Marty ran up the sidewalk next to 72nd street, following the trucks containing his friends. Where are they going? He thought as he passed block after block. Marty was in shape after running all over Madagascar for two weeks, but the trucks were accelerating. No way can I keep up this pace much longer!
The zebra galloped after the trucks as fast as he could. To his relief, they began slowing down. To his horror, they turned. The trucks merged onto Park Avenue and sped off, leaving Marty behind. Marty stopped and stared after them, chest burning from running full speed for ten blocks.
If only I knew where they were going, Marty sighed, I would find a way to get there!
"Come on, come on!" Alex sat in the subway train, glancing impatiently out the windows, looking for station lights. "Can't this thing go any faster?"
Skipper ignored the lion, who had been engaging in similar activities since they'd gotten on the train. Private worriedly watched Alex. Kowalski was engrossed in comparing his notes to a map of Manhattan that was lying on a bench. Rico happily watched as safety lights zipped past the windows. The three humans sitting in the car were as far away from the lion and strange penguins as they could get.
At last, the train stopped and the doors opened.
"Feast the want have renew nation! Door stop for the Bronx Dew!" the loud speaker announced.
Alex shook his head and stood up, "I'm going to guess that this is our stop."
Skipper turned to his first officer, "I want no mistakes. Kowalski? Can you translate that message?"
Kowalski shook his head, "Negative, sir. It must be a code designed to sound like gibberish."
"Um, Skipper." Private interrupted.
Skipper turned again, "What is it, young Private?"
Private gestured out the door, "Weren't we going with him?"
Skipper looked. Alex was already through the turnstile and heading up what appeared to be a very long flight of stairs.
"After that psychotic lion!" Skipper ordered, pointing a flipper. The penguins grabbed their bags. One after another, they slid on their bellies down to the end of the bench. They hopped off and waddled to the door just as it shut directly in front of their beaks.
"Funnel cakes!" Skipper exclaimed.
The train began moving again.
Alex climbed the last step out of the subway station. He looked back and saw a few people who had gotten out of the same train that he had. The lion briefly wondered where the penguins were. However, he was distracted by a sign that read, "Bronx Zoo Asia Gate" two blocks away.
Guys, here I come. Alex thought, heading for the sign.
"We've stopped." Cora said when the rattling, jarring, and sliding finally ceased. "Melman! Are you okay?" she asked.
Cora heard a yawn from somewhere else in the dark truck.
"I'm fine." Melman sighed, "I was just dreaming about having a CAT scan. A very bumpy CAT scan." The giraffe added. Then he gasped. "Oh no! No! I've gone blind! This is awful! What happened?"
"Melman…" Cora began to explain.
Suddenly, light flooded the inside of the truck.
"Now I see a bright light!" Melman yelped, totally panicked, "Am I dead?"
"If you are, then I am, too." Cora blinked, trying to get her eyes to adjust. She could make out the form of Melman's cage being rolled out to join another (Gloria's?) cage.
"Ohhhh, I am sooo dizzy!" Melman moaned.
As soon as the cage reached the ground, Cora heard Melman shout, "Where am I? Oh! I'm home!"
Then the men came back to the truck. Come on, hurry up. I want to get out of here. Cora thought.
But everything went dark again as the men closed the back of the truck.
"HUH?" Cora shook her crate, "Hey! Wait! What about me? Hello?"
She heard voices outside, Listening carefully, she could just barely make out what they were saying.
"What should we do with the horse?"
"There's not too many places to take a horse in New York City."
"I know, but she's gotta go somewhere. I'll bet Claremont's got some room, at least temporarily."
"Fine, just get her out of here."
"Will do."
The engine started again, jolting and knocking Cora off her feet.
"Ouch!" She sat up and held on as the truck left the zoo.
Then Cora realized something.
She was all alone in New York City.
Marty walked down 5th Avenue, all alone. He was tired, but not ready to give up yet. I'll go back to the zoo and find Alex. Maybe he will know what to do. If he will even talk to me. Marty sighed. Things were not looking good for the Zoosters.
Marty shivered, this time from the cold. The wind had picked up, blowing right through the holes in his leather jacket and the wet shirt.
The zoo was three blocks away, then two blocks, then one. Marty saw the gate hanging open. The "closed for renovation" sign hung awry.
"What happened here?" Marty ran into the zoo and headed straight for Alex's pen.
"Alex?" Marty called, "Alex!"
No answer came from the brick building.
"Alex, come on, I need you, man!" Marty cried.
No reply.
Marty walked up to the building and called into the doorway, "I'm coming in there!"
Silence was all that came from the doorway.
Shrugging, Marty walked confidently into the building, and then stopped.
This whole time, he'd been talking to an empty building.
Confused, Marty backed out and faced the silent zoo. He didn't see the lion anywhere! It didn't make sense! Unless…
Unless Alex decided to join me! Marty thought. But in that case, he's probably long gone by now. I wish I knew where they were headed. I'll bet Alex knows somehow, and that's where he went.
Marty caught sight of movement in the trees in Central Park.
I wonder if those nosy squirrels know? Maybe they heard something that could at least point me in the right direction.
Marty ran outside the zoo and tried to locate a tree with a squirrel in it. It didn't take long.
"Excuse me, uh, squirrel!" Marty called up to the tree.
The squirrel turned. It was Robert, one of the squirrels from that morning! "What do you wish of me, ground-dweller?" the squirrel sighed.
Marty looked the squirrel straight in the eye, which didn't produce as unnerving an effect as Alex's unwavering cat gaze. But it helped a little; Robert squirmed. Marty asked, "I was wondering if you'd seen what happened to my friends."
The squirrel sat on a branch and crossed his tiny arms, "I saw what happened, what of it?"
"Do you know where they are?" Marty asked.
"Of course!" Robert waved a paw, "I know all that occurs in this city!"
Marty grinned, "Great! Can you tell me where they went?"
The squirrel looked mortified, "What? Reveal personally obtained information to a lawn-consuming earth walker such as yourself? No offence, of course; however, I refuse."
Marty's eyes opened sarcastically, "Okay…well…bye then." He turned to go.
"Wait!" a distinctively female voice called, "Stop right there, fellow mammal!"
Marty stopped and looked up. The woman squirrel had joined Robert on the branch. Gwendolyn was her name, Marty remembered.
Gwendolyn turned to Robert, "You should be ashamed of yourself, tossing invective around as if it were foliage! Apologize to the underprivileged creature at once!"
Robert winced.
"And answer his inquiry!" Gwendolyn demanded, "Or you will slumber outside tonight!"
Robert moaned, "Yes, Beloved." He mumbled under his breath, "Why did no one warn me when I married you?"
"Are you going to converse or mumble?" Gwendolyn asked impatiently.
Robert grudgingly nodded to Marty, "I am regretful of my words. And your friends went to the Bronx. That is what I know."
"They went to the Bronx Zoo." Gwendolyn answered angrily, "Robert, you are on slender ice!"
Robert glared, "Yes, the Bronx Zoo. That is precise, I remember now."
Marty hated to ask, but he did anyway, "Where's that?"
Robert sighed tiredly, "It is somewhere in the Bronx, you pathetic…" Robert caught Gwendolyn's glare and changed the direction of his comment, "Honestly, if you can not locate it, well, everyone who is anyone knows where it is."
Marty looked disappointed, "Okay, thanks a lot." I'll just have to ask somebody else. At least it's a start! Marty thought.
He had no doubt that he'd find it eventually.
Cora did not like Claremont. She stood in a dark, narrow stall in a building full of other horses. It was clean, but still felt terribly confining. She longed to get outside and go for a nice long run. Closing her eyes, Cora imagined herself back on Madagascar, running on the beach. Like when she first met Marty. Sandy wind blowing her mane back, the sea rushing around her legs. Hoofbeats thumping in the sand.
Cora's daydream intensified as she drifted off to sleep. She and Marty ran side by side on the beach, next to the sparkling blue ocean. She tossed her mane flirtatiously and laughed. Marty grinned at her as they ran, a special grin that he reserved only for her. The sand turned to clouds beneath their hooves as they galloped on and on into infinity.
Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop. Cora was awakened by the sound of the horse in the stall next to hers being led out to go to work in the arena downstairs, on the ground floor of the four-story building.
She sighed and stared boredly out her window. Her ears pricked when she spotted four familiar figures walking down the street outside! They appeared to be lugging shopping bags.
Excited, Cora turned around and left her stall, heading for the ramp to the next lower level.
"You're the new girl, aren't you? Where are you going?"
Cora stopped in her tracks. She looked back to see a horse looking curiously at her. To Cora's astonishment, the horse was brown with white patches! Cora couldn't help staring at the horse, "Uh…"
The other horse smiled, "I'm Mocha! What's your name?"
Cora swallowed, "Cora." She answered, "Um, you have spots, too." Cora inwardly kicked herself. Wow, Cora, that was an extremely intelligent thing to say.
The other horse nodded, "Yep, I'm a paint horse just like you! You know if you end up staying here, I'll bet you'd be popular! The people who ride here love to ride pretty, unique-colored horses like us, especially the kids. They give me treats, even though they're not supposed to. Do you like kids?"
"I…I don't know." Cora blinked, "But I have to go."
The horse frowned, "Why? I like you."
"Because my friends are still out there, and I have to find them." Cora glanced back to the window, "They might need help, and I miss them."
The spotted horse looked a little sad, "Whatever, but you're missing out on an opportunity, here."
Cora smiled a little, "Well, enjoy it. I'm not really much of a city girl, myself. Bye, now." She trotted off. A paint horse. I'm a paint horse. There are others like me. Cora skidded down the ramp and dashed through the second level of stalls. This attracted the attention of several stable grooms. They tried to grab her, but failed. She skidded down another ramp to the ground level. There was the door to the city street. It was open. But not for long, a person was moving to close it! Could Cora make it?
She took a flying leap over some equipment that someone had left carelessly in the aisle. Cora raced for the door. Several of the stable hands raced after her. The door was nearly too far closed, so Cora jumped again, landing clear of the riding academy! She looked back to see the stable hands following her outside.
Cora started running again. She heard one right behind her calling the cops on his cell phone. She groaned inwardly. It seemed that no matter what she did, she couldn't avoid running from the police! She had to do something.
The mare rounded a corner and ducked into an alleyway, watching as the stable hands ran past.
Sighing with relief, Cora peeked out of the alleyway once she could no longer hear the stable hands shouting at her. She looked left and right; no more people chasing her! The mare headed for the spot where she had last seen the penguins, hoping that they hadn't gone far.
They hadn't.
"Penguins!" Cora called.
Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private turned around. "Well, if it isn't our other monochromatic friend!" Skipper declared.
"I am so glad I found you guys!" Cora exclaimed, "What are you doing here? Where have you been? I haven't seen you since yesterday! Where are you going?"
Skipper looked Cora in the eye, "Two of our civilian friends have been captured by the people and taken to a place called the Bronx Zoo."
"I know," sighed Cora, "I was there."
The penguin leader continued, "Our rescue efforts were hindered by a…train mishap which caused us to abort and regroup here. We decided to stow our gear at the ship and formulate a plan of action."
"Okay," Cora nodded, "Let's go then. What are we waiting for?"
Skipper ordered, "Kowalski! Take the navigation position!"
Kowalski took the lead.
The five black-and-white animals headed for the place where they'd left the boat.
Alex walked through the zoo, enjoying the familiar atmosphere; people talking, children laughing, animals milling. All that was missing was a crowd shouting his name and snapping pictures of him. But Alex was now on the other side of the fences, mingling with the zoo guests.
It was strange not to be the center of attention at the zoo.
"Look! A lion!" a little kid pointed at Alex.
Alex froze. The jig was up. His cover was blown.
The little kid ran up to Alex and gave him a big hug, "Get a picture, Mommy! Get a picture of me and the lion!"
Alex saw the parents' amused looks and breathed a sigh of relief. They think I'm one of those humans in costume! Alex smiled for the camera, then waved as he continued down the path. The kid waved back.
That was close! Alex thought, shaking his head. He looked around, "Hmm, looks like I made it to Africa." He read a sign that said, "African Plains."
"This is where I should find Melman and Gloria." Walking along, he peeked into several exhibits. In one, there were several large brown-and-tan creatures sleeping on a rock, basking in the occasional sunbeam that broke through the dense clouds.
Lions! thought Alex with alarm. It hadn't occurred to him that he might meet members of his own species there. As long as they don't see me…
The big male lion's nostrils twitched. He yawned and blinked, looking directly through Alex as though he was invisible. Then he grunted and fell asleep again. It didn't seem to bother him that people were taking his picture while he slept.
What a life. Thought Alex, he's obviously not a performer. The disguised lion continued down the path.
Alex's sensitive ears picked up strange distant sounds coming from the enclosure to his left. They were somewhere between a chirp and a bark. He peeked in and his mouth dropped open. On the other side of the "plains", a herd of zebras ran as a group across the simulated savannah. The striped animals stopped at a pool of water and drank.
"Wow." Alex shook his head in amazement. He'd never seen so many zebras in one place before! One lifted its head and smiled at another one. It reminded Alex of Marty's goofy grin when he was feeling content. With a pang, Alex wondered where his favorite zebra was. I sure hope he's okay. Maybe he's around here somewhere. Maybe he made it here ahead of me! What am I thinking? He was on foot, and I doubt he'd have taken the subway. He's probably not past Central Park yet. But he will get here. I hope. Once I get Gloria, Melman and Cora out of here, we can go back and find Marty.
Alex was now on the other side of the "African Plains" path loop. Several tall creatures caught his eye. Giraffes! He happily quickened his step. Maybe Melman was with them! Alex finally reached a tall building with a sign reading, "Carter Giraffe Building". Three giraffes stood in the paddock.
"Melman?" Alex called to them.
One giraffe turned around, "Alex! I'm glad you could make it!" Melman exclaimed, loping up to him. Melman was followed by the other two giraffes.
"Are you okay, Melman?" Alex asked his friend.
Melman answered, "Well, I hope so. The people didn't have us go through quarantine, and who knows what I brought back with me from Madagascar…"
"Melman?" Alex asked pointedly.
The hypochondriac giraffe sighed, "Yeah, sure Alex. I guess for now I am."
"And who are your friends?" Alex asked of the other giraffes. One was a lady giraffe, kind of pretty in a motherly way. The other was a male who looked like an older version of Melman.
Melman's face lighted up, "Oh! These are my parents! Mom, Dad, this is Alex."
Alex grinned, "Pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Mankowitz."
"Oh, please, call me Mitchell." Mr. Mankowitz said.
"And I'm Mimi!" Mrs. Mankowitz added.
Mitchell cocked his head, "What's your last name, Alex?"
Alex looked surprised, "I guess…I don't have one."
"No? Well then how do you know who your family is?" Mitchell asked.
"I don't." Alex answered.
There was an awkward silence.
Mimi smiled blankly at Alex for a moment, then she blinked her extremely long eyelashes, "Well, come on in! It's getting cold and dark out here!"
"Yeah," Alex agreed, "The sun's going down." I hope Marty and Gloria and Cora are inside. It feels like it could get below freezing tonight.
"No it isn't." Mitchell said as they walked inside the tall giraffe building.
"What?" Alex asked, confused.
"The sun doesn't go down." Mitchell explained, "The earth actually rotates around the sun. I read it in a book."
Alex blinked. "Okay."
Mimi smiled fondly at her husband, "Now, dear, let's not bore Alex with the details. Why don't we let these two chat for a while?"
Mitchell nodded, "Okay, I'm pretty tired anyway. I'm going to…shnzzzz." The giraffe walked snoring into the back room.
"Goodnight, you two. Don't stay up too late, okay?" Mimi followed her husband.
Melman sighed sleepily, "Well, now you've met my parents."
"Yeah." Alex said, "They seem nice."
"They are." Melman replied.
"So, have you seen Gloria and Cora?" Alex asked.
"Mmm?" Melman sank back against the wall, "Well, Cora didn't get off the trucks with us, but I heard that Gloria was taken to a pond somewhere out in the plains."
"I bet Glo's okay, then," Alex sat down, "She's been dying for a swim since we left Madagascar."
"Mmm hmmm." Melman's eyes closed.
"What about Marty?" Alex asked, "Have you seen him?"
Melman's right eye opened, "I thought he was with you!"
Alex's heart sank. So Marty was definitely not at the Bronx Zoo. Which meant that the zebra was all alone somewhere in the city.
Don't be silly, Alex! He probably went back to the Central Park Zoo for the night! Of course he's not out in the city, all alone, at night!
"Shnzzz." Melman snored.
Alex sighed and curled into a ball in the warm straw. He hoped that his other friends were warm and safe as well.