Missing

Chapter 1

Chuck woke up. It was as dark as could be. He looked towards the precious bundle. Thank goodness. It was safe. Himself and his flock had guarded it well. He took a glance towards Red's bed. Empty. The flock leader always took his responsibilities very seriously... Chuck leaned toward Bomb.
"Bomb...Bomb! BOMB!!!!!"
"Chuck... Don't you know what time it is?"
A single cricket would always sing at this line. Happened all the time...
"Chuck. I know Red's gone. He's always gone..." He added, sighing in between.
"Yeah but..."
Bomb cut across him.
"He'll be back tomorrow. Just...try and get some sleep. With emphasis on SLEEP!"
But Chuck couldn't get back to sleep. In the end, he decided to stay up and keep watch, not knowing that someone was creeping towards him.

He turned, and was surprised to see none other than that of Terence.
"Hmmmmmph..." Said he
Chuck, well, chuckled nervously.
"Heh heh. Uhhh... how are you Terence"
"Hmmmmmmmphh...."
"Umm... Okay. See you."
As Chuck plodded back to bed, Terence gave another low "hmmph...."
Chuck went back to bed and slid under the covers. He hoped Red got back soon. Things were so much better with him around.

When Chuck awoke, all seemed well. The Blues, Jay, Jim and Jake, drove Matilda insane for some breakfast every morning. Today, they were playing catch with one of Matilda's favourite hair pins.
"Come back here!"

As Matilda served the flock breakfast, Bubbles, a small orange bird with black splotches around his eyes, brought up a very serious question.
"So... anyone seen Red?"
Everyone shared very worried glances. Chuck decided to speak up...
"Bomb, I thought you said he'd be back today!"
"I did. But..."
"Oh. Here we go..." Said an exasperated Stella, who was a bird about the same size and description of Red. But pink.
Bomb ignored this remark.
"I didn't say when."
"I guess you're right Bomb..."
"Yeah"
"Sorry Bomb. I guess the whole flock is getting a little worried. Without Red, who knows what could happen to the eggs."
Chuck gestured toward the bundle, which contained three perfectly round eggs. The flocks mortal enemies, the pigs, led by the determined King Pig, were always trying to steal the precious unborn birds. Why? To eat them... Horrid little green gangsters they were...

The hours ahead were joyous and carefree. Whenever Red was away, Chuck and Bomb would share his duties. The late morning leading up to noon started with an investigation of a loud bang. The Blues had been playing with Bomb and Matilda.
All of them together was extremely dangerous. Bomb, as the name suggests, was a bomb. Matilda's eggs would usually go off with a large bang. Jay, Jim and Jake just loved to play with all things deadly. The afternoon was spent with Stella and her friends from outside the flock: Dahlia, Poppy, Luca, Willow and Gale. However, Chuck was preoccupied with worry.

Hal, a green toucan with the tendency to come back like a boomerang whenever the flock were fighting the notorious pigs due to the unusual size of his beak, approached Chuck during the late evening.
"Hey Chuck. You seem worried about something. It's not because Red isn't back yet, is it?"
"Of course I'm worried Hal. The day is coming to an end. If Red isn't back soon, there's no way this flock can last more than two generations."
"Hey, don't worry. You know what Red's like. He should be back soon."
Chuck sighed deeply.
"I hope you're right Hal. I hope you're right."