Chapter 2: A Fatal Encounter
After their conversation, Skipper and Private soon fell asleep inside the cold cave. But since both were exhausted, they slept deeply and soundly. Private laid on Skippers belly and the leader had wrapped his wings around his soldier, both trying to keep each other warm.
Private was the first to awake in the morning. Still he had snuggled his head tightly on Skippers chest. He felt so comfortable, so he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep again. The little penguin sighed and let his head sink down onto the softness of his leaders chest feathers again.
But suddenly he heard Skipper groaning quietly. It sounded a little like he was in pain. "Skipper, are you okay?" the young soldier whispered worried. The leader opened his eyes and clenched them in pain again. "My stomach hurts a little, Private" Skipper responded, pointing to the wound on his belly, where he has been shot. Private looked down and saw some of Skippers blood stained his own white feathers.
"It has already stopped bleeding. Don´t worry, Skipper." Private said and tried to wipe the blood away, with stuck on both of their bellies. "It´s okay, Private. Where you able to sleep at least?" the leader asked. "Yes, like a baby" Private answered with a smile on his face. Both got up and Skipper streched his flippers. "Well, I think its time we get outta here. I hope the snowstorm is over." the leader said, with a slightly worried expression on his face.
He went to the entrance wich was closed by a barrier of snow Skipper had built the day before. Slowly he tried to dig a hole through the snow to get outside. Private joined to help him. Fortunately the snowstorm had settled and the sun was shining. But Skipper still shivered from the freezing temperatures. The penguins climbed through the hole and both were almost blinded by the bright sun.
"What do we do now, Skipper?" Private asked and looked around. But he saw just the deserted scenery of Antarctica. "Mhm, we have to get to a habour or a airport or something. We need to get back to New York as soon as possible" Skipper said, rubbing the underside of his beak as he thought about what to do next.
So they made their way, trying to find a sign of civilisation. But soon Skipper felt something was wrong. Even Private felt it. The leader stopped at once, pulling Private close. "Someone is following us" Skipper whispered into his brothers earhole. "Hey, who are you?" they heard a voice screaming after them. Skipper and Private turned around and another penguin appeared from behind a pile of snow. He had a knife in his flippers, pointing towards them threatingly.
"Who are you?" Skipper asked back, shoving Private behind his back to protect him. But suddenly the leader began to realize that he knew thhe face of the other penguin. He was pretty tall but he looked pretty old. His feathers were dirrty and his bloodshot eyes stared at them with pure hate. "I know you......" Skipper whispered and got a painful sting in his stomach. "You?" growled the other penguin in a deep hoarse voice, he seemed to know Skipper as well.
"You little bastard finally returned to Antarctica. After all those years. And you brought someone with you..." the old penguin said, smiling deviously. "S-Skipper, who´s that?" Private asked with a trembling voice. "Private, as much as it pains to say that, but this is your dad..." Skipper whispered back. "Now way! Is that the little brat whose egg I wanted to crash?" Tom said with a chuckle. He approached Skipper and Private slowly.
The little penguin hid behind his leaders back in fear. He knew, that Tom once tried to kill him and Private was sure he would do it again. "Stay behind me, Private" Skipper murmured and the little penguin gasped. "So you´ve grown up, little guy? I don´t know if Skipper has ever told you the truth, but I´m your real dad, little badger" Tom said, tightening his grip around the knifes handle.
But suddenly the little penguin stepped from behind Skipper to face his father. "Yes, Skipper told me everything. You tried to kill me. Me, your own flesh and blood. I know Skipper had saved my egg and adopted me as a son back then. He saved me from you. I hate you!" Private hissed angrily.
"Well, little brat. Your birth was just a stupid accident. You hear me? We didn´t want to have another child. I just wanted to have fun with your poor, stupid mother" Tom snarled with another evil chuckle. "Don´t insult our mother, jerk!" Skipper growled and stepped forward. "Oh, Skipper. You´re hilarious. I didn´t even love her. And she died shortly after you left Antarctica with the stupid egg" the old penguin told. The leader felt a painful sting in his heart, their mother was dead and grief took over him. Private sobbed quietly to mourn the loss, although he had never met his mother.
"You bastard, you should have saved her. You were her husband, but what could I even expect from a former killer?" Skipper hissed, trying to fight back his tears. "I didn´t care about her, as I didn´t care about you. You´ve always been an obstacle in our relationship. And then happened this accident.." Tom said and pointed the tip of his knife to Private, who startlet. "It´s not his or mine fault, that you are a sick psycho" Skipper growled trying to shove Private behind his back again as he saw that the knife came threatenly close to them.
"Well, enough from the old stories. I want Private to stay here in Antarctica, he could be actually useful for me though" Tom said, streching his flipper after the little penguin. "Private isn´t going anywhere. You tried to kill him and now you want him back to be your own little slave? No way, I´m his father now!" Skipper said angrily. But Tom didn´t care about what Skipper said.
The old penguin grabbed the little soldiers flipper and pulled him to his side. "Skipper, help!" Private screamed in fear. "Let him go!" the leader growled and tried to pull him back. But all of the sudden Tom threw a punch at Skippers stomach. The leader gasped and pressed his wings on his belly. Tom had hit him directly on his wound. "Skipper!" Private yelled and tried to break free from his fathers grasp.
"Stay here!" Tom shouted and slapped Private across his face. "Don´t you dare to touch him!" Skipper screamed and lunged at his stepfather. Private covered his eyes with his flippers in fear. Suddenly he heard Skippers agonized scream. Tom had drawn his knife and rammed it into Skippers chest, just inches below his cellarbone. The leader yelled in pain and his blood stained the white snow. "Now you´re not as strong anymore?" Tom hissed with a smile and twisted the blade to widen Skippers wound.
Private watched as Skipper collapsed to the ground, gasping in pain. The blade still stuck in his chest and Tom pulled out slowly, just to cause even more pain for the leader penguin. Private quickly ran to his side, but Tom pulled him back. "Don´t even think about it, boy. He deserved it!" the old penguin said, but Private managed to escape his grasp this time.
"No, you are not my father, he is!" Private yelled at him. "Not anymore!" Tom growled and raised the knife to slit open Skippers body. But Private threw himself between his leader and the blade. He screamed as he felt the cold metal ripped open his back. "Stupid jerk!" Tom screamed but the little penguin managed to grab the knife and stabbed it back into his fathers heart. Tom gasped and pushed his wing on the wound.
Soon he coughed up his own blood and collapsed into the snow. " Private, you dared to kill your own father?" the old penguin gasped and chocked on his own blood. A few minutes he died in front of Privates eyes, but the little penguin didn´t even care about him. His concern was centered around Skipper, who was gasping in pain and bleeding heavily. "Skipper, talk to me!" Private screamed and lifted his leader from the ground, holding him in his wings.
"I-I´m so proud of you, son. At- at least y-you´re okay" Skipper whispered and coughed up some blood. "Skipper, don´t fall asleep. You need to stay awake. Please don´t leave me, father!" the little penguin yelled desperately....
After their conversation, Skipper and Private soon fell asleep inside the cold cave. But since both were exhausted, they slept deeply and soundly. Private laid on Skippers belly and the leader had wrapped his wings around his soldier, both trying to keep each other warm.
Private was the first to awake in the morning. Still he had snuggled his head tightly on Skippers chest. He felt so comfortable, so he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep again. The little penguin sighed and let his head sink down onto the softness of his leaders chest feathers again.
But suddenly he heard Skipper groaning quietly. It sounded a little like he was in pain. "Skipper, are you okay?" the young soldier whispered worried. The leader opened his eyes and clenched them in pain again. "My stomach hurts a little, Private" Skipper responded, pointing to the wound on his belly, where he has been shot. Private looked down and saw some of Skippers blood stained his own white feathers.
"It has already stopped bleeding. Don´t worry, Skipper." Private said and tried to wipe the blood away, with stuck on both of their bellies. "It´s okay, Private. Where you able to sleep at least?" the leader asked. "Yes, like a baby" Private answered with a smile on his face. Both got up and Skipper streched his flippers. "Well, I think its time we get outta here. I hope the snowstorm is over." the leader said, with a slightly worried expression on his face.
He went to the entrance wich was closed by a barrier of snow Skipper had built the day before. Slowly he tried to dig a hole through the snow to get outside. Private joined to help him. Fortunately the snowstorm had settled and the sun was shining. But Skipper still shivered from the freezing temperatures. The penguins climbed through the hole and both were almost blinded by the bright sun.
"What do we do now, Skipper?" Private asked and looked around. But he saw just the deserted scenery of Antarctica. "Mhm, we have to get to a habour or a airport or something. We need to get back to New York as soon as possible" Skipper said, rubbing the underside of his beak as he thought about what to do next.
So they made their way, trying to find a sign of civilisation. But soon Skipper felt something was wrong. Even Private felt it. The leader stopped at once, pulling Private close. "Someone is following us" Skipper whispered into his brothers earhole. "Hey, who are you?" they heard a voice screaming after them. Skipper and Private turned around and another penguin appeared from behind a pile of snow. He had a knife in his flippers, pointing towards them threatingly.
"Who are you?" Skipper asked back, shoving Private behind his back to protect him. But suddenly the leader began to realize that he knew thhe face of the other penguin. He was pretty tall but he looked pretty old. His feathers were dirrty and his bloodshot eyes stared at them with pure hate. "I know you......" Skipper whispered and got a painful sting in his stomach. "You?" growled the other penguin in a deep hoarse voice, he seemed to know Skipper as well.
"You little bastard finally returned to Antarctica. After all those years. And you brought someone with you..." the old penguin said, smiling deviously. "S-Skipper, who´s that?" Private asked with a trembling voice. "Private, as much as it pains to say that, but this is your dad..." Skipper whispered back. "Now way! Is that the little brat whose egg I wanted to crash?" Tom said with a chuckle. He approached Skipper and Private slowly.
The little penguin hid behind his leaders back in fear. He knew, that Tom once tried to kill him and Private was sure he would do it again. "Stay behind me, Private" Skipper murmured and the little penguin gasped. "So you´ve grown up, little guy? I don´t know if Skipper has ever told you the truth, but I´m your real dad, little badger" Tom said, tightening his grip around the knifes handle.
But suddenly the little penguin stepped from behind Skipper to face his father. "Yes, Skipper told me everything. You tried to kill me. Me, your own flesh and blood. I know Skipper had saved my egg and adopted me as a son back then. He saved me from you. I hate you!" Private hissed angrily.
"Well, little brat. Your birth was just a stupid accident. You hear me? We didn´t want to have another child. I just wanted to have fun with your poor, stupid mother" Tom snarled with another evil chuckle. "Don´t insult our mother, jerk!" Skipper growled and stepped forward. "Oh, Skipper. You´re hilarious. I didn´t even love her. And she died shortly after you left Antarctica with the stupid egg" the old penguin told. The leader felt a painful sting in his heart, their mother was dead and grief took over him. Private sobbed quietly to mourn the loss, although he had never met his mother.
"You bastard, you should have saved her. You were her husband, but what could I even expect from a former killer?" Skipper hissed, trying to fight back his tears. "I didn´t care about her, as I didn´t care about you. You´ve always been an obstacle in our relationship. And then happened this accident.." Tom said and pointed the tip of his knife to Private, who startlet. "It´s not his or mine fault, that you are a sick psycho" Skipper growled trying to shove Private behind his back again as he saw that the knife came threatenly close to them.
"Well, enough from the old stories. I want Private to stay here in Antarctica, he could be actually useful for me though" Tom said, streching his flipper after the little penguin. "Private isn´t going anywhere. You tried to kill him and now you want him back to be your own little slave? No way, I´m his father now!" Skipper said angrily. But Tom didn´t care about what Skipper said.
The old penguin grabbed the little soldiers flipper and pulled him to his side. "Skipper, help!" Private screamed in fear. "Let him go!" the leader growled and tried to pull him back. But all of the sudden Tom threw a punch at Skippers stomach. The leader gasped and pressed his wings on his belly. Tom had hit him directly on his wound. "Skipper!" Private yelled and tried to break free from his fathers grasp.
"Stay here!" Tom shouted and slapped Private across his face. "Don´t you dare to touch him!" Skipper screamed and lunged at his stepfather. Private covered his eyes with his flippers in fear. Suddenly he heard Skippers agonized scream. Tom had drawn his knife and rammed it into Skippers chest, just inches below his cellarbone. The leader yelled in pain and his blood stained the white snow. "Now you´re not as strong anymore?" Tom hissed with a smile and twisted the blade to widen Skippers wound.
Private watched as Skipper collapsed to the ground, gasping in pain. The blade still stuck in his chest and Tom pulled out slowly, just to cause even more pain for the leader penguin. Private quickly ran to his side, but Tom pulled him back. "Don´t even think about it, boy. He deserved it!" the old penguin said, but Private managed to escape his grasp this time.
"No, you are not my father, he is!" Private yelled at him. "Not anymore!" Tom growled and raised the knife to slit open Skippers body. But Private threw himself between his leader and the blade. He screamed as he felt the cold metal ripped open his back. "Stupid jerk!" Tom screamed but the little penguin managed to grab the knife and stabbed it back into his fathers heart. Tom gasped and pushed his wing on the wound.
Soon he coughed up his own blood and collapsed into the snow. " Private, you dared to kill your own father?" the old penguin gasped and chocked on his own blood. A few minutes he died in front of Privates eyes, but the little penguin didn´t even care about him. His concern was centered around Skipper, who was gasping in pain and bleeding heavily. "Skipper, talk to me!" Private screamed and lifted his leader from the ground, holding him in his wings.
"I-I´m so proud of you, son. At- at least y-you´re okay" Skipper whispered and coughed up some blood. "Skipper, don´t fall asleep. You need to stay awake. Please don´t leave me, father!" the little penguin yelled desperately....