I'm terrible at keeping track of time. Martin is also very strong.


Martin couldn't believe what he had just found.

Folding his wings and swooping into the classic falcon dive, he watched in horror as one of the men rolled Chris over with his foot, aiming the gun at the back of his head as he clicked off the safety- Martin pushed himself to fall faster, his sharp hearing picking up on their words-

"Hey! Get away from him!"

Martin immediately swooped forward and grabbed the gun out of the man's hand with his talon, spreading his wings forward to stop himself from crash landing as he placed himself between the two men and Chris. Both of them looked terrified as they saw what was probably the biggest and only talking falcon they had ever seen in their lives.

Stumbling backwards as they almost tripped over each other, the shorter one pointed a finger at him. "What the fuck are you!"

Pressing the deactivation button, Martin clenched his hands in fury, shaking from the pent up adrenaline racing through his system. "Martin Kratt," he spat, glaring them down. Even without the falcon powers, he still had at least two inches on the taller guy. He pointed towards Chris who he noted, with worry, hadn't moved. "That's my brother you were pointing that gun at. What did you do to him?"

"His brother! So the little weasel was lying the whole time!" One of them laughed. "I knew it, he was working with someone! How about that, Novak!"

"Well I'm glad we waited! Now maybe this freak can tell us wh-"

Novak's words were cut off as Martin snatched him by the collar, pulling him up off the ground and within inches of his face.

"You hurt my brother and tried to kill him, and you're laughing about it?" Martin gave him a hard shake. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the other starting for the gun, but he reached out and grabbed him as well before he could even attempt to get it. "You've had him for almost a week! What did you do to him, what did he ever do to you?"

"Do to us?" Novak said, indignant as if he had done nothing wrong. Disgusting. Martin narrowed his eyes as his fist clenched his shirt tighter. "We caught him spying on us, he almost cost us our business!Matter of fact, why don't you ask your brother what he did – oh wait, you can't!"

While he hadn't seen everything leading up to it (or anything during the past six days), Martin had been horrified to see his helpless brother sobbing on the ground, begging for his life with a gun pointed mere inches from his head. It was a scene that would haunt his nightmares for a long time, and he was sure it would leave Chris with scars, mentally and physically, for the rest of his life.

And his almost murderers were laughing like it was nothing.

Martin grit his teeth as his face contorted into a snarl, seeing red. Letting go of the man he had just grabbed, he turned his hand into a fist and gave a heavy swing, hitting Novak in center of his face. The hit instantly knocked him unconscious without even a groan of pain, and he slumped to the ground as soon as Martin let go.

"You piece of shit!" The other one screamed, struggling against Martin's tight grip on his shirt. "What the hell, what the fuck did you just do to him?"

Grabbing the other man by the collar before he even had a chance to dart away, Martin swung his fist again, knocking him out as well. He then shoved him away, pushing him towards the other one laying on the ground.

Breathing heavy, Martin glared at their unconscious bodies, daring them to wake up and try again. How dare they steal these animals, rip them away from their homes and families, and sell them on a black market as a business. How dare they hurt Chris, torture him, and then try to blame him for it like it was his fault.

A small whimper of pain from behind Martin immediately extinguished his rage as if a bucket of ice water was dumped over his head. With one last glance at the two men to make sure they wouldn't move any time soon, Martin crouched down next to his brother.

"Chris? Chris, are you okay brother?"

With a careful gentleness he normally used for baby animals, Martin slowly rolled Chris over to his back, murmuring apologies as he hissed in pain.

Oh man, this isn't good, this isn't good at all...

Martin grimaced when he saw the blood splattered on his clothes and skin, the liquid dark and thick through the fractured moonlight that filtered through the trees. He could feel it on his hands, sticky and wet from when he had moved Chris, as he wiped it off on his pants without a second thought. Grabbing his creature pod from his pocket for more light, he winced when he saw what was on the screen: six missed calls from Koki, four from Jimmy, and three from Aviva. He'd have to deal with that later.

"Chris? Hey, can you hear me, buddy? It's me, Martin."

Flicking on the flashlight app on his creature pod, Martin couldn't help the small gasp as he finally got a good look his younger brother. The blood looked even more menacing, the deep red shining under the bright light with older layers clinging to his skin underneath. Numerous cuts and bruises, both new and several days old, covered his body along with several more hidden amongst the tears in his clothing.

Shrugging his jacket off when he noticed him shivering, he lay the warm clothing on top of him to offer some additional warmth against the cooler mountain air, and tucked a sleeve underneath his head. Martin then placed the back of his hand on his forehead and frowned. The rest of his skin had felt cold and clammy, but his forehead was too warm.

He added possible illness to his much too quickly growing list of worries.

Blinking sluggishly, Chris looked up at Martin, his gaze unfocused and glazed over."M-Mar'in?" he slurred, shifting slightly before wincing.

"Hold still, you'll hurt yourself even more," Martin said, placing a hand on his arm to stop him from moving again. He forced a smile for his brother's sake when he felt what seemed like shifting bone underneath, and added that to the list as well.

"Mar'in, w-what-" Chris' sentence was cut off as he let out a raspy wet cough. Taking the other sleeve of his blue jacket, Martin wiped the bit of blood that bubbled out of his mouth, trying to hide his worry from Chris. His breathing was too quick and shallow for his liking.

"You don't have to talk, just hold on a little bit longer, okay? I'm going to get us out of here, and get some help, don't worry," Martin said, pulling up the contacts list on his creature pod. The two men were still out cold with no sign of waking anytime soon, but he didn't want to waste any more time in case they did, especially time that Chris didn't have.

The call picked up before the first ring even ended. "Martin, what the hell is going on?" Koki's voice shouted through the creature pod. Risking a look at the screen, he grimaced when he saw all three of his friends, each with varying degrees of anger and worry. "You called me telling us that you had some big news, immediately hung up, and then ignored our calls the entire time afterwards! We've been trying to call you this whole time, do you know how worried we've been? And the rangers are calling us saying-"

"Koki, we don't have time!" Martin made a mental note to apologize for yelling at her later. "I finally found Chris, but he's hurt, bad." All three of his teammates immediately began to ask questions, but Martin shook his head. There was plenty of time later for that, after Chris wasn't in immediate danger. "He needs help, now! I sent you guys my coordinates earlier, how close is anyone to them?"

"We notified the ranger station when you didn't answer your creature pod. There's some heading out that way now, but I don't know when they'll get there," Koki said.

Thank god. At least someone was on their way, but Martin still feared they could arrive too late. Glancing back at his brother he saw that Chris had since closed his eyes, the quick rise and fall of his chest the only sign he was still alive.

"I'm about halfway there with the Createrra," Aviva added. "This area of the park is pretty dense and doesn't have any kind of road. I'm having some trouble navigating through this brush in the dark, and my GPS keeps cutting out. How bad is Chris?"

"I'll fill you in on the details later, but he's hurt bad, I think he might be going into shock." Martin worried his lip as he rechecked Chris' forehead. "I'll send you guys my updated coordinates, though someone should still follow my other one. This valley is one big trafficking operation, they've been stealing and selling animals, including the gorillas!"

"Don't worry Martin, we'll update the rangers with your coordinates and get someone over to you and those animals as soon as we can. Just hold on a little bit longer, guys," Koki said.

"And keep us posted on Chris!" Jimmy added.

With a weak smile Martin gave a thumbs up to his crew, before cutting off the call. The battery was only at about 15% left, and he didn't want to waste anymore than he had to unless it was absolutely necessary. In this desolate area of the park, it was their only connection to the outside world.

After tying the two men up with a few spare pieces of rope he had found in the bottom of his bag, Martin settled himself and Chris in between a secluded cluster of brush, hoping help would be here soon.


Chris drifted in and out of consciousness, barely aware of his surroundings. The pain, which had once consumed his entire body, had now dulled to a mild ache that only a far off part of his brain was aware of. A small blanket that covered his torso offered some welcome warmth against the cold air and wet ground, but it did little to fight off the chill he felt deep in his bones. He worried he might never feel warm again.

He wondered if he was dying.

Distantly, he knew he should probably be more worried, but he was simply too worn and exhausted to even move. Fractured memories occasionally flashed in his mind, flashbacks from a terrible torture that left his heart racing. For a few terrifying seconds he remembered, before it slipped away like sand through his fingers. He was tired, too tired, and every time he slipped unconscious he worried he wouldn't wake back up.

Chris was quickly brought back to consciousness as he broke out into a coughing fit. Pain shot through his chest and deep into his lungs, leaving him dizzy and gasping for air. His muscles pulled at his broken ribs, sending jabs of sharp pain every time he moved.

"...be okay... help... soon..."

A voice from somewhere above spoke softly to him while he struggled to breathe, his words muddy and muffled. A cool hand brushed back his hair and settled on his forehead, offering a soothing relief to his burning fever. He unconsciously leaned into the touch. While Chris couldn't make out the words, the source of the voice was comforting and safe, and he recognized it immediately. Martin.

Visions of himself being forced to the ground, gun to his head while his captors laughed at him flashed through his mind, causing him to shudder. Was his brother hurt too? His sluggish brain struggled to recall the rest of the events of what had happened that night. He remembered Martin yelling about something, and Chris could only count on one hand how many times his brother had been that angry before.

But Martin was here, seemingly safe, and his captors weren't, and as he slowly drifted away that was all that mattered to Chris.

In a few short minutes, he would again forget the strength of his brother's presence, and the utter desolate feeling of dying alone would sink in yet again as he drifted back to unconsciousness.


Martin jolted awake from a light doze, squinting to adjust his eyes as a bright light flashed through the branches of their shelter. Adrenaline coursed through his system as soon as he realized where he was, overtaking the grogginess of his first nap in over two days. He cursed himself for falling asleep so easily, especially with his brother in such a vulnerable position and two dangerous criminals located only a hundred feet away.

From his current vantage point, he strained to see any sign of movement for a moment, and after deciding they were safe enough, turned his attention to his more concerning matter.

"Chris? Chris, are you awake?" Checking the time, Martin grimaced when he saw nearly two hours had passed since he last spoke with the crew, and quickly flicked on the flashlight. His breath caught in his throat as he saw how pale and still he had quickly become.

Too still.

His hands trembling, Martin placed two fingers against Chris' neck, pressing his lips together as he prayed for a pulse. He ignored the icy feeling of his skin, even colder than just a few hours before.

Nothing. He swallowed against the growing lump forming in his throat, his mouth dry. "Hey, c'mon Chris, wake up!" His eyes searched his face, looking for a movement, a twitch, something that meant he was still alive, but he remained deathly still.

"Chris, wake up!" With his spare hand, Martin patted his swollen cheek, careful of the injuries on his face. His head lolled to the side. "No, no no no no, please wake up..." Several agonizing moments passed, after the weight in his stomach grew with the heavy weight of dread, before he finally felt a faint, thready beating against his fingers.

They were running out of time. Over three hours had passed since he last spoke with the crew, and with no sign of Aviva or any rangers from his position, their outlook appeared bleak. Martin debated about making the trek back to the Tortuga with Chris himself, but he couldn't risk the chance of a run in with a leopard.

I can't just wait here, it could be too late. But if-

A sudden nearby crunching of leaves made him immediately freeze.

Leopards that love to prowl these elevations for prey.

Shifting himself closer to the ground, Martin covered Chris' body with his own as much as he could, and made himself look as small as possible. They were covered in dirt from being on the ground, but their white shirts and pale skin stood out from the dark vegetation they were hiding in.

Holding his breath, he held as still as he could.

"-can you hear me?" a voice called from several feet away; Martin relaxed with dizzying relief when he recognized the light Hispanic accent that could only belong to Aviva. "Martin! Where are you guys, are you alright?"

Martin ignored his protesting joints as he jumped up, picked up Chris with gentle precision, and pushed his way through the thick brush.

"Aviva!"

Aviva immediately turned around with a gasp when she heard him approach. "Martin! Martin thank god I found you! I've been looking for you for-" Her voice trailed off when her eyes darted to Chris, held protectively in his grasp. "Chris! Is he..."

"He's alive," Martin said. "Aviva, we don't have time. We need to get Chris help now, I think... He's hurt bad, I think he's dying."

"Right. C'mon, let's get him back to the Createrra." With a nod, Aviva motioned Martin to follow her. "It's at just over half a tank, and I brought the gas can just in case. The park radioed an ambulance, but they could only get so far. They're still about twenty miles away."

"What about the traffickers, and the animals?" His eyes darted over to where he had left them.

"I just got off a call with one of the rangers about fifteen minutes ago. They're taking care of the animal traffickers right now," Aviva said. "They found them both tied up and they're now in custody, and there's some police going through that cabin. I don't think we'll have to worry about them anymore, there's more than enough evidence in there to put them in prison for a long time."

Martin shuddered at the reminder of what he had seen in there. He hated to think those weapons hanging on the walls could have been used to torture Chris.

"There's about thirty animals in total, the rangers are moving them to a protected area of the park to take care of them. Jimmy, Koki and I offered to help figure out where they came from so they can go back to their natural habitats," Aviva continued. "We're going to try and track down ones they've already sold, too."

"I couldn't find Fluff," Martin murmured. "His mom was so upset, I could feel it when I looked at her."

"Don't worry, we'll find them, Martin." Aviva paused when they saw the Createrra. "And... When Chris gets better, he can help us bring the animals back too. He might have an idea about what could've happened to Fluff."

Martin carefully hoisted them both up in the Createrra and settled Chris on a pile of blankets that had already been set out. Aviva then grabbed another blanket, draping it across his still frame, and handed Martin the emergency first aid kit she had brought with her.

Before climbing into the driver's seat, Aviva gave him a reassuring smile and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "We'll make it to a hospital in time, okay? You did good, Martin. You saved several animals that would've suffered a bad fate, and you found Chris. Now let's get him back."

The words were supposed to be comforting, but it only made Martin realized how critical their time was. Taking Chris' hand in his own, he prayed his brother had the strength to make it through the long drive.