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Bold lettering is Spanish sentences translated to English for readers benefit.

Chapter 5

Atlas and the rest of the owls landed near their leader. Atlas, who held an unconscious Hazel in his beak, putting her down on the ground.

"General Brutus. I have captured one of the enemies." he informed. Brutus only gave Hazel a baleful glance before looking at Atlas.

"Excellent, Lieutenant." he said. Atlas bowed his head.

"Thank you sir. But I have to admit...it wasn't easy."

Brutus turned his gaze back to the rock that sheltered Tachetee. "Yes. These little vermins are slippery. The other one wedged herself under this piece of stone."

"Yeah! And I'm not coming out anytime soon!" Tachetee yelled from her hiding spot. A growl-like noise escaped Brutus.

"We'll get you somehow!" he replied.

"How you going to do that, bird brains?" she asked. The owls couldn't answer immediately. They didn't even know themselves. But soon, Atlas stared at hazel and the others did too. Without nothing more than a smile, they hatched a solution.

"How much are you willing to sacrifice for your friend?" Brutus asked slyly.

"Don't you dare hurt Hazel!" Tachetee hissed angrily. She didn't expect for the owls to use Hazel against her. This was not good.

"We will unless you come out from there. You got three seconds."

Tachetee moved slightly forward. But she couldn't move another inch. She's stuck! She tried and tried to get out within the time limit, but she couldn't budge. She has squeezed herself in too tightly. Hastily, she started to dig in order to free herself.

Once Brutus didn't see Tachetee emerge, he nodded at Atlas. Atlas bent over Hazel, intending to rip off her wings.

"Wait!" Tachetee screeched in urgency. She could finally move freely. She crawled away from the rock and cautiously approached the owls. She flattened her ears and slightly lifted a folded wing in a Bloodwing gesture of submission. "We give up."

With a triumphant smile, Brutus nodded at another owl and it picked Tachetee up in it's claws as they took off.

Tachetee looked at Hazel in concern. Her friend was still out cold in Atlas' grasp. She hoped hazel will be okay.

During the trip, a series of questions struggled to keep possession of her mind. Where are they going? What would happen to them?

The former question was answered when Tachetee looked up at the stars. According to the star she and Hazel has been following for the past few nights, they were still going north. Trying to see the bright side, she was thankful that they were still on course.

With a sigh, she came to the latter thought, which was harder to determine. She didn't want to ask the owl that carried her. Just thinking that gave her a sharp, almost painful sensation in her chest. Or maybe that was just the claws.

She shifted slightly, but it was enough for the owl to tighten its grip. The bird gave her a hostile glare that spoke clearly:

'Don't even think about trying to escape.'

Tachetee replied with an innocent look that said:

'Misunderstanding. I'm not trying to do anything.'

That managed to pacify her carrier and it looked away. But it still held its grip tight.

After a while, the owl troop finally landed. Brutus was on a tree stump with Orestes on one side. Atlas dropped Hazel and took position on the other side of his leader. Tachetee was freed as four owls formed a circle around the meeting area and the others perched on nearby trees.

Tachetee hurried to her friend.

"Hazel! Wake up!" Tachetee yelled. Hazel groaned, almost angrily.

"No...go away...need sleep..." she mumbled.

"You crazy idiot! Get up! We're in big trouble!" Tachetee replied. Hazel immediately startled herself awake. She took only a one second look at an owl and screamed.

"AHHHH! Giant Chicken!" she yelled. She saw the other owls. "AHHHH! More Giant Chickens!"

The owls screeched angrily at the insult. Tachetee just shook her head in pity, almost embarrassed. After Hazel caught her breath and calmed down, she looked at Brutus and whispered to Tachetee.

"What is this? Attack of the Fifty Foot Poultry?"

Brutus snapped his wings open, startling the two bats. "Enough!"

"Anger issues." Hazel mumbled.

"Hazel?" Tachetee responded.

"Si?"

"Shut up before you get us killed."

"I said ENOUGH!" Brutus yelled again. Hazel was about to say something again, but everyone, including Tachetee, gave her a warning glare. Hazel held her tongue.

Brutus took a moment to study the two.

"You disgust me." he said in disdain. Hazel couldn't stop herself this time.

"Doesn't hurt when our hamburger 'friends' say it, doesn't hurt when you chicken nuggets say it."

An owl rushed up and pecked her in warning.

"Ow!" she protested. Tachetee quickly covered for Hazel's impulsive ways.

"Sorry. Please ignore everything my loco friend says."

Brutus huffed balefully, then continued his study. He soon realized that these bats were completely new to him. Never before has he seen one of them flying around here. These two were about the same size as a young Silverwing. But they were almost completely different.

"What kind of bats are you?" he asked. Tachetee and Hazel exchanged glances, unsure how to answer.

"Uh...We're Bloodwings. We're from the south." Tachetee answered. Orestes was quick to reply.

"Were there giant bats? That ate owls?" he said quickly, to everyone's surprise. Especially Hazel's. These were owls? Her colony wanted to feed her to these things? She felt sick.

Tachetee continued. "We haven't heard of any bat eating owls before. But we have seen two rather large bats on our way here. And hazel wanted one to be her-"

Hazel quickly snapped out of her shock and flared a wing, hitting Tachetee before she could finish her sentence."

"Hey!" Tachetee yelled. Her friend bristled.

"Shut...up!" Hazel warned dangerously between clenched teeth.

"Make me!"

"Silence!" Brutus shouted. "There are no giant bats! They don't exist!"

Orestes was shocked. Here was two bats who saw the giants themselves. But maybe that's the problem. Tachetee and hazel are bats. Brutus will never believe them.

"Father!" he tried to make Brutus listen.

"I said silence!" Brutus continued angrily. Orestes looked at the ground, fuming that no one hears him out.

Hazel and Tachetee looked at Orestes with sympathy. They too knew how it feels to not be heard. They hardly get to speak out in their colony. And when they do, nobody bothers to lend an ear. That's why they are such good friends. They both spent much, if not all, their lives ignored.

"Now. You two are obviously lying to us. And for that, you'll be punished dearly. Imprison them for dishonesty and attempted murder."

"Dishonesty?" Tachetee yelled in confusion. "We're not lying!"

"And what do you mean, 'attempted murder'?"

Two owls grabbed them in their beaks.

"No!" Hazel yelled, clinging to the ground. "It's not fair!"

The owl yanked her off and they transported the two towards their prison. This is not the vacation they planned.