Alex & Maurice...

Alex & Maurice had been walking for about an hour now. So far there was no trace of Mort. They called his name several times without an answer. "Oh man. Where is he? This is bad....he's probably out there all alone. Cold. Scared. This is all my fault..." Maurice said worriedly. Alex put his paw on his shoulder & turned him around to face him. "Look Maurice. I'm sure Mort's fine. And it's not your fault. You couldn't of known." Maurice considered for a moment. "I suppose you're right..." Alex put on a sad smile. "Yeah. C'mon. He's gotta be around here somewhere."

Alex & Maurice kept walking. Calling his name over & over again. Still no answer. They'd been walking about another hour now & leaned against a tree to rest for a minute. "What if we don't find him?" Maurice asked in a slow worried tone. "Oh, c'mon Maurice! You can't think like that! We'll find him!" Alex said with encouragement. "But what if we don't? What would I tell King Julien? Not to mention the fact that he might be--" Maurice didn't want to have to finish that sentence. It didn't matter. Alex knew what he was going to say.

"Oh, I don't think he is." Alex said. "What makes you so sure?" Maurice asked sadly, not taking his eyes off the setting sun. "Well, I don't know exactly. I just have this gut feeling. We'll find him Maurice." Maurice just kept looking at the setting sun through the trees. He had a depressed expression on his face. He just wasn't so sure they'd find Mort. Alex sat down next to him. They sat there for a few minutes in silence. Just staring at the sunset. Now Alex started to feel upset. He broke the silence. "We should probably keep looking. It's getting dark." They both got up & started walking. Neither of them said anything. They just kept walking.

It was about half an hour later when the sun had almost completely disappeared. They still hadn't found Mort. They looked everywhere. They even started calling his name again. No answer. Then Alex slowed to a stop. Maurice turned around. "What's wrong Alex?" Alex just shushed him. "Oh, I know you did not just shush me." Alex looked at him with an annoyed expression on his face. He whispered: "Would you just listen!?" They both stood in silence for a moment. Then Maurice heard it. A faint weeping in the woods.

To Be Continued...