Thunder dipped his trunk in the water one last time, sprayed his head, and climbed out. He stood beneath the entrance of the cave and wondered what might be inside. “What’s in here?”
Soma called from the mud, “Rhinos don’t do caves.”
The egrets agreed in a chorus, “And neither do we!”
Thunder poked his head inside the entrance. “Well, I do. Anything in here?” He heard his words echo a little and his eyebrows rose curiously.
“Hell-o. Hell-o. Hell-o!”
His words were tossed right back at him like careless whispers that reverberated over and over. “Cool! Hey, I can hear myself!”
Penelope swooped down onto Thunder’s head and imitated Thunder. “Hell-o. Hell-o. Nobody home.”
From inside the cave a voice could be heard. “The runway looks clear for take-off! Let’s go, brothers!”
A group of bats scattered into formation as they streamed out of the cave above Penelope and Thunder. Thunder dove to the ground, covering his eyes with his floppy ears and Penelope ducked under her wings.
The bats’ wings flapped and a collective swoosh filled the air. The path of bats looked like one large black cloud.
Persius screamed from the top of the cave entrance. “Aahhh! Night riders!”
“Watch out! Low-flying jet!” warned Sydney.
Cedric ducked beneath his wings. “Shields up.”
The egrets leapt from their roost at the top of the cave entrance and made a mad dash for a palm tree near them. They looked each other over from head to toe making sure that all their feathers were still in place.
One bat left the squadron and deviated to where Penelope and Thunder now stood gazing at them curiously. It landed abruptly in front of them, with his feet back pedaling to slow himself down. His speed was so great that he had trouble putting on the brakes. He landed in a heap right next to them, then pursed his lips and sucked a small insect into his mouth as if flew by.
The hyper black bat, named Haru, was blinking its tiny eyes at the elephant standing above him. His small ears rounded, and then formed tiny points at the top of his head. He lowered his black wings and bowed respectfully to them. “Helloooo.”
Penelope tilted her head at the tiny bat. “Nice to meet you. Home for dinner?”
Haru gave them a goofy grin that showed his white pointy fangs. “On our way to dinner. I’m Haru. Who are you?”
“Penelope. Penelope’s here. Pretty bird.”
Haru offered her a wing to shake, but Penelope would not leave her perch on Thunder. He lowered his wing and sniffed softly. “Did you come for a visit?”
Penelope gazed at him curiously. Her head rotated in half circles to the left and right. “Friend?”
Haru gave a huge smile. “We’re all friends! And you?”
Thunder lowered his trunk to Haru’s wing. “I’m Thunder.”
“Thunder? Nice to meet you. Care for a bite?”
“I’ve eaten already. Thanks.” Thunder nodded at the bat.
Penelope opened her beak a few times. “Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. Dinner.”
Penelope made the sounds of kisses being blown into the air. “Mu-mu-mu.”
Soma climbed out of the pond to join them. She glared at Haru before pounding the ground. Her threat was clear.
Haru tilted his head at her. “You don’t think every stranger’s an enemy, do you? Hmm?”
Soma snorted. “In my world, yes.”
“That’s not how it’s supposed to be! C’mon now!” Crossing his wings behind his back, Haru walked around in circles.
Penelope’s eyes followed his circular movements and her head rotated around her neck. “Listen. Wheeee!”
Haru laughed at the silly parrot. “Yes, we are gentle creatures who love to have a good time—if you know what I mean!”
Haru looked up anxiously when he noticed the formation of bats above him, his ears perked up, and he no longer noticed the animals in front of him. Standing to attention, he saluted the sky and called to the squadron of bats above him, “Radar up and operational, sir!”
Thunder turned to Soma. “What’s he doing?”
Soma had no answer for him. She had no idea what the goofy bat was up to. She stood there with a blank stare as her answer.
“Standard procedure, soldiers,” answered Haru.
The egrets were now leaning over their tree branch to listen. Persius was the first to speak. “Who’s he talking to?”
“I dunno,” Sydney answered.
Cedric shook his head in confusion. “Are we in the middle of an air force base or what?”
Sydney shrugged her shoulders. “Someone should tell ‘em the war’s over.”
“What war?” Persius asked.
Cedric shook his head at him. “Never mind.”
“You only come out at night?” Thunder asked Haru.
“Man, that’s the best time! It’s all stars in the night sky! See?” He nodded his pudgy nose to the stars that peeked from the vivid blue canvas of the night sky.
Haru sucked up another insect flying by him. “Thwp!!”
Pointing upwards with one of his wings, he blinked. “Come with us! We’ll show you!”
Thunder tilted his head at the loony bat. How could he possibly? “I’ll stay on the ground, thank you.”
“Suit yourself,” Haru said.
“Night flight?” Penelope raised her voice to a higher squealing pitch. “Yippee!!”
“Yes!! Follow me!” Haru took Penelope’s outstretched wing in his.
They both took flight toward the bats swarming overhead. The egrets decided to join them. The bats now inches from them, made room for them in their group.
Haru pointed to a small spot between a few bats. “Squeeze in here!”
The moonlight shimmered on their wings as they glided through the sky. From there the stars seemed even closer, but still remained well out of reach. The view showed the canopy of the rainforest below.
“Isn’t it glorious?” Haru called to them.
Penelope had made good distance ahead of them, but she heard Haru. She replied in her whimsical voice, “Glorious. Glorious. Ru-ruuuuuuuuu!”
“This beats leapin’ around on the ground! Woohoo!” Sydney cheered.
Penelope faltered momentarily. Falling out of formation, her wings shuddered in the winds. She continued to spiral down. “Parrot falling. Parrot falling. Time for help!”
A few bats surrounded Penelope. They pulled closer together and gently corralled her back into formation. The egrets were continuing to fly with the bats in their perfect in-sync formation.
Thunder watched the aerial display above. “I wish I could fly.”
Soma shuddered in disgust. “I prefer to keep my four feet on the ground, thank you very much.”
Thunder’s eyes were wide. “But look at them! Wow!! I never knew bats existed. They sure know how to live! It’s magical!”
Thunder, being young, had seen very little of the world. The only flying creatures he had really dealt with were the ones that flew during the day. He was not used to nocturnal animals, but he sure was glad he had met some. Wait until he told his herd about Haru and his squadron of bats that lived in the cave near the majestic falls.
Haru swooped low then flew down to the ground near Thunder. His feet swept the ground beneath him trying to gain some sort of leverage, but he crashed on his stomach and his pudgy nose smashed into the ground. When he looked up at them, he had a goofy grin on his face.
The other birds landed next to him with ease. Haru gave them a thumbs up. “Off to work now! We’ll take care of the mosquitoes! It will make your journey easier.”
Haru waved good-bye then fluttered off to join the other bats. “Night life! What a life!”
A fruit bat named Lily nodded to Haru as he joined them. “Dinner is served! Oh boy!”
“Any good bugs up here?” asked Haru.
Further from them, Lenny was licking his lips. “The before five buffet! Yay!!”
The three of them circled around the night sky grabbing the mosquitoes in mid-air and gulping them down.
Lester swooped up next to them and almost knocked Lenny out of the way. “Sorry, Lenny.”
“No matter.” He barely acknowledged the clumsy bat as he continued to fill his belly with tasty treats. “Thwp! Twenty-eight. Thwp! Twenty-nine! Thirty.”
Lester heard Lenny’s count and his fur perked up on his head. Never one to be beaten, Lester started to vocalize his count. “Mmm! These are delicious! Thwp! Forty-three. Thwp! Forty-four. Thwp! Forty-five!”
Lenny hiccupped. “Uh-oh. I think I ate too fast!”
That was the last Thunder heard from the bats in the sky. They were much farther away now. He smiled up at the moon and continued to wonder at the magic in the night sky. Thunder could not wait to tell his herd about all the things he had seen on his journey home. Maybe if they were lucky, he would find them tomorrow.