Rocky and Rollo hop away from the tree for a little bit before taking to the skies. They fly low until they are out of sight of the mango tree.
Rollo
Diaper Mountain straight ahead, Rocky.
Rocky
Yeah, but I don’t see anyone up there.
Rollo
Hmmm yeah, me neither. Maybe he means one of the other ones.
The two fly off to explore the other hillocks of diapers dotting the area, but with no luck.
Rollo
Dang it! That was the fifth one and still no sign of them! Was this all a trick?
Rocky
I don’t know. He doesn’t seem like the kind of crow who would enjoy a joke. What else did he say? “The valley of the butts”?
Rollo
Heh heh, yeah haha – Oh! Wait! Come on, follow me!
Rollo takes off like a shot, with Rocky following in hot pursuit. The two circle and veer through the dump, dodging bats and big insects.
There are several tall piles of different kinds of garbage. Two especially high peaks stand out in the distance, each about 2 stories tall. One is almost exclusively made of plastic gloves and shopping bags, the other is a mountain of diapers. Between the two there is a river of old cigarette butts.
They can make out a dozen or more crows near the top of the hill. As the pair approach they are suddenly hit by a wall of feathers. An enormous fat crow crashes into them, pinning Rocky to the ground and sending Rollo tumbling.
Bubba
Who goes there?
Rocky
(struggling to breathe)
Oof…I’m not going anywhere! Get off me!
Rollo
(now recovered and returning)
Hey! Hey! Easy there, friend! One-eyed Jack told us to come.
Bubba slowly releases his grip. Rocky gets up and dusts himself off.
Rocky
Thanks. Yeah he said there was a meeting tonight.
Bubba
One-Eyed Jack told you about our secret society?
Rollo
Oh cool! You guys have a secret society?!
Bubba
… … … No…
Rollo
But you just –
Bubba
The meeting’s starting.
Bubba turns and half hops, half flies up to a plateau on diaper mountain. Rocky & Rollo look at each other and shrug, and follow along. They arrive at the plateau where a dozen crows are standing in a circle, listening to one old crow (SILVER) in the middle. He is ranting and riling them up, they cheer on his every statement.
Silver
…every there’s less fruit on our ancestral tree. Fewer mangoes to feed our children, and our children’s children’s children. And every day the ground shakers get closer. How long until they get too close? How long until we suffer the same fate as the crows in the papaya tree?
One voice
My mother lived in that papaya tree!
Silver
Well she doesn’t live there anymore, does she?
One voice
No
Silver
DOES SHE!
Crowd
No!
Silver
And every time another murder falls victim to human progress, it’s up to us to pick up the broken pieces!
Provide new nests for those families! Find fruit and worms for their young! And what kind of a solution does our great leader offer? Hmmm? Hope for the best? Wait it out?
Ha! Easy for him to say. He and I, we’re from the same generation. We’ve enjoyed the tree’s bounty for a long wonderful life. We’re old – well, he’s a little older than me.
Our tree could very well outlast him, but what about the rest of us? Huh? Are we supposed to just hope for the best?
Crowd
Nooo!
Silver
Are we supposed to just wait it out?
Crowd
Nooo!!
Silver
Now is the time for action!
Crowd
Yeahhh!!!
Silver
Are you with me?
Crowd
Yeahhh!
By now all are hyped up and screaming, with the exception of Rocky & Rollo, who are just sort of watching quietly from the back row. Silver notices this and heads over to inspect the newcomers. The crowd parts before him as he struts.
Silver
Welllll…….it appears that not quite everyone is ready for action. Perhaps you gentlemen are pleased with the status quo? Or perhaps it’s simply that you’re more chicken than crow. Tell me, young….uh…
Rollo
Rollo.
Silver
So tell me young Rollo, when you call out to your friend here,….
Rocky
Rocky.
Silver
Rocky, yes. When you call out to your friend Rocky first thing in the morning, do you bock or do you caw? Hmm?
Rollo
First thing in the morning? Well then I’d caw………caw-doodle-do!
A few crows laugh and some snort trying to stifle their laughs.
Silver
Is this a joke to you?
Rollo
Uh, no, I just um…I …uhhh
Rocky
Rollo means well, but he doesn’t always know the time and the place for jokes. Trust us, please. We’re here because we want to find a solution, but we can’t do that if no one in the tree even accepts that there is a problem.
Silver
And who told you we had a solution?
One-eyed Jack
I did, Silver.
Silver
I see. Well, if One-eyed Jack is vouching for you, then that’s all I needed to hear. Welcome to the battle, boys. Ready to get started?
Rollo
Um...is there a different word we could use? I'm not really comfortable with the idea of “battle” -
Rocky
What he means is that we haven’t heard the battle plan yet Silver…..sir. What’s our approach? How do we convince the murder to leave the tree?
Silver
Leave the tree? What madness is this? The tree is the key!
Crowd
The tree is the key!
Silver
Our goal is not to leave our homes for the great unknown! There is no honor in simply running away from your problems.
Rocky
Well then…how are we going to survive the changes that are happening? All this human progress…you can’t deny the problem it creates for us crows.
Silver
Ah but that is the crux of the matter…this is not a crow problem…this is a human problem…..and this problem must be dealt with.
Crowd
Hear, hear! Finally!
Silver
But the crows at the top don’t want to deal with this problem. They would rather be ostriches, burying their heads in the sand. Well I say no more!
Crowd
No more!
Silver
It’s time to take the fight to the humans! When they try to push us out, we push back…..hard!
Rollo
Wait…are you saying you want to go to war against the humans? That’s insane! Rocky, tell them how crazy that sounds.
Silver
(Whirls around to face Rollo.)
Insane? No, insane is watching your entire world be slowly destroyed by the steady march of human progress and doing nothing about it. Well we aim to do something about it.
Rocky
I agree something should be done, but I don’t know if war with the humans is the right idea. If they really want to destroy us, they probably could: with fire, poison, traps….who knows what else? They can be very resourceful.
Silver
You’re forgetting just how resourceful we crows can be – when we’re given the freedom to act. That’s why we need to shake the tree – and shake up the status quo. Get rid of the old guard, and usher in a new guard with new solutions to old problems.
Rollo
You want to get rid of Gramps?
Silver
No, no, of course not. He’ll still enjoy the luxury and security befitting someone who has been at the top for so many years. But it’s time for him to step aside and let someone else lead the way.
Rocky
And that someone would be …you?
Silver
Know anyone better suited for the role?
Rocky
Well, um…I uh…
Silver
I’m the one with the strategy. I’m the one with the smarts. Most importantly, I’m the one with the army. (He raises a wing and sweeps it around him, turning to point out the size of the group)
Rollo
(backing away)
….And an impressive army it is, sir!
Silver
Oh, and I forgot to mention: I’m the one with the plan that is already in motion. So, I’ll ask you again, boys: are you ready to get started?
(He turns to face Rocky & Rollo as he asks, but they have already high-tailed it out of the circle and are flying off into the night.)