Kowalski woke up at dusk. He walked into the front room rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. When he pulled his flippers away from his eyes a wave of shock washed over him. Where was Skipper? He looked around the room. His eyes fell on the open wall. Most of the weapons were missing. Almost all of them were. The only thing left was a single sword in its sheath. He walked over and slung the sword is shoulder. When he turned towards the door he noticed the note on the table.
He went over and picked it up. Written on it were numbers. Code.
9, 11,14,15,23, 25,15,21, 2,12,1,13,5, 13,5, 6,15,18, 5,22,5,18,25,20,8,9,14,7, 11,15,23,1,12,18,11,9,.
18,9,3,15,19, 19,9,3,11, 2,5,3,1,21,19,5, 15,6, 13,5,.
16,18,9,22,1,20,5,19, 3,1,16,20,21,18,5,4, 2,5,3,1,21,19,5, 15,6, 13,5,.
23,5,,18,5, 1,12,12, 9,14, 4,1,14,7,5,18, 1,14,4, 9,20,19, 1,12,12, 13,25, 6,1,21,12,20,.
9, 3,1,14,20, 12,5,20, 1,14,25,20,8,9,14,9, 5,12,19,5, 8,1,16,16,5,14,.
9, 3,1,21,19,5,4, 20,8,9,19, 1,14,4, 9,13, 7,15,9,14,7, 20,15, 6,9,24, 9,20,.
4,15,14,20, 6,15,12,12,15,23, 13,5,.
16,12,5,1,19,5, 4,15,14,20, 6,15,12,12,15,23, 13,5,.
19,11,9,16,16,5,18.
Translated it meant:
I know you blame me for everything Kowalski. Rico's sick because of me. Privates captured because of me. We're all in danger and it's
All my fault. I can't let anything else happen. I caused this and I'm going to fix it. Don't follow me. Please don't follow me.
Skipper
Kowalski crumpled the paper in his fist. "Idiot," he hissed to himself. "Stupid idiot."
Skipper had gone to the little hut after he left. It didn't have the cure for Rico but it had other helpful items. Fire explosives, medical kits, and water canteens. He took a few of the explosives but left the rest. From there he made his way to the states, keeping to the shadows and abandoned foundations to avoid detection. Once he climbed over the fence that separated Mexico from the U.S. he ran through the Texan dry lands until he found a house. It was abandoned but provided protection from the sun for a few seconds as he ran through it. It was now midday and he had to find a way to get to Madagascar before the sun went down.
He was about to leave the abandoned house but decided not to. He sat down to catch his breath and think. The only way he was getting to Madagascar was if he flew to Africa first. He'd have to take a boat or swim if he was going to get to Madagascar. There had to be an airport somewhere in Texas that had a plane going to Africa. Finding it would be the hard part.
He got up and headed to the door.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" Kowalski shouted behind him.
Skipper spun around and stared at Kowalski. He told him not to follow. Not to follow. Why was he here? Why hadn't he stayed behind? "I told you not to follow me," Skipper stated unemotionally.
"You told me not to follow you, yeah. And how exactly were you planning on getting to Madagascar?" Kowalski questioned.
"Alone, without you, by myself. I don't know Kowalski but I told you to stay behind for a reason," Skipper countered.
"And what reason was that?"
"I don't need you to worry about."
"Oh really?"
"Why did you follow me?"
"Because I. Don't. Trust. You," Kowalski hissed.
"I'm sorry Kowalski," Skipper said calmly. Before Kowalski knew what was happening he jumped behind him and knocked him out. "I just don't want you to get hurt." He ran out and found a pair of killdeer birds that he asked to take Kowalski back to Mexico. The birds seemed friendly and trustworthy, they were young and naïve. Skipper trusted Kowalski would get back to Mexico unharmed. He felt un unnatural trust towards the birds
Later in the evening he found a ferret who told him where the nearest airport with a flight headed to Africa was.
"Five miles north there's one. Always has a flight to Africa in it," The ferret said.
"Thank's," Skipper replied before taking off towards the airport. He found a couple who were planning on going to Africa and followed them to the plane. It seemed too easy to him, but he didn't think to much of it. An announcer came over the intercom and said that the plane would take off in a few minutes and land in Africa in five hours. He climbed up into the storage unit above the passenger seats when no one was looking and hid behind a bag until the door was slammed closed and everything was dark. He sat back against the wall and let out a sigh. He was tired but didn't want to fall asleep.
Nothing had gone wrong today. Besides Kowalski following him to Texas, but he was back in Mexico now…hopefully. It would be nightfall by the time the plane landed in Africa. The day had gone by slowly, but without incident and that was a good thing. He hadn't thought a lot about anything all day. It seemed so simple so easy. He couldn't get over it.
But he'd have to. Private still needed him to focus and Rico did too. He'd have to figure out where he was when he landed and where Madagascar was from that point. He knew it was off the east coast of Africa, finding out where he was would just give him a better idea of how long it would take him to get to the island.
Kowalski woke up in darkness. He shook the sleep out of his eyes and sat up. The sound of wild dogs and Spanish voices told him that he was back in Mexico. "Dammit," He mumbled to himself. Skipper thought he could keep him in Mexico. Well he was dead wrong. Skipper was probably trying to figure out how to keep Private captured and Rico sick. He was probably one of them that's why he wanted to go alone, that's why he took all the weapons. That was not happening. It just wasn't. Not on his watch. Not ever. He'd get to Madagascar if he had to swim there himself.