Turtles of a Feather

Prologue

The thick woods were silent at night, the only sounds being the crickets chirping, an occasional owl hoot, and the stream flowing through the trees. The clear stream teemed with life, although it was a water source that was practically invisible; hidden by the growing, birches, beeches, and willows.

Hidden amongst the rocks of the stream's edge was a shallow crevice where a slightly tangled nest consisting of leaves, twigs, and bird feathers hid four eggs. What creatures did the white eggshells conceal? What new lives were to hatch from the small spheres hidden amongst the gathered forest debris?

Four young freshwater turtles.

The eggs stayed undisturbed, by neither the wind, water, nor other animals in the wilderness. The reptilian eggs were mostly blanketed by old bird down, keeping them covered and warmed in the cold, damp, crack of the rocks.

The smallest of the four white spheres was tucked under hawk feathers and down; the multi-brown feathers belonging to a bird of great observance.

The largest of the four was covered with the down of a barn owl; a very strategic and silent predator.

The second largest egg was covered in the feathers of a falcon; a raptor that has the skill and strength to take down its prey in mid-air.

Lastly, the egg first laid, was covered in the fluffy down of an eagle; an elegant predatory bird that will stay loyal to its mate and young to the very end, a protector and leader to its family.

Under the bird down and feathers the eggs stayed peacefully; little living creatures growing within the thin, yet strong walls of their eggshells.

But even though the turtle nest was quiet and undisturbed, the same couldn't be said for the forest outside the rocks. Night birds flocked out of the treetops in panic, rabbits dug deeper into their warrens, and raccoons hid in their homes of the tree trunks.
A large and odd hovercraft sped in the sky, glowing a pink hue, hauling overflowing crates of canisters. The canisters were filled with a glowing green substance that flowed like the liquid itself was living. One of the canisters wobbled on the edge of its metal crate. It finally fell and hit the tree tops, scaring more birds out of hiding. The durable canister fell through the leaves and branches, making its way to the ground. It broke against the stream's rocky edge, shattering the canister; glass scattering in different directions.

The green ooze seeped down into the cracks of the rocks, slowly making its way to the small nest tucked in the crevice. A steady stream of the glowing substance trickled down, the nest just mere inches from the mysterious liquid.

It eventually reached the nest, the twigs and leaves doing very little to stop it from reaching the eggs. In the matter of a minute or two, the turtle eggs were covered in the substance, the bird feathers still surrounding the individual eggs. The white spheres quickly doubled in size, then tripled.

The hovercraft was out of sight after a few minutes; the wood going back to its normal nightly sights and sounds once the buzzing sound of the floating object was no longer heard. The owls started to hoot once again, the rabbits darted out of their holes, and the moon was the only bright light that lit the sky.

The four eggs were crowded in the crevice, due to their strange increase in size. Whatever the ooze was, it changed the course of fate for the four unborn reptiles.

The first laid egg soon started to wobble. A small thump was heard from the inside of the eggshell. The small turtle was trying to make its way into the world, and break the barrier standing in his way. The thumping continued for a while until there was finally a quiet but unmistakable 'crack'.