Gloria kept a firm grip on Matry's tail. The boat was turning towards the island the zoo animals were stranded on.

"You can not go back there by yourself!"

Marty looked back at her, frowning.

"Oh, come on. I know Alex. When he hears were rescued, he'll snap right out of it."

Melman lowered his head to the same height as the zebra.

"The people are coming, they can help us."

"Melman's right. The people will know what to do. Now come on, we've got to flag down that boat!"

Gloria released Marty's tail and turned around. The boat was pulling up parallel with the island. The anchor was dropped in the shallow waters. A large wooden plank was lowered. Ten men walked onto the land.

"What the hell! Why are these animals on this island?"

The three zoosters looked at each other. Maybe this wasn't the same boat. One of the men scratched his beard.

"Didn't that cargo ship that went missing have those New York zoo animals on it?"

"Jesus! You're right! But. . . I don't see any debris."

"Maybe the crates holding them washed ashore. The boat may not have even sunk here for all we know."

". . . Weren't there four zoo animals?"

"Yeah. The lion isn't here."

Marty bound over to the humans. They drew back in surprise, but calmed down. One of the men patted his neck.

"Hey there boy. Bet the past week has been pretty tough for you."

Marty nodded.

"You have no idea."

All the human's heard were the zebra's bray, but they paid attention.

"Come on! Alex needs you're help!"

One of the men frowned.

"I think he wants us to follow him."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, think about it. The lion probably washed ashore as well, and it's a known fact that the lion and zebra from Central Park Zoo are friends. There was even a documentary about them. Maybe he's trying to lead us to the lion."

Marty groaned, his two friends shifting behind him.

"Man, I have never wanted to speak human so much till now!"

"It's worth a shot. You guys go back onto the boat and grab all the gear we'll need. I'll stay here with them."

8 of the 10 men went back to the boat to grab who knows what. Marty sighed, but conceded they might need something to restrain Alex. That made him wince. Marty just hoped that when Alex saw the humans, he would turn back to himself. Marty looked over at Melman and Gloria. Gloria was simply sanding there, anxiety clear on her face. Melman, however, was having his snout rubbed by one of the humans. Usually Melman was adverse to human touch unless it was for a medical exam, but the giraffe just seemed happy to have any human contact.

The other men arrived, holding several long poles with thick wire loops on them. One man had a small tarp, while another had a whip. Marty hoped they didn't have to use them on Alex.

"Carrots!"

Melman pulled away from the man petting him, turning to another man who was holding an arm full of carrots and apples. The man looked slightly sheepish as Melman wrapped his long blue tongue around one of the carrots.

"I, uh- thought they may be hungry."

"That's good thinking. Poor fellas must be starving."

The young man holding the food smiled before gesturing down at his arms.

"I also grabbed some meat. . . you know."

Tucked under his elbow, were two slabs of meat. Marty flicked an ear, looking at the food with a new perspective. Who had that animal been before it was killed? What kind of animal was it? Had it been a giraffe, or a hippo, or even a zebra? The lead man turned towards Marty.

"Alright, boy. Lead the way."

The three zoo animals walked quickly, the humans following behind. They approached the bottom of a cliff, where Marty finally saw Alex. He was curled up on his side asleep. His back was facing them. From what he could see, his mane was frizzy and out of shape. Marty stepped forward, calling out to him.

"Alex. Alex, wake up. The people came back!"

Alex stood up and turned to look at them.

"M-Marty?"

Marty smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, man. Look! The people are here! We can go back to civilization and everything can be just like it use to be!"

Alex crawled backwards, his eyes wide.

"Stay back, please! I'm a monster."

Marty walked closer.

"Oh come on Alex, you're no monster. You're my best friend-"

"STOP!"

Alex roared at them. The humans jumped, but did not retreat.

"Don't come any closer. I-I'll loose it if you do!"

One of the humans nudged the man holding the meat. The man stepped forward so that he was standing next to Marty. Alex gave a warning growl.

"Hi there, uh, Alex? Are- are you a good lion?"

The man held out the two steaks before tossing them. They landed with a sickening splat a few feet from Alex's paws. Alex looked at the meat. Marty watched as an argument danced in the lion's eyes. He was hungry. So hungry, but he knew what steak was. It had been a living creature. Someone with thoughts and feelings. But to not eat it would put his friends in even more danger. A hungry monster was more likely to attack.

Alex jumped on the meat, digging into it with a fierceness none of his friends had ever seen. He didn't hold it in his paws and take slow reasonable bites. He held the flesh down with his paws, ripping it apart with powerful thrashes and yanks of his head. Marty, Melman, and Gloria winced. They didn't want to believe it, but that could have easily been them.

Alex finished the steaks, and even chewed on the hard white center. Melman gasped.

"Guys. . . the white center is a bone!"

It should have been obvious. Would have been to any wild animal, but they weren't wild. They had all grown up in the shelter of a zoo.

Three of the humans tiptoed forward, the metal poles with thick wire stretched out in front of them. One of the men made a clicking noise, and Alex looked up. Only to be lassoed by the wire. Two of the poles were used around his neck, while another captured both of his front paws. All of the other men jumped in. One raised the whip, but did not strike. Marty backed up and huddled with his two other friends. They had never been afraid of humans, but seeing this awoke a slight fear.

The man holding the pole tied around Alex's front paws pulled. Alex tipped forward as his legs were yanked out from underneath him. He landed on his chest with a thump, all the air rushing out of his lungs. Gloria winced.

"Stop it! Be gentle with him!"

No one even looked over at her. Alex's back legs were curling upwards, claws extended. As if he was going to try and break the wire. Before his back paws could reach the lassos, they were captured with another pole and wire contraption. Alex rolled to his side, crying out. His wild eyes sought out his friends. He just caught sight of them when a trap was tossed over his eyes. Alex tried to toss his head a few times before he finally went limp.

All the humans sighed. Marty stared wide eyes at his friend. The lion was being held down buy two lassos on his neck, and one on each set of feet. The men walked forward. One man took some loose wire and tied it around the tarp, so that it kept Alex's eyes covered. His paws were tied in sort of a handcuff like fashion. He would be able to walk, but unable to run or attack. Using the poles on his neck, the humans forced Alex to roll over so he was not on his side. The men pulled up, forcing Alex to struggle to his feet. They slowly started making their way back to the beach.

Marty, Melman, and Gloria walked next to their friend, staying out of the way of all the wires and poles. Marty turned towards Alex.

"It's okay now, Alex. Everything will be alright now."

Alex stopped, but the humans pulled on him, forcing him to walk.

"No! It'll never be okay! I'm a monster! Why can't you leave me alone!"

The three other animals noticed tears leaking out from under the tarp.

"Please, I don't want to hurt you. Just leave me here!"

Gloria frowned.

"Alex, you know we can't do that. You're our friend. If you stay here, you'll die!"

Alex yanked his head back, and the humans pulled harder on the poles. Marty could see the beach, and the boat, just ahead.

"That's the point!"

The three zoosters stopped walking, shocked. Alex. . . wanted to die?

Gloria was the first to shake of the shock.

"Oh, Al. It'll be alright baby cakes. The humans. . . the humans can fix this."

They were at the plank, and Alex stumbled and fell at the sudden change in land elevation. The humans yanked on the poles, trying to force Alex up. Alex lay there stubbornly.

"You don't get it! The humans gave me steak! They knew! They knew I was a monster! That I could only eat other animals! They wont do anything!"

The humans pulled on Alex, one of them stomping his feet behind him, trying to scare him up. Alex refused to move. His covered eyes closed, ears pinned back. The man holding the whip got behind Alex and pulled it back. Marty feared they were about to hit him, but the man simple cracked it in the air. Alex startled but did not get up. The man cracked it in the air again, but Alex simply flattened his ears even more. The man sighed and rubbed his face before looking at Alex sadly.

The man pulled back the whip and hit Alex right across his butt, just above his tail. Alex yelp and jumped to his feet. The men holding the lassos started to pull again. Alex walked forward five feet before he plopped himself back onto the wooden plank. The man holding the whip gritted his teeth.

"Damn it! Get up, lion! I don't want to have to do this to you!"

Alex hissed. Marty frowned.

"Alex! Just listen to the humans and get up!"

The whip cracked against Alex's skin. He winced, but did not get up. The whip hit him twice more before the man stopped. The man rubbed at his eyes, drying his tears. Everyone was crying. Humans and animals alike. The man sighed before pulling his arm back, and bringing down the whip. Hard. It slashed across the base of Alex's tail. Blood drew. Alex roared out in pain before he struggled to his feet. He was quickly brought on board and placed in a metal cage. It bars were in squares, and were close together. Alex wouldn't even be able to place a paw through the bars.

Once he was in the cage, the humans closed the door, but left it partially open. The poles still connected to him were in the one inch gap. The men all pulled on some loose wire on the opposite end of where Alex was. The lassos loosened before coming undone. The men quickly pulled out the poles and closed the cage door, locking it. Now Alex stood in the metal cage, still blindfolded. One man reached in with a thin pole and a hook. He slipped it under the wire and removed the blindfold. The tarp and wire were then threaded out of the cage.

Alex laid there, looking at all of them. But he did not get up.

"I think he's sick. We should get to the closest port with a city. Get him to a vet. Get them all to a vet."

Another large cage was placed next to Alex's. A three herbivores were put together in the cage. The ship pulled up the plank and anchor before pulling away from Madagascar. Marty looked over at Alex, worried. Alex was hiding his face in his paws, crying. His entire body shook silently.

"Don't worry, Alex. It'll be okay."

TBC. . .

Lions would have a tough time living off of just fish. For several reasons.

1. Lions do not like water. Only the rare swamp lions do.

2. Lions are not very good at fishing

3. Lions can not eat all fish.

4. They would need to eat the equivalent of amount of fish they would eat in meat. And more because of all the energy spent catching the fish. They'd need to eat 75-150 mud catfish. That kind of fish only show up in the wet seasons.

5. Lions are not meant to eat just fish. They could easily get sick or be unable to digest it properly.