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.
The family arrived at the hotel, and when they weren't looking, Alex sneaked out of the van and looked around. She knew she was now in Manhattan, New York, because the grow-ups mentioned it to their kids. But she never imagined she could find a city so huge and busy; nothing she's seen on her journey by far compared to this. Even the stores she's been inside seemed tame now that she faced the tall buildings and the noises and all the smells of Manhattan.
Confused and lost, she stumbled forward. She didn't get far before she ran into a rat.
"Excuse me," she said, but the rat completely ignored her and carried on down the road. She frowned and went to look for some more animals. She tried asking directions from a dog, but he too ignored her. She tried a few more times, but nobody would stop for her.
Then she ran into a cat, a yellow tabby who had one blue eye and one green eye. The cat stopped and eyed her curiously. "Hello," he said, and Alex jumped in surprise, hardly believing he had stopped to talk.
"Hello!" she said a little too eagerly. Forcing herself to relax, she asked," What's your name? I'm Alex."
"Max," he answered, widening his eyes. "I'm surprised to see a penguin out here. Do you know more flightless birds who make up a group? They live at the zoo."
Joy shot through Alex when she remembered her mother telling her that Skipper had a team. She nodded, a little too eagerly again. "Can you point me in the direction of the zoo, please?"
"Sure." Max flicked his paw toward a wooded area not far from the city.
"Thank you!" she said and dashed away. Max called after her," Tell them I said hello!"
She followed the way the cat pointed and soon the city turned into a park, with many trees and paths. She had traveled for a bit into the park, then decided to rest for the night because the sun was starting to set. She found a knot in a tree and climbed into it, but sleep was hard to come by.
Her mind was racing, but finally she fell asleep, and in her dream, she saw her father with his back to her, as if refusing to acknowledge her. She tossed and turned all night, convinced that her dream was a bad sign.
Finally, the sun came up and she looked out of her sleeping hole, bracing herself, knowing today was the day that she would see her father for the first time since she was a tiny baby. She had to force herself to climb out of the tree and take a few steps forward.
Since it was still so early in the morning, not a lot of people were out, but as the sun climbed higher in the sky, more humans gathered and she had to start hiding behind trees and in the branches, using the leaves as cover. Close to noon, she came to the end of the trees and stared up at the brick wall in front of her.
On top of the wall was a clock tower where a couple of monkey statues stood with hammers in their paws. Metal gates surrounded the tower, and inside the gates was a sculpture of a lion chasing a zebra. Large letters above the entrance spelled out the words she knew read: Central Park Zoo. She had made it to her destination at last.
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