Debbie had said something, too. "Prepare to eat metal, animal lovers!" She shouted mockingly. Nigel smirked ominously as he pulled the lever back even more, and the claw reached down at lightning speed. The two people jumped out of the way, and their wake was left a huge hole. It looked to be at least 10 ft down.
Eliza and Bree looked down that hole with fright, and looked up. The claw raised again, and they dodged again. "We have to get out of here!" They started to run along the side of the river. They knew that if they fell in, they probably wouldn't make it. Eliza thought that the Shaman would come, but if Elizabeth was a poacher, then the Shaman of this dimension was probably...She was too scared to think about that. She and Bree just kept running. The comvee started to pick up speed. Soon the comvee was so close to them that all the claw had to do was swipe down and both of them would have been hit. Nigel smiled as he pushed the lever, and the claw swooped down. Eliza tripped, and she looked up. The claw drew closer.
Bree stopped and saw that Eliza was in danger. "ELIZA!" Eliza looked up, and screamed in terror.
The steel claw closed in. It gripped onto Eliza's small body, and lifted her high above the ground.
Bree backed up, and watched in fear as the girl was lifted as high as the machine could lift her. "Eliza!" She screamed again, but knew there was nothing she could do to help the child. The claw slightly tightened its grip on the girl, and Eliza closed her eyes tightly and let out another loud scream. Her arms were pinned on her side, and the claw was putting pressure on her chest. She could hardly breathe. Nigel laughed at her pain, and continued to add more pressure on her. 'I don't know how much more of this I can take!' Eliza could feel her chest being crushed around her. The darkness was going to overtake her sooner or later, so she wouldn't be in pain forever. She opened up one eye, and saw only the claw around her. She didn't notice anyone else.
Nigel was about the give the final blow when something gold and white leaped past him. "What was that?" The flash leapt up towards the top of the claw, and gripped onto the thing.
If you leap awake
In the mirror of a bad dream
And for a fraction of a second
You can't remember where you are
Just open your window
And follow your memory upstream
To the meadow and the mountain
Where we counted every falling star
"It's a swift fox!" Marianne shouted in shock. They watched in wonder as the animal gripped a hold of the claw, and was able to free the girl inside it. Cradling the girl in its mouth, it leapt down onto the ground, and settled the child on the ground.
"What was that?" Debbie wondered, but then noticed something. "Hey! That thing has Elizabeth's talisman!" She pointed at the blue-ribbon red talisman that was worn around the fox's neck. Red hair swayed on the top of its head. Debbie turned around, and was surprised to see that Elizabeth wasn't there. "Elizabeth's not here!"
Nigel looked at her with horror registered in his mind. There was only one thing that he could think of. There was just one thing that could've happened. 'That fox...!' He turned around and, filled with rage, looked at the fox. 'That fox ate my daughter!' Well that was impossible since no fox could each that much or that fast, but the evil Nigel didn't know that. The only thing on his mind was revenge. The claw swooped down, and the fox leapt out of the way. The animal looked up, and knew it was in danger. Bree held Eliza up, and they watched helplessly as the fox kept dodging the claw.
I believe the light that shines on you
Will shine on you forever...forever
And though I can't guarantee
There's nothing scary hiding under your bed
I'm gonna stand guard like
A postcard of a Golden Retriever
And never leave until I leave you
With a sweet dream in your head
Nigel growled in frustration. No matter how fast he moved the claw, the swift fox was too fast for him, and he missed each time. 'No wonder they call it the swift fox.' He said to himself. He struck the ground with the claw again. He glared at the fox as it did a backflip and landed on its feet. Then another thought occurred to him. The fox had saved the child's life. What would happen if he were to attack Bree and Eliza? 'It's worth a try.' He shifted the claw in a different direction. The swift fox stopped moving, and knew what was going to happen. She let out a roar, and leapt towards the direction of the claw. The plan was working just as Nigel had hoped it would!
The claw swooped in closer and closer. He watched in anticipation. Bree and Eliza screamed in fright, and closed their eyes. They waited for the blow, but it never came. Instead, they heard a loud scream. A scream of an animal in pain let loose through the forest. They could hear Nigel's voice laughing in triumph. 'If they didn't hit us, then that means they hit Elizabeth!'
"No..." Eliza whispered. She picked herself up, and looked up. The claw didn't close down, but it struck the swift fox into the ground. It was down on its back, mouth wide open and tongue hanging out.
Nigel, Marianne, and Debbie roared in victory. "You got it!"
"Way to go, Nigel!" Marianne yelled in excitement.
The man nodded to them, and turned back towards the outside ground. The poacher got out his mic. "You saw what we did to your fox friend. Now we're gonna...what?" Something was going on. Something was happening. Nigel looked towards the fox. The swift fox began to glow brightly. The light illuminated the area.
As everyone stared in astonishment, the fox began to change shape. The tail shrunk back. Clothes appeared. The mouth shortened and the ears shortened. The nose became less and less black. The fur disappeared, and the red hair shifted into a ponytail. The claws disappeared. Finally the feet shortened up. When the glowing died down, on the floor lay not a fox, but a girl. It was Elizabeth. She lied there, battered and bruised. She had her eyes closed, and was bleeding from several cuts. Her breathing came in short and raspy. Everyone was silent on the field. No one could move a muscle. Everyone was in a state of shock. All that was heard was the breeze in the wind.
Eliza felt tears come to her eyes again. "Elizabeth." She whispered, and hugged Bree tightly. She didn't want to see this.
I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint the sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two, whoo
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter
More than I love you
Nigel's eyes opened up in shock. Debbie and Marianne were no less surprise. The poachers climbed out of the comvee, and looked ahead. They didn't want to believe it. It just couldn't be true! But it was true. They knew it. They may have caused the death of one of their own! Nigel shook his head in denial.
"No...no..NO!!!"
He screamed in agony, and rushed towards his daughter. He bent down, and gently shook her. She moaned in pain, and opened up her eyes. She looked up at her father, and smiled gently.
"D-Daddy..." She whispered. This word made her father's blood run cold. She had never called him that since she was a child. He tried to smile, but the thought of losing her was just too much to bear.
"Why? Why did you do it?" He held her up against him. "Why did you risk your life to save them?" He glared angrily at Bree and Eliza, but his gaze softened as he realized that they were crying for Elizabeth, too. He turned back to his injured daughter, and could see, out of the corner of his eye, Debbie holding onto Marianne.
Elizabeth coughed weakly. "They..." She gulped. "They aren't the real enemies. We are." Nigel was surprised at this.
Trust your intuition
It's just like going fishing
You cast your line
And hope you get a bite
But you don't need to waste your time
Worrying about the marketplace
Try to help the human race
Struggling to survive its harshest night
"What do you mean?" He asked in wonder.
Elizabeth looked up at him, and then back towards the ground. Her energy was starting to leave her, and fast. "Look around us. Is it really worth it?"
Nigel blinked, and started to take a good look around him. He could see the birds flying around, and saw a couple of animals scurry by. He looked confused, and turned to his daughter.
"Look at them. They are alive...like we are."
Nigel narrowed his eyes, and locked them on one animal that was just sitting there. He could tell what it was, but didn't take his gaze off of it. He still couldn't see it.
"I don't see what you mean." He stroked Elizabeth's hair gently. She was growing paler and weaker.
She lifted a weak finger up, and pointed in the direction of the animal. "Look...into its eyes..." She said, and then said no more. Nigel looked closer. He tried to see what his daughter wanted him to see. He still couldn't see anything at first, but then he looked even closer.
"I see!" There was a spark of life in the animal's eyes. It was bright, just as bright as human eyes. The animal scurried off into the distance. Nigel, for the first time, smiled warmly at an animal. He turned to his daughter. He understood faster than she did, and he wanted to tell her that he now understood. But he was horrified by what he was seeing.
I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint the sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two, whoo
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter
More than I love you
Elizabeth had her eyes closed. Her mouth was still open, and her tongue hung out, and was drying up due to the exposure to the sun. Her head lolled to the side, and her body was starting to stiffen up. Her skin was feeling cooler and cooler by the minute. Nigel shook his head in denial. "No, Elizabeth!" He screamed, and held his daughter as close to him as humanly possible. His tears fell on her unmoving face, and the ground. It soaked into the ground, turning it dark brown. Bree felt pain hit her heart harder than anything could have hit her. Elizabeth had saved them, but may have lost her own life in the process. Eliza continued to cry in shame, and the other Thornberrys were busy trying to control their emotions. Eliza finally had the courage to turn her head towards the poacher, and looked at her counterpart.
"Elizabeth...you didn't have to die...to save me." She couldn't take it anymore. She broke down sobbing. 'I'll never forget you.' Eliza reminded herself. For the next few minutes, all the sounds that were made were the sounds of mourning. Those minutes seemed like an eternity to everyone there. 'I just wish there was something I could do to help you.' Nigel thought as he continued to cry more.
I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint the sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two, whoo
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter
More than I love you
Then they heard the sound of rumbling. Everyone shifted their misted gaze towards the source of the sound. It was coming from a white vehicle which was heading in their direction. Eliza stood up and got a better look at the approaching vehicle. She put her hand over her eyes, and could barely make out one of the drivers as Sloan. The person next to him looked a bit like Kip. She ran from the group and waved her arms out to bring attention towards her.
Sloan jerked forward instantly. "It's Eliza! Stop!" Kip slammed on the breaks, and the car came to a squeaky halt. Smoke rose from the car as Sloan stepped out of it, and ran towards them. "Bree! What happened?" Bree looked at him, and he gasped. Tears were streaming down her face. "What's the matter?"
She looked to the ground. She couldn't say anything at all, except, "She saved us." Her finger waveringly pointed towards the small child in the poacher's arms.
Sloan looked up, and narrowed his eyes. "Oh, she saved your life?" He asked with some doubt in his voice. Kip had gotten out, and so did Biederman.
Biederman shook his head in denial. "It doesn't seem likely."
The raven-haired woman protested, "But it's true." She turned back to the injured girl, and looked at her sadly. The other poachers didn't even seem to care that their enemies were present.
I love you...
Sloan cocked an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you actually feel sorry about them?" He watched the scene with some disgust on his mind. "They don't deserve to live. You know that." Bree shot a quick sharp glare at him. He backed up in surprise. "What? You know it's true."
Bree shook her head, and Eliza said, "It's not true. You just don't know the whole picture." She glared at Sloan as she did with the evil version of him, and turned back to the poachers. She looked at Elizabeth, and couldn't help to be sorry for her. She did save their lives after all. "She saved us. Would someone dangerous do that?" She asked Sloan in a serious tone.
Sloan seemed to be at a loss of words. 'Why does she think that?' He looked at the poachers, and then at Eliza. Kip stepped up.
"Why should we help them? They wouldn't help us."
Biederman nodded. "Yeah." Eliza's eyes widened a bit. But no one knew if that was for surprise or for something else. The 12-year-old let out an angst sigh. She wanted to do something for Elizabeth, but she knew there was nothing she could have done to prevent it. 'She wanted it this way.' She then remembered that Kip was still waiting for an answer.
She smiled. "If we act like them, we become them." She had heard this phrase off a TV show once. It didn't really have an affect on that, and didn't know how it would work in real life. She watched, and could see that Kip was just as surprised as Sloan was with her response.
Sloan was still trying to figure this all out. He did know that Eliza was on their side. She hated poachers. But why was she standing up for them? These people already have the death sentence put on them, not only for poaching, but for murder as well. 'I don't understand it. Why is she doing this?' Eliza had positioned herself between the poachers and the police. She wouldn't budge. Bree stood next to her, the same look on her face.
Sloan Blackburn stepped forward. "Eliza, be reasonable."
She moved her head from side to side, and replied, "No you be reasonable. This has to stop!" Sloan blinked in astonishment. Eliza really wasn't going to give up so easily. He narrowed his eyes as frustration took over. They have gotten so close to finally capturing the Thornberrys, and now the only thing standing in the way is a little girl.
He growled, "Stay out of this!!" The girl did not stay out of it, and he knew that. 'It's going to take more than words to make her see her error.' The girl never changed her gaze from Elizabeth's prone body. "Stay out if this." He bluntly repeated, and formed a fist with his hands, shaking. He gestured for her to move, but she remained in her spot. He turned to Bree.
She said, "Eliza's right. Enough." Now this was something no one thought they'd see. Eliza could sense that things were going downhill with Sloan, so she made another response.
"To have a heart means you feel pain for others, even if they are your worst enemy." Sloan's eyes opened all the way at this response. Kip and Biederman didn't seem as surprised, but they did gasp. Eliza continued, "We are one." Once again, she got that from a movie she had watched sometime. No, she heard of it, but never watched it. She couldn't remember the title, though. 'It just might work.' She watched Sloan, Kip, and Biederman. They looked at each other, and then looked at the poachers. Unlike Kip and Biederman, Sloan did know what Eliza meant by the term we are one, but he didn't really believe it would apply to the poachers. He thought they weren't worthy of any type of friendship. He believed that was true. But now he was starting to rethink a little bit.
Perhaps he was wrong about them. Okay, so he was right about them for some part, but now that he thought about it, he never really saw Nigel display such emotion until know. He heard Eliza's voice saying, "They are us, and we are them. Can you see any real differences?"
Sloan squinted his eyes as he looked harder at the group. Nigel seemed to be...crying? 'That's something I never seen.' The poachers didn't seem as intimidating before. The look in their eyes was the same look someone would give if they were in emotional pain. 'She's right...' Sloan could see what Eliza had been trying to tell him. There weren't any real differences between him and the poachers. He looked at Eliza, and gave her a smile of understanding.
Kip and Biederman both stared and blinked in surprise. They didn't know what was going on just yet. Sloan turned to them. "Kip and Biederman. Get the girl to the local hospital."
The poachers, however, were slightly confused as to why they were helping them. Debbie rose to her feet and dried her eyes before she made a question. "Why?" She turned to Eliza. "Why would you want to help us...after all we did to you?"
Eliza smiled briefly, and clasped her hands together. She replied, "I once heard somewhere that if you treat your enemies the same why you think they treat you, then you're no better than they are." Debbie blinked. "That, and Elizabeth saved my life, so I was returning the favor."
Debbie laughed a bit. "I never would have guessed that my sister could turn into animals."
"You don't know the half of it..."
"What was that?"
"Oh, nothing." Eliza lied. 'I can't tell them.'
She turned to see Kip placing Elizabeth into the car. He got in with Biederman. "We'll get her to the hospital. Don't you worry." He was about to start the car, but then remembered something. "But once she's better, she and her family are going to be brought to the Court Room. You got it?" Marianne and Nigel looked at each other nervously. Their time had come. Then they turned back and gave a quick nod. They didn't have a choice. "Good." Kip said as he turned on the vehicle, and started to go off.
Then, in Eliza's dimension, the comvee had stopped in front of the Poacher Guild, the place where Adam had said he saw Sloan and Bree Blackburn go into. 'I can just imagine why they call it that.' Debbie mumbled mentally to herself. The comvee was locked, and Darwin and Donnie were inside. Debbie knew that they wanted to find Eliza just as much as she did, but they couldn't be in the Poacher Guild. If Sloan or Bree saw them, they'd be recognize immediately. But then again, they saw her, too. She and her parents walked up to the door. The outside handle was carved into the shape of a lion's face. Debbie shuddered, not wanting to know if that was real lion's tooth that was used to make it. Nigel slowly opened up the door. Inside there are several poachers, none of which seemed to be surprised by Nigel Thornberry's presence. It was like they didn't care who came in and who came out.
'This is odd.' He thought. Marianne scanned the area. She looked for Sloan and Bree. She finally spotted them. They were sitting at a round table, talking and laughing together.
"There they are." She grabbed Nigel and showed him where the two poachers were.
"Right." Nigel said. He then told Debbie, "Deborah, you stay here, okay?"
"But dad...!" "Do as your father says, Debbie." The teenager growled, and abided reluctantly. Nigel and Marianne walked towards the poachers, but with extreme caution.
Bree noticed someone walking towards their table. "Hey, Sloan? Isn't that...?" Sloan raised his head to look over, and saw what his wife had spotted.
"Yes, it's that family of Eliza's again." He growled dangerously. 'What could they want again?' He gripped his knife he was holding tightly in his hands, but didn't raise it up in a threatening posture. They could see that it was the same knife that Sloan had used to threaten Eliza. Nigel and Marianne stopped a few inches from the table. Both had a wary look on their faces.
Sloan narrowed his eyes. "What do you want again?" His voice sounded as angry as hornets.
Nigel fumbled around with his fingers. "Well, you see...we...I...That is we....oh..." He couldn't get a clear word out.
Bree smacked her face with her hand. "Oh, brother...." She seemed just as annoyed as Sloan. "Can you answer the question simply?"
The female naturalist stepped up, "Sorry about my husband. He's a bit nervous." She was nervous, too.
The male poacher cocked an eyebrow. "So I see. So why did you come?"
Marianne gulped nervously. "We received word from a stranger that you do know what happened to Eliza." That was a big mistake.
Sloan's eyes turned to fury, and Bree growled, "How did you know?" This confirmed it. They were responsible. Sloan was shaking in anger, and Nigel and Marianne were moving back in fear. 'How did they know?'
Sloan stood out of his seat, and his angry gaze never left Nigel's eyes. Nigel quickly said, "We were only told. We-we don't even know the person who..."
But he was cut off. Sloan brought up his knife, and swung upward. The knifepoint stopped only millimeters from Nigel's throat. "NIGEL!" Marianne yelled. She ran over to try and help her husband, but Bree stood up and pulled out a rifle. Marianne screamed and stopped. She backed up a little as Bree looked like she was taking aim at her.
Sloan glared at Nigel. "And what makes you think we'll help you?" He hissed. Nigel smiled weakly.
"We didn't think you would...We just wanted to know..."
The knife was thrusted closer to him, and he had to jump back to avoid getting cut. "To know what?!" The angry poacher asked.
"To know if it was true if you sent Eliza to...another dimension." He closed his eyes tightly and waited for an impact. But nothing came. He opened up his eyes and looked at Sloan. Sloan looked rather shocked. He lowered his knife to the ground. He signaled to Bree to lower her weapon. She did so, and Marianne ran back to her husband. Bree kept a wary eye on them. Sloan smiled hideously, and Debbie, who was watching from a distance, knew this wasn't good news.
"Yes, I did send her to another dimension." This answer was enough. Now they knew the truth.
Debbie started to move forward. "You....did that? Why?"
Sharp eyes swifted towards her, and suddenly she felt like she couldn't move. It was like her own heart was pierced by some evil force. She stared with terror on her mind as Sloan slowly moved towards her. "Why you ask?" He asked dimly. She gritted her teeth and her eyes were filled with fear. She moved back as Sloan was starting to get too close. "Why? WHY?! Because no one messes up my plans and gets away with it!!"
Debbie's expression changed from fear to angry. She moved up a little, but less than a step. "What? You were the one who tried to kill thousands of elephants!" She pointed an accusing finger at the man, who just chuckled.
"I was merely making profit." Now it was Nigel's turn to get angry.
"How can you possibly be happy about making profit when you're destroying one of Earth's most precious animals?!" He screamed. Marianne gasped. 'I never seen Nigel like this. No wait I have...I think.' She scratched her head in confusion, but knew she couldn't take her eyes off of Bree. She still had that gun loaded and ready to fire.
Sloan seemed to laugh at Nigel's remark. "Pitiful fool. You don't even realize it, do you?" Nigel's expression softened, but just a little. "These creatures are inferior to us." Sloan said evilly. "We are their masters. They serve us."
Shaking his head, Nigel commented, "You couldn't be more wrong, Blackburn." Then, the poacher and the naturalist looked at each other eye to eye.
Sloan's dark eyes narrowed dangerously low. "How would you know?"
Nigel was about to answer when Marianne gently nudged him. "Come on, Nigel. It's obvious they aren't gonna help."
Nigel slowly lowered his gaze. "You're right." He muttered, but he couldn't help but still feel angry towards the poachers. 'They're the only ones who can help us. The problem is they won't help.'
Bree watched the three go, and started to think about something. 'They're not bad.' She smiled weakly. Sloan sat back down, and started to read something. He noticed Bree was still standing up.
"Bree?" She looked at him almost half-heartedly. "What's wrong?"
She took a deep breath and let it out. "Maybe we should help them. If we don't, we'll be in more trouble than we already are."
"WHAT? Are you crazy?! Eliza's the one who got us arrested! Why should we help here?!" He screamed in Bree's face. He demanded to know why she wanted to help their enemy. There was a long silence. The two people stared at each other from opposing ends.
Bree seemed to be at a loss for words, but finally figured out just what to say. "Someone has to...don't they?"
Sloan's eyes snapped open. "You really want to help them, don't you?" He asked lowly. She blinked in surprise by his tone, but nodded. She knew that he might do something rash if he found out that she wanted to help, yet she took that risk. Sloan, however, really didn't know what to think about all this. 'What should I do?' But the look on Bree's face answered his question for him. He looked towards the entrance, and saw that the Thornberrys had left. "Let's go after them."
Debbie grumbled angrily as she stomped into the comvee. Her parents didn't enter the same way, but it was clear that they were just as mad as she was. 'He just laughed at us.' She felt like slamming her fist through a brick wall. If looks could kill, hers could end life as everyone knew it.
Marianne wasn't too happy about leaving, either, without information on how to save Eliza. "I guess we'll have to try and get her ourselves." Nigel nodded to his wife, and made a quick angry glare at the Poacher Guild. 'Sloan will pay.' He angrily thought. The comvee started to move. They were going to leave when they heard someone shouting at them. 'What?' Marianne thought as she slammed the breaks on quickly.
Nigel quickly opened up the door. "What is it?" The last person in the world he would expect was standing there, hands behind his back. A stern look was on his face. The naturalist gasped, "SLOAN?!" The poacher smiled, and Bree walked up.
Marianne was noticing what was going on. "Bree? What's going on?"
"Sloan has something to tell you." The female poacher said simply, and gestured to her husband. He didn't look happy. Then again he never really looked happy.
He growled, but finally gave in. "We'll help you." The naturalist gaped at the poachers, and looked at each other. For once in this dimension, poacher and naturalist were at eye to eye with each other, even though it was reluctant.
"You'll...help us? Why?" Nigel questioned. The poacher grunted.
"It's not like I really want to. Bree won't leave me alone about it." He cocked his head towards Bree, who smiled and waved a bit. Marianne narrowed her eyes and thought about what to do. 'If we let them on, they could kill us. They're poachers! But then again, they do know how to get Eliza back.' She didn't know what to do. She could risk losing her life, but if she didn't take that risk, Eliza would never come home. 'Oh...what's the right thing to do?' She questioned herself. She closed her eyes in deep thought.
Nigel was wondering the same thing. He decided to ask Bree. "Are you sure we can trust you to find our daughter?" His voice was laced with suspicion and the poacher could detect it. She shuddered unnoticeably and raised a hand up gently.
"I can assure you that we did not bring any weapons here." She said. But somehow she knew it would take more convincing. She still remembered that terrible nightmare where Sloan had almost killed Eliza. Sure she was a nuisance, but Bree never really thought that killing her would be an option to Sloan. She was a child! 'She didn't deserve that.' She still didn't stop giving her husband a hard time at home. He'd act like nothing happened. Yet Bree knew he was just acting proud of what he almost had done those months ago. It sickened her.