I'm out in the city alone, at night. Marty thought, walking up 5th Avenue. It didn't bother me before. Kinda reminds me of that night I was out in the jungle. The night I met Cora. He passed a very large building. A sign announced that it was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Marty frowned. He hadn't gotten very far in all this time. But he'd stopped to ask directions several times. No one seemed to know how to get to the Bronx Zoo.
Street lights and store signs lit Central Park East like daylight. Marty continued his trek down the sidewalk. His hooves hurt from the constant pounding on the sidewalk. He was cold and still wet from his early morning "shower". But he was determined to find this Bronx Zoo and find his friends!
They're probably worried sick about me. Thought Marty, I hope they're all okay.
Not one of the pedestrians paid any attention to the forlorn figure in the battered leather jacket. This suited Marty just fine. He didn't want anything or anyone to slow down his journey to the Bronx Zoo. Marty had no idea how far away the zoo was, all he knew was that it was to the north.
So that's where he was headed.
Cora lay in her bed on the boat, staring up at the blank sky. The mare couldn't help wondering what her friends were doing at that moment. Especially Alex and Marty. I hope Marty was able to help Alex. I would hate to see anything come between those two.
The penguins were all asleep in the cabin. Cora shivered and pulled the pile of gunnysacks up closer to her chin. She could see her breath illuminated in the pale glow of the dock lights. The five animals had agreed to launch their rescue plan in the morning when it would be warmer and they would have the sun to see by.
Of course, the penguins had failed to tell Cora what this plan was. She turned over. What do those penguins have in mind?
Cora snuggled into her gunnysacks. Slowly, reluctantly, her eyelids drooped and she fell asleep.
In the cabin, the four penguins slept in crew bunks. Rico turned over in his bunk and made chopping motions with his wings. Skipper mumbled orders in his sleep. Private smiled, eyes closed, having a wonderful dream. Kowalski slept soundly, still clutching his writing pad. All were resting up for the big day ahead of them.
Morning came too quickly for Alex. He blinked his sleepy eyes and yawned. I wonder what's for breakfast? The lion's groggy mind asked, I wonder where I am?
"Huh?" Alex sat up, awake. He was in a strange, extremely tall house! He was lying in hay! Melman was across the room, lying flat on his back, with a hay bale as a pillow.
"Good morning, boys!" someone said. Alex looked up, it was Mimi Mankowitz.
"Ahhhchoooo!" Melman woke up. He rubbed his nose, "Oh my! I'm allergic to hay! I forgot! Oh, I'm breaking out in spots! Call the doctor!"
Mimi comforted her son, "Melman, you were born with spots, dear."
"Oh." Melman settled down, "Achoo!"
"Gesundheit." Alex said.
"So did you sleep well?" Mimi asked kindly.
Alex decided not to tell her about the tossing and turning, the nightmares, and the waking up in the middle of the night yelling for Marty and Gloria. "Yes, I slept fine. Thank you."
Mimi beamed, "Would you like to join us for breakfast?"
Alex gulped, "Uh, I better not. I have a few things I need to do right now, anyway."
"We'll save you a few bites." Mimi smiled at Alex.
Alex nodded uncertainly, backing out of the house, "You eat as much as you like, I'm going out for breakfast."
With that, Alex turned and ran out of the house. "Yikes!" The ground was cold and wet. Snow. Alex dashed across the giraffe yard, shaking his paws after each step.
Mimi and Melman watched him go.
Mimi shook her head, "What a strange friend you have, son."
Alex groaned at the snow. This isn't just a very long dream. I really am in New York in the dead of winter, at a strange zoo with Melman and his parents! I really have no idea where Marty and Cora are, and I know Gloria's around here somewhere. Those psychotic penguins are running loose in the city. Somehow I've got to get us all back together!
"I need to find Gloria." Alex stated. He shook his feet to dry them once he reached the other side. Sliding easily through the bars in the gate, Alex started down the path, watching for any sign of the hippo. He saw large spotted cats, zebras, and some odd-looking prey animals with horns. But no hippos.
"Rrrooooaaaarrrrhh!"
Alex jumped at the sound of a lion's roar. He saw the male lion from last night standing on a rock, clearing his throat. The male lion surveyed the area. Alex had no time or place to hide.
The inevitable happened.
"What is that doing in my zoo?" the other lion drew himself up and fluffed out his mane. Fire shot from his brown eyes. He was older than Alex, and a bit larger. He was tan, with a light spot around his mouth. Tan faded to black on the edges of his mane. The lion stared hotly at Alex, but Alex wasn't intimidated by the macho act. After all, he'd used it several times, himself.
Alex stopped walking and smiled confidently at the other lion. "Hi, there! Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude or bother you or anything. I'm just taking a stroll here. Looking for a friend, actually. Then I'll be out of your hair. Mane." Alex corrected himself.
The other lion snarled and leapt off of his rock toward the enclosure fence, "What are you doing in that getup?" The lion narrowed his eyes. "Who are you? You got a name?"
"Alex." Alex answered, trying to keep a cool, confident look on his face.
The other lion was now face-to-face with Alex. "Hmph." The lion snorted in his face, "You were named by the people, weren't you? Unimaginative creatures. Myself, I got stuck with the handle of George."
Alex liked his own name, but he didn't say so. He just nodded.
George scrutinized Alex. The bigger lion's mane flattened back to normal.
How does he do that? Alex wondered.
George nodded once, "I guess you're okay. But you can't walk around loose out there. I hate to say it, but you need to get in here. Stay away from the ladies, though, or else." The big lion gestured to a group of lionesses lying on a rock a short distance away. "If the people find you here, we're all in trouble."
"I have to find my friend…" Alex protested. He didn't like where this was headed.
"And you will. In fact, I'll even help you. After you get your tail in here and get rid of the filthy rags." George said.
Alex relented. Maybe this George guy knows where Gloria is. He reasoned, After all, it is his zoo. He might even have a clue where Marty and Cora are! Better to cooperate with him. I don't want to fight him.
George watched as Alex removed the sailor clothes and hid them under a bush. Alex swiftly hopped the fence.
"Good." George said, "Now about this friend, he's here in the zoo?"
"She." Alex answered, "She's here. Her name is Gloria."
George raised his eyebrows, "Oh, I see. You already have a lady, then."
"Uh, no…it's not like that," Alex explained, "She's a hippo, and she arrived here yesterday. We're all from the Central Park Zoo."
"All?" George questioned, hair rising a little.
Alex sighed, "Me and my friends."
George stared into Alex's eyes, "What are they?"
Alex stared back, "They aren't lions, if that's what you're worried about. They're all prey animals."
To Alex's surprise, George nodded, "Okay." The older lion acted as though it wasn't unusual for a lion to be best friends with a bunch of prey animals!
Alex closed his gaping mouth, "So do you know where Gloria is?"
George stroked his light-colored chin, "Hmm, I don't remember any hippos, but then I was asleep yesterday. Sleeping through the day, active in the evening, you know?"
Alex didn't know, but he nodded anyway.
"Probably," George frowned, "you should ask the herbivores. Your hippo friend would undoubtedly be with them."
"Great! Where are these herbivores?" Alex asked excitedly.
George pointed, "Over there."
Alex's mouth dropped open again. There was a herd of gazelles in the same enclosure as the lions! "The people put them in here with you?" he asked incredulously.
"Oh, no! Of course not!" George said, "There are moats between them and us! That way, the people can see us all in our 'natural environment'. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing 'natural' about it. But it sure is a great illusion, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Alex stared.
George nodded, "The moats shouldn't be too hard for you to cross. Totally unnecessary now, the people shouldn't have bothered. Not that I blame them…" He stopped, "Oh, don't let me ramble. Good luck finding your friends."
"Great! Thanks, George!" Alex started heading for the gazelles. It was a few moments before George's words sank in. "Totally unnecessary now, the people shouldn't have bothered. Not that I blame them…"What did he mean by that? Wait a minute…maybe George is like I was when I lived in the zoo. Before I left New York. Before these stupid predator instincts tried to make me eat everyone. But his eyes…Alex remembered the fire from George's brown eyes. I don't know. Maybe I'll ask him what he was talking about later.
Alex came to the moat. It was wide, but as George had said, not impossible to cross. Eyes on the gazelles, Alex soared over the moat. I'll have to ask him about breakfast, too. Alex thought.
The gazelles looked up from their grazing in alarm. They saw the strange lion bounding toward them, on their side of the moat, and did what most gazelles would do in that situation.
They ran.
"No, wait!" Alex yelled, "I'm not going to eat you! I just want to ask you a question! Hey! Come back!"
Alex stared, watching the scattering gazelles. He sighed. So much for that idea.
George appeared behind Alex, "Don't you know anything about these fast-running prey animals?"
"Actually…" Alex thought about Marty. The zebra could run pretty fast if he wanted to.
"You can't just run up to them! Maybe you can with a hippo, but these gazelles have too much 'flight' for that!" George shook his head.
Alex crossed his arms, "Okay, so how should I approach them?" Oh, Mr. Expert On Prey Animals. Alex thought, miffed.
George smiled, maybe a bit smugly, "Why don't I go with you? They know me, and know I'm not a threat. Still, we have to be careful. Instinct can be very strong."
"I know." Alex sighed. But he wasn't referring to prey animals.
The two male lions walked across the simulated savannah. George chuckled, "If the humans saw this, they'd have to rethink their theories about male lion interactions!"
Alex glanced nervously around, "The people could be watching…"
George laughed, "Don't worry about that! The day that people get up this early in the morning would be the day I stop eating steak!"
"Steak?" Alex's tongue automatically lubricated his lips. Just the word "steak" was enough for him to realize that he hadn't eaten since Marty had brought him the sausages.
"Yes. Steak." George gave him a strange look, "Are you hungry, by any chance?"
"No, not really. A little." Alex's pupils shrank, "Why do you ask?"
The other lion took one look at Alex's eyes and turned him around, "Maybe we should eat breakfast first and come back later."
"No, no, I'll be fine. I ate yesterday…I should be good for at least another day…" Alex turned around and headed for a group of gazelle-like animals with zebra-striped hind legs.
George disagreed, "I strongly suggest that you get something to eat, first."
"Oh, I will." Alex mumbled, heading towards the animals. His claws snapped out.
George jumped in front of Alex, stopping him, "Leave those okapi alone! If there's an incident, they'll never help you find your missing hippo! Come back with me and we'll talk over breakfast."
Alex hesitated. His eyes started to go back to normal.
"I have a feeling that you need to hear what I have to say." George continued, "Especially if you are friends with prey animals."
Alex frowned, glancing at the okapi. He shook his head hard, "I hate it when that happens! Agh!" He looked at his paws. His claws retracted.
George steered Alex back toward the lion side of the savannah, "I know. Believe it or not, I understand. I've been there, too."
"But not anymore?" Alex asked, "How did you get rid…"
"Come to breakfast, and I'll tell you." George smiled secretively.
Alex smiled back.
Breakfast sounded really good to him.
Cora listened with rapt attention as the penguins devised a plan. Using Kowalski's notes, Skipper's tactical sense, Private's sincerity, and a few suggestions from Rico (usually involving dynamite), a workable plan seemed to be formulating.
"And after we spring them from the zoo, we'll all take a train south to Grand Central, catch a few connections to 72nd, and walk the rest of the way back here." Skipper concluded, "Then we're busting out of this town!"
Cora frowned, "What about Alex and Marty?"
Skipper waved off Cora's question, "According to this map of the subway system…" Skipper pointed to the map on the planning table, "That psychotic lion was only blocks from the zoo when we last saw him. I'm sure he's made it there by now."
"What about the zebra?" Private asked worriedly, "No one's seen him since yesterday!"
"That's where our plan breaks down." Skipper scratched his head, "But we have to depart tonight if we are going to depart at all."
Cora gasped, "But what if we haven't found Marty yet?"
Skipper looked her in the eye, "Tonight, it's 'all aboard who are going aboard'."
"Why?" Cora demanded.
"Kowalski! Show her the sign!" Skipper ordered.
Kowalski flipped through the notebook. He held it up, showing Cora a sketch of a sign reading, "Dock Inspection Tomorrow."
"That was posted all over the dock last night when we got in." Skipper explained.
"So?" Cora said stubbornly.
"So if we're still here tomorrow when the people come, they're going to know about it," Skipper answered, "and if that happens, you can forget about going back to sun and sand."
Cora sighed, "Great." But I'd rather be here with Marty than be there without him.
"Don't concern yourself too much, Doll. I'm sure your friends will turn up, and everything will go off without a hitch." Skipper reassured the distraught mare.
Cora shook her head, "I sure hope you're right." She left the penguins at the planning table in the cabin and stood at the rail, looking at the snowy Manhattan. Somewhere out there, beyond the visible buildings, were her friends; one of whom seemed to be missing.
"Marty, where are you?" Cora whispered.
A wet, dirty, bedraggled figure trudged down the cold sidewalk. He had long since stopped walking on two legs. His hooves no longer hurt; they were numb with cold from walking through the sludge that used to be snow before pedestrians had walked all over it.
Marty imagined what Melman would say if he saw him like this. Maybe I should get cleaned up before I get to the zoo! The zebra carefully picked his way around the icy puddles, heading north.
A blind woman and her guide dog were headed up the sidewalk toward Marty. Finally, maybe someone who could help him! It seemed that no animals wanted to come out in the cold.
"Excuse me!" Marty called. The dog looked up for a moment, then helped his mistress get around a puddle.
"I'm busy." The dog said.
Marty wasn't about to give up, "Could you just tell me how to get to the Bronx Zoo?"
The dog stopped his mistress safely and glared at Marty, "The Bronx? Keep going and you'll run right into it! It's over the Harlem River, to the north. Beyond that, you're on your own. Never been there, so I wouldn't know how to get to the zoo."
"Over the river. Okay, thank you!" Marty began heading down the sidewalk.
"Hey!" the dog called back, "Take Madison! It'll get you right to a bridge."
"Thanks!" Marty waved. He found an intersection to Madison Avenue and began to follow the street.
"Start spreading the news…" Marty murmured, watching his breath crystallize in the air. People milled on the sidewalk; going into buildings, coming out of buildings, walking to and from buildings, and calling the ever-present taxicabs. Marty wished briefly that the people could understand him when he talked to them. Riding in a taxicab would be a lot warmer than walking.
Just keep moving, Marty, he told himself, the cold's not so bad as long as I keep moving. I'll get there. Just gotta keep moving.
He saw a bridge ahead. Must be the one over the Harlem. I'm getting close!
With determination, the zebra headed towards the bridge.
On the other side lay the Bronx.
Alex bit into the juicy steak. "You know," he said around a mouthful, "it's not as good as I remembered."
George looked at the lion, "I'm curious, while you were on that island you told me about, what did you eat if not steak?"
"I almost ate my friends," Alex admitted, "but then the penguins got me started eating fish."
"Penguins?" George shook his head, "You do have a variety of friends! As far as food goes, I think I know of something that might interest you." George hopped off of his rock and headed for a small pond. Alex followed.
"The people keep it stocked year round. We don't know why they do, but it makes good sport. Especially when one of us needs a snack." George said.
Before Alex could blink, George's paw flashed through the water and a fish was wiggling on the land near Alex. Alex jumped back from the flopping fish.
George blinked, "Don't worry, it won't bite." He looked confused, "Go ahead and try it."
"Um," Alex eyed the gasping fish, "Well, the penguins always killed them for me…"
"Oh, I see." George squinted at Alex, "How close are you to these herbivore friends of yours?"
Alex smiled a little, "Very close."
George shook his head, "Then you'll have to learn how to kill your own fish."
Alex winced, "But I don't want to kill!"
"Neither did I." George had a sudden sadness in his eyes.
Alex frowned, "What do you mean?"
George looked sorrowful, "Once I was a lot like you." George flipped the fish back into the stream, "I hate to see things suffer."
"Go on," Alex said. George had his full attention.
The older lion looked deep into Alex's eyes. Alex got a bizarre feeling, like he was looking into the soul of his future self. Involuntarily, he shuddered.
"I was young, optimistic, and would never ever hurt anyone, especially not my friends. I only ate steak, and I was friends with all of the animals around here. " George sighed, "But all that changed one day when my son was old enough to challenge me. One day I got jealous of how the lionesses, my lionesses, looked at my son. Then he and I had a fight, and he got the upper hand. I was so upset that I ran off, jumping the moats into the prey side without knowing it. Without eating breakfast. Then Jeenko, my pal, Jeenko the Gazelle..." George's voice trailed off as he stared into the simulated plains. "He asked me what was wrong. I was upset…so upset…but not at him…but he was there…and I was hungry…"
Alex looked down. He recognized the story.
George shook his head, "I can still hear the screams. I can still see the terror in his eyes. I remember the feeling of not being in control…and…I lost it, Alex."
"You mean you…he…?" Alex couldn't ask.
George shook his head, "Lucky for Jeenko, the people interfered. He barely pulled through. When I realized what had happened, I wanted to die. I didn't want to deal with the fact that the evil maniacal lion who attacked and nearly killed my friend was me. But the people just took my son away and dug the moats wider and deeper. And Jeenko never spoke to me again."
"Wow," Alex said. It was one of those times where words just weren't enough.
George continued, "My lionesses convinced me that life was still worth living. That I could redeem myself. So I did. It was a long, hard time, and I missed Jeenko so much...it was probably better that he stayed away from me, though. I never would forgive myself for what I did to him, and I know he never forgave me."
Marty did forgive me. Alex thought. He's such a great guy. He and Glo and Melman…I don't know what I'd do without them. I can't let anything come between us, Alex decided.
"Jeenko was transferred as soon as he healed, so I never had the chance to make things right with him." George said regretfully, "But I try to keep the other herbivores here safe. It's sad that I had to lose him to realize how important he was to me. It's like…it's like I attacked a part of myself…that doesn't make sense..."
"Actually, it does." Alex said, understanding radiating from his blue eyes.
George looked at Alex, "He got so close to me during the years we were friends, he was like a brother."
Alex nodded slowly, "They do that, don't they?"
George looked slightly embarrassed, "I haven't talked about him in years. But I think about him all the time."
"Thanks for telling me." Alex smiled weakly, "but I'm curious. How did you stop wanting to…how do you turn off the instinct?"
"You don't." George said frankly.
Alex was disappointed, "What?"
"You don't turn it off." George explained, "You can't, it's impossible. But you can give it something else to do. Like hunt bugs."
"You ate bugs?" Alex made a face.
"Whenever I felt like I needed to eat one of those prey animals, I remembered Jeenko. I chased and ate bugs instead. It didn't take long for my body to tell me not to do that anymore. After that, I just chased them to appease my appetite for hunting. The people must've thought I'd lost my mind!" George almost smiled at the memory, "And after a while, I no longer felt the urge to attack. Steak totally satisfied me again."
"Huh," Alex mused, "so next time I get hungry, I should go fishing? There's still the problem of killing the fish."
"Think about your friends." George suggested gravely, "It's them or the fish."
Alex sighed, closed his eyes, and pictured Marty in his mind. He thought about all the good times they'd shared, all the birthdays, all the ordinary days, all the nights spent chatting and joking on Madagascar. He thought about the bad times, when Marty had run away from the zoo and gotten them all transferred, and when he and Marty had been on bad terms for several days. Then he thought about the day when he'd almost killed Marty. The day Marty had saved Alex from himself. He remembered that silly song about New York. Suddenly the bad times didn't seem so bad, and Alex knew that all he really wanted was to see Marty again. To tell his friends that they were the most important thing to him.
Suddenly, a fish seemed insignificant.
Alex opened his eyes and watched the pond. He swiped his paw through the water as he'd seen George do. To his astonishment, there was a fish, flopping in the snow! He'd caught one! Alex triumphantly grabbed the fish, popped it in his mouth, and swallowed, trying not to think about what was happening to the fish at that moment.
"Great job! That's the way!" George congratulated.
Alex smiled, satisfied.
Now he had a weapon to fight off his worst enemy.