No worries people, I am alive! Long story short, Thanksgiving, power outage (No internet), then I got sick. Anyways, the show must go on! Here you go- T.K. (also, in this chapter I will be doing different points of view, read and review please)
Caution: may be a bit strong for young readers and sad for those who love Skipper, Don't hate me, I love Skipper too.
Chapter 4:
"No…" Private moaned, tossing and turning under his blanket.
CRASH!
He was seeing Skipper in slow motion, reliving the crash, seeing the leader bounced and pummeled by tires; he was hearing the banging metal and seeing feathers fly everywhere.
"It s all your fault" Julien's voice rang out eerily in the semi darkness.
Private twisted and turned even more frantically, he wanted to scream.
Quite suddenly, he found himself waddling down a long hallway with dark red spots on the floor; then he heard the grind of metal behind him. He slid away on his belly before realizing what the spots were. He gasped and looked around wildly until he came face to face with Skipper.
Looking like something out of a horror movie, the beaten and bleeding penguin stared icily at Private.
The grind of a truck became louder and louder; they looked up to see the driver.
"Kowalski? Rico?" Private squeaked; he was terrified now.
"It's entirely your fault." Skipper growled harshly, his eyes gleaming red. "They're evening the score."
"No! NOOO!" Private screamed,
SLAP! SLAP!
Skipper was hitting him; the truck came closer at full speed. SLAP! The truck was one foot away.
"Ahh!" Private screamed…blackout
Private's POV
I gasped and my eyes swung open, Kowalski and Rico stood next to me looking worried. Kowalski lowered his flipper; I now knew who slapped me awake. My face hurt and I felt sweaty. That dream scared me out of my feathers.
"Private, are you alright?" Kowalski asked.
"Yes, no worries!" I said shakily. I tried to smile, but I knew my lie couldn't convince him.
"No, you're livid with terror and shaking like a leaf." He said, "You can't fool me, I know you too well."
"I'm sorry." I whispered solemnly.
"I know what you're thinking," he said, "It's not your fault. If you don't believe me, then ask Skipper when we see him, we leave in two hours. Go wash up and have breakfast."
"If we see him." I said, remembering Julien's words.
"No, that's enough! Stop crying and go wash yourself Private." Kowalski ordered, "Now!"
I jumped and ran to the bathroom. Kowalski never yelled at me before, but he had a point; I decided to try and stop blaming myself. I still cried into the sink before my shower. None of them knew there is a raging storm of guilt inside me.
Kowalski's POV
It hurt me to yell at Private, but I was tired of him blaming himself for the accident, Rico was making sure we had all the supplies ready and stored in his gut. I performed last minute inspections on the remodeled car, making sure we had a safe trip. I also made a map showing the path we could take without drawing too much attention.
Finally I heard the shower turn on, I was worried about Private. He came out an hour later and had breakfast with us, he was very quiet. I sighed and walked over to him.
"We leave in half an hour, you ready?"
He nodded silently, avoiding my eyes.
"Rico, is everything ready?" I asked.
"Yup!" he smiled.
"Great, I need to make sure everyone is prepared to hide our disappearance."
And with that, I was off.
3rd person POV
Rico swallowed a crowbar, in case they needed to bust him out of a box or fight for him. He was worried about Private, noticing that the penguin was crying. He decided not to tell Kowalski. Rico walked over to the youngest and patted his back.
Kowalski returned with a smile on his beak.
"All ready?" Kowalski asked.
"Yup!" Rico replied
"Aye Aye, Skippa!" Private said, realizing his mistake, "I-I mean, Kowalski."
"It's okay, let's go!" Kowalski said, leading the way to the car, followed by the other two.
The three penguins hopped into their car and began their trip, knowing it would be a long one. Rico stepped on the gas pedal and left the zoo with Kowalski next to him and Private in the back seat.
The wind blowing on their feathers combined with the sun's heat kept them warm. Kowalski was talking to himself and writing scientific calculations on his clipboard which was always handy.
Rico began to feel tired and switched places with Kowalski who knew the map well; Private had fallen asleep half an hour earlier.
"We're about half of the way there." Kowalski announced, his voice waking up Private.
"That's great." Private mumbled, stretching out and yawning.
Then the car sputtered to a stop. Kowalski checked the gas level; it was empty. Luckily Rico brought a big container of gasoline and poured it into the car.
When it was filled, Private decided to drive for the last mile. Kowalski sat next to him and Rico was in the back looking through a magazine about explosives.
Private still felt guilt even though Kowalski told him to stop blaming himself. He was so deep in thought that he almost missed the turn. He twisted the steering wheel and the car made a sharp squealing noise as it turned.
"Private, pay attention!" Kowalski shouted
"Sorry, sir." Private gasped.
They weren't the only ones who heard the squeal; four blocks away, the animals at the Animal Care Clinic heard it too.
At the Animal Care Clinic
Sharky had been planning something wicked ever since Skipper arrived. He enjoyed making the penguin do silly jobs for him when Oreo wasn't around. Sharky told Tyler, Mac, and Stevie his plan.
Early in the morning, Sharky, accompanied by Tyler, approached Skipper. The penguin was alone at the moment. Oreo and Miles were going through their checkups, Lucy was relaxing in the sun, the ducks were swimming in the deep end of the pond, and Speedy was too tired to play. Oscar, however, was nearby and had a paranoid eye on the two bears approaching the penguin with amnesia.
"Hello, penguin." Sharky said with a sly grin.
"Hi!" Skipper chirped, attempting to stand on his head, "Oreo and Miles aren't here."
"I see, well I came…um," Sharky said, with an air of being troubled.
"Oh, just tell him!" Tyler sobbed dramatically.
Skipper plopped on his stomach and stood up, brushing the dirt off his feathers. "What's wrong?" Skipper asked, the smile fading from his face like melted butter.
"Well," Sharky began, "I heard the vet talking about you; it seems that the penguins at your old home are much happier without you. The other penguins might have hurt you and caused you to have amnesia and injuries."
"Oh, we're so sorry!" Tyler cried.
Oscar was about to come over and say something, but Tyler silently snarled, showing his sharp teeth. Oscar ran to the other side of the pond; Skipper was too depressed to notice any of this. Sharky and Tyler left Skipper to his thoughts, laughing silently.
"Hi, pal!" Oreo shouted as he ran up to Skipper with Miles behind him. "I'm back! How's the head- hey buddy, what's up?"
"I'll never forgive them." Skipper muttered, trembling.
"Who?" Miles asked, skidding to a stop next to Oreo.
"I found out that the other penguins did this to me and they don't want me back." Skipper replied angrily, hot tears spilling out of his eyes.
Miles and Oreo gasped. "Don't worry bud, we're your friends and we accept you here." The panda consoled. "It's okay to cry." The peacock said, shuffling his colorful tail.
Skipper was about to respond when they heard the loud squeal of a tire turning sharply. The boys jumped and ran into a shed.
Skipper's POV
I couldn't believe my ear holes, but the bears can't be lying, can they?
I barely heard what Oreo and Miles were saying; I was so mad.
A tire squealed, I wonder why. I'm getting tired…yawn. What would I do if the other penguins showed up? I don't think they will.
And with that, Skipper fell asleep while Oreo and Miles stood outside, playing.
/
Author's note: Prepare for the insanity that awaits you next chapter! (Chapter 5 will mark the end of this epic tale.)
Thank you for reading, and please review.
If you have any questions, comments, concerns, and/or suggestions, feel free to PM me or leave a note in a review- T.K