others in the group. Adenine then peered out from behind a bucket and a stick thing ending in a cluster of bristles humans called a mop and gazed at one of the humans as he or she continued to clean the barrier mesh dividing the compartment from the human observation paths while the others hugged the shadows. Their hearts were beating with trepidation and their muscles felt weak from the shuddering nerves for the group feared getting spotted. Adenine ducked back behind the bucket.

"Right, all we have to do is wait for those three humans to return and push this trolley thingie back through that double door," said he to the other eight, "And as soon as we are outside, we're gonna have a look round."

"We'll start with the room where I and Bambi had had our pictures taken," said Sylvester, "There are around five doors and rooms besides the one where we were taken for our pics to shortly after our arrival here."

"Do you think we should split up and examine all the rooms at the same time?" asked Bellatrix. Adenine gazed at the pigtailed Spix macaw with uncertainty.

"It would be better than examining one room at a time," said Acerola, liking the idea, "One, it will save time and two, we'd avoid getting spotted more easily…"

"And thirdly, we'd gather more information more efficiently and quickly," added Antares. Nods rolled through the rest of the group, making Adenine gaze at them as he thought this over. After a few seconds, he agreed to it.

"Okay, but as long as we're careful," he whispered, "The last thing any of us need is getting spotted and us landing in proper trouble with Dundee."

The others smiled and nodded in agreement. However, after the agreement had been made, the group was made aware of something moving on the trolley. The eight birds and flying fox pup froze and shoot alerted gazes this way and that.

"What was that?" asked Acerola. Then Guanine's wing went to her face in frustration.

"Don't tell me we've been spotted, have we," she whispered with dread.

"I hope not," said Adenine in a low, indignant voice, "We really wanna investigate the Sanctuario del Paradíso's possible ties with the two sanctuaries in Brazil, including the Amazon one."

A suspicious frown formed on his face as he recalled the discussion about some of the human carers talking about the Blu Bird Sanctuary and the Sanctuary de Amazon in the morning while they were de-shelling nuts. However, that suspicious frown was wiped from his face and at the same time, Adenine's insides flinched as though they had been shocked by electricity when a voice said, "Adenine, guys?"

The other chicks and Acerola also flinched harshly and shot startled glares at the speaker but when they realised that it was only a grey penguin chick with blue eyes, and a black and white head, but the chick's blue eyes were laced with curiosity and suspicion.

"What are you lot doing on this trolley?" asked the penguin chick. Adenine took a moment to calm his breathing before turning to the chick.

"Atreyu," he said with a frown.

"What are you doing here?" asked Rigel. Atreyu climbed onto the level of the trolley.

"I'm the one who should be asking you lot that question," he replied, "Don't you know that we shouldn't be hitching a ride on this trolley for one and be in bed for another?"

"We couldn't sleep," replied Acerola, "Something is troubling us."

"Oh," said Atreyu with a frown, "And what that might be?"

Adenine and his group exchanged glances as they pondered over this question. How were they going to answer this? Will Atreyu understand their motives and suspicions regarding the human carers' ties to two Brazilian sanctuaries? Then after discussing this over, all nine gazed back at the emperor penguin chick.

"We're, um…" began Lillie uneasily, "Gonna… investigate how those humans carers know about the Blu Bird Sanctuary and the Sanctuary de Amazon in Brazil."

"Our home areas that are also nature reserves," said Bellatrix.

"Oh, you mean your home country, and that sanctuary some of you told me and JD was set up outside Rio de Janeiro?" asked Atreyu. Adenine's group nodded. Then Adenine stepped forward to explain more.

"But some of us happened to overhear some of the human carers talk about those two sanctuaries and discuss bringing in some adult specimens of the Spix, glaucous, Lear's and Cuban red macaws and archaeobirds here," said the colourful Catalina macaw, "Since Sirius and the other rare chicks and Bambi are too young to have kids of their own."

"We know that the human carers want to establish a population of those bird species here," said Sylvester, a hint of disgust tinting his tone, "But the only places where breeding individuals of those species are available are the Blu Bird Sanctuary near Rio de Janeiro, and the Sanctuary de Amazon in the Amazon Rainforest."

"Which is technically our birthplace," put in Rigel, "And since we chicks would take years to reach maturity and breeding age, especially the rare blues, the archaeobird and the Cuban macaw."

Atreyu listened to the answer from Adenine's group.

"Maybe the human carers want some adult macaws to produce more chicks here," he said, "If they've got that goal in mind to establish a small flock of Spix, glauco and whatsoever other rare macaws here," his eyes gazed at Bellatrix and Sylvester as he said this, "Then you shouldn't be surprised that the human carers are seeking to bring in some adult individuals here."

"We also saw some of those human carers who were talking about those two Brazilian sanctuaries have disgruntled, disappointed and impatient looks on their faces," said Guanine, "Which is another reason why we want to investigate."

Atreyu's shoulders rose as he shrugged and then fell again.

"Maybe they're disappointed because all they've got of those rare macaw species and that bizarre four-winged 'lizard-bird' are young chicks who are too young to breed?"

"That's true," said Betelgeuse, "But we believe that there may be something else behind that motivation to bring back some adults, especially based on the account of the witnesses such as Adenine," she nodded to her Catalina cousin as she said this.

"And we wanna know what that is," said Adenine firmly and with determination. Atreyu gazed at the four-winged feathered creature. Suddenly, footstep sounds reached the group's ears, jolting the group back to reality.

"(Gasp), one of the humans is coming," said Rigel. With that, the group of nine birds including Atreyu and Acerola all dived into hiding amongst the equipment. Atreyu had become gripped by curiosity about what Adenine and his group's investigation and had decided to tag along. The human, who was a man, then came back to the trolley. He was whistling a tune to himself as he worked and had returned to fetch the bags of meat for the few carnivores that lived in Dundee's compartment. As he moved the bags of meat from the lower trolley's level, Adenine and company huddled together to prevent being seen. The man placed the meat aside and then turned to his colleagues. Bellatrix then translated his words as he spoke. She turned to the others and said, "He's gonna leave with this thing through the double door."

"Alright, get ready," said Adenine and with that the group began to grasp whatever firm object they could find to avoid falling out. Atreyu shuddered as he did the same.

"I'm not sure about this," he whispered. Then the trolley jerked as the group felt it move; the man was pushing it along. Acerola peered out from behind a bucket and saw the first door of the double door pocket approach them.

"Here we go," she whispered. Adenine and the others prepared to disembark.

"As soon as we're out," he whispered to the others, "We jump off the trolley."

Betelgeuse, Rigel, Antares, Bellatrix, Sylvester, Lillie, Acerola and Guanine all nodded while Atreyu shuddered. But the nerves of all ten of them were shaking and beating with trepidation, and that nervousness's fire was raging higher as the man reached for the door's lock, unlocked the door and opened it before pushing the trolley into the pocket and shutting the door. The process was repeated with the other door and within minutes, the man and the trolley, with some unsuspecting stowaways hiding amongst the equipment, was outside the compartment. However, as the man closed the door, he did not see a floating dome dart out of the door, narrowly missing getting caught in the door as he closed it. Then the floating hat dived behind a protrusion in the solid concrete base forming the basin in which the artificial jungle was grown in, and peered out. The hat was on something but that something was invisible. A pair of eyes glared menacingly from an invisible face at Adenine and company as they hastily disembarked the trolley and hid amongst some more buckets, Atreyu following. An acidic hiss of pure hatred emanated from a mouth below the eyes as the owner's eyes watched Adenine and company then sneak away.