I slowed my pace, but I could hear wing-beats and heavy footsteps behind me. I looked over my shoulder. Hans was hot on my trail, anger and hatred burning in his eyes. Further behind him were at least two-dozen guards. I couldn't stop here. I sped up, kicking the pavement behind me with my feet. I ducked underneath a vehicle as it sped by. I swear it just about made me have an early molt. I focussed ahead, forgetting the truck. A lady's high-heeled feet stood in my way. I braced myself, shooting like a blackand white bullet right between her legs. The woman shrieked like a headless chicken behind me. I didn't slow down to see if she was ok. I'm not heartless, but there was obviously no time for nicetties. The open sea stretched out before me now. The harbor was just ahead. I leaped out onto the wet, slippery dock. Salty air and the sweet tang of decaying cá hit me like a spray in the face. I slid past sailors unloading their cargo. Some looked up at me with curiosity, asking stupid các câu hỏi and saying things like, 'Whoa! Is that a penguin?' and, 'What's a chim cánh cụt do'n in Denmark?' and that dreaded remark, 'Why's his head flat?'. I felt like stopping regardless of Hans and the entire Denmark military regiment chasing after me and slapping the living daylights out of the snot-nosed pirate who đã đưa ý kiến that. I fought of the burning sting welling up in my chest and moved on past him. I slid blindly to the edge of the dock. There was a ship there..well duh. It was called the Green Bucket. I didn't bother to wonder why at the time. I took a wild leap and grabbed the ships bow clumsily. I felt my flipper slipping. Then Hans' wings grabbed my feet and yanked me down onto the dock. My head hit the hard wood and I saw stars. I tried to rise but Hans pushed me down. He smelled terrible. Like something run over my a dump truck, peed on bởi a buzzard, and dipped in cá with a hint of cherry. I struggled, but Hans' grip grew tighter. I screamed in pain and his wings clenched my shoulders, crushing my broken flipper. Hans suddenly thrust a dao, con dao out of absolutely nowhere. (Seriously, to this ngày I have no clue where that thing came from). He held it over my chest, it hovered, then fell..and I saw my life flash before my eyes.