The next few days involved Brooklyn continuing out of Wisconsin. As he neared the border, the adrenaline to get home kept on giving him energy. Even more so now that his brand was gone, it lessened his chances of evil humans calling Anthony to come and take him back to Montana. He was grateful to Barry and Thalia Roberts for helping him even if Barry was Anthony's brother, but Barry had been different; kinder than him.

Eventually, Brook could sense the border to Wisconsin getting nearer, a smile on his beak, until he heard waves hitting the shore of Lake Michigan. Oh. He'd forgotten about that giant stretch of water.

His face fell when landing near a wild beach shoreline to Lake Michigan. All the way across this water mass was the next state passage toward home. Brooklyn swallowed, feeling the cold-water scent filling his nose. He really didn't want to cross over any big waters. What if his wings gave out from him mid-way?

The red male stepped back, shaking a little and gripping his bag tight, looking away from the intimidating waves, breathing shakily. He glanced back out again for a bit, eyes slightly round. The waves on the water surface were also quite rough.

"M-maybe I should go south through Illinois then Indiana..." he muttered to himself. But that wasn't east and would extend his traveling days. Yes, it was safer but not quicker. Brooklyn had to get home as fast as possible and if it meant crossing this giant puddle then he would do it even if he was afraid. How could Brooklyn call himself a worthy Second if he wasn't brave to attempt these things?

He gulped again, stepping nearer to the water, the surf splashing his feet. It was freezing hence the autumn weather, causing Brook to jerk back, cringing. Maybe some food would boost his confidence.

Opening up the bag after sitting near a tree, Brooklyn took out a sandwich, a cookie and a water bottle, eating the sandwich while watching the waves crash on the rocks. He swallowed again, mostly from both the food and his fear, but eventually the moon came from behind the clouds that were breaking up, shining their light on the water. Brook's eyes were in awe at how the water touched the sky of stars, feeling a smile come.

Maybe... it wouldn't be too bad. There could hopefully be an island stop along the way, Brooklyn then decided to himself, knowing he couldn't let fear continue to use him so much. He was still afraid of Anthony, but he was more scared of him than of water. Taking one more drink of his water bottle, Brooklyn stood up, hair blowing in the wind when stepping more onto the sand. He was gonna do it.

Shutting his eyes and taking steady breaths, Brook raised his wings and jumped onto a big log and into the air, flinching from the harsh wind in the water hitting his face and stumbling, but eventually steadied his pace and began to balance better. The red male held out his hands for balance, leaving the shoreline of Wisconsin behind. He gazed back once before focusing on the water ahead.

So far for Brooklyn, it had been steady gliding the further out he got away from the shore, which was hard to see now; no places to land anymore for a long while. Brooklyn's heart fluttered in fright at this but kept going, concentrating on going east across the treacherous water. Thoughts of his family invaded his head every now and then, causing some tears to fall down his face and into the wind. He didn't want to be alone above all this horrible water without someone to comfort him by his side.

But you are alone... remember that you ran away and couldn't have any of your precious family be with you during your time with Anthony... taunted his conscience, making Brook grit his teeth, trying to ignore it. "Stop it," he hissed, more tears falling right as a harsh breeze suddenly struck him hard. He had flown out here for nearly two hours into the night now and his wings already needed a rest.

He yelped in pain when the wind pulled a muscle in his wing, looking down at the deep water, gulping fearfully at the idea of drowning here, holding up his arm from more fierce wind. Brooklyn by now felt so tired, having from gliding most of the night.

One point, he thought he saw some land below and flew down to it only to nearly meet the water surface. His feet barely touched it before quickly gliding back up.

Brooklyn's eyes were glazed over with tiredness. He wanted land so badly so he could rest but still nothing. The young Second wiped away a couple more tears, feeling ready to give up right here now, wings on fire and having so many cramped muscles he thought his wings would fall off.

"Please, want... land..." Brook mumbled, seeing the sky beginning to light up with early dawn, his beak opening with a yawn. He was getting tired of seeing nothing but water for miles around, begging anybody from above to give him mercy and rest, belly rumbling too.

Eventually, Brooklyn spotted something ahead. He hoped it wasn't another illusion, but his hopes came again when seeing a more realistic patch of land. His head swam with tiredness and relief. "Thank you..." he whispered, turning his direction to the land mass, which was an island, Isle Royale. Brooklyn himself didn't know it was an island at first but welcomed any kind of land. He saw a small beach below, gliding downward.

But then his wings gave after nearly reaching shore, collapsing into the shallow water right at the shore. He panted heavily from how far he had been gliding, laying there for a bit before remembering his food bag still in the water and struggled to his feet, observing the island after making sure his photo of Mark and Nora was still ok. Just a little damp but the bag hadn't been fully in the water thankfully.

Brooklyn was exhausted and knew he needed to find a place to rest. He was so glad to be on land again. He could also make out the rough surf out in the water. He was not wanting to go swimming in that water anytime soon. But he would need to finish crossing this big lake.

He held the bag to his chest and finally left the shoreline. There were no settlements anywhere that he could see. With sunrise approaching, and in the case of any humans coming along, he needed to find a place of shelter to avoid being seen.

Brooklyn found a path that headed into the woods. He hoped he would be alright here. Some of the sounds were new to him in this place and sometimes spooked him.

There were lots of trees here and would provide lots of cover. He just needed to decide on where he was going to sleep for the day. He knew that a fire was out of the question.

Brooklyn soon found a big tree with a big root base in it. He folded his wings over his shoulders, still feeling the pulled muscle in one of them. He winced, but he lowered himself to look inside to make sure there wasn't any animals in the cave of the tree. There wasn't. It would make a good bed for the day ahead. He just hoped that no animal would come in and disturb him.

The gargoyle made himself at home. He laid down on the ground and unclasped his wings then folded them over him like a blanket. He laid his head against the wall of the tree. Brooklyn was too tired to think of much of anything else. He just wanted to sleep.

Throughout the day, wild animals just did their daily things. They all had no idea there was this strange new creature on their island.

....

Brooklyn had slept soundly most of the day away. He awoke late in the afternoon. His neck felt stiff, and he managed to pop it, still hurting. His belly rumbled then.

He then opened up his bag and got out a sandwich and water bottle. When darkness would come, he planned to move on. He was going to rest himself for a day or so before he planned to move on again.

When night finally fell, Brook came out from under the tree, and he began following the path some more. It was a wildlife trail.

Soon, he came to a clearing and he saw some moose and elk out there grazing. Given it was November now, it was past their rut time. Deer were getting along great again. Brooklyn was fascinated with them but moved on soon enough.

There were several wrestles in the bushes too. There were just more deer. Brook kept his distance. Some of the animals even caught his scent and immediately ran away.

Brooklyn decided that maybe he should stay closer to the coastline. But he was already far away from it from having been on this path. There had to be some settlements here he was sure of it.

There weren't really much of real predators here except for some wolves. Brooklyn didn't want to have any confrontations with any predators.

The more he walked on the island, he soon came to a different path which led him to a campground. There was a cabin there and an outhouse. Staying in a cabin might be better than staying in a tree root cave.

Brooklyn cautiously approached the cabin and took a peek in through a window to see if there was anyone inside. He didn't see anyone. It was devoid of humans for the moment. That was a relief.

Brooklyn sighed and he went to the door. It was locked. That could be remedied though. Brook forced his way inside with his strength. The door broke open. He went inside.

There were two beds in there. There were mattresses on the cots. There was no bedding on them. It was fine with the red gargoyle as long as there was a mattress he could sleep on. This would be his temporary home until he was ready to move on again. He hoped he would be safe here.

The red male at first tested the sink, wondering if there was any water but it didn't work, making him frown in disappointment. He figured he would probably have to refill his water in a fresh stream or in the big lake. It didn't matter much because he wasn't remaining long like at the Roberts' place.

After that he decided to go back out again and sit outdoors for a bit. Since he wasn't in a city then perhaps there was some stars around. Brooklyn saw since it was a clearing he could see the nigbt sky. Smiling slightly he sat down against the walls of the cabin, gazing up.

It was full of stars and the milky way; stretching along the sky. Brooklyn somewhat remembered being able to see stars at his old home in Scotland. He knew this was better seeing them not chained to a tree like back in Montana. That thought caused Brooklyn to sniffle a bit, hoping that he and Anthony would never see each other again, and that he could still hide in his room whenever getting back.

"I'm still trying to come home guys. I really do miss you," he said in a tearful way while staring at the stars, holding his legs close, wondering if they still missed him, feeling really lonely still after the previous company, hoping somewhere out there on this island was a new friend waiting.