Sandalwood and his Friends and the Paradise Sanctuary- edited

by VPVPVP

Carla and company's trip to Rio goes badly wrong when some of their kids are caught by poachers. The kids get rescued and placed in a conservation area with various animals from around the world, but they soon suspect something off about the area. In Rio, Blu and the others must deal with another problem on the Blu Bird Sanctuary while figuring out a way to rescue the poached kids

33. 33- compartment of carnivores

Chapter 33- the Compartment of Carnivores

Meanwhile

Sandalwood, together with Acerola, Sirius, Bellatrix, Sylvester, Vega and Regulus, Tiana, Jacques, JD and Atreyu emerged from a nearby bush after rushing to escape from Dalek. Now that they felt that it was safe to emerge, the group of 11 youngsters crept out of the bush.

"I think that chameleon with the alien-like cap's gone, folks," said Sandalwood as he lifted a leaf. Bellatrix then shuddered.

"What a horrible, horrible reptile," she muttered timidly as she remembered the acidic glare of the chameleon, the red scales it bore and the hatred-laced hisses it emitted, "Honestly, we did nothing wrong to it."

"I agree," said Sirius in agreement as he emerged from another leaf cluster with Acerola, "What did we do to provoke him?"

"You didn't do nouwt," said JD's squeaky voice, pulling the macaws' attention to him.

"Then why did that chameleon attack us unprovoked?" asked Regulus angrily. His cheek was still stinging from where Dalek's tongue had thwacked him earlier and his wing went to the impact area, a lour on his face. Sylvester on the other hand was grasping his torn out tail, the pain still lingering from ripped out feathers at Dalek's clutches. Atreyu came up to the Lear's macaw chick.

"Dalek detests parrots of ALL kinds," he explained, "That includes macaws… cockatoos… parakeets…"

Sylvester, Regulus and Vega shot the emperor penguin chick a surprised look each.

"Why does he loathe parrots?" asked Vega.

"Did he target Mrs Sardonyx before?" asked Sylvester.

"I don't know but we just know that Dalek detests ALL parrots," said Tiana.

"Then we should turn him in for punishment," snarled Bellatrix nearby as outrage flashed through her.

"We have done that before time and time again but he won't drop his attitude towards all parrots," said Atreyu, much to the frustration of Sandalwood's group. Then Tiana's gaze began to scan the surroundings, "Anyway, let's get out of here and return to our group's homes."

But as the group emerged from the bush, shivers began to creep into their nerves as a bad feeling of their whereabouts began to well within them.

"Where are we?" asked Sandalwood as he and the others examined the unfamiliar surroundings. Then Vega took off and flew a few metres above the ground to get a bird's eye view of the environment.

"What can you see up there, Vega?" asked Acerola on the ground. Vega continued to scan the environment.

"Nothing but… more trees and bushes and other jungle plants everywhere," she said. As she said this, Regulus began to timidly step away from the group, "I hear no birdcalls or see no birds or flying foxes… or even monkeys or any other animal…"

"Can you see where we came in?" asked Sirius. Vega then began to examine the route in which the group came.

"I think I can see the mesh through which we came," she said, "But we have come quite a distance to escape that horrid chameleon…"

As these words left her beak, Atreyu suddenly felt a feeling that the group was being watched envelop him like a cloud. Immediately, the emperor penguin chick stiffened. Behind the group amongst the shadows of some bushes, a shadowy form slowly moved, a leg sweeping through the air. The leg's foot then gently landed on the ground and above that leg, a pair of gleaming eyes, both golden orange in colour with a black slit in the centre of each eye, peered out from the shadows and glared at Sandalwood and the others. But the golden colour of these eyes did not have any aspect of beauty to them at all unlike the eyes of Aurora or Ruby. Instead, these eyes bore a sinister, malicious glow to them, in addition to something else as it bore into Sandalwood's group from the bushes behind them. Regulus continued to step away, alertness taking hold as the timid Lear's macaw macaw, his navy blue feathers flattening and his crest resembling that of Roberto flaring out from immense fear. Behind Sandalwood's group, more and more shadowy figures with gleaming eyes appeared and glared at the group, with some shooting from one place to another in a black blur. Regulus continued stepping away from Sandalwood's group timidly examining the surroundings when one of his talons landed on something hard and thorny. Startled, the Lear's macaw snapped his gaze to what he had stepped on but the moment it did, a shriek of fright exploded from his beak and he scurried back.

Lying before Regulus was a pile of white things. Some were sticks ending in lobes on either end but some were lumps of white rocks. One of them had holes in its front with a bigger hole lined with teeth below the two large and two smaller holes. Regulus then realised that the lower part of the rock was disconnected from the rest of it. Some of the slender sticks scattered around the lump with holes were curved, some emanating from another stick. Regulus then cautiously extended a wing to the lump with holes and slowly picked it up. As he did, a voice exploded behind him, making him jump.

"PUT THAT DOWN!" Regulus jolted and dropped the rock as Atreyu ran in, an alarmed look on his face. The rock went clattering to the ground. The lower slab separated from the rest of the object and Regulus soon realised what it was, but it made his skin crawl, his stomach lurch and his feathers flatten. Atreyu then latched his wing flippers onto his shoulders and dragged him back to the group.

"We've got to get outa here," said the emperor penguin chick, "I believe we may have wandered into the… um…" but he daren't say the name of the enclosure. Vega also returned to the group, her face laced with dread.

"Atreyu," squeaked JD as he held Sandalwood and Acerola, "Where do ya think we are!?"

Atreyu was about to reply when suddenly, "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

The group of flying fox pups, macaw chicks and penguin chicks all jolted into the air and flashed terrified gazes this way and that until Vega's eyes landed on the speaker but the moment they did, she managed to stifle a terrified scream. The others followed Reguilus' sister's gaze and also spotted the speaker but they also flinched in alarm. Then the speaker, which Sirius saw was some type of feline, emerged from a nearby bush and sauntered towards the group, its gleaming orange eyes piercing like an eagle's eyes.

The creature was a four-footed mammal and was definitely a feline. Its coat was almost entirely sandy brown-orange colour and its ears bore a flick of hair that stuck straight up from the points of each ear. The feline was bulky but had slender legs, and a thrashing tail that flicked at the air as the animal slowly crept out of the bushes towards Sandalwood and company. Its face which bore the golden orange eyes were twisted into a look Bellatrix recognised as something a cat bore whenever it was on the hunt and had sensed prey nearby, but that look sent shivers down the group's spines but then the group noticed a few streaks running over the cat's face and upper body. Sirius recognised those streaks and shuddered. Scars. It was clear that the cat had been in a few fights and these scars were evidence of those battles but Sirius and company daren't imagine what the cats' opponents must have been. Then behind the sandy brown cat emerged more felines. Some were pure sandy brown with the same tufts of hair on their ears like the first cat while the others had golden coloured pelts decked out with black dots and stripes and their ears appeared rounded. Like the first cat, some of these individuals also appeared to bear a few scars, implying that they had been in some fights as well. As the group of wildcats advanced towards the group, Sandalwood and the others huddled together, their bodies shivering, their eyes inflated with immense fear and their fur and feathers bristled. As the first cat approached the group, it turned to the others and smiled wickedly.

"Well, well, my friend servals and fellow caracals, what do we have here, eh?" it crooned in a male voice, implying it was a male. One of the spotted golden cats then smiled and replied, "I don't know, Carnassial…" its eyes then travelled to Sandalwood and the others who shuddered all the more. Carnassial. The group remembered Repicheep, Kiara, Flax, Harakeke, and cockatiels Lilo, Gus and Sparky talking about this cat and how he and his gang was extremely dangerous to any bird that wandered into his turf. As that name and the warning from the platypus, the two kiwis, the echidna and three cockatiels repeated and echoed in their minds, Sandalwood, Acerola, Sirius, Bellatrix, Regulus, Vega and Sylvester all shuddered violently, especially as Atreyu said, "We've wandered into the Compartment of the Carnivores!"

As this dreaded enclosure name reached Sandalwood's group's ears, they shuddered all the more. Then the cat, whose name was Carnassial, began to circle the group with his gang like vultures, their piercing feline eyes boring into the group.

"It seems like today is our lucky day, don't you think, gang?" said the caracal ringleader as he began to examine the group of macaws, bats and penguins. His tongue then snaked out of his mouth and skimmed around his lips.

"You've got that right, Carnassial," said one of the servals, a female, before her glare returned to Sandalwood and company, "Looks like we've got some parrots, some penguins an' a couple of flying fox pups…" when her glare landed on Sylvester, her face changed to one of surprise and puzzlement, "But that macaw looks... unusual."

"What's so unusual about it, Alecto," said another of the caracals, a female, as the cats continued circling the group. The serval then approached Sylvester and examined him with her piercing, yellow glare, making the Cuban macaw flinch.

"It's a red macaw," she said, "But it has a coloured nape and brownish wing coverts."

Sylvester managed to find the courage to formulate a sentence, but it was fragmented by fear.

"A-a-a-and you c-c-c-c-cats look l-l-l-like s-s-some sort of… mini cheetahs and lynxes or something," he stammered. JD shot the Cuban red macaw chick a wary look, hoping he was not stepping into a dangerous spotlight. The serval then backed away and re-joined the other circling cats.

"We're not cheetahs and we're not lynxes, for your information, mutant scarlet macaw," retorted the first cat named Carnassial, making Sylvester flinch, "We're servals and caracals."

Sylvester and the others continued gazing timidly at the caracals and servals as they continued circling the group, their tails thrashing the air and their eyes beginning to burn with hunger. Then another caracal, a female said, "But let's cut straight to the chase, shall we? Now that you lot have wandered on the grounds of the Compartment of the Carnivores as that lousy, nutjob emu you call your leader and his group calls it…" the caracal paused dramatically, before he face twisted into an absolutely evil and sadistic scowl, "it is time to prepare yourselves to become… our… me-e-e-e-a-a-a-a-als!"

And with that, her tongue emerged from her mouth and skimmed over her lips. Drips of saliva dripped greedily from her tongue as she licked her lips.

"That's right, Shenzi," crooned Carnassial as the other cats tittered, before his glare returned to Sandalwood's group hungrily, striking fear into them, "So say goodbye to the light of day, our little special treats. Dinner is served for the CAATS!"

Laughter then rolled throughout the other cats, much to the fear of Sandalwood and company. Atreyu then gazed at the others.

"We've gotta get outa here," he whispered.

"But how," said Sirius, "You penguins cannot fly."

"That's true but you macaws and flying foxes can," said JD. Then Sandalwood gazed at the macaroni penguin.

"Maybe we could try to reason with them?" he asked.

"What!?" snapped Atreyu but Sandalwood had already stepped forward. Nervousness boiled within him as he did.

"Please, wildcats," he shouted to the circling group of caracals and servals that formed Carnassial's group, "We didn't mean to wander into your grounds. We were chased by a chameleon and some mean flying foxes, lizards and monkeys and…"

"And then what, little membrane winged treat?" crooned Alecto meanly as she sauntered alongside two other servals, their eyes fixated on Sandalwood and the others, "Become potential treats for us wildcats?"

"It's not like that, okay!?" snapped Sandalwood, "We just wandered here by accident intending to get away from that horrible parrot-hating chameleon and that gang of monkey, fruit bat and lizard bullies…" he then turned and nodded to Sirius, Bellatrix, Sylvester, Vega and Regulus, "And please let us go. Some of us are extremely rare and critically endangered species, especially the Cuban red macaw there…"

Sylvester, who still clutched his tattered tail, gazed at Sandalwood in surprise.

'He sure is bold,' thought the Cuban macaw chick in awe. Atreyu, Tiana, JD and Jacques, however, had other thoughts. 'That flying fox pup is putting his life on the line,' thought Atreyu worriedly, 'Carnassial and his gang cannot be reasoned with.'

Then one of the caracals, a male turned to Carnassial and said, "Cuban red macaw? Are they supposed to be extinct?"

Carnassial flashed his companion a glare.

"Well, rare or supposed to be extinct or not, Banzai, they're still prey, now let's concentrate in trying to seize those little morsels," his glare turned to Sandalwood's group as Sylvester flinched at what he said, "My fangs are desperate to sink into some fresh meat of REAL prey, and those foolish little chicks and pups," his gaze hardened, sending shivers down Sandalwood and company's spines, "Are just what we… ne-e-e-e-ed!"

The male caracal named Banzai widened his mouth into a fiendish smile and gazed at Sandalwood and company as well, his tongue licking his lips as the other cats released sinister titters. Atreyu then whispered to Sandalwood (who returned to the group), Acerola and the macaws, "You lot open your wings and take off now, unless you wanna become cat food."

Sandalwood shot the emperor penguin chick a 'What!?' look.

"But… what about you penguins?" he asked.

"Don't worry abou' us," hissed JD as the urge to flee reached boiling point within him, especially at how the servals and caracals were beginning to hone in on them like circling vultures, their eyes burning with hunger. Sandalwood was about to protest again when one of the caracals shouted, "Hey, stop talking, you chatterboxes!"

"Yeah, you're just wasting the final minutes of your lives on palaver," said another, a serval. JD and Atreyu flashed the closing in servals and caracals a frightened glance, especially as Carnassial glared at the macaw chicks, obviously intent on sinking his fangs into their flesh, regardless of the rarity of the species of some of them. Atreyu, losing patience, then angrily seized Sandalwood in his wing flippers much to the shock of the others.

"Look, just TAKE TO THE AIR WILL YOU!?" he bellowed and with that, he heaved Sandalwood as he shouted, "Hey, hey, hey, HEEEEEY…" into the air. Sandalwood screamed as he found himself hurtling through space. His wings flapped madly and he flailed like a fish. Carnassial and the other cats looked on as the flailing flying fox then crashed into the dirt and rolled to a stop right before Shenzi, much to her surprise. Then Sandalwood began to quiver and shed frightened tears. Atreyu looked on as the flying fox pup continued to shake like a leaf and emit frightened squeaks as Acerola shouted, "Now look what you did! You've scared him OUTRIGHT!"

"Then why didn't he just open his wings and start flapping like all bats should!?" protested Tiana. However, the conversation was cut short when the group's ears picked up, "Pounce on 'em, boys and girls!" from the ringleader. Immediately, the group of penguins, flying fox pup and macaws all snapped their gazes from Sandalwood to the group of incoming servals and caracals as they leaped off the ground and flew towards the group, their front paws flaring their claws ready for tearing into flesh. Alarm tearing through him in a split-second, Atreyu lunged at some of the macaw chicks and shoved them to get them moving while he, JD, Tiana and Jacques moved themselves. Sirius and the others all screamed as the servals and caracals flew at them only to miss and crash in the spot where the group had been seconds before.

As the servals and caracals collapsed in a heap on the floor, Sirius, Bellatrix, Sylvester, Regulus and Vega and Acerola, terror flaring within them, then opened their wings and took to the air. Vega and Regulus also seized Sandalwood and helped him to his feet and within moments, the flying fox pup dashed off after the airborne macaw chicks and Acerola with JD, Atreyu, Tiana and Jacques following with Carnassial and his gang of servals and caracals in hot pursuit.

"AFTER THEEEEEM!" shouted the leader of the group and with screeches of hunger and rage, the pack of sandy brown and black spot and streak-studded golden pelted cats all scrambled to their feet and gave chase. As the four penguins charged along, Atreyu saw Sandalwood running rather than flying.

"Why aren't you in the air with the macaws and the other flying fox!?" he bellowed. Sandalwood flashed the emperor penguin a stunned glance. All this time he had kept his fear of flying a secret but now it was time for it to come to light and he had no more choice but to spill it.

"I-I-I um… can't…" he stammered as he sidestepped a rock and jumped over another pile of bones, apparently from another of the inhabitants of the Compartment of the Carnivores' kills. Atreyu, JD, Tiana and Jacques exchanged confused glances when suddenly, a caracal paw appeared and swiped at Tiana's lower back, making her scream and forcing the penguin chicks to run faster. Atreyu flashed a terrified glance back at the chasers and saw Carnassial and his gang, their glares flooded with murderous bloodlust, hunger and the desire for flesh, continue their relentless chase. Saliva spilled in large drops from the cats' mouths and Sandalwood could see the fiery hunger in the pairs of amber or golden slitted eyes. Sandalwood shuddered as those eyes brought back the image of the pair of eyes borne by the snake, the one that had almost turned him and Bellatrix into a meal back in Rio and had bitten Luna, his maternal aunt, during the incident at the clutches of Isabella, one of Marco and Anastasia's daughters and her comrades leading to his immense fear of heights and flying.

"You can't WHAT!?" barked JD's voice in its squeaky tone, pulling Sandalwood back to reality. This was it.

"I can't…" began Sandalwood when suddenly, a serval screech exploded behind him, making him snap his gaze behind him and when he saw one of the speckled cats lunge at him with its claws bared, Sandalwood unleashed a terrified scream and turned sharply right, sending the serval crashing into the ground and tumbling towards a den where some wild dogs, their fur smeared and dotted with orange and black patches like a calico cat's fur, lived. Sandalwood shot towards the penguins and jumped into Jacques's wing flippers.

"FLYYYYYYYY!" he finally managed to say. This was met by astonished glares from the four penguins.

"You've got to be JOKING!" growled Atreyu, jumping aside to avoid another pile of bones from another deceased animal. JD's foot snagged on one of the ribs but he managed to regain his balance before stumbling and continue running. One of the caracals also missed him by inches and instead struck the skeleton, much to his outrage.

"A flying fox," said Tiana, "That CANNOT FLY!?"

Sandalwood, a sad look on his face, nodded. Suddenly, Sirius's voice rang out.

"Penguin chicks, Sandalwood, look OUT!" called the Spix macaw from the air. The four penguin chicks and Sandalwood looked ahead and when they saw a wolf-like creature, another dog with black, golden orange and white blotches, smearing its body, walk in their path, they screamed and quickly swerved to the left to avoid crashing into it, much to the surprise of the African wild dog. The dog then looked on with a stunned face when suddenly, "MOVE, you SPECKLED SAVANNAH MUTT!" and before the wild dog could react, a caracal paw appeared and swiped it hard across the face, knocking it down as Carnassial and his gang charged past. A yelp of pain and shock exploded from the dog's mouth as it fell in a heap.

"You couldn't have told us until NOW!?" shouted Atreyu as he hung on for dear life in Jacque's wing flippers as the penguins continued to run for their lives.

"It wasn't important until NOW!" snapped Sandalwood as he desperately tried to avoid falling out of Jacques's wing flippers. Suddenly, a caracal cry erupted from behind the penguins, much to the terrified screams of the four penguins. JD stole a glance behind him and saw Carnassial and his gang hot on their tails.

"I wonder if dat yellow-crested cockatoo dat accidentally wandered into dis area had faced th' same scene before he met his end!" cried the macaroni penguin in his squeaky voice, sidestepping to avoid another pile of bones and some thorny plants.

"Shut up and KEEP RUNNING!" bellowed Atreyu. JD did so.

The chase continued through the Compartment of the Carnivores. As the colourful comets formed by Sirius and the other five shot past, followed by the quartet of racing penguins and subsequently the caracals and servals, eyes of more carnivores were pulled to the chase. One or two cheetahs from Africa and a leopard, also from Africa, resting in a tree looked on in surprise as the chase zoomed past them. Several carnivorous birds, among them some critically endangered vultures and owls, also watched the chase as it shot past. Atreyu, JD, Tiana and Jacques continued running with Sandalwood in the grasp, dodging every obstacle in their way and avoiding the paw swipes from their feline chasers behind them, but soon they were beginning to feel ache set in their legs and they were beginning to get out of breath. Their lungs struggled and strained to pull in the air to power their legs and fatigue was setting in. Behind them, Carnassial could sense that his and his group's prey was getting tired.

"We've got you now, you tasty meals!" he crooned, turning the penguins' blood to ice. Ahead of the penguins, Sirius and company had slowed down upon seeing the penguins beginning to slow down due to fatigue. However, they failed to notice that one of them was struggling to keep up as well. Sylvester, with his tattered tail, was finding it very difficult to fly. Macaws could not fly very well without their tails, and his missing tail was impeding Sylvester's ability to fly properly. As he realised he was lagging behind, panic began to set in the little Cuban macaw.

"Guys," called out Sylvester as he flapped his wings hard, "I CANNOT KEEP UP!"

No sooner than these words had escaped his beak when suddenly, a serval paw appeared and swiped the scarlet-like macaw chick right out of the air like a fly. This action plunged the rest of his group's blood and heart into icy water as Sylvester tumbled violently across the clearing and was scooped up by Carnassial. Acerola, Sirius and the others in the air froze.

"SYLVESTER!" cried Sirius. Sandalwood also gazed in immense terror from Jacques's wing flippers as Carnassial held the struggling Cuban macaw chick in his paws, a devilish, hunger-burning glare on his face.

"Now we've got ya, you unfortunate parrot," crooned Carnassial, his mouth oozing saliva which dripped like Luiz's drool from his mouth and onto the floor. Some of the other caracals and servals surrounded him as Sylvester, a petrified look on his face, shuddered violently. Sandalwood flashed a glance this way and that until his eyes landed on a doglike creature chewing on a bone. This dog resembled some domestic dog breeds and its fur was golden orange colour, similar to the amber fur of Sandalwood but more orange. As he gazed at the bone, especially as the dog put it down to turn to face something, an idea entered Sandalwood's head.

Sylvester continued screaming and writhing in Carnassial's paws as the bloodthirsty caracal prepared to eat him. Nearby, Sirius, Vega, Regulus and Bellatrix, the determination to save their Cuban red friend flaring within them, tried to approach Carnassial but were fended off by some of the caracals and servals who swiped their paws at them.

"Don't come any closer unless you wanna be meals too," crooned Shenzi, one of the servals, evilly. She swiped her paws at Sirius but the Spix macaw dodged. Acerola then shot off to call for help. As Sirius, Bellatrix, Vega and Regulus continued attempting to rescue Sylvester from Carnassial's clutches, Tiana rushing in to help only to be stopped by Atreyu who feared for her safety, one of the caracal's paw swiped clipped Vega on the belly. Screams of pain and fright erupted from the Lear's macaw as some navy blue feathers flew from her belly and a small scratch appeared where the claws had made contact.

"It's no use!" shouted Bellatrix, "These cats are too smart!"

"Consume that chick, Carnassial. After all, you've caught it first!" shouted one of the servals as it slashed its claws at Bellatrix, forcing her to dodge. This turned the blood of Sirius, Regulus, Vega and Bellatrix into ice as Sylvester's piercing screams reached their ears.

"NOOOOOOO!" cried the four as they watched Carnassial raise their struggling friend above his mouth, ready to consume him alive. Sylvester gazed below him and screamed as he saw the open slimy death trap lined with razor sharp teeth with a flap of pinkish skin on the bottom and a hole with a fleshy drip at the back but before Sylvester could be dropped into the trap and to his demise, the sounds of enraged barking erupted, alerting Carnassial and his gang. Sirius, Bellatrix, Vega and Regulus, and also Atreyu, Tiana, Jacques and JD, who noticed that a certain flying fox was missing from Jacques's wing flippers, shot stunned gazes in the direction of the sound's source and to their surprise; they saw a bone move towards the servals and caracals.

"WHERE'S MY BONE!?" shouted a doglike creature. It then turned and glared at another cat, a cheetah, furiously.

"Someone stole my bone," continued the dog.

"I hadn't taken it," said the cheetah.

"WHERE IS IT!?" demanded the dog despite the slender, spotted cat's protests, lurching forward at the cat and making it back away. It was then that its glare turned to where its bone had gone and when it saw its possession near the servals and caracals, a "HEY!" erupted from his mouth. Carnassial (who had Sylvester dangling in his paw close to the ground, having been distracted from his attempt to eat him) and his gang glared at the dog as it charged towards them.

"HOW DARE YOU TAKE MY BONE, you PESKY CATS!" snarled the animal and with that, it released enraged growls. During the ensuing chaos, Sandalwood rushed to Carnassial and as soon as he was near the paw that held Sylvester, the flying fox pup jumped onto the arm and as soon as he was on it, he opened his mouth and with all his might, he plunged his razor sharp teeth into the flesh of Carnassial's paw. An extremely loud and agonised screech erupted from Carnassial's mouth and in the process; the grip on Sylvester was released, dropping the Cuban macaw chick onto the ground. Sandalwood seized the chick and dashed off, moments before the dog, which Bellatrix identified as a dingo from Australia, then began to unleash its fury on the caracals and servals, accusing them of stealing his bone.

With the caracals and servals occupied by the dingo, Atreyu and the others including Sandalwood and a badly shaken Sylvester, prepared to dash away. However, the group did not get very far when suddenly and out of nowhere, cupped meshes attached to rings came flying in and ensnared Vega, Regulus, Sirius and Bellatrix as they raced away. Another net captured Acerola while a transparent plastic open ended cube plunged over Atreyu, JD, Tiana, Jacques, Sandalwood and Sylvester, catching all six at once. At first, alarm tore through the group but when they realised that the holders of the traps were only humans, JD breathed a sigh of relief.

"Our human carers must have been alerted by the commotion," he said. Sandalwood, Sylvester and Atreyu, however, didn't look as happy but they were grateful that the human carers had come to rescue them from the dangerous carnivores and put them back into Dundee and his group's jungle enclosure, and away from the claws of Carnassial and his group.

Moments later, Acerola, Sandalwood, Sylvester, Sirius, Bellatrix, Vega and Regulus, together with Atreyu, JD, Tiana and Jacques, were imported back into the other enclosure. They were relieved to be back in the safe zone. However, that relief was short-lived and the group soon found themselves confronted by an emu who wore a very displeased facial expression. With him were Sardonyx, Shade, Greg, Sadie, and also Kiara the echidna, Reepicheep the platypus, Flax and Harakeke the kiwis, and Gus, Sparky and Lilo the cockatiels and all of these also wore the same facial expressions as Dundee as they glared at Sandalwood and company. Not too far away, Lusamine, Cato, Guzma and their gang watched from a tree and some bushes, fearful looks on their faces while Gladion and Lillie, who had left earlier to get help, sat perched with the others in Sandalwood's group, among them Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine and Thymine. Steven, Connie, Opal, Roxanne, Lars and Kevin also stood with the group, and all of them wore flabbergasted looks on their faces when they saw Sandalwood and the others and also Atreyu and the other three penguins as they stood before a very displeased Dundee and some of his inner circle animals.

"To my tent, NOW!" barked the emu, sending a massive jolt coursing through Sandalwood and the others. With ashamed looks on their faces, Acerola, Sandalwood, Sylvester, Vega, Regulus Sirius and Bellatrix, Atreyu, JD, Tiana and Jacques sauntered past Dundee and the other animals and left for the tent.