The Speed of Darkness
Chapter 4 - Captivity

Marlene groggily opened her eyes and peered into the morning sun. The entrance to her cavelike home was positioned just right so that the sun fell onto her face every morning and awoke her. She kicked off the blanket she had been curled up with, then sat up and rubbed her eyes. It was oddly quiet this morning, and the eerie silence was worse then the yellow noise of the city.

Marlene was a normal sized otter, with a slender, curved body designed to cut through the water at high speeds. She had small ears and a pointed tail. Her fur ranged from light brown to dark brown and she had a tuft of white fur on her chest and chin. The fur itself was smooth and sleek, and it seemed to gleam in the morning light.

The otter glanced around her home, which was a decent sized area dug out of artificial rock which could only be accessed from a drainage pipe that lead to the outside world. She had done much to decorate: there were flowers in a vase on a stone slab that she used for a table, small pieces of art she had collected hung on the walls and she used fabrics to add color to the drab rock. She was satisfied with her home, although she knew it was nothing special.

She made her way out of the cave, stretching her arms and back as she went. The morning sun illuminated the zoo in a beautiful way, and the peacefulness of the moment was a rare commodity. The otter climbed up her artificial rock structure to the very top, where she had better vantage at the rest of the exhibits. There was nothing going on, all the animals were still asleep, even Julien. She noticed the penguins training on their bowling pins, but she had gotten used to the sight since she moved in over six months ago.

The view from the top of her small mountain was one that accomplished artists seek for years to create the perfect painting. The faint, gray morning light, the animals in their habitats, and the architecture in the background would have made for a painting that would go down in history. Any person standing up there would have remarked at the beauty. The flowers growing along paths, the fountain near the zoo entrance. It was a rare spot, but Marlene sighed and turned around.

She was never one for beauty. "Dear, aren't these beautiful?" her mother would say to her, holding up a random handful of flowers when she was only a child. She would glance off to the side and say simply, "Maybe for eating."

That was what she got for growing up with only male siblings. Her mother had always tried to get some 'girl time' with her, but she always said she would rather play with her brothers. That was a long time ago, and she had nearly forgotten what her mother looked like.

As she gazed out, her vision reaching just over the wall and down a city street, she thought about her habitat. The tall, brick walls that encompassed the area, making it difficult for even the guests to view her over. She would often see young children sitting on their fathers' shoulders, crying, "I want to see the otter!"

The brick was designed by the zoo management to keep her locked inside of her cage, but she had scaled it numerous times using her claws to get hand and footholds. She hated how the zookeepers intended her to stay in her tiny habitat all day and swim laps around the same pool that never changed.

She saw the groups of humans walking up and down the street she was gazing at, wondering where they go, what they do. She wondered why they got to explore and go where ever they chose to go, but she had to stay in her habitat with the tall brick walls. She wanted to be like the people she stared at; she wanted to go explore the world.

She wanted to escape the tall, brick walls that she gazed at for hours each day. Skipper and his team were leaving the zoo all the time and going on adventures. She wanted to go with him, to go on an adventure and experience the thrill and the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

But she had only left the zoo once. It was on a mission with the penguin Skipper, and she remembered walking outside of the zoo gates, at first nervous, but then her confidence grew. She had wondered through the park, breaking away from Skipper, his team, and Julien and explored. She felt so free, unchained, and like she had the ability to do anything. It was shortly after that she didn't remember anything and the next thing she could recall, Skipper was telling her she'd gone crazy and had fallen in love with Julien.

She shook her head at the memory. Skipper would never let her go with him after that little stunt. Other then that one time, Marlene hadn't been outside of captivity since she had been a small otter. She had faint memories of her mother and father, her brothers. Then she remembered clearly the cage that took them all away, placing them in their first zoo. They stayed together in that zoo until one by one, as they came of age, the otter pups were shipped off to other zoos. When her time came, it was the last time she had seen her family.

And she wound up here, trapped in captivity and longing to get out. She missed her parents, her siblings. She knew they were long gone now, though, spread out all over the country. She had let them go a long time ago, knowing that if they were reunited and separated again, she would be even more crushed than she was when it happened the first time. She knew they were out there, having a good time in a zoo much like hers in a cage with tall brick walls just like hers. She wondered if her brothers were looking down a city street like she was now, wondering what she was doing. She laughed, shaking her head at the memories.

"Good morning, neighbor!" called a familiar voice from behind her. She spun back around and her eyes fell on the lemur king now perched on the top of the brick wall.

Julien was a tall, straggly looking lemur that Marlene thought had always grown too fast for his frame. He had light fur that ranged from white to gray, with pointy ears and a bushy, striped tail. His head was adorned with a crown made of palm leaves, stones, and other trinkets.

"Good morning, Julien," Marlene responded. "Hey weren't you just sleeping a few minutes ago?"

"No I was just pretending to be sleeping. I was actually watching you the whole time," said Julien. "I noticed how you look longingly into the city. Why is this?"

Julien usually had nothing good to say. He usually talked about himself, his feet, his problems, his moods. He was a selfish and stuck up lemur, who never admitted something was his fault. He had his moments though, as the look of concern on his face now showed. The question had caught Marlene off guard, and she took a few moments to compose herself.

"I want to go explore out there," she said finally, gesturing to the street she had been looking at. "to go find some adventure and excitement. You know?"

"That's not a good idea, unless you want to be falling in love with me again," Julien said, laughing at his own joke. Marlene didn't think it so funny and rolled her eyes.

"I don't know what happened to me that day. I felt so free and in control, like the whole world was at my fingertips."

"It is okay," Julien assured. "We all have our crazy moments. Even Maurice went crazy before. But not me, because I am king, and going crazy is not a kingly thing to be doing."

Marlene rolled her eyes, this time at the lemur king's lie. He too had gone crazy after eating the same lychee nuts that Maurice had eaten. Typical Julien, she thought, won't admit a single thing.

"Yeah," Marlene said, choosing not to start an argument over something so silly, "Why do you care, anyway?"

"You, silly otter, are my friend." Julien replied simply and quickly. Julien never looked out for his 'friends', but he had his moments.

"Do you think I'll ever get out of this place?" Marlene asked the tall lemur.

"Why to be asking me such silly questions? Do I look like I am a future reader?"

Marlene frowned. His random spree of concern was over. She turned back to the city. Julien shrugged, knowing he was dismissed.