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.

In her desperate need to find the way out, Alex was almost seen several times, but always at the last minute, she ducked into hiding. She started noticing signs high above her head and she found herself wishing that she could read; she had a feeling those signs told her what was around.

When she was younger, Grace had begun to teach her the sound of every letter and how to sound words out, but Alex decided that she'd never need to know how to read because at the zoo, she didn't have anything to read. But now she wished she had stuck with it.

Pushing away the frustration aimed at herself for giving up when she was younger, she began to put together the sounds of the letters in hopes of reading one of the signs. She almost lost hope of doing this when she couldn't figure out one word, but then she turned a corner and realized that it must say toys because there were shelves and shelves of toys in front of her.

She made a mental note that it was spelled T.O.Y.S in case she saw the word again. Then she spotted a sign that she was able to sound out.

"Books," she murmured to herself, and excitement shot through her when she saw many books. She kept sounding out words, managing to read more signs than she was not able to, but the others she couldn't figure out, she soon knew what they must say because of what was nearby.

Glad to have an idea of where she was in the store, she began to feel more confident, though she was sure to always stay hidden. But she didn't fully relax until she spotted the sign that she knew said exit and she made a dash for it, bursting outside. For a brief moment she was so relieved to be in the open again, that she forgot about the people entering and leaving the store.

As soon as she remembered that someone might spot her, she hid. Carefully, she glanced around and saw a smaller building off to the side of the larger one and in front of her, the parking lot stretched out to the main road.

She wondered how long she had been lost in the store because the sun was starting to go down and fewer cars were parked in front of the store.

She sighed deeply and then turned to find a quiet place to sleep that she wouldn't be seen. Behind the store, she found a few cardboard boxes and crawled into one. Suddenly a shadow fell over her and she looked up to see dark clouds massing overhead, blotting out the setting sun.

Soon, the downpour started, and the rain seeped through the box, drenching her through her feathers. Shivering, she crouched down, miserable. Then the box collapsed around her and she somehow got even wetter.

Now standing in the rain, she looked around for a dry spot. She ducked under a garbage bin, cold and wet, staring out at the pounding rain and wondering if she had been right to leave the safety of the penguin habitat.

Sighing miserably, she curled up, wishing she had never even thought about leaving. She pictured herself back home, with her mother beside her, and her two friends, Grace and Jason, not far from her. If she'd stayed, she'd be warm and safe right now.

Part of her wished she had stayed inside the store, but she reminded herself that while inside, she had no idea that it was getting to be so late or that it was about to rain. Also, she didn't think she could have gotten very comfortable inside with so many weird smells and sounds and people walking around.

She sighed again, curling up tighter, reflecting that she wasn't comfortable out here either.

Eventually, she fell asleep, but it was an uneasy one, with it being interrupted by dreams of struggling through heavy rainstorms on an endless journey, and in her disturbed sleep, she wondered if she'd ever make it to her father or if she'd be lost forever.

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