"Begin." He said.
They all dropped to the ground and began the dreadful task of 200 push ups.
It wasn't a bid challenge for Skipper. He remembered having to do it. And he had gotten stronger from the last time he had to do it. But he could still feel his arms burning after 150 of them.
Kowalski started having trouble after 64. Rico had trouble after 73. And Private had trouble after 57. Skipper had made them do push ups every now and then. He only made them do fifty at once.
They all finished though. Kowalski, Private, and Rico collapsed when they finally reached 200. But they made it.
"Get up!" Colonel George commanded.
They did wearily. And Skipper had to fight his instinct again.
We can skip the sit ups today."
Skipper heard the other men or Colonel George's platoon let out a sigh of relief.
"See that pole?" the Colonel pointed to a 300 foot pole that was standing like a giant twenty feet away. "Who wants to climb it first?"
No one answered.
"How about you major."
Skipper was staring at the colonel with a bored expression. He knew he would have to climb it first. Because the Colonel didn't like him. He shrugged. "Do I have a choice?" he walked up to the pole and jumped onto it. It took him a good five minutes to climb to the top. There was an arrow on top. Skipper didn't expect to see that. He smiled.
The Colonel was waiting for the major to slide down the pole when an arrow flew into the ground between his feet. He jumped. That could've missed.
"GET DOWN HERE MAJOR!" Colonel George shouted angrily.
Skipper slid down the pole, jumping off when he neared the bottom. "Is there a problem sir?" he asked innocently.
"Get back in line soldier. And don't give me any of that innocence crap." The colonel growled.
Skipper rolled his eyes. Colonel George was a strict guy. But he never seemed to have any fun. Skipper felt a little bad for the guy. Even he had fun sometimes.
"Who's next?" The Colonel asked. He wasn't expecting anyone to volunteer.
"I'll give it a try, I guess." Private volunteered. He wanted to get it over with.
"Go."
It took Private a while to climb the pole. Colonel George yelled at him multiple times. Private never made it to the top. And as he slid back down he knew he would be screamed at.
And he was. "WELL IT TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!" The Colonel shouted. "GET BACK IN LINE SOLDIER!"
Private winced. He sounded like he was about to punch him. Private walked back to his spot next to Kowalski. But he couldn't stop shaking.
Skipper took a silent deep breath and closed his eyes. Control. He knew George was going to test his self control many times a day. And he knew that there would be one test that he would fail. And he would pay for it. But now wasn't the time.
George had them do more. He had them run stairs and do chin ups on bars. He had them fight each other. But he skipped the guns. He did that a lot. Reniku did too. Reniku made weapons. But his weapons didn't kill. They never did. He made them in such a way that no matter how many times you get hit with one of his guns, you wouldn't die. He wasn't a fan of death. And he believed that guns were demons.
They were dismissed at ten o'clock.
"Rico." Skipper said when the door was closed.
Rico nodded. He started coughing. The play began.
"Rico are you ok?" Private said. He was good at acting so his voice sounded like he was actually concerned.
"Yup." Rico replied through a cough.
Skipper and Kowalski were watching with realistic fake concern.
Rico coughed for a few more minutes before he coughed up a bomb.
"Hit the deck!" Skipper shouted.
They all dived under the beds. Then the room blew up. All the electronics were destroyed.
Kowalski stood on Rico's shoulders and looked at the alarm. It was also destroyed. "Skipper, the alarm is disabled." He informed.
"Good. Then let's go." Skipper replied. Things were moving right along. They would be out and back in no time.
"Skippah, don't you think they'll investigate the explosion?" Private asked concerned. Someone would come in here to see what the commotion was.
"Yeah, someone probably will. That's why we need to go now." Skipper replied. Private was right. And they would get it when they came back. But they had to get back to the zoo and explain things.
They jumped into the vent. Skipper had a map of the exit route in his mind, so getting out wasn't a problem. It took them only a few minutes to navigate the vents and get outside. By that time Skipper was sure someone had entered the room and saw that they were missing.
Once outside they took off into the woods that surrounded Unit nine.
"Kowalski where are we?" Skipper asked while running.
Rico gave him a GPS device. "We are currently in….Canada?" He replied shocked. It didn't feel like they were in Canada.
"Canada?" Skipper asked confused. He didn't think that they were in Canada. He looked around again and saw that most of the trees were evergreens. It was cold in Canada. Canada was beginning to make sense. Evergreens thrived in cold weather.
"Yes, Canada. And if we keep running this way we should reach New York in an hour." Kowalski replied.
"Good."
They kept running for the whole hour, and as Kowalski said, they reached New York.
Once they were back in New York they took a short break to see where they needed to go next.
"Kowalski. What's our position?" Skipper asked.
"In a whole lotta trouble." Colonel George said. He had followed them. He was surprised at the fact that they could keep running for so long. When he saw the room he noticed the vent was wide open. He knew where they were going. He ran out the front entrance and saw the running into the woods. So he followed them.
They spun around and came face to face with the Colonel. Skipper didn't think the Colonel would get to the room fast enough to see where they were going. "Colonel." He said shocked. And also a little nervous. Now there was no doubt in his mind. They were going to get hell when they returned.
"What did I tell you boy? No escapes!" The Colonel shouted angrily.
"Yes. But right now we have something to do. So if you'll excuse us." They took off running.
"Kowalski. How long?" He asked.
"About two hours if we keep at this pace." Kowalski replied. He could already feel his legs burning.
They ran through several streets, parks, over bridges, through buildings, and at some places swam across rivers. They ran through woods and across farms too. They lost George in a park when a group of School kids picked him up and played with him.
When they got back to the city they slowed down, to a walk. The Colonel knew where they were. But they could easily lose him in the city. It was their home territory. They knew every street, every corner, every sewage pipe, they knew every little pebble of NYC. They easily got back to the zoo. They stopped and took a breathing break when they reached Central park.
"Well. Here we are." Kowalski stated between gasps of breath.
"Now let's go. We probably don't have a lot of time to work with." Skipper said. They didn't that was a fact. The Colonel knew where to go. He knew how to get there. And he was a fast runner. Skipper was surprised they all made it to the zoo. He thought it would just be him. But he was wrong.
"Who are we going to talk to Skippah?" Private asked. Who were they going to get to? He wasn't even sure why they were here, other than to explain themselves.
"We need to talk to Marlene." Skipper replied. He didn't say why. They would find out soon enough. He jumped over the wall and started walking towards the otter habitat.
Kowalski, Rico and, Private followed.
When they walked into her room, she was sleeping. Skipper walked over and shook her awake. "Marlene." He whispered.
Marlene jumped. She didn't expect to see them. Not this late at night. It was one o'clock in the morning. She sat up and stared at them. "Where have you guys been?" She asked. They had been missing all day. They had gone missing every now and then. But they always reappeared before the zoo closed. "Were you on one of those stupid commando missions?"
Kowalski, Rico, and Private stared at the floor. They all had figured out why they were talking to Marlene. And they felt guilty for having to give her the news.
Skipper took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy.
"What?" She asked. She had caught their depressed type mood and became concerned. They were here to tell her something. And she wasn't sure she wanted to know what that something was.
"Marlene." Skipper started. "We need you to keep peace at the zoo for us."
"What? Wh-Why?" She asked, scared. They were here now. Why did they need her to keep peace at the zoo? That's what they did. What was wrong with them?
"That's the hard part. We have been enlisted in a military type service. And we can't leave. We're not even supposed to be here now. But we needed someone to know. And we need someone to take our place until we can come back." Skipper explained. He didn't like giving Marlene this job. She didn't deserve it. But she was the only one who would take it seriously.
"What are you talking about? You guys. You- I can't do that. That's your job. I'm not like you guys. I can't keep peace. They won't listen to me." Marlene argued fearfully. And saddened. She couldn't be the peace keeper. She didn't know how. And they couldn't leave. They were the only ones who actually listened. Yes sometimes they didn't take her seriously. But they belonged at the zoo. Not in some fighting force.
Kowalski knew it had to be hard to accept the news. And it looked like Skipper was having trouble giving it. So he stepped in and helped. "Marlene. You can do this. We wouldn't be coming to you if we thought you couldn't. There is no one better fit to take our place than you." He said sincerely.
"And we'll be back. You don't have to do it forever." Private added.
"But how can I do it? You guys are the experts." Marlene replied. She felt butterflies in her stomach. She wanted to scream at them. She wanted to be mad at them for giving her their job. But she saw it in their eyes how much they hated it. She saw that they were telling the truth. That it hurt them to give her their job. Even Skipper looked a little upset with what he had to say.
"We're not experts Marlene." Skipper said. They weren't they just did what they thought was right. They were good fighters. But experts was stretching the truth.
"Then how do you do the mediator thing?" Marlene asked trying to keep how overwhelmed she was out of her voice.
"Well. We go with what we think is right. Most of the time anyway." Private replied.
"But what if I don't know what's right?" Marlene countered, still nervous.
"You'll know Marlene. It's not something you have to think about. When you're faced with a problem, you listen to both sides. And you'll know who's right." Skipper explained. That's what he did. Most of the time.
"I don't know guys." Marlene said. ?he was going to screw up. She knew she was.
"Marlene. You're our only hope in making sure the zoo has at least some sanity while we're gone." Skipper told her, calmly. He didn't want to overwhelm her. He didn't want to make her upset. But he could see it. She was overwhelmed. And she was upset.
"I'll try Guys. But I won't be as good as you." Marlene agreed.
Skipper handed her a walkie-talkie. "If you need us, for anything, use this." He said calmly. "But you'll have to do it at night."
Marlene hugged them. "How long?" She asked, standing back up straight.
Skipper swallowed. He'd hoped she wouldn't ask that. "I don't know the answer to that. But probably not a short period of time." He replied.
Marlene wanted to cry. She really did. She would miss them. "Can you guys promise me something?" She asked. "Promise me you'll be back for Christmas. It's September now. I want to see you in this zoo on Christmas."
Skipper smiled reassuringly. "We promise Marlene. We'll be back in this zoo by Christmas." Skipper promised.
Marlene didn't know what to say next. She didn't know how she should feel. She didn't want to go so long without them being there. "Um…Do I have to need your help to use this?" She asked holding up the walkie-talkie.
"No. There doesn't have to be a problem for you to contact us." Skipper replied.
Marlene sighed. "Good."
Then they heard him. He called for them. And he was angry.
Skipper looked down, closing his eyes and sighed.
"You have to go now?" Marlene asked assumingly. She could see it in Skippers' reaction to the call.
"Yes." He sighed. "We have to go."
Marlene hugged him. "I'm gonna miss you guys." She said, letting a tear run down her cheek. She stood back and smiled at them wearily.
"I'm sorry Marlene. If there was a better way to do things, we'd do it differently." Skipper said apologetically. He was going to miss her too. She was sometimes difficult. But she had a likable personality. She was a friend. And friends were always missed.
"We'll miss you too, Marlene." Private said. He didn't want to leave the zoo. He wanted to stay here, where people were nice, and calm. Where things were safe. Where they could handle all of the problems. Where they didn't have to worry about war. Where their friends were.
"You guys should go." She said. She wanted to tell them to leave before she changed her mind. They nodded and started to walk out.
"Wait!" She shouted.
They turned around.
"How do you do that look?" She asked.
Skipper walked back to her. They followed. "That look?" He asked confused.
"Ya know the look you give people when they don't listen. And the growl." Marlene explained.
"Oh that." Skipper said. He knew what she was talking about now.
"Could you show me how to do that? So they listen to me?" She asked. She was the peace keeper now. She needed the look that made people listen.
"You want to know how I make them listen?" Skipper asked.
"Yes." Marlene replied.
Skipper took a deep breath. "Alright. First you need to stand up straight." He explained.
Marlene straightened her back. "Next?" she asked.
"Tilt you head down." Skipper replied.
"Like this?" Marlene asked tilting her head slightly.
"A little more" Skipper said. "There. Now, pinch your eyebrows together."
She did.
"And growl."
She opened the side of her mouth slightly and growled.
"No. like you're extremely angry." Skipper commanded.
She did.
"Like you're growling at me" he said.
She growled like she did when he got her angry.
"Yeah like that. And curl your hands into fists."
Marlene curled her hands into tight fists.
"That's it. If they still don't listed take a step forward. That should be all you need." Skipper said calmly. He was going to miss Marlene. She was the only one in the zoo besides the boys, that he could call a friend.
Marlene relaxed and smiled at Skipper. "Thanks." She said calmly.
"You're welcome." Skipper replied.
The Colonel screamed again.
Skipper looked at Kowalski, Rico, and Private. "Ready for hell boys?" He asked. He was going to hate the next hours. They were really going to be hell.
"I don't think we have a choice Skipper." Kowalski replied. He wasn't scared, or nervous. He was dreading the next few hours. They all were.
"Good luck guys." Marlene said.
They waved good-bye, and left.
Marlene sat down and cried. How was she going to do this? She decided to worry about it in the morning and went back to sleep.
When the guys got outside, they were immediately met by George. Well Skipper was.
"What did I tell you boy? You destroyed three of our best electronics, left the training grounds, and went against direct orders. When we get back, you and your friends are to report to the training area. You'll be doing whatever I say until everyone else wakes up. Am I understood?" He growled.
Skipper didn't say anything. He was still trying to swallow the guilt of giving Marlene such a big responsibility.
"Answer me Major." The Colonel demanded.
"Understood Colonel." He replied. He tried to keep his voice unemotional. But couldn't help letting some of his upset leak into it.
George picked that up and decided to leave it alone. He wanted a louder answer. But He didn't need it. The Major and his friends would be making up for this during their punishment. He looked them over. They all looked upset about something. But they would have to get over it.
"There is a chopper waiting in the park. It'll have us back at unit nine in less than thirty minutes." He informed strictly.
They walked to the park in silence and saw the helicopter George was talking about.
Animal sized like the truck, the helicopter was jet black with a silver line running horizontally along the middle of it. Its rotating wings along with its tail wing were gray. Inside were no seats. There were handlebars hanging from the ceiling. That was it. It was a simple machine.
They climbed in and grabbed a handlebar as the chopper took off.
The Colonel was right. It only took them thirty minutes to get back to unit nine.
And only ten more for them to get to the training area. It took seconds for them to line up. For the punishment.