The Speed of Darkness
Chapter 56 – Rest
ALICE BARGED THROUGH THE DOOR TO THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN.
In her arms she clutched three of the penguins. They were wrapped in her jacket, and as a result she was freezing. She had to stabilize them somehow, though. Their injuries looked nasty and they had been fading in an out of consciousness over the day it had taken them to run back to Issac's boat.
As she set the penguins down gently, using the jacket as a make-shift cushion, Andrew Green entered the room. He, too, had used his jacket to wrap the animals he was holding in warmth. He set down the lemur, otter, and one more penguin. It was the penguin Alice had seen take an energy ball to the face, just like Issac had, but had not been vaporized.
Alice wasted no time. Her animals were badly wounded and she needed to help them. She dug around the cabin and found a surprisingly high number of medical supplies for the raft. Issac had been crazy, yes, but Alice assumed he at least knew to keep ample supplies on board in case of injury. She found some sterile gauze pads, some hydrogen peroxide, a needle and thread for sewing up gashes, bandages, and some other useful things. Plenty to clean up the wounds and prevent infection.
She started with the otter, as she was the only one with an openly bleeding cut. Her arm had been cut deeply by the crazy penguin in the antechamber, and though Alice had tried to apply as much gentle pressure as she could to get it to stop, it was still trickling. The otter woozily looked up at her, disorientated from loss of blood.
Using a pair of scissors, she trimmed the otter's blood-soaked fur away from the cut. Then she cleansed it with the hydrogen peroxide, and finally began to sew the cut closed. She was suddenly glad that she had been forced to go through that week-long animal healthcare course to become a zookeeper, as the knowledge was coming in handy now.
"Don't worry, only a few more stitches," she told the otter as it gasped in pain. Alice knew she had to get the wound closed, though, or the otter would bleed out in a few more hours.
When the wound was finally closed, Alice sterilized the area one last time before wrapping it tightly in gauze and bandages. The otter looked relieved that the procedure was over. Alice felt a smile pull at her lips as the otter toyed with the bandages gently. The swelling in her left eye had gone down a bit, but it was still mostly closed. It gave the otter a bit of a silly, cute look as she stared up at the redhead.
Alice didn't want to waste any more time admiring her, though. She turned to the ring tailed lemur, ready to work on his mangled snout. To her surprise, she saw Andrew already preparing to realign his dislocated jaw. He looked to her for approval. She nodded, then both her and the otter flinched when she heard a sickening pop as the lemur's jaw was pushed back into line. Thankfully the lemur was still unconscious and didn't seem to feel it.
"How did you know to do that?" she asked him.
"I've had to realign a few broken bones in people before in my time. Lemurs aren't that different, right?" he answered.
"Maybe so," Alice agreed, "Thank you."
Mr. Green seemed to freeze for a moment, staring to Alice's eyes. It was like he was confused; enveloped by those two words alone.
"For what?" he said.
"You know... for everything," Alice spilled. "I never would have even gotten the slightest hint about what was really going on with my penguins if it wasn't for you. Then I never would have been able to follow them to Antarctica, which I couldn't have done with your help anyway."
Andrew smiled. "You know I've grown as attached to these animals as you have over the last few months. I wouldn't have let them get hurt."
Alice walked over to the tallest penguin, looking at a nasty-looking lump on his forehead. It looked up at her groggily as she wrapped its head in bandages. There wasn't much she could do about a cranial injury—she would merely have to hope wasn't suffering internal bleeding.
As she worked, she continued, "Yeah, that's true. But you dropped everything to come help me with this. Even though its over, you're even helping me patch them up."
The businessman straightened his ruined collar and cleared his throat. "We were right when we said something extraordinary was going on with your penguins. I should be thanking you for letting me be a part of it."
Alice felt herself blush slightly. The warmness of her cheeks was foreign to her as she said, "You're a pretty cool guy, Andy."
Andrew smiled again, as Alice noticed his cheeks also growing pink. She couldn't tell if it was from the cold air around them or her compliment, though. Actually, she was surprised he didn't snap at her for not calling him Mr. Green.
Instead he awkwardly said, "Thank you."
Alice redirected her attention at what she was doing. She was running her hands up and down the flat-headed penguin's body, feeling for any broken bones. The penguin scowled at her as she did, but she knew he would have to put up with it for now. There were a few soft spots where he had nasty bruises under his feathers, a few welts, and a wing that was no doubt broken. Other then that and the fact that many of his feathers were singed and ruined he didn't seem to be in too bad of shape.
Andrew gently took the penguin's wing, apologizing as it flinched in pain. Alice thought it was weird that he was apologizing to a bird. He never apologized to anything. But now, he had given that respect to a bird. The man had changed, she thought. Maybe she had changed as well.
Using some of the stiffer bandages, she wrapped his wing as much as she possibly could to make it as straight as possible. She had no idea how to properly support a broken penguin flipper, but it would have to do until they got back to the zoo and the veterinarian had a proper look at it.
The large bird that had a knack for swallowing things seemed to be in the best shape. She had seen him take a nasty hit from the tazor, but other then that he was unscathed. He had drifted in and out of consciousness a few times as they had hustled back to the boat, but now he sat up looking her directly in the eyes. He waved his flippers around widly, pointing towards the smallest penguin that was laying on the jackets.
Alice glanced towards him as Andrew began to clean Julien's snout. It had been such a mad dash away from the temple and back to the boat that she had entirely forgotten about him. He had taken that massive energy blast to protect the robot penguin that had killed the evil one. It was the same energy blast that had completely vaporized Issac Hull, and yet he was still here. Was he alive? Alice wasn't so sure.
Moving slowly, she took up his flipper. It fell limply to his side as she released it, and he didn't react. Not even a twitch. She began fearing the worst. There was no way that he could have survived that blast, could he?
She leaned over the tiny bird, moving her head closer. She was listening for any tiny noise that might signal he was alive. A peep, a coo, even the tiny sound of breathing. She gasped with surprise as the large penguin forced her head down to the penguins chest. She stopped just before hitting him and felt his feathers caress her cheek. Then, she heard it.
It was faint, but it was there. A very deep and slow thump that could have only been his heartbeat. Not believing her ears, she moved her hands and fingers all over his head and upper body, trying to find a sign of his pulse.
"He's alive!" She exclaimed when her fingers found the sweet spot. "I don't believe it!"
"How?" Andrew returned. He had finished cleaning and wrapping the lemur's long snout.
"I don't know, I don't know," Alice stuttered, stopping herself from jumping in the air excitedly.
"But Issac... and that energy," Andrew countered.
"He survived it, somehow. I don't care how, but he's alive!" Alice exclaimed, taking up Andrew's hands in her own.
She laughed at the surprised look on his face as she spun him around. Taking her laugh as a signal, Andrew spun her around too. She playfully shoved him, her head spinning a bit. She felt herself laughing until her throat went horse and it was only a wheeze. She fell backwards onto the metal floor, gasping for breath.
The small bird was alive! She couldn't believe it, and she didn't understand how, but he was Alive!
"Huzzah!" the large penguin cried, who was now standing near her. She hadn't even noticed him dancing with them, and was glad she hadn't stepped on him. She didn't even care that the penguin had managed a could-be word. She was just happy for the bird that was laying peacefully in the coat, his heart slowly beating.
"It's a miracle," she heard Andrew say as he sat down next to her.
"Yeah," she agreed. She sat up next to him, looking at the animals that were laying on the jackets. The flat-headed penguin had managed to sit up and was now sitting next to the small bird with the scar. The otter had propped herself up too, and was running her paw through the lemur's fur.
"What a crazy week this has been," Andrew said, looking up at Alice. He smiled, but the comment was still thought provoking.
"Yeah," Alice agreed again.
They sat like that for a while. The large, scarred bird got bored of the silence and went over to his leader, babbling something out to him. The leader clicked something back, and the large bird looked happy. The leader did not seem so excited as he leaned against the wall next to the small, unconscious penguin. Then he left the cabin. A month ago Alice would have been concerned about a penguin walking freely around a boat. Now, she didn't have the slightest worry for him. She was just glad to see him walking.
The zookeeper looked upon the remaining animals. The otter was hugging her love closely, gently running her fingers up and down his bandaged snout. Alice thought it was adorable. She had seen Julien take not one, but two massive blows to the face in defense of the otter.
Honestly, she wasn't sure if he'd come out entirely okay. He must have some sort of brain damage after what had happened. Something like internal bleeding or a ruptured skull. However, Alice knew these injuries were fatal in humans within a few hours, so he must have been okay. Maybe his nose had taken the brunt of the damage for him.
The otter leaned down and gently kissed the end of the lemur's nose. She saw the lemur twitch slightly and knew that he had acknowledged it, even if he was entirely unconscious. Alice thought about the otter herself. She had also taken a beating, but she had certainly returned one to those enemy penguins. In the antechamber it had looked like she went completely mental, loosing all semblance of her formal self. Alice felt herself glad at the otter's strange quirk, though. It had quite possibly saved her and the penguin's lives.
Alice felt herself smile as she thought about what she'd do for the two mammals when they got back to the zoo. She'd have to find some way to move them into the same habitat as soon as possible. The guests would ask why an Asian otter and a Madagascan lemur were in the same exhibit, but she didn't have the heart to keep them apart.
Not that it mattered much, though. If she did keep them apart, she knew they'd find a way to sneak out of their own habitats and see each other whenever they wished. They had been doing that for two years, and Alice knew they weren't going to stop. She was completely okay with that.
Her eyes shifted to the two penguins. The leader seemed to have drifted off. He looked peaceful as he slouched over his teammate.
"Do you think he'll pull through?" Andrew asked, noticing Alice was looking at the same birds she was.
Alice tapped her chin. "No clue. He could be in a coma or just sleeping for all we know. We'll have to ask the doc when we get back to the zoo."
"I certainly hope he does," responded the stout man.
"Me too," affirmed Alice. The idea of loosing the small bird terrified her.
"What about that one?" Andrew said, gesturing to the tall penguin that was laying all alone on the end of the jacket.
Alice compared him briefly to the otter and the lemur, and the two penguins. He seemed to shiver slightly in his slumber. She got up and walked over to him, pulling an end of the jacket over his form. It wasn't until she got closer that she realized he wasn't shivering because he was cold.
Streaking down his face was a single tear.
Alice immediately felt her own eyes water up at the sight of it. The penguin pulled at her heart strings in a way she had never experienced. Only now did she realize that none of the other animals jumped to see if he was okay, comfort him, check in with him. The other penguins were only concerned about the smallest one, and the otter was only concerned for the lemur. Nobody had even mentioned him since they had battled the evil penguins in the chamber.
She leaned in close to him and whispered, "Don't worry, your little buddy is alive." She didn't expect it to do anything, but was surprised when the tall penguin's eyes snapped open and he looked at her. Could they understand what she was saying? She didn't doubt it in the slightest. Gently, she flattened a few of the ruffled feathers on his head in a consoling motion.
As the penguin closed his eyes again, she realized he was not just concerned for his teammate. Something bigger had gone on inside of the chamber, she was sure of it. That was why he had worked with the evil penguins to tie up the leader and the robotic one. She had no idea why, though, and there was little chance she would ever understand it. For now, she decided to be the penguin's only friend.
She smiled slightly as the tall bird grabbed the hem of her pant leg, pulling it to his face. He didn't want his teammates to see him cry. Alice understood, and wiped her own face. She hadn't cried in years, but she wasn't ashamed.
"I guess you were right after all," Andrew spoke again as he got up.
"About what?" Alice responded as the businessman sat down next to her again.
"About your penguins. From day one, you always said they were up to something. Something extraordinary," Andrew continued.
Alice chuckled a bit, "Yeah, I guess you're right, Andy. I did say they were up to something mischievous, though."
"Maybe less mischievous and more heroic than we originally thought."
"Yeah."
"What do you think that thing in the container was? That glowing orb that they were all fighting over?" Andrew asked.
"Not a clue. Not sure I want to find out, either. It seems like it is more powerful than anything we people have ever built," the redhead responded.
"'We people'," quoted Mr. Green. "Do you think the penguins fabricated that object, and not people?"
"It's possible, you know? We don't really know what kind of things penguins are capable of. Other animals, too, for that matter. There's a chance some ancient civilization could have built it, but what ancient civilization do you know had the technology to survive in Antarctica?"
Andrew merely looked up at Alice, thoughtfully. "I suppose you are right," he responded after a while. "It just seems like the temple was built around that thing, rather than the thing being placed in the temple after it was complete. You know what I mean?"
"So you're saying it existed even far before even the penguins discovered it?"
"Precisely."
A moment of silence passed between the pair as Alice looked over the animals once again. The otter had drifted off into sleep now, too. She briefly wondered where the large penguin had went. "Do you think we were ever supposed to see it? I mean, like humans in general. Are we the first people who ever saw that thing?"
Andrew nodded. "Something like that wouldn't go unnoticed. It would be all over the news in a matter of days."
"Then we should probably keep it a secret," Alice stated.
Andrew opened his mouth as though he was about to argue, but closed it again as his face showed realization. "You're probably right. What the penguins buried probably should stay buried. Who are we to mess with that kind of power, anyway?"
"Yeah."
Alice watched the large, scarred penguin walked into the room again. As soon as he saw the sleeping animals, he emitted a low "D'aww," holding his flippers up to his face in an adorable fashion. Then he quickly regurgitated several large fish onto the floor of the captain's cabin. So that was why he had gone out.
"Fish?" Mr. Green exclaimed loudly, startling Alice. "Fish mean water. That means that we can start making our way out of here!"
Both Alice and the businessman jumped up and went to the window of the cabin. As they were expecting, the ice that had encased their boat upon their first arrival was now cracking and dispersing. It would be more than enough for them to get headed back to New York.
Alice stepped up to the wheel of the boat, turning the ignition. The engines roared to life and she pushed the throttle forward. She wondered briefly if they would have enough fuel to make it back to New York or if they would need to stop in some country to refuel along the way.
"Do you think Issac's going to miss his boat?" Andrew asked.
Alice had not actually thought much about the insane sailor. Out of all of them, he was the one who had lost his life. Even all of her animals had made it out okay. She felt a slight ping of regret as she thought about the sight of his clothes laying in a heap, right where he had last stood.
"We'll have to notify the correct parties when we get back," she said, solemnly. Even though, she looked at Andrew and smiled slightly. "We'll let them know he was as crazy in death as he was in life."
Surprisingly, Andrew chuckled at her dark joke.