A Crocodile's Journey

Chapter 18

Kiburi didn't speak to him again after his outburst.

He wouldn't even turn to look at him.

Makuu knew perfectly how guilt over hurting someone felt, but never at this level. He had told him horrible things, accused him of never caring for his float, and then it turns out he wanted to starve himself to death out of the guilt for being unable to protect them from the two-legs. And adding insult to injury, it didn't look like Kiburi would forgive him for being so insensitive anytime soon.

The worst thing: Makuu realized he was right in some of those things he said. He only desired Akina after noticing how everyone else wanted her, he never thought of Kiburi's feelings for her when he challenged and defeated him in the Upenduwa, he was selfish.

The only thing that kept him from revaluating his life and some of the choices he had made was the urge to get out of this hell, and tear those damn two-legs apart.

Still, no matter how many times he and the other animals tried to find a way to get free from their prisons, there seemed to be no way to do so. The chains (as he heard the two-legs call the black rings keeping him and Kiburi attached to the wall) were too hard even for his crocodile jaws, and trying to pull against them choked him. The thick bars of the cages were as equally thick and unbreakable.

And much to his frustration, Kiburi didn't help in anything.

"Damn it!" Makuu growled, panting heavily as he glanced back at his chains. It didn't look any close to breaking. All he got was a reddened mark around his neck from the collar. "What is this thing made of?!"

"Tell that to me." Nurisha said, sighing sadly. "I can't even fit through the holes of my cage."

"It would be easier if you could figure out how the two-legs put that thing around your neck." Jafari pointed out. "It must have its trick."

"I wish I could, but this thing is on my neck and I can't take a look at it...!" Makuu spotted Kiburi a few feet away, indifferent and unmoving, but the collar-thing was visible. He glanced back at the chain, trying to calculate if it was long enough for him to approach.

Before Kiburi knew it, he was suddenly pinned to the ground by Makuu.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He asked irritably. It was the first sentence he had directed at Makuu for two days.

"Don't move, I'm trying to take a look at your collar!" Makuu snapped back.

"Get off me!"

"I just need to see something!"

Makuu examined the collar thoroughly as fast as he could before Kiburi snapped. It was very thick, the chain was attached to it from the back, and it was teeth-proof. Then however was it put around their necks in the first place?

Wait, on a closer inspection, he found a straight line in the collar, and a small hole on one side of it. It was similar to the holes in the 'padlocks' that keep the other cages shut. Then this thing could be opened.

"I said GET OFF!" Kiburi snarled, finally managing to push Makuu away with one whack on the head with his tail.

Makuu shook his head to get back on his senses, and for once decided to let that smack slip. Besides, he did deserve it. "There's a small hole on that collar, and it appears like it is opened into two parts."

"Congratulations, Sherlock." Kiburi muttered, turning away again.

"Then if you can somehow manage to open it, you could get us out." Usian said, leaning against the bars of his cage.