Chapter 2

   I woke up the successivo giorno less cold. I waddled out and breathed in the cold, icy air. It felt nice, but then I heard my stomache growl. I needed food, but who could give me food? Well, I would have to learn how to eat a whole pesce someday, guess today's my day. I waddled off trying to catch the faint scent of the salty breeze air so I can follow it. I learned that that's where the pesce were.

   I waddled very far from the cave, but my mind was on getting breakfast. I arrived at the edge of the sea and look at the water. I've seen the elders push each other off to see if they get eaten. Harsh, but my mom told me that's just how we do things. Since I was alone and I was starving and since I was just a mese old, I jumped right in. Hoping that there wouldn't be anything in the water, and that I figured out how to swim, fast. I opened my eyes and I could already see schools and schools of fish. Anchovies, to be più specific. I instinctively started swimming towards the fish. Swimming faster as my body got used to it. I kept getting closer and closer to each of the fishes, but they always seems out of reach. At least it was sicuro, cassetta di sicurezza to fish... Not.

   I was just a beak away from my first bite of breakfast when I was knocked away from it. I was flipping backwards underwater before finally stopping. There, right in front of me, was a sea leopard. I gulped. He looked at me and charged right at me as fast as a bullet. I swam as fast as I could away from it. It just kept getting closer and closer and closer to me. I shut my eyes tightly as I continued to swim. I knew I couldn't outswim it and prepared for the worst.

   I felt something warm bump into me and stop me from swimming. I thought I was in his mouth. Yet, I could still feel the rush of the ocean. I opened my eyes and saw a pinguino holding me, swimming faster than the predator. The pinguino jumped out of the water like a rocket and landed safely on the ground. He set me down once we landed. He had light blue eyes and was tall.

   "There te go." he said. "What were te doing down there a few days earlier than expected for chicks about your age?"

   "I-I was getting some f-fish." I told him.

   "Where are your parents?" he asked. I merely shrugged. "You don't know?"

   "Yes, I know exactly where they are. That's why I shrugged." I answered sarcastically.

   "Well, let's go find them." he said. He tried pulling my flipper gently in his direction, but I didn't to go.

   "No." I ripped my flipper away from him and took a step back. "I don't know where they are and I'm not sure if they're alive anymore."

   "Then you'll have to come with back to the HQ." he detto as he reached for my flipper again. I stepped back. "I'm not going to hurt you."

   "How can I know you're not lying? After all, I don't even know your name." I retorted.

   "Oh sorry. My name's Luke. I am part of the resistance." he detto as he saluted.

   "Resistance?" I think that's when people are rebelling against something... But what's there to rebal against. "Why would te be in a resistance?"

   "You don't know?" he asked stupefied.

   "No, I do know. I just like to ask people domande for fun." I rolled my eyes.

   "You know, for a chick, te are very sarcastic." he said. "I'll mostra te the HQ so we can keep te sicuro, cassetta di sicurezza until we find your parents..." my stomache growled. "... and give te some breakfast. Does that sound okay?" he detto the last part in a baby voice.

   "I wasn't born yesterday, and I don't have diapers. So what's up with the baby voice?" I crossed my flippers.

   "Okay, jeez sorry." he took one of flippers. "Let's go."

*A couple of hours later*

Luke led me to a vacant landscape and we stopped.

   "We're here." Luke announced.

   "Where? In the Antartican desert?" I asked.

   "Before we go in, I have to make sure te look okay." he said, ignoring my comment.

   "I have to look good so these people can take care of me? Wow." I said. Luke seemed to notice my birthmark for the first time after walking for miles!!

   "A cuore birtmark? That's unusual..." The pinguino hummed to himself as he studied me. Then his flipper started to reach for me, well, my eyes.

   "AHHH! NOT MY BIRTHMARK!!!" I yelled as I cowered. immagini of adults pulling my feathers out popped into my mind. I felt something being placed on my shoulder. It was a flipper.

   "I'm not going to rip you're feathers out from your birthmark." he told me reassuringly.

   "Then what were te going to do to me?" I asked. His flipper went up to my forehead and matted my feathers into place.

   "There. Now we can go inside." he stomped his foot twice then clapped once. The ground underneath us opened and we fell into the hole.