Chapter 3:The Storm Breaks
The following morning, Blu woke up before Jewel, realizing he suffered through the same dream from before. The one where he would approach the meteor, feel his body go limp and slowly disintegrate into a heap of ash in excruciating pain.
He wanted so desperately dream something else, and silently cursed his inability to do so. He turned over to see his mate lying next to him, which he considered another dream, although a dream come true. Gently stroking her neck feathers, she stirred from her sleep.
"Mmmm...good morning, Blu."
"Morning, my everything. Sleep well?"
"I could've done with five more minutes, but yeah, I did," she yawned.
"Why don't we get a bite to eat, Blu?"
"You took the words right out of my beak! Let's go!"
After gathering their favorite foodstuffs and returning to the hollow, they ate in content silence. Just as they were about to head out for a well-needed bath, raucous sounds poured in from outside their hollow.
"What was that? Sounds like someone screaming."
"Yeah...and the voice is kind of familiar..."
Blu poked his head out to find the source of the disturbance. He turned his head in the direction of the shouts, and saw two Scarlet Macaws chasing one another at incredible speeds.
The one in the lead was flying around almost uncontrollably, weaving through, between, above and around branches and tree trunks, and Blu could tell that they weren't playing games.
The trailing macaw had no problem keeping up with the leader though, and it seemed to be closing in, despite the latter's best efforts. The leader took a turn into the direction of Blu's hollow, and it was then Blu recognized who he was seeing.
"I knew there was something familiar about that voice. It's Frank and Maricela!"
Jewel proceeded to place herself next to Blu, and her eyes locked on to the two hurtling macaws.
"What's going on? Why is Frank chasing her?"
"I don't know. Maybe we should get over there and find out."
Just then, Maricela flew by the tree, catching a glimpse of Blu and Jewel sitting in their hollow.
"Blu! Jewel! HELP!"
The blue macaws shook their heads and blinked. Was she calling for... help?
"Why? What's the matter?" Blu shouted.
"Frank's trying to kill me! I don't know why, but..."
She barely swooped past a branch, hoping that Frank would collide with it. He didn't, and it was just one more failed attempt for Maricela.
After a few turns back in the direction of the blue macaws, she continued.
"...he already killed our children! He's gone insane! Please, stop him!"
Blu and Jewel turned to each other, shock plastered on their faces.
"Frank killed his kids! But..."
"No time to think about it now, Jewel. If we don't do something, Frank will kill Maricela as well. We have to save her!"
Luckily, Blu had formulated an idea right away. It usually only worked in cartoons, but it just might do the trick. He leaned out of the hollow and gazed around for a suitable branch. He spotted one growing out of the trunk above him, and flew up to it.
He grabbed the branch at its end with his claws, and powered his wings in reverse, bending the bough significantly. He couldn't risk straining it too much, or it might snap off.
"Jewel! Get Maricela to follow you, and lead her here! I'll try to hit Frank with this branch!"
Jewel quickly hopped out and took off, chasing the pair of macaws.
"Maricela! Over here! Follow me, Blu has an idea!"
Maricela banked left as sharp as she could, making a little more space between her and her crazed husband, who had some minor trouble keeping up, due to her sudden move. She flew over to Jewel, who in turn started making way towards Blu and his intuitive trap.
"Blu! Get ready, here we come!"
He saw Jewel shoot by, quickly followed by Maricela. As soon as she passed, Blu released the branch, allowing it swing back to its original position. Fortunately for him, it slammed Frank square in the face, negating his momentum and stealing away his consciousness.
Spiraling down to the earth, he landed in a bush, where he lay motionless, save for his faster-than-normal breathing. Realizing she was no longer in immediate danger, Maricela perched herself on the closest branch she could find, panting from the incredible amount of stunts she just pulled, her sight fixed on her mate.
Jewel landed next to her, followed by Blu.
"What was that all about! What happened to Frank?"
"I don't know, Jewel! I was out looking for food, and when I came back, Frank..."
Maricela started sobbing, and she grabbed Jewel for comfort.
"He...killed our children! They came over to visit the night before, and they were still asleep when I left. He was standing over their Leo and Joaquin, their necks slashed open, and he had Valeria's neck gripped in his left foot. There was blood dripping all over his beak and claws.
Her neck bone was sticking out of...her throat. I screamed, and that's when he turned to me. He made this atrocious growl and tossed her body aside, and that is when I got a good look at his expression. His eyes...I'll never forget them...his eyes were pitch black. There was nothing to see but total darkness. He started lurching towards me. I tried to reason with him, but he ignored it and kept coming closer. That's when he pounced me, and gave me this gash."
She looked down to her belly and used a claw to move a few of her feathers, revealing a nasty cut. Given the color of her feathers, it was very hard to tell she had been bleeding.
"I somehow fought him off, and I had no choice but to fly away as fast as I could! I knew your hollow was around here somewhere, so I came for your help. Which you gave... so, thank you!"
"You're welcome. But, what if Frank wakes up? Shouldn't we restrain him or something? He might still be violent," Jewel wondered.
Blu shot his gaze down to the crumpled form of Frank.
"I'm going to take a look. Be ready in case he wakes up and comes after me."
"Be careful, Blu! If he's got no trouble killing his own children, he'll no doubt do the same to you!"
Heeding Jewel's warning, he glided down and landed a few feet away from the scarlet bird. The impact of the branch supplied Frank with a small gash on his forehead, where tiny splinters sat, surrounded by trickles of blood.
Blu carefully pried open one of his eyelids, and saw that Maricela was speaking the truth.
His eye was completely black, the pupil dilated as far as macaw biology would allow.
Stunned, he backed off, allowing the eyelid to shut itself again. He looked up to where Maricela and Jewel were sitting.
"You're right, there's nothing but black in his eyes. His breathing is also faster than it should be. Maybe we should..."
"Blu! Look out!"
Jewel's warning made him turn towards Frank once again. He felt his heart sink as he noticed Frank's eyes were wide open. Instead of getting up however, Frank just started rocking from left to right, making choking noises all the while.
"Frank? Can you hear me? What's the matter? Can you talk? Frank!"
Frank just continued doing what he did, which caused Blu's concern to grow. Even though he was very reluctant to do so, he came closer once again and put a wing on Frank's head. His reflexes made him pull it back instantly.
"Holy- you're burning up! There's no way you should be this hot. What is going on with you?"
Jewel and Maricela headed down to get a better look at what ailed the latter's mate.
"Oh Frank...I don't know how to help you..."
"Well, whatever is causing it is twisting his mind. You'd have to be irrevocably messed up to kill your own kids, and Frank always looked like a normal bird."
I wonder...
Blu tried to compose a theory in his mind.
"Maricela, do you know if Frank went near that meteor that landed in the jungle some time ago?"
"Well, yes. He went there yesterday evening. I didn't want to go, told him it was too dangerous. But he just said: 'Come on, how often do we get a chance like this?' I refused to go, so he flew off by himself, and when he came back, he looked out of sorts. He was having trouble breathing, and he was sweating more than I thought possible for a bird. This morning, it had only gotten worse, so I told him to stay in while I went out to gather our breakfast."
Thinking about what her husband did while she was gone, the scene replayed in her head, which caused her to break down again.
"Oh, Leo...Joaquin...my gorgeous Valeria. They fell asleep, and they never got to see the...sun rise again. How I wish I could hold you right now..."
Blu started to worry, but tried not to let it show. He had gotten close to the meteor as well, and he did have a slight fever this morning. He reasoned that since Frank 'turned' so quickly, he must've gotten far closer than Blu had. Or maybe Blu was just less susceptible.
"He seems pretty harmless now, but I still think we should tie him up. We don't know what's going on with him, but it's better to be safe than sorry," Jewel suggested.
Receiving no argument, they gathered some vines and wrapped them around Frank. He didn't put up a struggle, only continuing his desperate gasps for air. Blu began to notice he was also sweating. Last time he did that, was when he made a pitiful move on Jewel riding on top of a trolley car, a metal chain connecting their claws.
Trying to masquerade his worry, he knew it was a matter of time before this illness would turn him too. He noticed that his fever had upped its intensity, and he just hoped everyone would be in a safe place before that happened...
"We can't just leave him here. He's clearly sick, and needs help. If he can be helped at all, anyway," Jewel said again.
"Right. The only person I know that can do anything to help him is Tulio. Anyone want to grab one end of the vines, so we can take Frank to him?"
"Tulio? Who's that? I know a lot of birds, but this is a new name for me," Maricela wondered.
"Oh, he's not a bird. He's an ornitholo... um, a human bird doctor. He helped Jewel recover after her wing was broken a few years in the past, and we still visit him often. My old owner lives with him, too."
"I see. Well, what are we waiting for? I just...want my normal husband back!"
Just as Jewel and Blu had Frank's vine-bound body secured in their claws, he began to cough very violently. They looked down, and saw his eyes were now stained with red streaks running across them. They let go of the vines and landed to observe this new turn of events.
Frank continued to choke, and he gargled as blood spouted from his beak. Drops of it landed around his head. Blu noticed the drops were giving off steam, as if Frank's blood was boiling.
"Back off! Don't get hit by his blood, it might be contagious!" he shouted, extending his wings and pushing the female birds back.
Frank's body started convulsing, and the three macaws watched in horror as his body now began to give off steam. His once gorgeous crimson feathers started to char, almost as if he was being consumed by a flame-less fire. Even the vines wrapped around him started to dissolve into nothingness.
Finally, after merely a minute of what must have been truly hellish torment, all that was left of Frank was a charred skeleton, surrounded by a large patch of fetid ash. Jewel turned away. She couldn't stand looking at Frank's remains anymore, and wanted to get away from them as soon as possible.
Maricela hopped a few feet away and threw up behind a bush.
Blu came to a horrifying realization: Everything that happened to Frank just now was exactly what happened to him in his dream, and knew without a shadow of a doubt, that this was caused by that blasted meteor. He waited for Maricela to return, and she planted herself wearily next to Jewel after a few minutes.
"We need to get as far away from that meteor as fast as possible! Let's gather our friends and kids, and vamoose! Jewel, you get the kids. I'll go for Nico, Pedro, and the toucans. Take Maricela with you, and meet us back here. Go!"
Before she could respond, Blu had already taken off in the direction of Rafael's hollow. Shrugging, she collected Maricela and headed towards the hollows of her children.
Given that Rafael's home wasn't too far from their own, Blu reached it within minutes. During his flight, he saw several more patches of ash on the ground, some even surrounded by dead birds.
Crazed birds and their victims, no doubt, he figured.
He would also come across live ones, but they were too busy slaughtering their original target to notice Blu. He got ready to land on the branch that lead inside the toucan's hollow, when he glanced down and saw a black and white creature down on the ground...motionless. The closer he came to it, the more features he recognized. It was Eva, lying on her left side, eyes shut tight.
She lay in a puddle of blood... her blood. After Blu landed, he brought his head closer, but could not pick up her breathing. It didn't take him long to realize she was dead. Just then, a weak scream erupted from the hollow.
"Rafael! Hang on, I'm coming!"
Blu launched himself towards the hollow, where Rafael tried to crawl out from. His right wing was torn to shreds, and both his claws were broken. Blood gushed from a nasty head wound, and he had several lacerations covering his black and white body.
"Blu, run...before he..."
A talon coming from behind grasped his neck and twisted it violently to the left. Blu cringed as a popping sound filled his ears, and the talon released its grip. As Rafael's head drooped lifelessly over the edge of his hollow at a sickening angle, he laid eyes upon Rafael's assailant.
"Carlos?"
None other than one of Rafael's own flesh and blood took the life of his own father. If Carlos was already dangerous when he was a chick, then he would now be extremely deadly, being as he was fully grown. His eyes were pitch black, an exact replica of Frank's from before.
He turned his void gaze towards Blu, and tensed his body, letting loose a screeching noise. Noticing this, Blu turned and took off, the murderous, emotionless toucan in his wake. He quickly glanced around for anything that could help him escape or fend off his attacker.
The only thing he could see that might remotely help him was a rock on the ground. In one swift motion, he glided down to the rock, scooped it up and took to the sky again. When he soared above the treetops and arrived in open air, he turned his whole body around, carefully aiming the rock at the crazed toucan dashing towards him.
"Steady... steady..."
When Carlos was but a few yards away, Blu drew his foot back and hurled the rock towards him. It hit Carlos right on the shoulder, dislocating his wing. Unable to keep aloft, he started to plummet towards the earth. Blu didn't stick around to watch him fumble and probably die from the horrible fall, but instead raced towards the hollow of Nico and Pedro. He hoped that at least they had been spared from either the meteor's influence or any other vicious birds.
Meanwhile, Jewel and Maricela arrived at the homes of the Spix's children.
"Vicente! Esperanza! Ricardo!"
One by one, the three macaws popped their heads out of their hollows and flew towards their mother.
"Hi, Mama! How are you?" greeted Esperanza.
"Not good, meus filhos. That meteor is bad news for everyone!"
She gestured at the Scarlet Macaw next to her.
"You remember Maricela, one of our good friends. She just lost her mate to that thing. I don't know how, but that meteor drove him crazy. He killed his own newborns and would've killed Maricela as well if your father didn't stop him. And just moments ago, he died a horrible death by literally turning to dust. Long story short, we need to get out of the rainforest, and fast!"
After the three younger blue macaws recovered from their initial stupor, Ricardo responded.
"But, where will we go?"
"I don't know yet. Your father went to collect Nico, Pedro, Rafael and his family. We were to meet back at our place. Let's just go there for now."
Just as they were taking off, a Blue and Gold Macaw that was being chased by an afflicted Military Macaw nearly crashed into Vicente. It had to swerve around him to avoid a collision.
"Get out of the way! No, wait! HELP ME!"
She stumbled in flight, the excessive drag slowing her momentum. Unfortunately, this provided the Military with the opportunity it needed to seize the Blue and Gold. It tackled the female macaw and slammed her down onto a large branch sprouting from a nearby tree.
"NO! NO! GET IT OFF ME, GET IT..."
The Blue and Gold just started screaming as the Military started to tear into her, sending feathers, blood and flesh in all directions. The screaming quickly turned into a death rattle as she was torn apart in mere moments.
"Kids, don't look. Let's just go. Go!"
Esperanza protested, "But Mama, we can't just let her...die like that! We should at least try to..."
Jewel cut her off.
"It's too late for her. We have to get out of here while it's still distracted. Now GO!"
Reluctantly obeying, they flew off to their birthplace.
In the meantime, Blu arrived at the small hollow that belonged to Nico and Pedro. While flying, he noticed that the diseased birds didn't take to the open air as much, so he didn't need to deal with any during his flight. He carefully peered inside the hollow, half expecting to be attacked by one or both of the little birds, or find them dead.
He exhaled deeply in relief to see that neither was the case. They were both still sleeping, back to back.
Must've been a late party last night, he thought to himself. He walked over, and nudged them both slightly to stir them from their peaceful rest.
"Mommy, I want a piggyback ride..." Pedro muttered in his sleep.
Blu increased his effort by speaking up. "Guys, it's me, Blu. Wake up!"
"Huh? Wha?"
Nico was first to open his eyes, followed by Pedro.
Both looked at Blu in a sense of confusion.
"Mmmm... what's up, blue boy?"
"Death and horror, that's what's up. Guys, Rafael and Eva are dead!"
Both all but fell to the floor, astonished by the news.
"WHAT? You mean... Rafi? Our Rafi, The King of Carnaval Rafi? Gone?" Pedro questioned.
"I'm afraid so, yes. This meteor that crashed in the jungle? I don't know what it does to the wildlife, except that it turns them into cold blooded killers. Carlos, one of Rafael's kids, got exposed too much, and killed his father right before my eyes. He had already killed Eva when I arrived. I had to knock him out, or he would've killed me too."
Still stricken with grief over their best friends' untimely departure, Nico wailed, "So now what? We just sit here until we're all dead!"
"Absolutely not! I've come to get you out. Jewel picked up our kids, and together with a friend of ours, we're going to evacuate from this death pit. Come on, let's go, before another hellbent avian species finds us!"
"Hey, Blu, are you sweating, man? Is something wrong with you?"
I have to lie to him! I don't know how I could be sweating, but I can't afford to expose myself right now!
"No Nico, I'm fine! Now let's go, because it's a jungle out there, pardon the pun."
"Man, couldn't you find a better way to start the day..." Pedro muttered under his breath.
One short but perilous flight later, they all arrived at Blu and Jewel's hollow, where Jewel and the rest were on the ground, anxiously awaiting Blu's return. He hoped, no he demanded, that the others would attribute his sweat to his tumultuous flight.
"There you are! You seem to have worked up quite a sweat problem! Still, I'm glad to see you're safe. But, where's Rafael and Eva? What about their kids?"
"I'm sorry Jewel, but I was too late for Rafael and Eva. They're gone. I don't know what happened to their kids, except for Carlos. He was merciless, just like Frank, and he killed his parents. There was nothing...I could do..."
Everyone gasped in shock hearing about the toucans' demise, except for Maricela, who had no idea who they were talking about. Because she was the only one who maintained her composure, she talked first.
"I don't mean to be rude, but can we decide where to go? I was born here, but I've got no desire to die here!"
The rest of the birds stirred from their stupor.
"You're right," Blu responded. "Well, the only place I can think of right now is... is..."
Blu felt his tongue suddenly grow weary and his temperature begin to rise nonstop. He wasn't able to finish his sentence properly.
"Wi shd hed f faw wwi..."
All the birds turned to him in confusion.
"Blu? What's wrong?" Jewel inquired.
Blu couldn't respond at all anymore, as his tongue just hung from his beak, incapable of moving it further. With that, he felt his claws tremble underneath him, as if his bones were turning to lead. A moment later, he collapsed to the ground, his now sweat-soaked body going limp.
Jewel rushed over to his side. "Blu! Are you okay? Blu!"
Blu then started gasping for air between coughing fits, followed by his feathers matting from the outpouring of sweat. Slowly realizing what was happening, Jewel started to back off in horror.
He was turning...
As Blu was coughing, his pupils grew larger and larger, until his eyes turned into an ocean of black. He staggered to his feet again, gazing upon the crowd of birds gathered before him with an empty look.
Vicente stepped up to him.
"Papa, are you okay? It's me, Vicente. Do you remember me?"
Jewel tried to warn him.
"Vicente, no! Get away from him! That isn't your father anymore!"
"No, Mama. He is my Papa, and always will be. I'm sure I'll be..."
He was cut off by a stab of pain. Turning to his father, he noticed blood on Blu's claw, which he just used to slash at his son's chest. Vicente looked down to spot a large gash running across his chest, his once aquamarine feathers now stained with scarlet.
"AAARGH! NO, GET AWAY!"
Vicente tried to scurry away from Blu before he could lash out again. Coming to his aid were Esperanza and Ricardo, tackling their father to the ground. Before he could get up, Maricela had grabbed a large stick from the ground and raised it above Blu's head.
She brought it down on his skull with enough force to snap it in two, and she had effectively knocked him out. Nico couldn't grasp what was happening. The very thing that Blu came to warn Pedro and him about just played out before his own eyes.
"He was going to kill his own son..."
"And he was going to kill us all if I didn't stop him! Now, are we finally getting the HELL OUT OF HERE!" Maricela demanded.
"Well, what are we going to do with him, Jewel?"
"I think we should try and carry him to the aviary, Pedro. He'll end up like...Frank if we don't. Tulio has to be able to do something!"
"We'll carry him, Mama..." declared Ricardo.
"Fine," sighed Jewel. "Just be careful!"
"Wait, you guys! Tie him up first!"
Jewel's children froze and stared at Maricela, growing more and more frustrated by her repeated outbursts.
They faced each other after a few seconds, and Vicente said, "She's right. Let's get some vines..."
After gathering a few lengths of vine, Esperanza offered to festoon her father with them. As she drew close to him, she sensed that the air was growing noticeably warm. Thinking nothing of it, she laid her talon on his chest, only to jerk it away.
"Mama, something is wrong with Papa!"
"What is it?" She rushed over to her mate, relieved to notice he was still breathing, but she soon felt what her daughter had moments ago.
"Touch him, and you'll find out..."
She laid her foot on his head, only to pull it back out of shock and fear.
"It's like he has a fever! And his feathers! They're wet!"
"What do we do now?"
Shaking her head, Jewel replied, "I don't know, Vicente. I just don't know..."
"There's no other choice but to leave him here, Jewel..." muttered Maricela, resting her wing on Jewel's back.
"Is anything else going to go to hell today?"
"I don't know, Jewel, but we can't leave him out in the open. We can hide him...under that tree over there."
Before anything, she leaned in to his ear. "I love you. Please, hold on..."
She gave him a quick peck on the beak, and then she watched as Maricela carefully dragged him over to said tree, reclining him peacefully against the trunk.
After the Scarlet Macaw rejoined the group, Jewel stiffened her resolve and took command.
"Alright, let's head out. The only place I know that might be safe enough is Tulio's aviary. If we can manage to convey to them what happened, they might be able to help. Let's go!"
With that, all the birds took off towards the heart of the Blu Bird Sanctuary, leaving an unconscious yet frenzied Blu behind.
A/N:
Meus filhos.=My children.
Just for the record, both Count Doofus and I know that birds can't sweat. Still, the story would have less impact without that symptom, so that's why it is included in the chapter.
