TDH's note: please comment!



The sun was setting on the Central Park Zoo. The police and reporters have left, so all was quiet again. Alice came back from the police station, but is still on the tuktok of the suspect list. The police are keeping a close eye on her, and escorted her home.

All the mga hayop were gathered around the tables nearby the giftshop. Skipper, his fellow comrades, and Marlene were on tuktok of a mesa looking down upon their neighbors.

Skipper silenced the crowd and spoke.

"As you all should know, Darla's life has been taken just last night."

He was interupted.

"Who's Darla?" Julien gave Skipper a skeptical look.

Skipper stared at Julien in bewilderment, and got back to his announcement.

"How she died is unfortunately obvious-" He cringed as he remembered the sight of Darla's body, blood everywhere... the puso yanked right out of her chest... "-But the psychopath who killed her is still unknown, hiding within the shadows." Skipper looked around the crowd.

Joey spoke up. "Do you have any suspects?"

"Everyone is a suspect."

Marlene shivered and turned to look at the leader. "W-Will it happen again?"

"I was getting to that. Whether the killer will strike again or this was just a one-shot is vague. For all we know, this maniac could have just hated Darla with an abnormal passion. But this could also be a serial killer, waiting for the right moment to take another life."

"What do you know about the killer?" Mason questioned.

Skipper turned to Kowalski.

Kowalski faced the crowd and spoke.
"According to my calculations, this murderer is not in his right mind. Something in our enviroment clicked in his brain, setting him off. He may be confused sa pamamagitan ng his actions, and is afraid and unsure of what to make of what he had done. Or perhaps he is fully aware of his killing, and did it out of anger - maybe something tragic recently happened in his life - or out of pleasure - he does it to satisfy his derranged needs, which would classify him as a sociopath."

"So our killer should stand out from the rest of us, then...?" Roger thought.

"Not necessarily. Our killer can hide his feelings from us, and strike when we least expect it - if he's a sociopath, that is. If he's psycho, then it would depend how his mind works - if something in his brain clicks randomly, or only when our backs are turned. Right now it is hard to tell who - or what - he is."

Marlene glanced at Kowalski, impressed. She expected him to stumble over his words, and make a complete fool out of himself.

Kowalski backed away from the crowd, and Skipper took his place.

Joey spoke. "So, the killer might not know he's a killer? So it could be you or me?"

Skipper shrugged. "Like I said, anyone's a suspect.

-----


1:58 AM

He waddled up to the giftshop, the door automatically opening for him. He stepped inside, and the door shut, darkness consuming him.
A liquid dripped down from his forhead. He wiped it off with his flipper and licked it. He was sweating blood.

Skipper smiled into the shadows. "What do you want?"

He was answered sa pamamagitan ng the same low growl he heard before.

He laughed. "You're gonna have to do madami then that to scare me!"

The same whispy voice he heard last night bounced off the walls, penetrating him.

"Come play, Skipper."

"What do you want from me?"

"It's okay, Skipper."

"Answer me!"

"It's okay to die, Skipper."

"What do you want from me?!"

"It's okay to die..."

"ANSWER MY DAMN QUESION!!" Skipper boomed, madami blood dripping rapidly off his face.

A roar escalated, growing louder and louder, almost deafening, shaking the whole room.

Then silence.

A metal box appeared in front of Skipper. He stared down at it, and it opened.

Inside was at least ten hearts, still alive and pounding.

The box slid aside, and something else appeared in front of the now-frightened penguin.

A glowing light. Except it wasn't a light. It was another penguin. Female. Her ice-cold eyes stared passionately into Skipper's, smiling joyfully. Skipper Nawawala his breath. This ibong dagat was beautiful, like none he had ever seen before.

She swiftly waddled up to Skipper until she was inches away from him. Then she planted her beak to his, halik him with so much enthusiasm that Skipper almost fell over. He regained his control and kissed her back, the bliss overtaking him. It was nothing like he had ever felt before. Was he in heaven?

Then, to Skipper's disappointment, the female pulled away. Her pleasant smile turning drastically, grinning at Skipper with pure evil and insanity.

She laughed and spoke. Her voice was like a soft breeze, racing towards him in a whisper.

"It's okay to die, Skipper."

She laughed again and vanished into thin air.

Skipper's puso pounded in his chest, his vision blurring, the room spinning...

Skipper woke with a fright, his puso still pounding. His breathing finally slowed and everything was silent again as he realized his was in his bunk.

Skipper sighed and laid back down, staring up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes.

A scream broke the silence.