The Speed of Darkness
Chapter 10 - So Close

Where was he?

He waddled up to the tall gates and looked up at the clock above him. It read three twenty three AM, but he could care less. He looked at the two bronze statues of monkeys on either side of a large bell, each holding a large hammer, ready to strike the bell on the turn of the hour. He wondered what these strange things were doing on top of a doorway.

He turned his head from side to side, looking for a possible entryway. He saw a brick wall that he could climb. No, that was too tall. He saw some metal bars he could attempt to pry apart. No, they were much too thick. He saw a lamppost he could attempt to shimmy up and get himself over the wall. No, the surface was slippery with condensation. He could attempt to dig under the wall. No, the ground was made of impenetrable concrete.

He ran his flipper over the surface of the brick, looking for a hidden switch or lever. He came to a portrait. A painting, he thought. He ran his flippers around the outside of the frame; it mattered not to him what was on the painting. He found a small inlet in the wall behind the frame and slid the tip of his flipper into it. He pulled, and to his surprise, it swung open, nearly throwing him off balance.

He didn't know where he was. All he knew was that he needed to get inside this place. His target was inside.

Behind the painting was a hole carved out of the wall. He jumped up into it and saw that it went all the way through to the other side of the barrier. He smiled, knowing that his target was vulnerable. He knew that his target wouldn't see him coming. His target probably wouldn't even fight back against him.

He had learned that the element of surprise was one of the most vital strategies any soldier could hope to use against his enemy. He had known that an ambush was they way to go against unsurmountable odds. He had been trained to hug the shadows around corners and jump out at the most unexpected moment, silencing the hostiles before they could even scream. Johnson had shown him that.

He silently slipped through the zoo, looking at the enclosures around him. He saw the different animals sleeping. The elephants, the tigers, the gorillas, the lemurs. He passed each one by in succession, knowing that they were not his target.

That pigeon he killed wasn't his target either. He had grieved at first, wondering what would happen to him for taking the life another. He realized, however, that his flippers were already stained with the blood of countless others. He accepted himself as a killer, an assassin, a murderer. He had shot, sliced through, and slaughtered hundreds of other animals in the past. He had heard the soft thud of their bodies dropping to the ground. All of those animals were dead while his target still stood. He felt a powerful wave of anger roll over him.

He had reached a map. He cleared his head and looked up at the confusing symbols and drawings. He recognized the picture of penguins on the board and set off in that direction.

After he waddled for a short while, he came to a small, round enclosure surrounded by a short, iron fence. It wasn't hard for him to climb over the fence and after tossing his pack from the top of the fence to the small, concrete platform in the middle of the ring shaped pool, he jumped in with a splash. He resurfaced after a moment and proceeded onto the fake ice floe.

So this was where his target was hiding from him after all this time? He shook his head. He should have known his target would flee to the zoo. He probably wanted to recruit more soldiers for his horrible plans, more soldiers who think they're fighting for something worthwhile only to die for a madman. That's what had happened to Johnson.

He felt the burning tears in his eyes again. They stung at him, making him tense up with anger. It was all going to end here. After all his searching, hunting, waiting. He had finally tracked his target down and backed him into a corner. He began shaking slightly. He had prepared for this moment for far too long.

He reached the fishbowl entrance, almost as if he had rehearsed this several times before. He lugged his pack along behind him, but left it up on top of the ice floe. The only thing he grabbed from it was a jagged, rusty dagger.

He slid down the ladder with agility and stealth. He now stood in the darkness of the penguin's HQ, looking for any sign of his target. The light was faint and he could only make out the outlines of objects in the room. He held his breath and listened to any sign of movement, and only heard a quiet snoring sound coming form the other side of the bunker.

He took a few steps forward, tightening his grip on the handle of the dagger. He had killed so many times in the past, and each time he did, it was the wrong target. Now he was about to end it all, and his breathing quickened. The only sounds in the room were his near silent footfalls, the snoring, and his choppy breaths.

He stood now only feet from the sound of the snoring. He made out four slots in the wall, which he assumed were bunks. He could just see the outlines of four figures, one in each bed. He didn't fear the fact that his target may have already recruited several new penguins; they would see the truth when he destroyed his target.

He took a few more steps, but kept the dagger resting at his side. He didn't know which penguin was his target, and he didn't want to stab another innocent. The penguins his target recruited weren't at fault. They thought they were fighting for a noble cause and fought until they could no longer. He knew this because he too had fallen for his target's lies and deception. He too, long ago, had thought he was a hero when he was just being used. He clenched his beak and gingerly fingered the crooked blade of the dagger.

Suddenly, the penguin on the top bunk stirred. He frantically jumped behind a piece of furniture, knowing he couldn't be seen. Peeking over the top, he could see the top penguin crawl down the adjacent ladder and waddle across the room. It was a short and stubby penguin, probably very young. He thought about how his target prayed on the young and naïve, like Johnson.

The penguin across the room opened up the refrigerator door and grabbed a juice box that was nearly as big as he was, poked a straw through the top, and began sipping. The penguin's eyes were tired and drifted around the room illuminated only by the open refrigerator. Suddenly it's eyes fell on his own and he froze. They looked at each other, him peering over the top of what he assumed was a couch, and it quietly sipping its juice. What seemed like an hour passed, before the penguin replaced the juice box in the fridge and shut the door. He sighed quietly with relief, thinking he had avoided detection. On the contrary, a loud alarm began blaring and the lights came on in the HQ.

"Intruder alert!" cried a loudspeaker. He watched as the four penguins jumped out of bed with amazing speed and assembled in a defensive position. He saw the small penguin say something that he could not hear to another penguin with a flat head near him. He recognized him, it was his target.

The four turned on the couch and the bulky penguin on the end coughed up what he assumed was a flamethrower. Not thinking, he jumped out from behind the couch and flanked the four penguins, who were focused on the furniture that the short one had pointed out. He charged, dagger at the ready, and tackled the leader to the floor. He would have to be quick, he thought, as the other three would be on top of him in no time.

He posed the dagger, ready to strike, and the penguin below him struggled. He was ready to smash the dagger down into the penguin's chest. He was ready to finally end his struggle. All the time he had spent searching and all the innocent lives he had taken were for this moment. Sarah had died for this moment. His unborn child had died for this moment.

He looked into his target's blue eyes. They were a clear, crystal blue. They seemed like eyes that were usually full of energy and life, but were now filled with fear. He froze. His target noticed, and used the momentary stun to throw him off of himself.

By now, the other three penguins, including the flamethrower wielding one were ready to pummel him. His dagger lay on the ground several feet from him and he was defenseless. If it hadn't been for a raised flipper from his target, he was sure he was in for a beating. His target took a step closer and looked at him, his eyes no longer showing fear.

"Manfredi?" it asked. The voice seemed to go deep inside of him and wrench at his most forgotten memories. He recognized it, yet he didn't know from where.

"Manfredi!" Skipper called, clutching a glowing cylinder in his hands. "We've got to go. Now!"

"I'm not leaving without Johnson!" he called back, heading the opposite way. The building around them was collapsing, leaving only a few precious seconds to make a decision.

"Johnson is dead, let it go!" shouted Skipper, looking desperate. "Now c'mon!"

"Manfredi?" The penguin he now recognized as Skipper leaned over him.

"Johnson is dead," he said quietly. Skipper seemed stunned by the words.

Suddenly he felt very nauseous and dizzy with confusion. He felt like the walls of the HQ were closing in on him. He found it heard to breathe. He looked frantically for a way out, and found the ladder he had slid down to enter the bunker. Scrambling to his feet, he dashed for it. The penguins in the room didn't stop him, not even Skipper made an attempt. He left his dagger on the ground, and crawled up the ladder into the cool night air. In a flash, he was gone, sprinting as fast as little legs could carry him through the zoo. Skipper watched him flee through the fishbowl hatch.

"I thought you were dead too, Manfredi," he said softly to himself.

/AN: Sorry for another long hiatus. I was growing very unenthusiastic with this story, but now I will write chapters as often as I was before.

Judging by some of my reviews I'm getting, I have a feeling some of my readers are having trouble following this plot. Since it switches around a lot and won't make a lot of sense until later, if you're confused, let me know in a review or in a PM and I'll let you know whats going on. Anyway, thanks a lot for reading my story as always, and please review! :AN\