Regular Life episode 8: Nightmare revisited

This episode takes place after the episode Metal Claw. When Chad and the others find out that Jeremy is missing, they fear that he might have been taken to icrostrich. After having a terrible dream, Chad realizes that this might be true and joins in the council to discuss to the judges that the dream he had was a war that might come to destroy them. While that's going on, Gygar plans to use Metal Claw; his prodigy to his full advantage, so he can find more ostriches to join the awful icrostrich. With all of this going on, is Chad aware that what happened in his dream, might have actually happened to his best friend?

Chapter 1: The elderly emu

From the icrostrich shed, an unusual small ostrich wearing a Calloustrich mask, black thick-rimmed glasses, a red pullover hoodie, and black jeans, made his way toward a nearby cave. His wings were bleeding and infection was setting in. The blood continued to drip from his feathers and he was moaning in pain. "I need water! I must find some water!" he cried. "My wings have been bleeding all night!"

The white ostrich screeched and began staggering. Now his legs were feeling numb. What was going on with him? Was he catching another fever?

Thinking about catching another fever only made Jeremy nauseous. He didn't want to get sick again. But he was starting to shake uncontrollably again and then fell on the gray-green grass.

An elderly brown emu peeped her head out of the cave and saw an ostrich right next to her home. He was unconscious, laying in the ostrich blood covered grass. "Oh you poor thing," she said, looking at the young ostrich. "I'll get you inside."

The emu carried the unconscious ostrich into her home and saw his injuries. She saw his bleeding wings and bloody feathers slowly blowing around her cave.

The emu removed the ostrich's mask and gasped. "Well, bless my gizzard," she said. "I've never seen a young white ostrich before." She felt his forehead. He was warm but his body was heating up.

All the emu could do was lower the ostrich's temperature by wetting a cloth and placing it on his forehead. "I hope this works," she sighed. Throughout the night, she nursed the sick ostrich back to health.

When the ostrich woke up, he saw the elderly emu. "Who are you?" he asked the bird. "You're not an ostrich."

"Oh me?" said the emu. "Never mind," said the ostrich. "I should thank you for rescuing me."

"Oh that's so kind of you," said the emu. "What is your name?"

The ostrich thought to himself. Could he really give off his old name even though he has now had a new name? He thought about that name that his older brother gave to him and how it formed him into what he was. The new name was just given to him and he doesn't act like how the others act. So he looked at the emu and said; "My name is Jeremy. And I'm hurt badly."

The emu looked at the ostrich. He was small and looked young, compared to the other ostriches but spoke in a calm teenage voice.

The emu was amazed to see a young ostrich who was an adult but still was very curious. "I'm sorry for what happened to your wings," she said softly to Jeremy.

"Why are you saying sorry?" asked Jeremy. "I know you didn't do it. It was those monsters at icrostrich. I dare not call them actual birds. They are evil ostriches that came from Firelake."

"You came from icrostrich?" gasped the elderly emu. "I'm not like them," said Jeremy. "Do I look like those ruthless and evil birds?"

"Oh no, sweetie," said the elderly ostrich. "You would never be like those awful birds. I know Midnight was never a monster when I was with him."

"You knew Midnight?" gasped Jeremy. "I was his mate," said the elderly emu. "My name is Hope."

"I didn't know that Midnight was your mate," said Jeremy. "You must've been sad when you lost him." "I was," sighed Hope. "I don't know what happened to Faith. I just came here because I needed a place to live in. They didn't want an emu to be a Calloustrich soldier. So they made me live here in this cave."

"But I thought they said that they don't have emus," said Jeremy. "They don't want to tell you that emus are the weaker species," said Hope. "They think that ostriches are the true blood of icrostrich. They can bring whatever species of struthios, but they will not get praise or respect like ostriches do. Now let me see those wings."

Hope examined the young ostrich's wings. "Those birds did this to you?" she asked him. Jeremy nodded.

They've plucked you," said Hope. "Will my feathers heal?" asked Jeremy. "The blood has stained your white feathers," sighed Hope. "And I see an infection setting in. It needs to be taken care of by preening."

"Preening? What's that?" asked Jeremy. "It's where I use my beak to straighten and clean your feathers. It will prevent the infection. But I will have to pull out the infected feathers. They are turning green."

It was true. Jeremy's infected feathers were starting to turn green.

Hope began pulling out the infected feathers with her beak, causing Jeremy to grimace in pain.

"I know it hurts," said Hope. "But these infected feathers have to come off. Otherwise, they will attract some vile worms known as pluck worms. They are hazardous to birds. Their only purpose is to crawl on the infected wings of birds and spread infection on them."

As Hope continued to pull out the infected feathers, she was startled to see a pink and red worm with spikes on one of the feathers.

"My Gale! You have a pluck worm!" gasped Hope. "I do?" asked Jeremy. "I didn't feel it."

"It got attracted to your wing," Hope said to Jeremy. "It was dripping with blood and it crawled on you. These worms only come to ostriches. icrostrich is full of them." "I didn't see them," said Jeremy. "They're so tiny.

The pluck worm had been crushed by Hope's foot. "They are very unhygienic," she said. "These worms crawl on injured ostriches. They don't cause death, but they cause disease. Thank goodness there was only one. Those ostriches at icrostrich get attacked by them, even though they aren't injured. But they try eating them to get rid of them. Eating them will cause death."

"I heard that Melody actually eats dead ostriches," said Jeremy. "Do the worms go to dead bodies? If so how does Melody eat them?" "She has Shabedoom," said Hope. "The dragon does the job of eating the infectious worms off the dead bodies. But Melody doesn't eat the infected ostriches. She leaves them for the buzzards. She only eats ostriches who die right away, before any worms can get to them. And Shabedoom helps her."

"Melody is evil," said Jeremy. "Why does she eat ostriches anyway?" "Ostriches are very healthy," said Hope. "She eats them to live a healthy lifestyle. But Shabedoom eats them because he's a dragon and he eats meat. Not all dragons eat meat, but Shabedoom is one of the most fearsome dragons here at the camp. They say Railroad Prison Camp is like Firelake, but they never mention icrostrich.

"Railroad Police are said to be the fiercest group in the camp. No one ever talks about the evil icrostrich group. They only say Railroad Prison Camp, the death camp and Railroad Police. icrostrich is the deadliest group in the camp. They took 'deadly' from Railroad Police and claimed it as theirs.

"Railroad Police are only the startup to icrostrich. Ostriches who were previously in that group were later sent to icrostrich. Those ostriches there were originally Railroad Police members. But they don't speak of them because they consider them as a lower group."

"But I was in Railroad Police," said Jeremy. "I hate them for what they tried to turn me into. They made me sleep under the moon and chant that awful chant."

"That was the startup to icrostrich," said Hope. "You'll have red eyes again before you know it. They won't fully go away until you are out of this place and the camp alone. I'll be honest with you, I used to work at Railroad Police until they sent me to icrostrich."

"But aren't you a..." asked Jeremy. "A Calloustrich?" said Hope. "No, I hate them. I hate them as much as how they treated me at that place. I wasn't the bird they wanted at that place. I had a child with me and they refused to have a young one join the group. So they attacked us.

"I had no choice but to fight back. They thought they could use me for the training program, but their old leader disagreed and they took away my child. And I promised him that if I went into exile, they would return my child back to me. And I've been waiting for her ever since."

Jeremy sighed and said; "I'm sorry for what they did to you. How come the death camp isn't talked about?"

"That's because it's just a death sentence to animals who refuse to work or are too sick," said Hope. "If ostriches are too weak or refuse to work, their death sentence is icrostrich. They get processed alive in a processor, while the Calloustriches watch. It's their reminder of what happens to those who refuse to work or are too weak. You must've heard this before."

"I haven't heard about the Calloustriches watching an ostrich getting killed in front of them," said Jeremy. "I just don't want that to happen to you," said Hope. "I'd come to help you, but I must stay here, in hope of having my daughter return."

"Really?" said a voice from inside the cave.

Jeremy and Hope gasped. It was Gygar and right next to him was Ruddy.

"So, you've been here this whole time eh, Metal Claw?" asked Gygar.

"Gygar, where is her daughter?" Jeremy angrily asked Gygar. "That's none of your concern, Metal Claw," said Gygar. "Get out of this place!"

As Gygar led Jeremy out of the cave, there was a strange noise that uttered from the cave.

Ruddy came out with blood all over him. Jeremy was shocked. "Where's Hope?" he asked Ruddy.

"There is no Hope," snarled Ruddy. "She's gone now!" "You killed her?" gasped Jeremy. "But she nursed me back to health. "She saved me from getting sick."

"You were punished!" rasped Gygar. "You got those feathers ripped off because you broke some rules of icrostrich. You need to learn from your mistakes and those ripped feathers are a reminder."

"You didn't have to kill her!" sobbed Jeremy. "Why do you allow these things to happen! Why can't we just get along with each other?"

"Then again, Ruddy, I never asked you to kill Hope," Gygar said to Ruddy. "Hey, I did her a favor," said Ruddy. "Now she can join Midnight."

Jeremy hadn't thought about this. Hope was finally free and was back with Midnight. But did she really deserve to die brutally, instead of peacefully? But he forgot that this was icrostrich. They didn't care about what they did to animals that weren't ostriches. They even showed no remorse of the weak ostriches who were about to get killed in a processor.

The Calloustriches of icrostrich were heartless ostriches that ran an evil group and secreted the deadliest ostriches. The Railroad Police were nothing like the icrostrich Calloustriches.

"Here," said Gygar, putting Jeremy's mask back on his head. "Resume your position and forget this ever happened."

"Yes sir," said Jeremy. "Now Metal Claw, go back to icrostrich!" commanded Gygar.

So Metal Claw, Gygar and Ruddy all returned back to icrostrich, leaving behind the body of Hope. Her wings were scratched by Ruddy's claws and so was her stomach. She was bleeding and almost out of breath when she said; "Midnight, I'm coming home. But please watch over Jeremy. He needs you."

Hope was still alive but barely breathing. "I want to join you, Midnight," she cried. "I'm ready to go! Please take me!" But nothing happened. She hoped and prayed for Midnight to come and get her.


Chapter 2: Fight for the title

When Gygar brought Jeremy and Ruddy back to icrostrich, he left them alone to check on the new ostriches that were brought that same night.

"You're starting to aggravate me," Ruddy said to Jeremy. "You don't act like Metal Claw! You act like a complete innocent ostrich! You don't deserve to be the new Metal Claw!"

"I won," said Jeremy. "You should treat me with respect. "I would care less about respect," snarled Ruddy. "Why don't we settle this in a fight? If I win, you have to give up your title as Metal Claw and give it to me. But if you win, you truly deserve to be Metal Claw."

"Do we have to settle this with violence?" asked Jeremy. "You want this title?!" growled Ruddy. "Then you'll have to fight for it! A Calloustrich never backs down. They do what they must to protect their title! You have to protect yours!" "Whatever," sighed Jeremy. "Whatever satisfies you."

Gygar overheard this and walked over to Ruddy. "So, you're challenging Metal Claw?" he asked him. "You're taking a huge risk."

"I know what I'm doing," snarled Ruddy. "He has no idea of what I'm capable of." "Don't say things you don't mean," said Gygar. "May I remind you that he fought with a blue jay? This bird is an actual fighter." "It's a punch and headlock," grumbled Ruddy. "Does he even know how to use his claws? I'll show him what I can really do!"

As Ruddy said this, he ran straight into Jeremy knocking him over. "We'll fight right here!" he growled. "Get up and fight so I can knock you back down right after!"

Jeremy got up, grimacing in pain, "Ruddy, do you really have to do this?" he asked. "I'll do whatever when I'm the new Metal Claw and you are dead!" rasped Ruddy. He then raised his claws to scratch Jeremy. But Jeremy dodged the blow and punched Ruddy's wing.

"Ruddy, we don't have to do this," said Jeremy. "We can talk this over."

But Ruddy shook his head, rubbing his wing and said; "You just punched me! I see that you can fight. But I can do better than that!"

Soon the two birds began brawling with each other. What started out as a fist fight, ended up being an all out bird battle.

Ruddy began pecking at Jeremy while he managed to knock Ruddy over, by kicking him. Ruddy angrily scratched Jeremy's mask, ripping out a piece of it. The piece landed on the floor with a thud.

Seeing that where Ruddy had scratched him caused him to bleed, Jeremy angrily looked at Ruddy.

"Why did I do that?" Ruddy said to himself. "The mask looks useless now." While he spoke he was knocked over by Jeremy and then scratched on the stomach by his claws. Ruddy fell to the floor, breathing heavily. He then looked at Jeremy, who was full of rage and fury.

Ruddy became frightened as one of Jeremy's eyes had become black with a red pupil. "What have I done?" he gasped. He then backed away as Jeremy was advancing towards him.

Grasping Ruddy in a headlock, Jeremy angrily said; "So do you truly deserve that title?!"

"Stop, Metal Claw," said Gygar. "It's not worth it."

Jeremy released Ruddy from his headlock and went to Gygar. Ruddy was holding his throat, gasping for air.

"I told you, Ruddy," said Gygar. "Don't say things you don't mean. And now you've been defeated by your rival. He truly is the new Metal Claw."

"Yes, I suppose he is," sighed Ruddy. He then looked at Jeremy who now had a black eye with a red pupil and fully transformed into a ruthless Calloustrich soldier. All Ruddy could say was; "What have I done?"

As Ruddy looked at Jeremy in his new form, Gygar was now talking to a bird that wasn't an ostrich. "Once we have enough ostriches, we will set our trap. Then it is up to you to lure our enemies at Railroad Police into our clutches," he said to the bird.

"And then the Railroad Prison Camp and the base, will those be mine?" asked the bird. "It will be all yours," said Gygar. He watched as the bird flapped his wings and flew up into the night sky.


Chapter 3: Chad's nightmare

Back in Railroad Prison Camp, all the members were asleep. No one at the camp was awake. All of them were sleeping peacefully. All except Chad. He was tossing and turning in his sleep. He was having a terrible dream.

In Chad's dream, Railroad Police and the Calloustriches were having a war. They were clawing and biting each other. Chad was ordered by Dale to stay there and guard their stations against being taken by the evil Calloustriches. But the Calloustriches were not fools. They had brought burning branches in their beaks and burned down some stations. The fire was blazing and the Railroad Police members had no choice but to fight.

As the Railroad Police members fought with the Calloustriches, Chad and his friends were out there also trying to fight with them. Grayson and Ames were clawing at the soldiers while Elijah went after a defenseless soldier. He was able to knock out two Calloustriches but he got pinned down by three of them. Just as if all hope was lost, he scratched one in the leg and bit the other's leg, causing the third one to run off and flee to its commander.

Ames went over to Chad and said; "There's too many of them, Chad. We might as well give up."

But Chad didn't want to surrender to the evil Calloustriches. He was about to call back Grayson when he suddenly saw a familiar figure heading toward his direction. "Jeremy?" Chad said in confusion. Much to Chad's dismay, it was Jeremy! He was running towards him with an angry face.

"No," said Chad, "That can't be him." He then ran in Jeremy's direction. "Where are you going Chad?" asked Ames. "Chad, come back!" cried Grayson.

But Chad didn't hear Grayson and Ames. He was dodging the quarreling animals. Claire and a Calloustrich soldier were fighting it out when suddenly there was a terrifying shriek.

"Jeremy!" cried Chad. But Jeremy bashed into Chad then grabbed him and threw him against a station that was burning. Chad's back was hurt due to being thrown against a metal surface. Not to mention getting his tail burnt by the burning station.

"Hello, old friend," Jeremy said, in a callous manner.

As Chad tried to get up, Jeremy knocked him back down with his claws. Chad was able to get up and ran over to a station that was not burning and climbed to the top, hiding from Jeremy. But the ostrich was right behind him!

As soon as Chad made it to the top, he saw that Jeremy had followed him. "Your precious friends will be finished off," he said, in a callous voice. "The Calloustriches will triumph and we will take our rightful place as rulers of Railroad Prison Camp!"

Chad couldn't believe what his friend was saying. "No, Jeremy," he said to the ostrich. "The Calloustriches are monsters. You saw what they did to you. They've corrupted your mind and they turned you into a callous ostrich!"

But Jeremy shook his head in denial. "You're just weak, Chad," he said. "You're the lower species."

"Jeremy, you and I were friends," said Chad. "Don't you remember? We stayed together every step of the way."

But Jeremy just laughed maniacally. "A pity that your Jeremy doesn't exist anymore," he cackled. As he was about to scratch Chad, he dodged it.

"I don't understand," said Chad. "How could you join the Calloustriches after what they did to you?" "What they did to me?!" asked Jeremy. "They gave me the best job that no one else ever did. Gygar said 'Calloustriches will triumph.' The lower species are put out of their misery. And kindness? Kindness is what lower species have. That's their weakness!"

"No, Jeremy," said Chad. "I know you don't really think that." "Then you don't know me at all!" growled Jeremy, his pupils were glowing, as fire formed in his eyes.

The fire had spread and was surrounding the station they were on. But Jeremy paid no attention to the fire and then went straight for Chad, sending them tumbling on the roof.

But while tumbling on the roof, Jeremy broke his wing on a metal surface and screeched. As he was dangling off the side of the roof with a raging fire below, he then looked up at Chad. "Chad, my wing's broken," he cried. "Help me up." But Chad hesitated. "Please, Chad," begged Jeremy. "We're friends, remember?"

Then Chad sighed and looked at his friend. He then grabbed Jeremy's other wing with his paw and tried to help him up. But as soon as he was almost to the top, Jeremy used his broken wing to get a grip on a metal surface.

Grimacing in pain due to his broken wing, Jeremy angrily looked at Chad, still holding onto Chad's paw. Then he released his hold of the metal surface and used it to try to punch Chad in the face with his other wing while screeching.

Chad was able to dodge Jeremy's punch. But he accidentally let go of Jeremy's wing, causing his friend to fall in the fire. "Jeremy, no!" cried Chad. He tried to reach him but failed. He watched in horror as his best friend was screaming and then fell into the fire, disappearing.

Chad's eyes welled up with tears, seeing his best friend die right in front of him.

"Wake up, Chad! You're having a bad dream." It was Grayson shaking him. Reggie was right next to her.

Chad woke up and looked at Grayson. "You were having a bad dream," said Grayson. "Was it a monster?" asked Reggie. "Did it bite?"

But Chad didn't answer Reggie. "Is Jeremy asleep?" he asked Grayson. "I need to talk to him." Uh, Jeremy isn't here," said Grayson. "He's not in bed." "He's gone?!" cried Chad. "Do I have to repeat myself?" muttered Grayson. "Jeremy isn't here. I don't know where he is."

"Is he at icrostrich?" asked Elijah, who just woke up. "Oh Gale!" gasped Chad. "He might be!" "What do you mean?" asked Elijah.

"I had a bad dream where the Railroad Police and the Calloustriches of icrostrich were having a war," said Chad. "The stations were on fire and we were actually losing. What's even worse was when I found out that Jeremy was one of them." "He's at icrostrich?" gasped Elijah. "In my dream, he was coming from the shed," said Chad. "He bashed into me..." "He attacked you?" asked Grayson.

Soon everyone else in Station 5 was awake. Chad told everyone about his dream where he encountered Jeremy and how he became like the evil Calloustriches.

"What happened after that?" asked Reggie. "Me and Jeremy were quarreling on the roof," said Chad. "But he broke his wing and was about to fall off the roof. I tried to save him. But he tried to kill me."

"How?" asked Ames. "He tried to punch me so I'd be knocked unconscious and fall in the fire," said Chad. "But I was able to dodge his fist and I let go of his wing. Then he fell off the roof and into the raging fire below."


Chapter 4: Railroad Court

"So he died?" asked Ames. "In his dream he did," said Grayson.

"I can't believe it!" said Chad. "Jeremy tried to kill me! How could he?!" "Chad, it was just a dream," said Ames. "It never happened." "What if it does happen?" asked Chad. "What if Jeremy is at that place and they're corrupting his mind and turning him into a Calloustrich soldier. If that happens, I'll never have my old friend back and we'll sacrifice ourselves to the Calloustriches."

"Maybe he's not at icrostrich," said Reggie. "We don't have to assume the worst. He probably went out for a walk. You know how he likes to walk a lot. That's all he ever does when he's at amusement parks."

"No he's gone," said Grayson. "He wouldn't last out there by himself. You think that he's a hipster. But he's not! He's nothing more but an innocent delinquent who only acts snobby to be noticed by other individuals. You always see him acting all nice, caring and understanding. But he hadn't been like that when he first came to Railroad Police. No, his personality spiraled completely out of control. He was transfixed by the moon and then reverted back to normal? That's not how it works!"

"How would you know?" asked Reggie. "I don't know," said Grayson. "I just thought that under a full moon, it could've changed Jeremy and then after that, we would lose him forever."

"What's worse?" asked Ames. "Railroad Police or icrostrich?" "Definitely icrostrich!" said Reggie.

"I don't care about Jeremy!" rasped Grayson. "He's probably fine. You're just worrying so much, Chad. Jeremy is lame!"

"Grayson?!" gasped Ames. "You heard me!" said Grayson. She angrily looked at Chad. "You honestly think I care about him?! I'm not interested in your precious snobby seagull! I'll have nothing to do with him!"

"Grayson, I think something bad happened to Jeremy," Chad said to Grayson. "He wouldn't just leave us. I think those Calloustriches got him." "Oh so you thought?" snorted Grayson. "If this is so bad, you should report it to the Railroad Police Council."

"What's a council?" asked Chad. "Now you're acting like Jeremy!" growled Grayson. "Asking questions! I don't know! It's a cave where they talk I guess. Melody organized the group! Just come with me. I don't think I can handle anymore talk about Jeremy! And I'm sure they are others that can't stand him either!"

As Grayson led Chad inside the Railroad Police Council, he was astounded to see members of Railroad Police there. Even Shonan; the ex-member of icrostrich, was there. Inside, they were talking about icrostrich and the concerns they had.
Chad had whispered to Jerico about the dream he had and that Jeremy might be at icrostrich, under Gygar's control. Then he himself told everyone about the dream and how it might become a reality.

After hearing this, Jerico decided to be a judge along with Dale, since there was no one else who wanted to be judges. There was a stream of voices that filled the cave.

"I'm concerned about the abuse that the ostriches are given at icrostrich," said Dale. "And somehow Melody is allowing this type of violence to happen! Some are killed and some are abused. The others I can't even imagine..."

"Having analyzed icrostrich, they do show cruelty to ostriches that are members or not members," said Jerico. "After seeing what they did to Devin, they do show some hatred towards ostriches who break the rules. I'm just afraid that my baby brother might have fallen victim to their mind control. Especially Gygar, the new leader of icrostrich who is brainwashing these ostriches to do terrible things. Just imagine Jeremy being subjected to all of these. Subjected by the horrible tests, destroying his kindness and transforming him into a callous creature of icrostrich. I hope it's not true."

"And to think," said Claire. "That these outsiders came from their home by themselves to join us, without Melody's consent and is telling us these stories that they want us to believe? That will be the day."

Right next to Claire, a gray falcon chuckled. "Does our patrol officer, Luxury have any say in this?" asked Claire.

The grey falcon stood up, fluffed his wings and said; "Oh I do, Claire. Jerico, your honor." Jerico looked at the grey falcon.

"If I understand this correctly," began Luxury. "Gygar is the new leader of icrostrich and is continuing Struthio's tradition by brainwashing young ostriches to do heinous horrible things to our stations. And he's training them for an upcoming war against us. And without disrespecting the Railroad Police members, this possum thinks that his best friend is under their control and is part of the evil that might destroy us all and bring impending doom to the camp. A dream he had might actually happen to us."

Luxury turned to look at Elijah, who was scratching his whiskers. His summer coat had turned pure white. Only the tip of his ears was brown. "Does that sound amusing, Elijah?" he asked Elijah.

The arctic fox stopped scratching his whiskers. "What are you talking about?" he asked Luxury. "Lux, you are doubting the story that the possum is trying to tell you. His friend might be in danger and you're just besieging this theory which might be true."

"Perhaps Eli is afraid to fight in this so-called war," snickered Luxury. "I'm not," growled Elijah. "Go on and polish your whiskers," snickered Luxury. "You might want to keep them from being pulled out by icrostrich. He might die the second the war starts. Remember that other war? They might strike us down without warning."
"Before Gygar became leader, it was Struthio," said Dale. "He was a terrifying leader. Give Gygar credit that he didn't do anything that heinous except brainwashing soldiers."

"The kit, Emery might still want to reconsider, or his face will be bleeding from all the pulled out whiskers," Luxury snickered.

This angered Elijah and he bashed right into Luxury, knocking him down. "I wouldn't back out of a fight, even if it meant losing my whiskers!" the arctic fox growled.

The grey falcon got up. "And if icrostrich captured Jeremy like how the rat described, why should we stand here arguing about it?" asked Elijah. "We need proof to make sure that what he said is true," said Luxury. "I'll fight you with one paw tied to my back!" growled Elijah.

"Order!" said Jerico. "Jerico, you can judge who the winner is!" said Elijah. "Order!" said Jerico. "Chad, you're opening statement?"

"I told you didn't I?" asked Chad. He looked at Grayson who was right next to Elijah. "I told you about the dream I had," he said to Jerico. "It could happen to us. The Calloustriches are callous. They will kill us and take these stations for themselves. They won't rest until the only surviving species on this planet are ostriches, cassowaries and Gale knows whatever other species related to them."

Claire angrily stared at Chad, disbelieving what he just said.

"We need to do something to keep this from happening," continued Chad. "And that's to put aside our differences and defend ourselves from the war. We can fight this war together if it happens. My friend disappeared. And I have a feeling that he got kidnapped. We have to do something. Please we need to do something."

"And you would argue with that?" Elijah asked Jerico. "I will not argue with that," the ostrich responded.

"Your honor," said Luxury. "Objection! My patrol is scheduled to patrol the outskirts in 2 weeks. Perhaps we should..."

"No," Jerico said to Luxury. "You shall leave immediately. Take your patrol with you, Lux. And please be thorough." Luxury looked tense and very angry. "Meeting adjourned," said Dale. "As for you, Chad," Jerico said to the possum. "Luxury will investigate and let us know if Jeremy is at icrostrich and bring back two ostriches that are young. Let's hope he's one of them."

As the group parted, Chad made his way outside to go and find Paladin and Arson. But as he was about to exit the cave, he saw them talking with Elijah. "Paladin? Arson?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"We were invited to the meeting, uh I mean court summons I think," said Paladin. "When did you get here, Chad?" "I can't really explain it," said Chad. "I need you and Arson." "What for?" asked Arson. The coyote was very malnourished. It was as if there was no food inside of him.

"You must be hungry," said Elijah. "I am," sighed the coyote. "Well there will be late morning rations," said Elijah. "Come with us."

"But aren't you guys evil?" asked Paladin. "Everything you know about us is a lie," said Elijah. "Let me explain. So, Melody wanted to organize an evil group of Railroad Prison Camp and she made Railroad Police. We were supposed to be in-commands to work under her care. But after icrostrich was built, she only used us for patrols. They're the evil group of Railroad Prison Camp. She even sells animals for ostriches"

Shonan went over to Chad. "Chad, I want you to know that I'm not like the other Calloustriches," he said. "I know," said Chad. "But why come to me today? You only came to me when Jeremy was here." "I'm worried about him," said Shonan. "And Celandine. They're both young ostriches. I'm glad I left that place. It was nothing but evil."

"What happened to the prisoned animals?" asked Paladin. "There's something Melody isn't telling us," said Elijah. "She wouldn't just sell off workers for ostriches. icrostrich has some involvement with this. Shutting down the death camp was a blessing for Cassie. But she will be shipped to icrostrich! All the weapons that were in that camp were transported to icrostrich. They might use those in war. This is bad news! Those prisoned animals were either returned home, shipped to a zoo or killed off. There's no telling what evil lurks in this camp. To tell you the truth, I don't like Railroad Police as the name and I want to change it into a good name."

"So all of that was a cover up for the real evil in this place?" asked Chad. "They used our name to cover up icrostrich," said Elijah. "Even though we act mean and cruel, it's because we're told to. We never kill anyone. icrostrich does that. Anything that was said about us, might as well be false. Railroad Police are no longer evil. We're on the good side. Some good has to be in this place and this, we're off to a great start."

"Elijah, I told Chad that I'm not like those people at icrostrich," Shonan said to the arctic fox. "I don't ever want to go back. But Celandine is still there. What do I do? "Don't worry, Shonan," said Elijah. "You're a Railroad Police member now. Forget about icrostrich. I'm sure you'll see your friend soon. But we need to get everyone inside now. Chad, go and organize that plan. We can't wait to hear it.

Once Elijah got everyone inside Station 5, Chad knew it was up to him to come up with a plan.


Chapter 5: Gygar's speech

Outside of icrostrich, Gygar was giving a speech on top of the purple mountain near icrostrich. All the Calloustriches gathered to see their leader. Jeremy was behind the crowd, watching Gygar. "Listen to me, my soldiers," began Gygar. "Many of you have heard that Railroad Police is the most fiercest and callous group at Railroad Prison Camp, but I will assure you that it's false. We are the fiercest and callous group and me as your new leader, stands before you all with the truth. We are strong and we will destroy the weak."

The Calloustriches growled, indicating that they agree with Gygar.

"Weeks ago, I was viciously attacked by that Melody," continued Gygar. "I lost part of my beak and my eye got scratched out. After that happened, I now wear this mask to conceal my scars."

Jeremy looked at Gygar's mask. It was just like his own except it was made from strong metal. As he stared at Gygar, he wondered what it would look like if he wore it. His own mask had been torn by Ruddy, showing that this wasn't a strong metal. But wearing that mask that protected Gygar's face and beak only made Jeremy want it.

"For it is a symbol of icrostrich strength and superiority," continued Gygar. "It is time to set a fire that will consume all of Railroad Prison Camp. And we are going to take back what is rightfully ours because we are struthios! We are ostriches! And I am your leader, Gygar!"

The Calloustriches all began chanting Gygar's name. Even Jeremy began chanting Gygar's name. Celandine was right next to him.

"Jeremy, I miss Railroad Police," Celandine said. "I'm scared." "Oh, don't be," Jeremy said to Celandine. "You're with me now. Celandine, this is our home. Gygar really appreciates me. This is the job I should've gotten the first time."

"Jeremy, please," begged Celandine. "Don't you miss Chad and your friends?" "Hey! Hey! Forget about Chad!" snarled Jeremy. "Chad's weak. We're ratites!" He saw Gygar walking towards him. "Calloustriches," he said, evilly.

Celandine was frightened. As he looked at Jeremy, he realized that mask he was wearing was torn, but on that side, his eye was black with a red pupil and on the sides of his neck feathers, they were becoming more of a red color.

This indicated that Jeremy was becoming more and more corrupted by icrostrich, the longer he stayed there. If this continued, he would become a Calloustrich soldier and then there would be no hope of returning back to normal. He would stay that way for the rest of his life.

The chanting was getting louder. "Jeremy, I promise I won't tell Chad that you said that," sniffed Celandine. He wanted to see if there was still good inside Jeremy, despite being corrupted.
But Jeremy smiled evilly, looking at his Calloustrich members. "I just want to go back," sniffed Celandine. "Alright, Cel," sighed Jeremy.

"You're going to take me?" Celandine asked Jeremy. "When?" "Tomorrow," said Jeremy, Gygar was behind him. "But first tonight, just sleep." He was behind the moon. But as he backed away. Celandine was now right in front of it! He was forced to close his eyes under the moon's glare and sleep.


Chapter 6: From jealousy to hatred

"But Ruddy don't you think you're overreacting?" Iris asked Ruddy. They were outside of icrostrich. "He's Metal Claw now." "He doesn't deserve it!" rasped Ruddy. "I can be more callous than him!"

"But he's now terrifying!" gasped Iris. "Look at that eye!" I know!" said Ruddy. "I'm not blind! I'm only Gygar's top lieutenant! I'm nothing like Jeremy! This time he has to go!" "I'll leave you alone for a while," said Iris.

As Iris went to join the Calloustriches, Ruddy thought to himself; "He has no idea who he's dealing with."

The Calloustriches have practiced in fights, preparing for the battle against Railroad Police. They planned to strike without warning, so they would win.

Ruddy was ready. He was ready to take down Railroad Police and their members. But he was also ready for Jeremy, his rival. Ruddy hated Jeremy from the very moment he first came to icrostrich. His jealousy turned to hatred, enough to kill Jeremy and take his place as the new Metal Claw.

Ruddy closed his eyes and imagined the war going on. Then he imagined tearing into the flesh of his rival, with his sharp claws. He could see the ostrich blood splattering in the midnight sky. He could hear the gasping breath leaking from his rival's windpipe, the heavy breathing gasps of a dying ostrich, of Jeremy. "If only it was real," sighed Ruddy.

Iris later came back with a late morning ration. You might be hungry," he said, giving some grapes to Ruddy. "I'm sure fruit will be plentiful."

Ruddy glared at Iris. "You know Iris," said Ruddy. "Gygar will tell us when the war starts. And we need to be ready. But I don't want that runt to be with us."

"Ruddy, are you going to kill him?" asked Iris. "Of course, you featherbrained bird!" rasped Ruddy.

"That's a violation of icrostrich!" gasped Iris. "Jeremy is the 2nd ruler of icrostrich next to Gygar!" "He's a Calloustrich soldier," corrected Ruddy. "And he's the new Metal Claw."

"Ruddy, please reconsider," begged Iris. "I will not spare Jeremy," said Ruddy. "I will kill him during the war."

"We're a team," sobbed Iris. "We're not a team!" rasped Ruddy. "We are Calloustriches!"

"Jeremy will hear you," warned Iris. "He fought you once and he'll fight you again." "And when he does, I'll rip out his throat in front of his friends!" rasped Ruddy.

"Don't you hear yourself?" asked Iris. "You're acting bad." "Aren't we already bad?" asked Ruddy, chewing on a grape. "Fine, I don't have to kill Jeremy. It'll just stop him from questioning so much!"

"You're terrible!" gasped Iris. "I can't believe I was ever paired with you! That's it! I'm done being a Calloustrich!"

Ruddy watched as Iris ran away from icrostrich. "Stupid, insignificant fool!" growled Ruddy. "I'll deal with him as soon as I finish off Jeremy. Now how will I do it?" But much to his surprise, Iris came back with Azeal next to him.

"I thought you left," sneered Ruddy. "Cut the slack, Ruddy," growled Azeal. "Iris told me everything!" "So, he did?" asked Ruddy.

"I just drove out someone from Railroad Police," said a Calloustrich soldier. "I think he was spying on us."

"Ruddy you can't kill Jeremy," said Azeal. "Then I'll kill you and Jeremy!" "There will be no killing," said Gygar, who just showed up.

Much to Ruddy's dismay, Jeremy was there too. "Save your energy when the war comes," said Gygar. "Jeremy will be our leader for the war. I've come to trust him."

"You can't be serious!" gasped Ruddy. "Oh he's serious alright," sneered Jeremy. "Afraid to fight in the war, Ruddy? I'm leading them to war! Chad doesn't stand a chance against us!"

Iris and Azeal didn't know whether to tell Gygar and Jeremy about Ruddy and his true motives. That will cause a commotion over at icrostrich. So they kept it to themselves.

Azeal was concerned about Jeremy. He wasn't like Ruddy, talking about killing, he was under Gygar's control and acted callous and mean towards other ostriches.

"Jeremy, you must reconsider how you are acting," Azeal said to the young ostrich. "You're under the control of Gygar. He's manipulating your mind and turning you into an evil Calloustrich soldier. Don't you see the red feathers on your neck? That's from hatred and callousness! You're becoming one of them!"

Jeremy glared at Azeal with his black eye and red pupil. "Please, Jeremy there's still some good inside you," sobbed Iris. "Don't let the callous side win!"

But Jeremy didn't listen to them. Instead, he saw the moon in the sky.

"It's no use," sighed Iris. "He's completely brainwashed." "Come now, Metal Claw, it's time for bed," said Gygar. "Everyone, report to the icrostrich building and sleep."

When all the ostriches returned inside the shed, they all were fast asleep. All except Ruddy. He was right next to Jeremy, who was already out cold. His peaceful breathing wasn't enough to calm down an erratic Ruddy. "Just you wait, Jeremy,' he sneered. "Just you wait."


Chapter 7: Elijah's secret

"I don't know how you did it," Chad was saying to Elijah. They were the only ones awake in Station 5. Everyone else was asleep. He was watching Elijah scratching his whiskers with his left paw.

"You have nothing to worry about," Elijah said to Chad. "I confess, I wanted to help you out. I like how you care about your friend."

Then Elijah took something off his claw. It was actually a rubber claw cover he had been wearing ever since something terrible had happened to him recently. It looked like an actual claw and was sharp like a claw. But it wasn't a real claw. Though he kept it to himself, he didn't want anyone to know about his secret. But he saw an interest in Chad, so he decided to tell him since he was a close friend of Jeremy.

"Is that your claw?" Chad asked Elijah. "What? This?" asked Elijah. "No, it's just a cover up."

"What happened to your claw, Elijah?" asked Chad, as he saw what was actually Elijah's deformed claw. "It happened earlier this morning," said Elijah. "When you were asleep, I went over to icrostrich to see if your friend was there. But this huge ostrich used his sharp talon and sliced the claw of my foot."

"What happened?" asked Chad. "Who did that to you?" "I know it wasn't Jeremy. This ostrich was huge and threatening. I'm glad Dale found a cover up claw for my deformed claw. It's bleeding terribly."

"Eli, I can't believe they did this to you," said Chad. "What are we going to do about this?" "Everyone at Railroad Police calls me their leader, but you should be the leader," said Elijah. "My real name is Emery. My purpose was to tell stories to the group, but I tend to switch things around a bit."

"Why go by Elijah?" asked Chad. "Man, you ask a lot of questions just like your friend," said Emery. "My days as Emery are well behind me. But I tend to be called by my Railroad Police name as Melody gave it to me. But now with this war going on, we need to come up with a plan to stop the icrostrich force from taking over our camp."

"I just thought...," stuttered Chad. "What did you expect?" asked Emery. "Having the Calloustrich and Railroad Police members forgiving each other and singing Kumbaya? Chad, these are ruthless, evil, terrifying creatures from Firelake and they will not come in peace. We had war with them before and they will attack us again. Only this time it will be even worse. They will come with hatred, killing and anything they find that will give them power. And I'm afraid Jeremy is with them."

"No, it can't be true," gasped Chad. "You saw him?" "All I saw was an ostrich wearing black thick- rimmed glasses, a red pullover hoodie, black jeans, and white sneakers," said Emery. "Does any other ostrich wear those besides Jeremy?"

Chad shook his head. "Then Jeremy is with them," said Emery. "Your dream is real. He's one of them. Also, I noticed that he was wearing a Calloustrich mask. But it's been torn and one of his eyes was black with red pupils."

Chad?" asked a voice from the room. It was Ioni! She was finally talking! "Chad, where am I?"

Chad looked at the polar bear cub, who had walked over to him. "Ioni, you're at Railroad Police," he said. "You're safe with us."

"But Jeremy...he's still..." stuttered Ioni. "Ioni, Jeremy isn't here," said Chad. "He's at icrostrich. "No, Chad," said Ioni. "I meant Jeremy was with me that night," she said, showing Chad the bruise mark where Jeremy had punched her. "He did this to me, Chad," she said.

"No, Ioni," said Chad. "He didn't know what he was doing. He was hypnotized to do terrible things. He even apologized to you. I saw him."

But Ioni didn't want to hear Chad defending what Jeremy did. She knew that Jeremy was corrupted by an evil force. But she didn't know why he was allowing it to control him. She heard that icrostrich was full of evil ostriches and now Jeremy was part of the group. She was even told by someone that Jeremy purposely made a young ostrich sleep in front of the moon, corrupting their mind. But some other ostrich was behind him. Who was that other ostrich that corrupted Jeremy? And why isn't Jeremy fighting the control?

"I'm afraid it's true, Chad," said Emery. "He's one of one them and there's nothing we can do, except get him to be on our side again."

"What do you mean?" asked Ioni. "I feel that he still has his own mind in there, but Gygar is forcing him to act like a Calloustrich," said Emery. "He's Gygar's prodigy, the next Metal Claw. That's what I heard the ostriches at icrostrich talking about. It was when I was spotted by a Calloustrich soldier that I lost my claw."

"Aw your poor thing," said Ioni. "I paid for my mistake of telling that whaling story to Jeremy," sighed Emery. "Ioni is it? I'm not comfortable with you being in the war. You're too young and you might get hurt."

"I don't believe in violence," said Ioni. "I wish they could be nice."

"Chad, I told you my secret," said Emery. "So, I need to help you organize a plan to fight off the Calloustriches. After seeing me, they probably reported back to Gygar and they are training early so they can strike without warning. We need a plan quickly or else we are done for. It's all up to you, Chad, our leader."

"I'm the leader?" asked Chad, in confusion. He then looked at his sleeping comrades. Then he looked at Emery and Ioni. If Emery said he was the leader, he had to take this new position and help them organize a plan to stop the Calloustriches from attacking. And try to get his best friend back. For he couldn't risk fighting with his best friend. Not again! They had to come up with a plan and fast! Both icrostrich and Railroad Police had their leaders for the war. Chad is the leader for Railroad Police and Jeremy is the leader for icrostrich. The war is coming.

End of Nightmare Revisited


Characters of Regular Life Nightmare Revisited

Jeremy: white ostrich (Struthio camelus) the young son of Jon and Jessica and the little brother of Jerico. Ioni's adoptive father. Also known as Metal Claw. A Calloustrich soldier at icrostrich
Gygar: white ostrich (Struthio camelus) The leader of icrostrich
Ruddy: white ostrich (Struthio camelus) Jeremy's rival. A Calloustrich soldier at icrostrich
Azeal: Somali ostrich (Struthio camelus molybdophanes) Training to be a Calloustrich soldier at icrostrich
Iris: Southern ostrich (Struthio camelus australis) Training to be a Calloustrich soldier at icrostrich
Chad: brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) Jeremy's best friend and the new leader of Railroad Police
Ioni: polar bear (Ursus maritimus) an orphaned polar cub who was adopted by Jeremy. She later becomes his daughter
Grayson: Virginia opossum (Didelphis Virginiana) a jealous and hot-tempered possum who has a grudge against Jeremy. A member of Railroad Police
Reggie: Southern brown bandicoot: (Isoodon obesulus) a cowardly bandicoot who has a good heart and a member of Railroad Police
Emery: Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) The original leader of Railroad Police. Also known as Elijah
Paladin: Dalmatian (Canis Lupus familiaris) A little puppy that got adopted by Ioni
Dale: Timberwolf (Canis lupus) Jerico's friend and member of Railroad Police
Jerico: white ostrich (Struthio Camelus) the older son of Jon and Jessica and the older brother of Jeremy. A member of Railroad Police
Luxury: grey falcon (falco hypoleucos) A member of Railroad Police
Claire: Blue jay (Cyanocitta Cristata) A member of Railroad Police
Hope: emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) The mate of Midnight
Arson: coyote (Canis Latrans) A new recruit to Railroad Police. His tail was shot off by poachers after trying to steal a chicken. His original name was Aaron.
Celandine: white ostrich: (Struthio camelus) a young Calloustrich soldier at icrostrich.
Shonan: white ostrich (Struthio camelus) An ex-member of icrostrich
Ames: Virginia opossum (Didelphis Virginiana) Grayson's long lost sister. A member of Railroad Police