Chapter 4:The Storm Rages

Tulio was working at his station as always, taking notes of the recovery progress of the birds he tended to. But, as he worked, he noticed there was something missing. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, until he looked at the singing parakeet in the cage next to him.

In the previous days, he would always get distracted from the birds in the jungle chanting their songs. Now, he was getting distracted by the lack thereof. All he heard now was silence, only to be broken by sudden loud screeches that stopped shortly after they started.

Finally, his curiosity got the better of him. He got up, walked to the window, and looked outside. There were far less birds to see than usual. He wanted to make his way to the observation tower to have a look at the jungle from there, but that's when he saw two green entities coming straight towards the building. Towards him.

There were two Military Macaws. One seemed to be chasing the other in a maddened frenzy.

"What the..."

Before he could ponder about it further, the chaser caught up with its target and grabbed it mid-flight, resulting in the two of them crashing through the window. Tulio had to duck to avoid getting injured by the shattered glass. The two macaws landed on the floor of the treatment room, hundreds of glass shards trickling around them in all directions, slicing their bodies in dozens of places.

The sound of breaking glass immediately caught the attention of everyone in the room and those close enough to hear it. Groaning in pain, the male victim looked up at his assaulter.

"Yarah, please, listen to me! It's me, Xavier, your husband! Don't you remember me? Please, you've got to..."

His pleas for mercy were literally cut short as Yarah swung her beak down in a swooping motion across his throat, easily slashing through the feathers and skin. Blood gushed out like a macabre fountain, most of it showering on Yarah, who seemed to revel in her actions.

Horrified, Tulio quickly grabbed the tranquillizer gun that was mounted on the wall, to be used in case of an emergency. As Xavier was gasping for air and struggled to stay alive, Tulio carefully aimed at Yarah, who was getting ready to strike again.

Just before she was able to, Tulio fired. The dart hit her in the side of her neck, instantly injecting the sedative into her system and knocking her off her dying mate. She staggered around for a few seconds before collapsing onto the blood-speckled floor, her eyes shut tight and her chest pumping slowly.

The immediate danger neutralized, Tulio and his staff turned their attention to Xavier, who was still breathing, yet barely clinging on to his very life. They tried to cover his wounds with their hands and whatever means of bandaging they could reach, but unfortunately, Xavier's internal organs were devoid of oxygen for too long.

Before the humans realized it, the last shreds of life escaped from Xavier before they could stabilize him any further. Tulio felt him go limp in his grasp, and he let out a short sigh, accompanied by a silent prayer for the battered, once magnificent bird. Not able to help Xavier any further, Tulio then focused on his mate.

While some people started cleaning up the shattered glass and took Xavier's remains away, Tulio took the sedated macaw and some of his senior staff members to the lab, where they had a closer look at her. After washing the blood off and setting her down on the operating table, he examined her closely before speaking up.

"From what I can tell so far, this female has been driven mad by something. First off, take a look at her beak."

The rest of the team leaned in closely.

"Albeit minimal, she has foam coming out from the sides of her beak, similar to animals infected with rabies. Also, when I carried her in here, her body temperature was far higher than it should be, and it still is. Before I washed her off, her feathers were dank, as if she'd been sweating extensively. Let's see if her eyes can tell me more."

He turned her head sideways and grabbed a small flashlight. After prying one of her eyelids open, he startled, dropped the flashlight, and retracted his hand immediately.

"Whoa! Did you see that?"

He opened Yarah's eyelid again, only to be greeted by an endless void.

"Look! The pupil has dilated to extreme proportions. It seems to be covering the ocular surface!"

Eduardo, one of the team members, turned to him.

"What could possibly cause all this?"

"I don't know for sure, but I've got a hunch that the meteor has something to do with it. We've never seen this happen to any jungle species before, and with that meteor around, it's just the only logical course of thought right now. I'm going to organize an expedition to find out more about it. Who's with me?"

After closing his backpack filled with instruments and supplies to be used in the field, Tulio lifted it onto his back, giving a glare of disappointment to his "team." They were observing him getting ready for his one-man expedition, and apparently, none of them were willing to join him for a trek into the jungle.

After seeing the effects that were supposedly instigated by the meteor, everyone preferred to keep their throats in one piece, and stay as far away from it altogether. To some extent, Tulio couldn't blame them. And to be honest, he wasn't all that keen on heading out there, least of all by himself.

Be that as it may, someone would have to go and find out what's going on. Just as he was about to step out the front door, Linda walked in with Fernando, having just returned from their outing at one of the city parks. Not knowing her husband was right behind the door, she smacked it right into his face, causing him to stagger backwards while covering his nose with his hands.

"Ow! Meu nariz!"

"Oh dear!" gasped Linda.

"Are you alright?"

"I guess. Meu nariz está sangrando..."

Tulio said while holding a patch of gauze to his nose. Linda noticed the bulging bag strapped to his back.

"What are you going to do with all that stuff? Where are you going?"

"I was just heading out to do some surveillance on the meteor. I think it's driving the wildlife crazy, and I need to find out for myself. And since there were no volunteers to join me, it'll be by myself."

"Like heck you are," Linda argued. "You are not heading in that jungle out there all alone. If nobody's coming with you, then I will."

Thinking of what happened just a few minutes ago between Xavier and Yarah, he wanted her to reconsider. And the best way to do that was to show her what happened.

"Come with me. I have to show you something..."

He took her to the lab, stopping at the pristine window and gesturing at the Military Macaw inside. At least, Linda thought, it's a Military Macaw...

The bird was wrapped with bandages, had tubes and IVs puncturing her many places, and was attached to several chirping monitoring devices. Not only that, she was restrained like a lunatic in an asylum. Tulio gestured at one of the ornithologists inside to open her eye.

Linda gasped at what she saw.

"Oh, my! What happened to that poor bird?"

"You see, a few minutes earlier..." Tulio spent a short amount of time recapping the events that went down before Linda got home. She maintained a shocked expression all the way through it. "... and that is why I have to get to that meteor."

"So, you plan to head into the jungle all by yourself, filled with birds that attack on sight? Now you're definitely not going alone!"

"Linda, I know you're concerned, but please..."

She interrupted his speech, as her thoughts jolted to that one special bird she spent most of her life with. "Blu! Blu is in danger!"

"I know Linda, but-"

She was too worried and anxious to let him finish.

"And what will we do if something happens to Jewel? No matter what you say, I'm going with you. Pack me a bag right this instant!"

Knowing there was no point in arguing-especially now-Tulio reluctantly agreed.

"Can I come too?" Fernando asked.

"Absolutely not. Someone has to look after Vanessa, and you're her big brother."

"Aww!" Fernando protested, but he knew his adoptive parents were right, and there was no point in arguing with them.

Tulio prepared a backpack for Linda. With Linda helping her husband pack her bag, it didn't take them very long. He slung it over her back, and after they both gave Fernando a parting hug, they tromped out of the rear of the aviary and made their way towards the jungle of horrors.


Just as the humans were out of sight of the sanctuary building, a group of seven birds appeared in the sky, the same building being their destination. They flew there to seek refuge from the meteor that somehow drove the fauna of the rainforest into undergoing merciless killing frenzies.

Vicente clutched his chest because of the injury his father delivered to him. It wasn't too deep; just enough to make him bleed, but not deep enough to be life-threatening. Still, the cut caused him to lag behind, so the rest of the group had to fly slower so he could keep up.

They noticed that something was amiss on the right side of the structure as they drifted in. What used to be a large window was now anything but. All along the perimeter were fractured, jagged spikes of glass, and the birds were careful to avoid them, silently wondering what had caused such destruction.

The makeshift entrance gave out into the treatment room of the aviary, and the group of winged refugees alighted on one of the linoleum counters. They looked around for any sign of Tulio or Linda, but much to their dismay, found neither. Another staff member noticed them instead. It was Vavara, one of Tulio's senior staff members that had been looking over Yarah earlier.

"Jewel! I see you brought your children. It looks like you brought some friends too," she exclaimed, sighting Maricela, Nico and Pedro.

She noticed the laceration on Vicente's chest and shouted, "Oh my! Did you know that one of your children is injured, Jewel? Can I have a look at him?"

Jewel stared at her son and squawked softly. Taking the hint, Vicente trotted across the counter and stopped in front of the human. She bent down and extracted a roll of gauze from a drawer. After standing back up, she held Vicente still while wrapping the gauze around his chest and under his right wing. She pulled out a small metal clip from another drawer and secured the fabric, which now bore a small spot of blood.

As she finished, the injured macaw chirped happily, nuzzling his head against Vavara's hand.

"Oh! Well, you are welcome. It is my job, after all..."

After the macaw departed and walked back across the counter to the others, she noticed that someone important was missing.

"Hey, where's Blu?"

All of the birds just lowered their heads in defeat, obviously signaling to her that Blu couldn't join them, for one reason or another.

"Oh no...you don't mean...he's dead?"

As if they had all united into one conglomerate being, they lifted their heads, squawked, and waved their wings around wildly.

"Okay, okay, so he's not dead. But he's got to be in trouble at least, then..."

Her thoughts wandered back to Yarah, the Military Macaw that literally dropped in earlier. Lost in thought, she left the birds and headed towards the window, looking into the lab with a distraught expression. Gazing at Yarah, she clasped her arms around herself and muttered: "What is going out there? Do I even want to know? Most importantly, can we fight it?"

Vavara's sudden, strange behavior piqued the interest of the birds. Jewel flew over to her and landed on her left shoulder, joining her in peering through the window.

"Meu Deus! Yarah?"

The rest of the birds joined them, Maricela perching on Vavara's other shoulder, leaving the rest to land on the window sill. She was barely recognizable underneath all of the tubes and bandages that adorned her still form. They did, however, recognize that she was simply one more victim of the new, strange illness that had taken hold of Blu, Frank, and all of the other birds they had encountered before.

"I know, guys," Vavara said to them. "I know. I hope Tulio and Linda are safe out there..."

Hearing this, Jewel flew down to the rest of the group and alighted between Nico and Pedro.

"Hear that? Sounds like we just missed them."

"Should we go back and try to find them?" Nico asked.

"In the jungle? No way! I am not heading back out there."

She figured since the humans are in general larger and tougher than any bird, they'd fare better against frenzied ones with the two of them.

"As much as I hate to say it, there's nothing we can do right now but wait for them to return..."

And I hope they find Blu before death finds HIM...


Tulio and Linda were barely out in the jungle for no more than five minutes before they heard a loud screech. Turning their sights towards the direction from where it came, they saw a Festive Amazon heading their way, talons curled, targeting Tulio.

He ducked to avoid his face getting mangled by the Amazon, catching a glimpse of its jet-black eyes, matching the hue of the Military Macaw that now lay subdued in his aviary. The Amazon banked left and renewed its assault, this time in the direction of Linda.

She, too, ducked, and felt the Amazon breeze past her head, missing it by mere inches. Frustrated but relentless, it banked again, heading in for a another attack. This time though, Tulio had thought of the appropriate measure to negate the attack.

He grabbed the frying pan hanging from the side of his backpack-who knew how long they would be out here-and primed himself to take a swing at the Amazon.

"Perdoa-me..." he whispered, and swung the pan at the bird, hitting it with a loud *TWONG*.

The impact caused the bird to soar several yards limply through the air, ultimately crashing against a tree trunk. It slid down the rough bark and landed on the ground with a soft *thud* behind some bushes.

"Did that Military Macaw try that on you too?" Linda asked, squatted on the ground, still shaking from the assault.

"No, it didn't. I tranquillized it before it had any chance to. But I think we can safely say now these birds will attack anything in sight."

He grabbed Linda by the arm and gently pulled her up.

"Come on. Our situation just got a whole lot more dangerous, so grab whatever you have that is sturdy enough to serve as a weapon. Who knows how many more deranged avian creatures we'll run into..."

As they were making their way deeper into the jungle, they suddenly heard strange noises ahead of them, and they stopped dead in their tracks.

"Linda, listen. Do you hear that?"

"Yes, but what is it?"

"I don't know. Let's check it out, but carefully."

The closer they inched to the sounds coming from somewhere in front of them, the more it sounded like an animal choking, coughing, suffocating. Tulio peered around the trunk of a tree, laying eyes on a Red-and-green Macaw on the ground.

It was rocking back and forth from left to right, claws flailing in the air, as if it was being choked by an invisible snake, futilely trying to fight it off. Tulio rushed over to the bird, quickly followed by Linda. He knelt down next to the macaw, removed his backpack, and from it pulled a strap with which to restrain it, so he could have a closer and calmer look.

He picked up the bird, but dropped it again immediately, shaking his hands and blowing on them.

"What's the matter?"

"That bird is extremely hot to the touch! I almost burned my hands on it. The Military in the aviary was hot, but this one is scalding! How is that even possible?"

Tulio suddenly felt his leg getting warmer in some spots. Looking down, he discovered several red dots on his trousers. The macaw had been coughing up blood, and the drops felt just as hot as the bird itself. Small puffs of steam rose from the dots, visibly singing the fabric.

"Ouch! Back away, back away! It burns!"

Pushing Linda a few feet backwards, they both kept their gazes locked on the macaw, who was now writhing in agony. What happened next shocked them more than anything. The macaw started to give off steam, and a spot of gray appeared on its belly.

At first, it was the size of a dot, but quickly began to spread to the rest of its body. As it spread, the feathers, skin, flesh and eventually the organs underneath all started to decompose at an alarming rate. They could only describe the event as though the macaw was being consumed by a fire without flames.

The bones, though charred, remained intact. That was all that was left of the macaw in a matter of moments: a blackened skeleton surrounded by a pool of soft ash, some of it scattering in the breeze. Tulio and Linda needed a few minutes to compose themselves again.

Never before in their life had they witnessed something so awful, so dreadful, so... horrifying, not even in books or on TV. Linda snapped out of her astonishment after Tulio, who scrambled to his feet and helped her do the same.

"Now we definitely need to reach that meteor as fast as we can. I just hope there's something we can do!"

At a steady pace, they headed deeper into the jungle, coming across more ash patches or dying birds on the way. They also had to deal with diseased birds more often than they'd like, since Tulio devoted his life saving them, instead of knocking them around.

Yet it was a necessary, evil thing to do if they wanted to go back home unscathed. Eventually, they came upon the area where the meteor had landed. Although the meteor itself wasn't in sight yet, the direct effect it had on the surrounding flora was.

Once again, Tulio and Linda looked around astounded. Before them, the whole area was dead, barren, charred and withered. Plants were crumpled up to tiny heaps of dead matter, and the blackened trees that were still standing were without leaves.

Their feet caused the withered growth below them to fully disintegrate, leaving puffs of ash in their wake. Tulio reached out to touch a tree, but his fingers just slipped through the bark as if it was syrupy liquid. His action caused what was left of the tree to topple and come careening down, showering both of them with ash and dust.

Weaving through the forest of dead, black, naked trees, occasionally knocking one over, they came up to a crater. The gouge in the earth was surrounded by caution tape, and both humans realized that they had been with the police who had set it up.

The meteor sat in the middle of the crater, continuing to spread its foulness around in all directions. The caution tape proved to be more of a barrier to humans than it was to the black aura that emanated from the space debris. The core of the hulking stone slowly pulsed with a red glow, almost like the heartbeat of a living being.

A soft humming sound emanated from it, growing in intensity the closer the humans came. Yet, the closer they got, the more they felt something was wrong. It felt as if invisible hands engulfed Tulio and Linda, making them feverish, queasy, and nauseous all at the same time.

They quickly backed away and contemplated possible solutions.

"I must get a hold of a piece of that thing! If I can study it or hand it over to a professional, maybe we can find a cure to reverse whatever that thing is doing."

"But we can't get near it. We both felt it, Tulio. We get sick just by getting close to it. How do you expect we'll get close enough to get a piece?"

Tulio thought for a moment. He then put his backpack on the ground again, and rummaged around inside. Finding what he was looking for, he pulled out a pickax and a strand of rope, which served as part two of the plan.

"We won't be getting close...I will."

"You...what?"

"Here's what we'll do. I'll tie this rope around my waist, and head to the meteor. I'll try to be as fast as possible in retrieving a chunk, and come back here. You're my failsafe in the event something happens to me. Pull me back to you, and get me out of here as fast as you can. Can you do that?"

"But, Tulio... why you? Can't we get help, let somebody else do it? You're an ornithologist, not an astronomer!"

"I know, Linda, I know. But we can't just sit here and wait for help. There's simply no time! That thing is killing the wildlife of the rainforest, and the rainforest too, no less! If we can get a piece of it to the authorities beforehand, we'll be much closer to a solution before long. It's just the right thing to do."

Linda's eyes started to well up.

"Okay. I'll do it. But as soon as I even think you might be in trouble, I'm pulling you back. No need for unnecessary heroism, you hear me?"

Tulio wrapped him arms around Linda, and rested his cheek on top of her head. She hugged him back.

"I understand, Linda. I wouldn't expect you to do otherwise. But we have to at least try this. If we fail, who knows what other damage this meteor will cause before anyone does something."

After releasing Linda, he tied the rope around his waist and held the pickax firmly in both hands. Looking at the meteor, he prepared himself to run towards it.

"Alright Linda, this is it. I'll run to it, get a piece as fast as possible, and get back. Just be ready to pull in case something happens. You ready?"

Wiping the moisture from her eyes, she grabbed the end of the rope firmly.

"Ready!"

"Okay, on my mark. Three, two, one...now!"

Tulio dashed forward as fast as his feet would allow him in the soft, dead earth. He felt the invisible, sickening hands flow over him again, which only intensified the closer he came, yet tried to ignore them for as long as possible. Coming within a few paces of the gently rippling plastic, he lifted the pickaxe and swung it downward at the meteor with all the power he could muster.

He let out a bestial roar as the sharp point struck the meteor on the crown. It was just enough for a shard about twice the size of his fist to dislodge, landing just next to his foot. He bent over to pick it up, but that's when the sickening effect of the meteor in front of him started to gain territory over his consciousness.

Barely managing to put the shard into his pocket, he collapsed on the ground. Gasping at Tulio's predicament, Linda started to pull on the rope with all her might. Slowly but steady, his limp form was dragged back in her direction. When he was with her again, panting from the effort, she knelt down next to his unconscious form, checking for any signs of life.

Great was her relief when she discovered a steady heartbeat and equal breathing pattern. He was just knocked out cold. Linda started to shake him gently.

"Tulio? Can you hear me? Please, wake up..."

Her ears picked up a soft, soothing hum. Glancing down at the shard that was jutting out of Tulio's pocket, she noticed it was pulsing on its own, giving off a smooth golden glow. The glow expanded to cover the whole of Tulio's body, intensifying as it did so.

Linda had to shield her eyes as the glow became a blinding light. Just as sudden as it had appeared, the light subsided and the hum faded away, turning the shard into a useless lump of rock. Tulio coughed as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Tulio! Are you okay?"

"Y-yes, I think so..."

Despite being unconscious just a second ago, he effortlessly got to his feet.

"In fact, I feel great! I've never felt so good in my life! It's as if... if...my body has been purified, in a way. I can't explain it, but I feel I can take on the world!"

"Tulio, look!"

He looked down to the ground where he just laid, which was where Linda was pointing. There was a patch of healthy grass in the shape of Tulio's body. Sadly, it began to wither again, due to its vicinity to the meteor. It didn't stop their enthusiasm though.

"It must've been that shard you collected! It somehow healed you, and the land around you, back to pristine condition!" "Yes, you're right! Nothing else can explain..."

He grabbed the shard from his pocket, but was sad to see it had already lost properties.

"The effect wears off quickly, though. I wonder, if I got another shard and brought it to the aviary, will it heal that Military Macaw as well?"

"Wait, you want to go back in there? I don't think so! And besides, if you get another shard and you pass out again, that shard will heal you once more and you'll still have nothing. No, I agree that we need another shard, but this isn't the way to do it."

"Hmmm, you're right. But how then?"

"We'll figure that out later. But we should check on Blu and Jewel now. That meteor is still a threat, and I'll never forgive myself if I let something happen to my dear Blu..."

The cannonball tree that provided Blu and Jewel with their hollow wasn't all that far from the impact site. Even though the meteor's environmental decay hadn't reached that far, it was still expanding, and wouldn't take all that long to overtake the clearing.

Their trek through the undergrowth towards Blu's residence had instilled seeds of discomfort inside Linda, and they had sprouted into full grown harbingers of anxiety by the time they had entered the all-too-familiar clearing. Her gaze was initially fixed on the hollow, and she was just about to call out to the Spix's Macaws that occupied it.

Her husband noticed a heap of blue feathers on the ground before she could do so.

"Linda, olha!"

Tulio shouted as he pointed towards it. Linda followed Tulio's finger and quickly spotted Blu, who was slumped against the trunk of a small tree.

"Blu! Não você também! Please be alright!"

She rushed over to him and slid across the ground on her knees, stopping herself right in front of him. She was extremely relieved to see he was still breathing. She wanted to pick him up, but retracted her hands when she felt the heat emanating from him.

"Tulio...he's so hot..."

He knelt down next to Linda and reached out to Blu's right eyelid. He carefully opened it, and his unspoken fear phased into reality. Blu's eye was as black as coal. Linda burst into tears. She was all but sure Blu was done for.

"Linda, please don't cry. I know things look bad for Blu, but if we can get him to the aviary, I can treat him until we find a safe way to get more shards."

Remembering the Red-and-Green Macaw from earlier, Tulio wasn't sure he could keep this promise, but he had to try at least. Linda gave him a hesitant smile, unsure if even her ornithologist husband could save her beloved macaw. Either way, she had to trust him, so she gave him his hand to hold.

"Come on, Linda. Put on some gloves, so you can safely carry him back to the aviary. I'll take point and deal with any birds that might attack us..."

Fortunately for them, the trip back was mostly uneventful. They ran into a few dead, dying, and crazed birds on the way. The dead ones had either succumbed to meteor exposure, or had been killed by the infected individuals. The infected who were still living were too occupied with chasing and/or killing other targets.

Some of them did come after the humans, at which point Tulio resorted to fending them off with makeshift weapons, since Linda was carrying the unconscious Blu. The sloped roof of the aviary soon peaked above the trees, and they quickened their pace.

Walking back into the building, they tossed their backpacks aside and rushed towards the lab, where Yarah and Blu were being kept. Turning around a corner that led into a hallway where the lab was, both of them noticed the band of seven birds sitting on the windowsill, looking into the lab, eyes fixated on the progress of the Military Macaw's recovery, if one could call it that.

Jewel was the only one to hear their footsteps, and she turned her head in the direction of the humans, who appeared to be in a hurry. Cradled in Linda's gloved hands was a very familiar bird.

"Oh god! Blu!"

Her exclamation caused all the other birds turn their heads. They swiveled them first in the direction of Jewel, then immediately to the two humans in the background. Some of them were relieved Blu was found, and could now be given a fighting chance at survival.

Others, like Nico and Pedro, flinched, worried that he'd wake up and start attacking everyone in the room, if given the chance. They regained their composure after seeing he was still out cold. I hope I didn't hit him too hard...Maricela wondered.

Jewel flew up towards Linda, but Tulio walked in front of her, keeping the macaw away from her husband.

"No, Jewel, don't! Blu is deathly ill and needs treatment right away. I know you're worried about him, but there's nothing you can do right now. Please, let us do what we need to..."

Jewel knew his words rang true, but that didn't stop the feeling of wanting to be close to him, especially now. Defeated, she turned around and landed back on the sill. She kept her eyes locked on her ailing mate as Tulio carried him inside and strapped him to the bed like Yarah was, should he wake up and still be violent.

Tulio dragged three different monitoring devices over to the bedside and powered them up. He then hooked Blu up to more tubes, IVs, and sensors than a very important human being would have been. After all, until recently, Blu was the last remaining male Spix's Macaw left on the entire planet.

Even though one more generation had been added, his kind was still teetering on the edge of extinction. As the dusk was settling upon the wilds of the jungle, Linda reclined lazily in the couch she had rooted between Yarah and Blu's bed, vowing to never leave his side.

Tulio brought some food to her, and even though eating wasn't on her mind, she wouldn't be doing anyone any good by starving herself.. After tucking Vanessa into bed and whispering good night to their adopted son, Tulio had let the refugee birds into the monitoring room where Blu and Jewel first met.

Their day had been undoubtedly hectic, and they needed a place to rest and recover. He went to bed himself not long after that. Among the birds, Vicente had been the first to fall asleep, because of the medication he was forced to gulp down to help his wound heal.

The rest of the birds soon followed, exhausted from the day-long trauma. Jewel, however, was utterly torn in two over Blu's well-being. He still had a promise to fulfill, after all.

Why did this meteor have to land in Rio, of all places? What's wrong with a desert, or the ocean! No, it just had to end up right on our damn doorstep! she screamed.

Not able to contain herself anymore, she lifted off and glided towards the hatch in the wall. It was left open, so that said visitors could come in and get out as they pleased. She headed straight to the windowsill from before, and sighed as she landed and peered inside.

A single stark light bulb illuminated the room, mounted on the wall directly above Linda. Her head hung forward from drowsiness. Her mouth was slightly moving, which made Jewel assume she was talking in her sleep, too silent and far away from her to comprehend the words.

"Oh Blu, por que não posso estar lá com você? Não é justo..."

Jewel wanted to stay up all night to make sure her mate was okay, but tiredness eventually shrouded her, resulting in her falling asleep on the spot, head tucked between the shoulders...


Linda was running around happily in her garden, which was blooming in a sweet pink color bestowed upon it from the setting springtime sun.

Flying after her was Blu, squawking in joy as he tried to tag his human friend. Linda tripped on a bush and landed on a large pile of blossoms, freshly shed from a cherry tree. Rolling on her back, she laughed and slid her arms and legs across the ground, crafting an angelic outline in the blossoms.

Blu gently landed on her belly, snuggling up to her as he kept squawking in laughter. Linda began to notice his laughing started to sound more and more like a human laugh. She realized it was not a happy laugh, but a laugh dredged from the depths of hell.

She stopped laughing herself, and quickly became more fearful with each passing second.

"Blu?"

He just kept laughing, and all of a sudden, a harsh wind picked up. A wind that was strangely enough only affecting Blu. He dug his claws deep into Linda's skin through her shirt, red circles appearing around them.

The wind was blowing so strong, it caused Blu's sapphire feathers to uproot and hurtle away. No, not just his feathers...his skin and organs seemed to be ripped away by the howling blast of air. Linda stared in horror at what was happening in front of her.

All that was now left of Blu, still clamped down on top of her, was his bloody skeleton. Two black voids, where his eyes used to be, bored into her own. Somehow, he lived, and the worst of all, he was still laughing like a barghest.

"Hey, Linda! Remember THIS!" he yelled, after which he began mimicking the sound of an alarm clock, like he did every so often back in Minnesota. Instead of touching his beak to "turn him off," Linda tried to swat him away with her hands and end the horrifying display.

"No, no, NO!"

Linda jolted awake, sweating and panting like never before. She awoke and gazed around, finding herself back in the lab, in the exact same spot from the previous night. Sunlight slowly crept its way through the windows, casting slanted shadows across the counters and floor.

She looked over to Blu, and was relieved to see he was still his same old self, albeit still afflicted with the illness bestowed upon him by that infernal meteor. She suddenly noticed the beeping sound of an alarm clock, reminding her of her dream and causing her to shudder.

She soon discovered that it wasn't an alarm clock. It was one of the monitoring devices that was hooked up to Yarah. Reading the display as best as she could, it indicated her body temperature with an ERR. Not knowing what to do, she stormed out the lab, slamming the door behind her and tromped to her bedroom.

The loud noise of a slamming door jerked Jewel out of her sleep, causing her to jerk her head around and strike it against the glass.

"Ow! Oh...what's happening?"

She saw Linda running away, shouting for her husband. Quizzed, she looked into the lab, and the convulsing body of a Military Macaw met her gaze. She put her wings against the glass, watching in horror as she started to dissolve the same way Frank had.

Small drops of coughed-up blood were scattered on the bed, the floor, and even a bit the walls, the heat leaving tiny singed spots behind as the blood dried up. Yarah proceeded to belch out steam from her body, burning away in the same manner of so many other birds. By the time Tulio arrived, still wearing his pajamas with a lab coat over them, it was already too late.

Still, it was highly doubtful he would've able to do anything even if he'd been on time. Yarah's skeleton was already showing through when he entered. Fighting back tears, he put his right hand across his mouth and supported his right elbow with his left hand. When she finally stopped stirring, leaving only smoking bones behind, he stammered as he spoke.

"This h-has got to e-end, right now. If this keeps up, there won't be a single bird left in the entire jungle! I'm calling the police, the army, the government, anyone to deal with that demonic meteor, if it's the last thing I'll ever do!"

Tulio strode out from the lab, brushing right past a stunned Linda, and right towards the phone He began calling around to any officials willing to hear his story.

Ignoring the charred remains of Yarah, Linda made her way back to Blu, sat down next to him, and gently started stroking his head. Jewel, who managed to fly in because the door was left open, landed on the other side of Blu. She laid down next to him and put her head and left wing on top of his chest.

"Hey, Jewel. I feel your fear, your pain, your hopelessness. We'll just have to pray that he makes it through..."

Both female creatures wanted so desperately for him to wake up safe and sound, wishing that this nightmare had never began.


A/N:

Meu nariz!=My nose!

Meu nariz está sangrando...=My nose is bleeding...

Meu Deus!=My God!

Perdoa-me...=Forgive me...

Olha!=Look!

Não você também!=Not you too!

Por que não posso estar lá com você? Não é justo...Why can't I be in there with you? It's not fair...