Disclaimer: I do not own The Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters, but I do own Alex the penguin and a lot more characters who appear in this story.
After leaving the zoo, Alex found herself walking alongside a road that didn't seem to have an end to it; car after car sped by her. When she first left the zoo, she spotted cars in the parking lot and remembered the stories her mother told her about how humans use them to travel to places faster.
Then she left the parking lot behind and she was nearly knocked backwards by a car speeding past. She stood frozen for a very long time. She knew her mother said people use cars to get to where they were going faster, but she never imagined they could be that fast! It took seeing several other cars zooming by until she relaxed.
She said they usually stuck to the road, so I should be safe if I keep my distance from them, she told herself.
Now she has been walking next to this road since she left the zoo, staying closer to the trees on her other side. The sun was starting to set and still there was no sign of a town or any stores. Nothing but trees and this endless road and the cars that went by in a flash.
Before long, it was almost too dark to travel and she realized she had to find some place to sleep for the night. Turning away from the road, she headed into the trees. She didn't realize how thirsty she was until she started hearing water.
Eagerly, she rushed forward. A clearing opened up before her and she stopped beside the little pond in the center. She plunged her head under water, swallowing mouthfuls of it until she was satisfied. But before she could lift her head up, a tiny silver fish swam into her mouth. Startled, she sat up, gulping the fish down.
Her hunger subsided a little and she ducked her head under again, scooping up a few more of the fish. Happily, licking her beak, she looked around. She spotted a grassy area that looked nice for sleeping and curled up, closing her eyes.
Immediately she found herself in a dream, endless wandering across unknown land, and when she woke in the morning, she felt just as exhausted as if she had really walked all night long. After taking another drink and eating some more fish, she retraced her steps back to the road. Once or twice she thought she was lost, but soon she found it and she was struggling along again, with cars flying past her.
Finally, way after noon, she spotted something tall in the distance and realized it was a building. She hurried forward, almost running, until she was standing in front of a large space where there were countless cars parked.
Curious, she decided to go check it out. She knew she had to be careful because there were people everywhere. When she came to the building, she hesitated outside the door, wondering if she should go inside. She wanted to know what was inside, but it was crawling with humans.
Taking a deep breath, she rushed forward, when there was a gap between people and then she was inside. Almost at once there was a blast of chaos, and she stumbled backwards, into a wall. There was commotion everywhere, people talking loudly as they walked by, unaware of Alex, weird sounds and smells she's never encountered before. Her heart was pounding and she braced herself to run outside again.
But a strong smell stopped her. The clearing with the pond seemed a very long time ago and hunger drove her forward, further into the store. The smell led her into a smaller room with just a handful of people around. She stopped in front of a table, realizing the smell was coming from up there.
She jumped up and inhaled the scent coming from a box. She picked up one of the food and examined it. It was in some weird shape, but it was definitely food. Unable to help herself, she took a bite out of it, and immediately a powerful salty taste hit her and she stumbled backwards in surprise. She fell off the table and hit the floor.
In desperate need of water, she looked around, spotting a cup on another table. She hurried to it and sucked on the straw. Expecting water, she nearly fell off the table again when another unfamiliar taste entered her mouth. But it wasn't totally unpleasant and it took away the salty taste. She took another sip, then went to grab another salty treat, immediately taking another sip of the mysterious drink.
Soon she realized the food wasn't so bad when she had something to wash the salt out of her mouth. Full, she sat back and licked her beak; then she took one more sip of drink and turned to leave.
The chaotic sounds have dulled to a murmur now and the smells didn't seem as strange anymore, so she decided to go exploring a little. She made sure no humans saw her. She was surrounded by so many weird and confusing things, and soon her head started to hurt.
Maybe it's time I left, she told herself as she turned yet another corner. She looked around, heart pounding when she realized she didn't recognize anything. I'm lost!
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