Chapter 98- the devastating aftermath of the fire
Sunrise and morning
As the sun rose into the sky opposite Copacabana Beach of Rio, its reflection shimmering like a pool of honey in the sea stretched out below it, the trees of the Blu Bird Sanctuary continued to smoke but the fire had died down; the firefighters had managed to get the orange, glowing beast under control in some areas of the forest while in some other places, the fire had burned itself out, the fuel having been consumed. Only a few small clusters of flames remained but the majority of the forest had been reduced to blackened skeletal structures stripped of their greenery and other colours such as from fruit and flowers. They were now nothing more than smoking black pieces of burned wood and ash, and the forest floor was a desolate bombsite with streams of smoke rising lazily from the remains of what were once ferns and shrubs and young trees, several clusters of little orange fingers still dancing in a few patches and pieces of blackened wood still simmering with red edges. Almost all the greenery of the undergrowth at this level had been totally consumed by the fire last night, and the trees the Blu Bird Sanctuary residents called home were nothing more than black skeletal structures, like trees straight from an arid desert. It truly was a disaster zone in the sanctuary.
At Tulio's Aviary, Tulio's team continued to work and keep an eye on the casualties, bird and non-bird alike, while some of them, such as Tulio and Linda, had left to get some rest outside. The majority of Blu and company's group had also tried to get some rest last night but the traumatic activities, especially with almost losing all of their kids for a second time, had prevented them from actually getting off to sleep. While the activities of the humans continued, some of Blu's group members had decided to take a trip into the burned forest for it was now safe to enter the jungle and that morning had come. Andromeda and Eragon, together with Blu, Jewel, Rafael, Augustus, Melissa, Zephyr and Aurora were some of the group members and were flying through the charred forest. As the nine flew along, with Andromeda and Eragon riding on their bat-birds, they began to survey the damage to the forest the fire had left behind. When it had been dark, the damaged trees were only seen as a glimpse but now it was morning, the sun's rays bathing the devastated forest in its golden light, the full extent of the damage could clearly be seen and what Blu and the other eight surveyed sent shivers down their spines. The sea of ashen trees and lack of greenery, together with the smoke rising lazily in thin streams from some areas brought to Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Aurora, Augustus and Melissa's minds of what the Sanctuary de Amazon looked like after the previous fire ripped through the jungle in the Amazon years ago. It was honestly like a tree graveyard, and the vast number of large, ashen trunks, some slanted diagonally to the ground and leaning against other trunks, indicating that these trees had fallen during the fire, brought to mind a deforested area in which some trees were uprooted by the loggers and their machines or blown at their base by explosives called dynamite and sent toppling over, or even the aftermath of a storm involving strong winds which were sometimes known for blowing trees over.
"This is exactly the devastation we always discuss with our chicks back in our clan if they EVER mishandle fire and it gets severely out of control," whispered Andromeda in utter awe at the sea of blackened trees. Rouge, her bat-bird also whimpered timidly at the sight of the blackened trees and the few streams of smoke rising here and there.
"I-I-I just cannot believe that so many of my and Eva's sons and daughters are so careless or even negligent in telling their offspring about fire and fire-related things," said Rafael as he took in the horrifying scene, "like matches and lighters, and how dangerous they can be if they mess with it."
"NEVER play with matches or lighters, or ANYTHING ELSE that starts fires," said Blu seriously. He remembered rebuking Carla, Bia and Tiago this when they were about to send the first fireworks into the sky on New Year's Eve when they were only chicks, and Zephyr and Aurora had also severely disciplined their four first-brood chicks, Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil when they were playing about near some candles when they were little as well and they were visiting Tulio and Linda's cottage and they had some candles set up during a power cut at the time. It was absolutely true; you must NEVER, EVER… mess with matches or any other fire-starting items AT ALL!
As the nine continued to fly on, Zephyr looked ahead but when his gaze landed on a familiar spot, his green eyes widened and he drew in a horrified breath.
"Oh, dear…" he breathed in utter horrified awe. Andromeda, Eragon, Blu, Jewel, Rafael, Augustus, Melissa and Aurora followed Zephyr's gaze and when they also landed on the familiar spot, the faces of all but the archaeobirds and the flying foxes morphed into looks of utter disappointment. Coming into view was the spot where the Chinesa Vista was built and Blu and the other eight could see that it was now nothing more than a collapsed pile of charred wood and straw. This monument had obviously been consumed by the fire with the trees and had collapsed, just when Sheldon and some of the other birds were rescuing Betelgeuse, Rigel and Antares. Tulio and Linda's cottage, which was built not too far away from the Chinesa Vista, had somehow escaped the fire but Blu and company were not interested in this place just now. Blu, Jewel, Rafael, Augustus, Melissa, Zephyr and Aurora, and Andromeda and Eragon on their bat-birds, all descended to the rubble that was once the Chinesa Vista and touched down to survey the smoking debris up close.
"What an utter MESS!" cried Aurora in disbelief as she began to dig through some pieces of flimsy, burned hair, obviously remains of the straw roof of the building. Nearby, Zephyr, Jewel and Blu examined the pieces of burned wooded beams and slabs until Blu's talon landed on something circular. Linda's best friend whipped round and when his brown eyes landed on the thing, his body shuddered and his face changed to a look of utter disappointment.
"What is it, Blu?" asked Zephyr when he saw Blu gaze at something. Blu looked up at him and stepped aside to show Zephyr what he had found.
"It's the Blu Bird Sanctuary plaque with my face on it," he said in a saddened voice, "It's been completely obliterated."
Zephyr and Jewel, together with Rafael, Aurora, Augustus, Melissa, Andromeda and Eragon and the two bat-birds came in and examined what remained of said plaque. The circular plaque which once read the name of the sanctuary and had Blu's face in its centre was now nothing more than a burned piece of wood. The letters only read 'Bl- -i- Sa-r-, R- -J-ro', for most of the letters had been charred off, and only a small portion of Blu's face was visible in the ashen centre. Zephyr put a comforting wing on Blu's shoulder.
"I'm sure Tulio will build and fashion a new Chinesa Vista eventually, Blu," he said. Blu just breathed a sad sigh and continued to gaze at the remains of the plaque.
"Those toucan chicks and that chameleon have absolutely ruined everything," he said, "Not just the Chinesa Vista but the homes of all the other locals on this reserve as well, including the colony of Linda's orange bats."
"Chameleon?" asked Andromeda confused.
"He was that reptile that had followed us from that 'Paradise Sanctuary' place in Peru to here," explained Augustus, "According to Sandalwood, his name was Dalek and he had an extremely deep-seated grudge against all parrots," his face then morphed into a frown, "he must have been the one to have hatched this diabolical plan to set the whole sanctuary ablaze…"
"And must have recruited, or rather manipulated, a small, delinquent flock of a certain type of bird," put in Aurora, "to do his bidding."
"And those birds were those toucan chicks," said Rafael.
"Exactly," said Jewel angrily with the others nodding in agreement. Just then, a familiar voice shouted, "Blu, Jewel, Zephyr, Aurora, Rafy, what are you guys doing out 'ere?"
"Wi' those large dog-like bats an' those bizarre birds an' beaked bat-like creatures," put in another. Andromeda, Eragon, their two bat-birds, Blu, Jewel, Rafael, Augustus, Melissa, Zephyr and Aurora all looked up to the speakers, which were a canary with his bottle cap hat and his cardinal friend, descend from the sky with several other birds, among them a toucan but of another species (chestnut-billed), a rosette spoonbill and a familiar peregrine falcon with the recognisable spot pattern resembling the 'belt and sword' part of the constellation he was named after on his belly.
"Nico, Pedro, Dino, Kipo, Orion, guys," said Rafael as Pedro's group touched down and walked over to them.
"What are you doing here?" asked Blu.
"Dat was the question I asked," said Pedro in his usual rapper voice but without the cheerful tone. His head then moved about so that his gaze could scan the destroyed Chinesa Vista, "I believe dis is the Chinesa tower, am I right?"
"I'm afraid it is," said Blu sadly, before his gaze returned to the remains of the plaque, "And this is what's left of the sign of the sanctuary's name."
Dino, the chestnut-billed, or mandibled, toucan, came over and gazed at it, before issuing Blu a sympathetic look.
"At least it can be replaced," he said comfortingly. Blu nodded in agreement.
"How are the evacuated residents doing?" asked Augustus as he stood with Melissa, Andromeda and Eragon, and the two bat-birds. Nico turned to the large flying fox.
"'Dey're doin' just fine, my doglike bat friend," he said, "Just utterly devastated over th' mess caused by th' fire."
"Not to mention the loss of our homes," put in Kipo. Then his face morphed into a scowl, "According to Orton my cousin, it is found that the major cause of that fire last night was you-know-who…"
"We know," said Andromeda with an angry look, "We saw some of those big-beaked hoodlums with those branches set afire with our own eyes."
"A parrot-detesting chameleon apparently manipulated those toucan chicks into playing with those lit branches," put in Aurora. Shock tore through Nico and Pedro's group.
"A CHAMELEON!?" shouted Orion incredulously. Then Zephyr put up a wing.
"It's a long story," he said, "And also complicated. Now is not the time to talk about it."
"Yes, we gotta focus on searching for some places for the other locals to stay until the sanctuary restores itself," said Nico as he removed his bottle-cap hat and began to fiddle with it. Then Orion's gaze morphed into a glare and he began to scour the surrounding charred jungle with it.
"Speaking of troublesome toucans," said Hermione's mate, "While we were flying through the incinerated jungle, we discovered quite a few burned carcases, both on the floor and in some hollows, which we identified must be some of the toucans," his gaze returned to Blu's group, "It appears that some of those troublesome toucans had tried hiding in the hollows only to end up trapped and roasted, while those that had died on the floor did not make it out in time…"
"Or were likely burned alive by the branches some of those chicks carelessly carried," put in Dino, his wings folded.
"That's what happens when you play with fire like that, especially without guidance and knowledge of the dangers of it, such as how to handle it safely," said Eragon firmly, "It can turn deadly and cause damage such as this," he gestured to the sea of smoking and ashen trees stripped of their greenery with his wing, the wing that was not in a cast unlike the other one whose shoulder was still healing.
"Correct, Eragon," said Blu. He then felt it was time to return to Tulio's Aviary, "Now if you guys don't mind, we'd like to head back. Thanks for stopping by."
"No problem Blu," said Pedro with a cheery smile, "By th' way, how are your grandkids doin'?"
"We heard from Orton that some of them, among them Spinel and her hybrid green-winged/scarlet mate's tree chicks had been through a horrific ordeal thanks to those wretched toucans, such as one of them having that piece of wood embedded in her shoulder," added Orion.
"Rigel's had that wood shard removed from her shoulder but Betelgeuse and Antares are still unconscious," replied Zephyr, "I believe it was smoke inhalation that overwhelmed them greatly."
"Dat's dreadful," said Nico sympathetically, "I sure 'ope they're alright."
"They're actually stable," said Blu, "We were actually on edge for their lives."
"Thanks for asking anyway," said Jewel with a rare small smile due to these times.
"An' I sure hope that the other kids are alright too," said one of the accompanying macaws, a blue-and-gold (not Porthos or Orquidea). Blu's group nodded to this.
"Right, we'll let you get off and return to Tulio's Aviary while we continue to look for survivors who had not moved with us to where we stayed due to toucan trouble," said Dino as Blu and his group opened their wings and lofted into flight with Augustus and Melissa dropping into the air and Andromeda and Eragon mounting their bat-birds, "We'll see you again anytime soon."
"Okay, see you," said Blu as he began to lead Andromeda, Eragon, Jewel, Rafael, Augustus, Melissa, Zephyr and Aurora back in the direction of Tulio's Aviary. Jewel then turned to Orion and said, "Tell Hermione we wish you good luck with your new clutch of two eggs at Luiz's garage."
Orion smiled and nodded as Blu and the others left. Then Nico, Pedro and the others with them also took off and continued their search for survivors, leaving the rubble of the Chinesa Vista as they disappeared into the blackened, smoking trees.
Meanwhile, at Tulio's Aviary
Tulio's team continued their jobs in treating the bird and animal casualties and looking after those in recovery, and some of the animals present were snoozing but not sleeping. Outside the intensive care unit, a certain family of red macaws, one a blue-and-gold and a son of Porthos and Orquidea, were huddled together, snoozing but were just waking up. Athos and Ruby, together with Spinel, Sheldon, Wilbur and Poinsettia, stretched their wings while the chicks Rigel (her shoulder where the wood shard had been embedded in bandages), Adenine, Thymine, Guanine and Cytosine stirred. All these chicks had been allowed out of their cages from the recovery room for those cages were needed for recovering bird casualties and they had joined with Athos and the others to wait for Betelgeuse and Antares to come round.
"I still cannot believe that those two, along with Rigel, had managed to struggle through that fire on foot all by themselves," said Athos as he gazed into the intensive care unit as a woman walked out with a slab called a clipboard, "I think that's why the three eventually collapsed."
"The trauma of the fire, plus smoke inhalation, plus struggling with their injuries, plus helping each other with none of them being able to fly," said Poinsettia, "The calculations tell me that it's no surprise."
"I've never known a trio of chick to push themselves to such extreme measures as those to save themselves when the odds of survival in that burning forest were stacked massively against them," added Wilbur. Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine and Guanine shuddered at the thought of this. The Catalina chicks could not imagine themselves being in that situation. Then Spinel came in, a furious scowl on her face.
"I just cannot BELIEVE that that inconsiderate, selfish SWINE Sofia, her mate Marcel and their comrades would just abandon all THREE of our chicks and leave them to struggle out of that fire themselves, especially at their most DIRE need," she growled.
"It's probably even worse than being trapped in a burrow with the entrance sealed by a heavy rock," put in Sheldon, to which Adenine and his three siblings shot a disbelieving glance. To them, being sealed in a burrow with a savage monster in the form of destructive orange flames belching out smoke and ripping through the forest was just as terrifying as Betelgeuse, Rigel and Antares' ordeal but then the four Catalina chicks remembered that the three had been unable to fly to escape the danger, so they were forced to agree with Sheldon's statement. Nearby, Aramis and Benjamin came in. Petunia was busy looking after Altair and Aldebaran.
"I think your chicks have inherited your toughness, Spinel," said Aramis, trying to cheer Spinel up.
"Especially by pushing themselves to extremes," added Benjamin, before his gaze turned to Athos, "Don't you remember your father facing his fear of rushing water when that deranged bat dropped your mother into it to drown? Dad told me and Regina that shortly after the flying fox war."
Spinel and Sheldon turned their gazes to Athos as he stood with Ruby and nodded.
"I would likely do the same thing if Spinel were thrown into that life-endangering situation," said Sheldon. Spinel shot her ruby (scarlet/green-winged hybrid) mate a moved smile, the first one she had managed since the beginning of the fiery mess starting with the toucans making off with the kids. Just then, Porthos (his injured talon from cutting himself on a shard of glass in a broken window in a fresh bandage) and Orquidea rushed out, ascended the ladder attached to the table and appeared before Athos and his family. The faces of both of them were laced with excitement and joy, the first real burst of those positive emotions since last night. Athos and company turned to the two newcomers who were the maternal grandparents of Adenine and his siblings.
"Guys, Spinel, Sheldon!" cried Porthos excitedly.
"Both Betelgeuse and Antares are coming round!" added Orquidea. Amazed glances were exchanged throughout Athos and company, and hope blossomed within them.
"Are they?" asked Spinel hopefully. Porthos and Orquidea, wide smiles and sparkling eyes on their faces, nodded. Then without hesitation, the group of scarlet and Catalina macaws and Aramis left the table, climbed down the ladder and hurried through the door and into the intensive care unit.
Within moments, the group had gathered around Antares and Betelgeuse's beds with Spinel, Sheldon and Rigel right by the side of the little chicks. The ventilator masks were still over their beaks and the stickers with wires attached to a heart machine were still present on their torso. Betelgeuse's head and talon were still bandaged but she and Antares were stirring.
"Oh, oh my babies," cried Spinel, her wing on her older daughter's head and that of Antares. Then Betelgeuse's orange-yellow eyes slowly flickered open and turned to look at her mother who stroked her head. Antares also opened his green eyes.
"Mo… Mommy?" squeaked the first chick. Then Spinel leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
"Oh, Betelgeuse, my sweetheart," cried she in utter relief, the second wave of relief she had felt since Betelgeuse and the other missing kids including Sandalwood had been found at the fraudulent Paradise Sanctuary, "You're alright," Spinel kissed Betelgeuse's forehead again, "You're okay. Your mommy, daddy and sister are here, okay, and your brother's coming round too?"
Betelgeuse's eyes then flickered to Sheldon and Rigel, both of who smiled and walked in to stroke her head and hug her. Then Spinel kissed Antares on the forehead as he also woke up.
"You sure had us seriously worried, my girl, along with Antares, your brother," said Sheldon as he gave his daughter a hug.
"Is… Rigel alright?" asked Betelgeuse in a small voice. Rigel came in and showed her sister her bandaged shoulder.
"The wood shard's been removed," she said. Betelgeuse managed a small smile under the ventilator mask, Antares doing the same as Spinel broke the hug with him. As Sheldon and Rigel hugged Antares too, Athos, Ruby, Porthos, Orquidea, Poinsettia, Wilbur, Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine and Thymine looked on and smiled. Betelgeuse and Antares then slowly turned their gazes to these macaws standing behind Spinel, Sheldon and Rigel.
"Uncle Wilbur, Aunt Poinsettia," Betelgeuse wearily but happily said. Antares also spoke, "Grandpa Athos… Grandma Ruby… cousins..."
Athos nodded and smiled back. Just then, the sounds of wing-flaps reached their ears, prompting Athos and company to look up. Carla and Bia had just flown in.
"How are those two doing?" asked Carla. Spinel, Sheldon and Rigel backed away and revealed an awakened pair of half-ruby chicks to the two Spix macaws. When they saw that Betelgeuse and Antares had come round, relief flowed through Carla and Bia as well. The two Spix macaws touched down and took it in turns to hug the pair with Bia going first.
"Oh, Betelgeuse, Antares," cried Bia with a kiss on the crown of each of them, "You're alright. We were SO WORRIED for you two while you were comatose."
"We thought we were gonna lose you both," said Carla as she took her turn to hug and kiss the chicks as well. Then after Carla had landed another kiss on Antares' forehead, Porthos came in and placed his wings on the two Spix macaws' shoulders.
"I think it's time to leave Betelgeuse and Antares to get some rest, girls," he said gently. Bia and Carla flashed him a smile and gazed back at the two chicks.
"We look forward to seeing you back with us, my little wildflowers," said Carla. Even though Betelgeuse and Antares were red macaws, they were like a niece and nephew to Carla and Bia, just like the other chicks of Carla and company, as well as Sandalwood, Ferdinand and Acerola and of course Gladion and Lillie. Carla and Bia flashed one last smile at the two chicks before they finally turned and left with Porthos and Orquidea, leaving Athos and the others to stay by the two chicks' side for a few more minutes.
As the four entered the main medical room, Carla said, "So it's true that Betelgeuse, Rigel and Antares had helped each other through that life-and-death ordeal after that wretched Sofia abandoned them, is that right, Uncle Porthos?"
"What they did was an extremely brave and courageous thing, Carla and Bia," said Porthos with a stern smile.
"Yes," added Orquidea, "Especially Rigel when Antares and Betelgeuse passed out. She was the one who called Sheldon and his group in," she flashed a gaze at Athos's group just as they were about to leave Betelgeuse and Antares to rest in the intensive care room, "but even then, those three would have likely died if Sheldon and his group had not been in the right place at the right time…"
Porthos, Bia and Carla nodded in agreement. Had Sheldon, Zebedee, Iris, Finnick, Aramis, Wilbur, Luna, Sebastian and Anabelle not been nearby, it was likely that all three of those chicks would have died in the fire, resulting in Spinel and Sheldon losing their entire brood permanently. The outrage at Sofia and her gang for leaving the trio to fend for themselves in the fire was still burning within these four macaws and the rest of the members of Blu's group as well. Once, Poinsettia and Wilbur had also lashed at Sofia a while ago, shortly after Blu had left with Andromeda, Eragon and their bat-birds, and Jewel, Rafael, Augustus, Melissa, Zephyr and Aurora for a flight out to check on the damaged and burned forest of the sanctuary, and while the rest of the badly behaved toucans were being caught and caged though some had managed to escape. Wilbur had given Sofia an extremely hard punch to the belly with a clenched talon like a fist outside Tulio's Aviary while she and some of the other toucans, among them Marco, Anastasia and Marcel, were fleeing the Aviary with many of their kids, resulting in Sofia curling up on the floor with her wings clasped on her stomach and had to be carried away by her comrades, but not before Poinsettia made her mark by slashing the toucan over the left cheek and carving a bleeding scratch. Poinsettia, Wilbur, Sheldon and Spinel and the rest of Blu's group, were still extremely livid at the toucans for what they had done to Sandalwood and the other kids, as well as the other beyond-wicked and careless things they had done, and the news that the fire was caused by the toucan chicks playing with fire will soon spread to the other residents of the sanctuary who were staying either at the foot of the Christ the Redeemer statue, Luiz's garage or anywhere else in the city of Rio.
While Porthos, Orquidea, Bia and Carla continued to think about these things, a small group of glaucous macaws walked in. Neytiri, Trixie, Aiden and Tristan had been in the artificial chamber to check on Gylfie, a task they had been carrying out throughout last night. Now that Gylfie was the very last known fruithawk alive, she was now kept a strict eye on by two or three of Tulio's team members. At the same time, one of the ornithologists walked over to Porthos, Orquidea, Bia and Carla and gently picked Porthos up off the floor.
"Looks like my healing talon's going to have another check-up," said Porthos as he was carried away, leaving the other three with the four glaucous macaws. Tristan gazed after Porthos as he was taken to a worktop where some more injured birds with bandages and casts were resting.
"I still cannot believe that Uncle Porthos had slashed his talon open on that piece of glass of that broken window during that hasty evacuation from Tulio and Linda's cottage the other night," said he in utter awe at Porthos's bandaged talon.
"When those wretched toucans initiated a savage attack on us," growled Trixie angrily.
"And I still cannot believe that they would even go for Tulio, Linda, Fernando and baby Tommy as well," added Aiden. Neytiri, her wing still in its cast, gazed at him. Then thoughts for a certain fruithawk and her wellbeing returned to their minds, and the four glaucous macaws' faces turned sombre once again.
"How is Gylfie doing, you four?" asked Orquidea.
"Not good I'm afraid," said Neytiri sadly, "She's been utterly devastated and severely traumatised by what has happened over the past week, and she is weakening from a severely broken heart."
"Especially after what has happened to Aurum," added Tristan. Worried shock ignited within Orquidea, Bia and Carla and they exchanged glances.
"She's unwell!?" asked Bia.
"Exactly," said Aiden, but then a glimmer entered his eyes, "But on the upside, and to the joy of the ornithologists, it is likely that she may be expecting a clutch of eggs."
"Especially based on her behaviour, such as restlessness, moodiness and the desire to eat a large amount of fruit and calcium-rich foods," added Trixie, "But she is determined to save her strength for the vitally important time."
Then small smiles appeared on Orquidea, Bia and Carla's beaks. Aiden came forward.
"And you'll be surprised to know that she and Aurum used to be chick-hood friends before humans came along and decimated their clan," he said, "We asked Gylfie about her past and she told us that, but then for some reason, the two grew to hate each other and separated when they were young adults."
"It was only recent that the two had made up and decided to start a family to preserve their species," added Trixie, "Especially when they realised that they were the only two golden fruithawks left in the entire world…"
"But now with Aurum gone," put in Neytiri sadly, "Gylfie has been left with an irreparably damaged heart, especially at the thought of being the very last individual of her species, but she is trying her best to keep up her strength for the sake of her and Aurum's offspring…"
Bia shot Carla and Or uidea a furious look.
"Looks like those rotten toucan chicks have done a good job in adding one of the most precious individuals to the list of shattered hearts, folks, with their stupid messing about with the fire," she said sarcastically.
"Some of Tulio's team is out there in the incinerated jungle desperately trying to search for Aurum," said Orquidea, but then her face fell, "But they have yet to find out that he has died in the fire…"
"Let's hope that the golden fruithawk species is pulled from the brink of extinction in time," said Carla. The others nodded in agreement before Neytiri, Tristan, Trixie and Aiden left to tend to Arcturus, Canopus and Katniss who had been playing with some of the other macaw chicks.