"Rico! Brake!" Skipper ordered. The car sped up. "No! The brake! The other one!"
Skipper spun the wheel as Rico pushed down on the brake. The car did a tight 180 degree turn and swerved back onto the road just in time, throwing everyone in the backseat up against Alex, and Alex up against his window.
"Ow!" Alex cried, rubbing his head where it had struck the glass.
"Watch it!" Marty cried to Skipper.
Alex closed his eyes, "I can't watch!"
Skipper dodged traffic as the giraffes tried hard to keep up. The cab flew onto the bridge and sped across. Soon, it was careening down Madison.
"We're back in Manhattan!" Cora sighed, "Thank goodness!"
Lights and sirens appeared behind them.
"Oh, no!" Marty said, "now the cops are after us!"
Cora nodded, "They want us to pull over!"
"Good going, Skippy." Alex groaned.
"Don't call me 'Skippy'." Skipper said sternly, "Rico! Step on it!"
The car screeched to a halt. The giraffes ran onto a sidewalk beside the cab.
"The gas, Rico! The gas!" Skipper ordered.
The car took off again, nearly avoiding being rear-ended by police cars.
"The giraffes are having a hard time keeping up!" Cora observed, seeing the trio of tall mammals trying to quickly negotiate canopies, mail boxes, and people while running down the sidewalk.
Three large thumps rocked the cab. Twelve cloven hooves appeared clinging to the sides of the cab. The giraffes had jumped on!
Skipper struggled for control of the yellow missile that he was now driving. "Hold on troops, the ride just got rougher!"
Marty watched Central Park go whizzing by out his window.
"Farewell to you, my home!" Robert said dramatically.
"We are really booking!" Marty realized as the Metropolitan Museum of Art flew past.
"I see the zoo." Alex said weakly, opening his eyes for a few moments.
The zoo zipped past. "There it goes," said Marty.
"Good riddance!" Cora mumbled.
Alex almost smiled, "You said it! Whoah!"
The cab swung hard into aright turn. The police cars slid around the corner behind the cab.
"Are we going to successfully accomplish our goal?" Gwendolyn asked worriedly.
"We still have a nearly full tank of gas." Kowalski reported.
Cora nodded, "And the boat is docked just ahead."
The yellow taxi cab led the chase down 57th street, weaving and dodging traffic, and keeping the police cars at a distance.
Bump! The cab flung itself over a set of train tracks.
"I hope Melman's okay up there." Gloria said. She looked at the hooves still holding fast to the car.
"There it is! That's the highway!" Cora cried.
Skipper turned the cab left onto a side street, drove down a ways, then swung it right again. In what seemed like endless turning, spinning, and squealing of tires, the cab finally stopped at the dock. Animals piled out of it.
Robert jumped out, "I never imagined that I would be so exuberant to be on the soil!"
"Ohh, my head!" Melman held his head as he climbed off the car.
Mimi joined him, "Poor baby!" she said soothingly.
Marty helped Alex out of the car, "Alex? You okay?"
Alex nodded, "I think so…oh, ow."
The police cars zoomed past the dock with lights flashing and sirens wailing.
"It won't take them long to figure out where we went. Quick, everyone! To the boat and up the ladder!" Gloria called.
The penguins waddled quickly to the big boat with the bamboo ladder. They swiftly climbed the ladder to the boat.
The squirrels looked at the ladder. Robert turned to Gwendolyn, "We are about to embark on an epic journey! Are you ready, Dearest?"
"I am prepared to go anywhere with you, my handsome husband!" Gwendolyn smiled adoringly at Robert as he held her hand so she could step onto the ladder. Together, they scampered up.
Mimi and Mitchell looked worriedly at the ladder. "Do you think it's safe? It looks like it was built by wild animals!" Mitchell asked Mimi.
"It was." Melman answered, "It was built by my friends! And it is safe!" To demonstrate, he climbed determinedly to the top. When he looked down at his parents, he smiled, "I did it! I conquered heights!" He danced around on the deck of the boat as his parents climbed up after him.
Mimi looked at Mitchell, "I hope he doesn't get too excited! He has high blood pressure!"
Mitchell rolled his eyes, "Mimi, all giraffes have high blood pressure!"
Cora and Marty helped Alex to where Gloria held the base of the ladder. Marty stumbled once, but caught himself, wincing.
Cora and Alex looked at Marty. Alex frowned, "Is your leg bothering you?"
Marty nodded, "It's okay, I think."
"What happened to your leg?" Cora asked Marty, concern in her blue eyes.
Marty sighed, "I'll tell you later."
They reached Gloria and the ladder just as the police cars pulled up near the cab. The policemen hopped out, inspected the cab, then noticed the animals trying to get into the cargo ship.
Alex caught hold of the ladder and tried to climb up, "Aggh! Ow…" he gritted his teeth and climbed up, "I should have gone last, guys! I'll slow you all down!"
Gloria's voice came from behind him, "You're doing great, Alex! Keep going!"
Alex pulled himself painfully up the ladder rungs. He stopped to catch his breath.
"Hang on, Alex!" Mitchell called. The giraffes reached down their long necks and helped him the rest of the way up to the deck.
Gloria climbed up remarkably fast, followed by Cora.
"Come on, Marty!" Cora called to the zebra. Marty grabbed the ladder and stepped onto it. He cringed when he put his weight onto his injured leg. He climbed on. He was a fourth of the way up. Then a third of the way. Then halfway.
"Halt!" a policeman said into a megaphone.
Other policemen were coming up the ladder after Marty! He looked down and climbed faster, missing a rung.
"Ahh!" Marty hung on with his front hooves.
His friends watched in horror, helpless to assist him.
"Marty!" Cora cried, "Hang on tight! It's not much further now, you can do it!"
The policemen were getting closer every second. One was close enough to touch Marty. He reached out to grab the zebra's leg. Something sticky hit the man in the face. "Huh?" he said, scraping white goo off of his chin.
"Rico! More marshmallows!" Skipper ordered. Rico gulped down an entire bag. Skipper picked him up and used him like a machine gun to fire the white gooey candy at the policemen who were trying to stop Marty.
"This doesn't work as well as peppermints." Skipper mused, watching the bewildered policemen weathering the rain of marshmallows. "Private, make a note! From now on, we stick to hard candy!"
Private made a note.
Marty finally got his balance and scrambled up the ladder. He grabbed the boat and pulled himself up.
Skipper turned to the cabin and yelled, "Kowalski! Full throttle!"
The boat lurched suddenly, pulling away from the dock. The ladder fell over, spilling policemen into the water.
Skipper grinned at the skyscrapers that were now getting farther and farther away, "Operation Perfect Getaway was a success!"
"This 'Madagascar', what is it like?" Robert asked Mitchell.
Mitchell replied, "Well, I've never actually been there, but my son tells me it is an island with white sandy beaches, palm trees, an ocean view, plenty of fruit to eat, and it is warm there."
Robert nodded, "Sounds like the 'perfect getaway' to me."
Alex watched from the back of the ship as New York got smaller and smaller.
Marty approached him, "I see you've already seen Dr. Mitchell Mankowitz." Marty gestured to his properly bandaged legs, "I just got done with him." Marty came up beside Alex, "How are you holding up?"
The lion was wearing bandages on his front left paw, around his middle, and on his tail. His mane was still dusty, but otherwise, he looked like himself again after the ordeal.
Alex looked seriously at Marty, "Gloria told me what happened. If it weren't for you, I'd still be back in that subway station. Or worse." Alex smiled, "I really owe you one, buddy."
"Come on, Alex." Marty said, "Remember the poachers? Now we're even!"
The two friends sat together in silence, watching the sunset over the ocean. Everything was very calm and peaceful in comparison to the days they'd just experienced in New York.
"Marty! Alex!" Cora stuck her head out of the cabin, "You guys have got to come see this!"
Alex and Marty smiled and limped to the cabin.
"We're quite a pair, aren't we?" Alex joked.
They joined Cora in the cabin. To their surprise, everyone else was already inside, gathered around a T.V. set!
"Mitchell didn't want to miss the last episode of his favorite T.V. show," Cora said by way of explanation, "And the penguins wanted something to do, so they got this old thing working, and look what's on!"
The T.V. was tuned to a New York news channel. An anchorwoman was on the screen, saying something about a car chase through Manhattan.
Marty recognized the woman, "Hey, Alex, that's that same person who said that New York missed you!"
Alex snorted, "I wonder how much she was paid to say that."
"Would you two be quiet and listen?" Cora hissed.
"…but so far, the car thieves have not been found." The anchorwoman said, "The policemen involved claimed that the cab was driven by zoo animals, who at the conclusion of the chase, left the scene in a cargo ship identical to the one now being dubbed the 'lost ark'. The ship was lost on the way to Kenya, Africa last month under mysterious circumstances. There is no evidence to support any claims that it recently reappeared in Manhattan. However, many zoo animal sightings in Manhattan have been reported since the chase."
The newsroom was replaced by Central Park. A man stood in front of a hot dog cart. A microphone appeared at the bottom of the screen. The man looked distraught, "I was selling hot dogs yesterday morning, and I dropped the mustard! Then two black and white animals, I think zebras, jumped out of the bushes, grabbed my strings of sausages, and ran off into the park! They didn't pay for them or anything! Just like that!"
The newsroom reappeared. The anchorwoman kept talking, "Other witnesses think they saw zoo animals in Macy's, in the subways, and even walking down the street wearing clothes!" The woman looked seriously at the camera, "Psychologists say that these 'sightings' may be due to citywide concern for the Central Park Zoo's animals lost at sea, and more recently, the disappearance of several of the Bronx Zoo's giraffes. These sightings should not be permanent. If you experience any sightings of zoo animals, the New York City Emergency Response team asks that you do not call 911."
By this time, Marty, Alex, Gloria, Melman, and Cora were all holding back giggles.
The woman moved to the next story, "The collapse of the Eastern Fordham Road subway station near the Bronx Zoo yesterday shocked and horrified the city. The cause was determined to be a minor glitch in the scheduling computer, leading to a collision of two trains inside the station. Fortunately, and bizarrely, the trains and station were empty at the time of the accident. No injuries due to the collision and subsequent collapse have been reported."
"They weren't quite empty." Marty looked at Alex.
Alex rubbed his sore left paw, "I guess we forgot to report it."
"In the international news this evening, an arrest has been made of a group of poachers who have been at large for years. Their success at evading the law can be measured in the large number of skins and live animals found in their ship's hold. Their luck and trading operation came to an end when their ship ran aground off Mozambique yesterday. The men were found trapped in their own cabin by a crate containing their leader. When questioned as to how this came to be, one man said that it was monsters. The others refused to give any details of the events. The men were discovered to be smuggling an illegal substance on their ship in the form of beer. They were arrested on site by the local authorities on the grounds of cruelty to animals, illegal smuggling, underground trade, evading multiple arrests, and other crimes too numerous to list."
"Yeah, like assault!" Cora said.
"And attempted murder!" Melman added.
The newswoman continued, "When we return, the sailors from the 'Lost Ark' will describe their experience during the last few hours they were on the boat. They claim to have been hijacked by penguins! Stay tuned for more."
The news station's music played, and a commercial for a 24-hour coffee shop came on.
"Wow." Cora giggled, "Hijacked by penguins? Those humans must be crazy!"
Alex grinned, "Really! And why would a couple of zebras steal sausages?"
"What was that she said about Macy's?" Marty wondered, "I don't remember going shopping!"
The penguins shifted their feet and looked innocently all around the room.
Alex sighed, "Good trip!"
"You're kidding, right?" Gloria looked pointedly at Alex's bandages.
"No, not really." Alex said, "well, it had its rough spots, but hey, all's well that ends well. And I learned that there is no place like home."
Melman looked at Alex, "So, where did you decide that home was?"
"Maybe he means that there's no place like home." Cora offered.
"Nope!" Alex shook his head, grinning, "I really meant that there is only one place like home for me. And we're headed to it!"
"Julien, face it. Those crazy critters aren't coming back." Maurice walked up to the king lemur.
Julien gave Maurice a condescending look, "Do not question the king, Maurice! They said they'd come, and so I will keep keeping their homes ready for them." Julien sat back against his throne and watched as his loyal subjects performed housekeeping duties for Marty's, Melman's and Gloria's huts. Two lemurs fanned him with palm fronds, while another gave him a manicure.
Maurice shook his head, "Keeping homes ready is one thing, Julien. But building them?" He pointed to a construction effort not far from Marty's hut.
Julien nodded, "There are more than three of them, Maurice." He pointed out, "I want them to be comfortable when they come back. It is all part of my brilliant plan!"
"And what plan is that?" Maurice asked skeptically.
Julien looked excited, "We make them all very happy when they come and visit us. And then they decide not to go back to their New York, and stay with us instead forever!"
He waved his hand dismissively at Maurice, who was shaking his head. Julien said, "Now shoo. All this working and I must take a break."
Maurice sighed and walked away.
King Julien called to some lemurs, "You! And you! Do you want the great honor of rubbing the king's feet?"
"Dear, pass the finger sandwiches." Robert asked his wife. The squirrels had been treating the ship voyage as their own personal cruise. They were perfectly content.
But not everyone was. Marty, Alex, Cora, Gloria, and Melman stood on the deck of the boat. The five friends watched the horizon, semi-boredly.
"The penguins said we'd pass Florida today." Melman said, trying to start a conversation.
"Yeah." The other four animals chorused unenthusiastically.
Melman shrugged, "I guess I'll join my parents…"
"What are they doing?" Alex asked disinterestedly.
"Shnzzz." Melman replied, falling asleep before he reached the spot where his parents were napping.
Marty looked at Melman, "I wish I could sleep. But I'm all slept out."
"I know what you mean." Cora agreed, "Sleeping beats boredom."
The four friends who remained awake sighed together.
"I wonder what George is doing right now?" Alex wondered out loud.