A twig snapped near him and Thunder’s ears perked up in surprise. He looked out at the elephants that were about a hundred yards away and found that they were all similarly startled. The herd stopped all activity and looked up.
Drago and his men peered out from behind a thick bamboo grove. Thunder turned just in time to see their silhouettes. While he may not have seen an upright before, he could tell that these creatures were not welcome near them.
“Huh?” His confusion was clear even to his own ears. Thunder saw darkness in the eyes of one man and gasped aloud. He raced away from the evil that dwelled within the depths of the upright that had intruded upon his safety.
Thunder picked up his pace, turning around repeatedly to see if the uprights were still there. He saw an opening in the tree line of the forest. Within that small hole, he could see Serenity across the watering hole. The men that were chasing him were also moving forward. He also saw several crouching low in the clearing surrounding the water hole.
A man whistled. Gunshots rang out, obliterating the silence of their peaceful night. Chaos and terror ensued, as more cracking shots followed the first ones. Chimpanzees in the trees screamed in panic and scattered quickly into the highest depths of the canopy. The bonobos monkeys leapt higher into the branches, their curiosity no longer piqued, as fear had replaced it so easily.
A baby mongoose cried out to its mother. The mad fray inside the forest had made him lose sight of her. He raced through the bushes, anxiously searching for her with terrified shrieks.
The birds above Thunder squawked. Hornbills and pepper birds fluttered into the darkness, scrambling to hide in the recess of the dark canopy.
Thunder heard an agonizing scream as one elephant fell. Others fled the scene, doing their best not to trample the few that had fallen. Thunder saw flashes of moments pass before his eyes. He was not able to piece it all together. It was like a nightmare had replaced the peace he had always known. Fight or flight had kicked up in full gear, which made processing the moment even harder. He heard a female elephant moan and cry out, but wasn’t able to make out her words. Thunder prayed that it was not his mother.
More gunshots pierced the air and Thunder froze in his tracks as he tried to determine what had made such a terrifying sound. “What is that?” he called out to the others, but no one answered.
Bang! Rip! Crash! Small bursts of light were erupting in the air near the uprights. He heard the men shout. Thunder tried to make out what was happening around him, but dust was blocking his vision. With limited visibility, Thunder could not see Serenity anywhere. He called out to her in a desperate plea, “Mom!!”
Branches scraped against Thunder’s torso as he raced through the forest, but he ignored the sharp pains. Palm fronds slapped him in the face and Thunder still continued on. He had to find Serenity.
Drago was now squatting in the forest, holding back from the wild chaos in the field. From his vantage point, he saw the baby elephant he had seen earlier and a plot formed in his head. While the adults would be used for their tusks, a calf could also be worth money. Perhaps a zoo or circus might want him. From here he looked like easy pickings. “I can sell him to the highest bidder.” He rubbed his hands together in glee. “He won’t get far. I’ll get him.”
The evil in his heart served him well. Tonight, Drago would get a good payload for sure. He stood up and continued after the elephant, he had decided that this tiny elephant would be his spoil, if he could keep him separate from the other poachers. Double pay out, indeed.
A little further away, Penelope, an inquisitive, light-hearted parrot, entertained herself inside her nest. She had decorated her little abode with mirror shards she found washed up on the beach, as well as her prized possession. Her one and only book.
Penelope looked at herself in one of the mirrors suspended inside her nest. She whistled at herself and made cooing sounds as she crooned. A glass jar filled with fireflies sat nearby.
Penelope perused the book before her. The title on the spine read ‘Birds of a Feather.’ She glanced inside the pages, as if this were a normal every day thing for a bird to be doing.
Merrily she said to herself, “What-a-ya-readin’? What-a-ya-readin’?” Penelope was used to having only herself for company. She spent many a day having conversations that only she would find amusing.
Penelope glanced at her reflection in one of the mirror shards and caught herself off guard. “Peekaboo. Peekaboo.”
Penelope laughed aloud. Then she yawned, put the book down, and removed the glasses. “Hello, friend. Where’dya go? Where’dya go? Wooooo.”
Penelope inched closer to one of the mirrors. “Aahh. Penelope. Penelope. Hello, friend. How ya doin’? Woohoo!”
The mirror image seemed to reply. “Welcome back. Welcome back. Are you lonely?”
She squawked quietly then responded to her image. “Hello, friend.”
Her tongue made a clicking sound against the roof of her beak, before the mirror answered.
“Yippee!”
Penelope tilted her head at herself. “Will you stay with me? Will you stay with me? Pleeease.”
Apparently her mirror image was just as lonely for a companion. “Never leave. No.”
A low whistle rang out and the mirror shards all revealed the parrot’s reflection. Each one took turns squawking at the other and throwing kisses back and forth. The parrot sat in the silence with herself, having a grand old time.