A/N: Yay, another chapter! Thanks to hipturtle15 (that's for you to know and me to find out- oh wait, I got that backwards) and DoctorKowalskiBlowhole (and don't worry, there will be plenty of Blowhole in my next story!) for reviewing! This chapter is going to be at the pound with our two captured penguins who, in case you forgot, were about to be attacked by their cellmate, a ginger cat. Also, this chapter introduces a new O.C., who will appear in future stories.

Chapter 5: Strange Friends in Odd Places (Aly's Pov)

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down, kid! I'm not gonna hurt ya!" The ginger cat said, automatically taking a step back as if to prove her point.

Confused, but still not trusting her, I stayed in my position in front of Mary. I cocked head to the side.

"You're not?" I asked.

"Nah, I don't even like birds. I prefer mice 'n rats. 'Sides, I don't got the heart ta hurt a kid. The name's Sparks." She said as she held out a paw to shake.

After carefully studying her face and deciding that she was being sincere, I straightened back up and accepted her paw. Besides, if it turns out that she's going to double-cross us later, it's one and a half (I counted Mary as a half since she was injured) trained penguins against one alley cat.

"Aly. And this is my cousin, Mary" I said. Mary waved her flipper.

"So," began Mary, who winced in pain as she tried to get up "Do you know how to get out of here?"

"If I knew that, d'ya think I would still be in here?" Sparks replied sarcastically.

Mary's face fell "Oh, right."

"So how did you get caught?" Mary asked, starting a conversation.

I silently sank unnoticed into the back corner of the cage, where it was darkest. Mary and Sparks were too busy chatting away to pay attention to what I was doing. Looks as if they were hitting it off right away as friends. I smiled faintly for them, glad that Mary found a friend until the nagging thought of where we were brought itself to my attention once again. I sighed.

I surveyed the small room, looking for any possible way to escape. As far as I could see, there was none. I mentally cursed Officer X, animal control, and even whoever built this stupid cage for making it so flipping hard to get out of.

I found myself subconsciously pulling on the locket Private had given me. I opened it up and gazed at it dejectedly. As I stared longingly at his smiling picture, I imagined him standing next to me, comforting me. Some unknown force in my mind told me that it wasn't impossible for that to happen. I knew Private would never, ever give up looking for me.

Suddenly I found a great weight on my shoulders be lifted off. Yeah, we're going to get out of here. The team is going to rescue us eventually. I thanked Private's picture for giving me the confidence boost I desperately needed before I snapped the locket shut and let it fall back onto my chest.

The sound of someone entering the room stirred me out of my thoughts. I glanced up to see young man walking into the room.

He had an animal carrier with him.

He continued walking, heading our direction. He appeared to be fumbling around for something in his pocket. As he drew closer I got a better look at him. He was around nineteen with messy, brown hair, kind, brown eyes and an extremely freckled face. He was wearing a white lad coat which, attached by a clip, bore a name tag stamped with the building's logo and his name: Jackson.

He came to a stop right in front of our cage. He fumbled around in his pocket for a few more seconds, before finally producing a security card. He swept the card through the scanner and a second later the door was unlocked. He didn't let it open all the way, and stopped it so that it was only opened about an inch instead. Mary and I exchanged wary glances, preparing to defend each other in case he turned out to be like Officer X.

Seeing our reaction, Sparks intercepted "Whoa, take it easy! J's alright. He's like, the only nice human," she spat the word "In this prison."

I let my defenses down, but only a little bit. Skipper's words of paranoia played in my head "You can't be too certain when it comes to humans. People that seem nice could easily not be."

"Okay, guys," Jackson said, shaking me out of the memory "I'm gonna open the door now. Can I trust that you won't run out once it's open?"

He looked each of us directly in the eye, determining our reply, before moving to slowly let the door swing open on it's own. He moved in and knelt down, opening the metal door to the carrier once he was on his knees.

I saw Sparks stare longingly at the open door. Almost as if she were hypnotized by the thought of it. She seemed to be debating making a run for it. Not that I could blame her, I was thinking of the same things. Jackson seemed to notice this, because he shifted his position to block the exit.

"Don't even think about it, Ginger." He warned with a slightly serious undertone.

I looked skeptically at Sparks "Ginger?"

"J likes to name the animals here." She replied sheepishly.

Before I reply to her, I suddenly found myself being gently pushed into the carrier by Jackson. Instead of fighting back, which I urged to do, I complied. I decided I would much rather go in willingly than being forced to. Besides, I knew what they did to animals that fought back here.

Mary followed me in after I was inside and the door was shut. I looked back at Sparks. She seemed kind of sad.

"Sorry, Ginger. Not today." Jackson said regretfully before he turned and walked away with us in hand, shutting the cage door behind him.

"Good luck, kid. You guys are gonna need it." Sparks said right before we exited the room and were once again in the hallway.

"What does that mean?" I asked Mary.

Mary simply shrugged in response "I don't know."

"You two are lucky," Jackson said suddenly, peering down at the carrier as he talked "Most of the animals here don't get adopted so quickly. And to such great owners, too!"

"What!" Mary and I both shrieked.

"Oh, this isbad." I cried, pacing what little space there was "We can't be adopted!"

"Aly, calm down!" Mary ordered me "Look, obviously there's nothing we can do right now, so freaking out is not going to do anything."

I sighed and sat back down, now clutching the bars of the carrier with my flippers. I hate it when she's right.

"But how is Private going to find us now?" I asked in a quiet voice while staring at my necklace.

A/N: Okay, so it turns out Sparks wasn't mean after all. I kind of got inspiration for her character from Hunter in Operation: Antarctica. And for any of you who want to know, Jackson is inspired by a real person I used to know (and crushed on). If you (the real life Jackson), by some strange coincidence, happen to read this story then please, by all means, send a pm my way!

And one more thing before I sign off: this will be the last story I torture Aly and Private as a couple (I figured I would give a break). My next few stories are (hint, hint) going to focus on another couple that only ONE reviewer has anticipated, so far.