Chapter 8: Rough Sailing

Alex felt a sharp pain in his side. "Mr. Alex!" Julien shouted from within Alex's mane. "MR. ALEX!"

Alex felt a warm feeling rush through his body. Finally, it made sense to him. He was dying...

Or, so he feared, until looking down at the source of the wound. A large red tranquilizer dart pierced his side. His feardiminished into a weak annoyance, "God dammit!" he grunted as he fell to the ground. The world dissolved around him as he fell, yet he met no ground. All the pain was diffused from out of his body and a wave of calm overtook his senses. He wasn't falling anymore. In fact, he was floating. Every inch of himself felt weightless, and comfortable. Everything went black around him, yet he could see himself perfectly well. His gaze slowly shifted ahead of him. He could make something out, faintly, in the distance. Using a swimming-like motion he propelled towards the object.

As he approached, a sweet aroma filled his nostrils. His eyes widened in joy and anticipation. It was banquet of steak, fish, and other delectable meats he had never tasted before. He approached the feast slowly. As he drew closer a strange beat played in his ears. It was chanting, of some sort. The words were in a foreign language he couldn't understand. But he got a primal feeling that it was telling him to eat. The chanting pushed him forward, bringing him closer and closer to his goal. The chanting grew louder and louder. He stared at the platter and licked his lips. But, strangely, the meats began to stir. They were changing. Changing into- "Marty?" he asked. The zebra stared up at him with fear in his eyes. But, the chanting didn't stop. He tried to go the other way, but the voices pushed him forward.

"Alex!" Marty pleaded. The lion couldn't stop. "Alex!" He continued. Alex drew ever nearer.

"Alex!" Marty shouted. Alex opened his eyes. The worried zebra soon came into focus. His face hidden behind black bars. Marty reached through the bars and patted his friend on the back. "Oh, Al, thank goodness your awake."

"Huh?" Alex was confused. "Where are we?"

Marty laughed, "We're going home!" Alex's memory quickly returned to him.

He looked about. He saw Marty's cage on the left, and the penguins' on the right. He looked downward. Sleeping in his cage was Julien. But that wasn't everyone. He grew worried. "Where's Melman and Gloria?" He panicked.

"Don't worry, Alex," Marty pointed to his right, "They're on the other side of the boat."

"How far have we gone?"

Marty replied, "I dunno, but we must have gone someplace. You've been out for hours!"

Alex stood up to get a better look around.

"OW!" Julien awoke from his sleep,You're standing on my tail!"

"Oops," Alex took his foot of the lemur's bushy tail. "Sorry, about that." He repositioned himself and stood again. He gazed over the shifting waters. A sunset glistened over the ocean. 'Marty was right, I have been out for hours.' He made out a shape silhouetted against the sun. It was the penguin's hijacked ship being pulled by the tugboat.

"I'm gonna miss that ship," Skipper mumbled, also staring towards the sunset. "Sleek design, efficient, and it turned on a dime." He sighed.

"I'm going to miss a lot of things..." Julien said to himself, thinking of Maurice.

"Come on, fuzz-bucket," Alex smiled rubbing the lemur on his crownless head. "You're with us, now. There's never a dull moment."

"Tell me," Julien turned his head, "What is New York like?"

"Ah, New York," Alex took a breath, "Well, there was never a place with so much happening at once," he explained, "Their are buildings taller than anything you've ever seen on Madagascar."

"Taller than my baobab tree?" he asked.

"Oh, much taller," the lion continued to list. "Their aren't many trees, except for around where we live-"

"Ooh, I remember this one," he thought back on previous conversations, "The Centennial Arc on the Move." he stated proudly.

Alex laughed, "That's the Central Park Zoo," he explained. "It's inside Central Park, the only scrap of foliage left on Manhattan."

"Manhattan?" Julien grew boggled, "I thought you said you lived in New York!"

"We do." Alex confirmed. "Let me explain. We live in the Central Park Zoo (which is inside Central Park (which is on the island of Manhattan (which is part of New York City (which is in New York state (which lies in the United States.)))))" Alex took a long breath.

"And where is that, in relation to Madagascar?" Julien asked.

Alex shrugged, "I dunno... I know about New York, and I know about Madagascar, but I don't know much about any other places. Just little references here and there."

"Why?" he asked.

Alex looked back and forth, "Well, unfortunately, one of the downfalls of 'zoo life' is the fact that you don't get much contact from the outside world. Until I came to Madagascar, I had never left the zoo before."

"Really?" he found the prospect strange, "Even you, Marty?"

The zebra shook his head, "Nope, not even for a breathe of fresh air."

Alex tried to keep the mood bright, "But, other than that, New York's a great place! You get all the food you want, and a living area designed especially for you."

"I guess that's where I'm headed," Julien sounded disappointed.

Alex comforted him, "Don't worry. When using words, you can't really explain the way you would feel. For example, if you used words and described Madagascar to me, I'd think I would hate it."

"And, look! you went home three days later!" Julien stated, pesemistically.

Alex frowned, "Only because I loved New York so much... and I know you'll love it too." He patted the lemur on the back, "I've been at the Central Park Zoo since I was born, and I never got tired of it. In fact we were all born and raised in that zoo. Except for Melman, of course. He was transferred to us from the Bronx Zoo when we were younger, but that's a different story."

"And, what a story that is," Marty laughed. They told the long tale, laughing after every sentence. And what a long tale, it was. By the time they had finished the sun had long disappeared over the sea, replaced with a dazzling display of starlight. Though,Julien had hardly taken a wordit story in.

He was to busy thinking about various things. Finally, he spoke up, "If you never left the Centrino Mark Loo-"

Alex corrected, "Central Park Zoo."

"Whatever," Julien waved his hands, "If you never left that place before, then how did you even come to meet me?"

"Well, Marty got bored one night and went outside the zoo, which got us into a heap of trouble-"

"Wait-" Julien halted him, "You get in trouble for going outside?"

"Well, yeah," Alex tried to save the conversation, "You get used to it. Anyway, he wandered off, and we went after him. Then the people found us, and got mad. So they sent us...somewhere."

"You mean: Madagascar." Julien corrected him.

Alex shook his head, "Actually, no." he explained, " We were tossed over-board after a slight boat mishap-" he looked at the penguins, "And we landed on the beach, and later, met you." he shook his head "I never found out where we were supposed to go... Connecticut, maybe."

Skipper couldn't help but over here, "I remember. We were supposed to go to Africa."

"Where's Africa?" Julien shot out.

Alex recalled back, "I've heard that name before..." the memory quickly came to him, "Oh, yeah! That's where me, Marty, Gloria, and Melman all came from!"

"Stop confusing me!" Julien cried out, "You said you were from New York!"

"No," Alex explained, "Africa is where our ancestors came from. Though, I don't know anything else about it. Or, really, where it is... or what it is..."

Skipper sighed, "Really, I don't know how you can stand to be so geographically ignorant." He approached Alex's cage. "It's only the third biggest continent in the world!"

"What's a continent?" Julien cocked his head to the side.

Skipper grew frustrated, so Kowalski attempted to explain, "I continent is a really big piece of land, and there are seven of them on the earth. And Africa is third biggest. Meaning it's really big."

Julien threw out a thought, "Bigger than Madagascar?"

Private added, "Well, yeah. Madagascar is part of Africa."

"Ow, my head!" Julien yelled at the sudden surge of information.

Marty had a question, "What's Africa like? I mean, other than theMadagascar part."

Skipper apologized, "I'm sorry, but a map can show you where something is, how big it is, and what cities are in it. But, not what it's like. I'd have to see it for myself"

"Man, we haven't seen much of the world at all," Alex yawned, "But, I've seen enough of this ocean, already, for my taste." Careful not to squish Julien, he lied down, placing his paws beneath his head."I think it's time I went to sleep."

Private agreed, "Skipper, I think we should get to bed, too."

"For once, Private, we're on the same page," he answered. Rico let out a roar of a yawn, and Kowalski had already lied down.

"Good night, Mr. Lion," Private called out in the darkness.

"Good night, er, Private," the lion answered, still a bit unsure of their names. He turned to Julien,"Good night, fuzz-bucket."

Julien answered, "Good night, Mr. Alex," He curled up on top of Alex's chest. "Good night, flappy-swimmy things."

"Stop CALLING us that!" Kowalski shouted.

Alex wasn't bothered by the lemur at all. In fact, he was growing to like him. 'You're a little strange, but maybe we aren't all that different after all, fuzz-bucket.' But, soon he grew concerned. He had not heard a word from Marty for a while.He lifted his head from off his paws."Marty?" he called.

The zebra stared into space, thinking intensively. It took him a while to answer."Yeah?" he finallyresponded.

Alex was reassured, "Good night," he said softly, lying his head back down.

Marty smiled, "Good night, Al." He lied down in his cage. The gentle sounds of waves lapping against the boat coaxed him into his dreamy state of thought, once again: 'Man, I really haven't seen any places. There's a whole world around me and I've only seen a tiny bit of it.' he gazed into the sky wondering about everything that existed around him. Suddenly, a flash of light whizzed by. 'A shooting star! Ok, Marty, make a wish.' he thought to himself. After a moment of consideration, he decided his wish:'I wish me and Alex could see more of the world. If we could go to just one more place...' The zebra smiled, and slowly, drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, one penguin still remained awake. Something was bothering Kowalski. "Skipper!" he whispered.

Hardly awake, he answered, "What is it, Kowalski?"

"Which way would one go to get from Madagascar to Manhattan?" he asked.

Skipper groaned, "That's easy. First, you would go South to go under the bottom of the continent. Then, you would head straight North East."

"South, first?"

"Yes, Kowalski, South! Why are you asking me these questions?" he ranted.

"Well, sir," Kowalski answered, "This whole time, we've been going North!"