Thursday, November 17, 2005
The Epic of Aubrey
Book the Second: In the Giant's Clutches
Usually, I am very level headed in a crisis. I have suffered through vet trips and car rides with dignity and poise, not to mention bravery. I have been known to sleep through crises altogether. But I admit I was pretty concerned as I watched the ground disappear beneath me. Higher and higher I rose, smaller and smaller our neighborhood shrank below. Feeling slightly panicked, I tore my eyes away from the rooftops and looked, as best I could, at the pigeon that was still attached to me by claws and teeth. Its beady little eyes stared back at me, unblinking and indecipherable.
It occurred to me then that this pigeon, (although it was an impressively sized bird), couldn’t be strong enough to pull us both into the air. Plus, at the moment I had its right wing in my mouth. I craned my neck around and looked up, and nearly dropped the pigeon out of shock.
Just above me, with the pigeon grasped in its tremendous talons, was the largest bird I had ever seen. It was as brown as the backyard dirt, and had a hooked beak that flashed menacingly in the sunlight. Its wings, each of which were longer than my body nose to tail, pushed gusts of air down on me with each mighty flap.
I must have made some sort of gasp of shock, because this colossal monster of a bird twisted its head down and sideways, eyeing me with one of its large, gleaming black eyes. The bird’s sharp beak opened suddenly, and I winced in anticipation of a deadly peck. But instead the bird let out a piercing shriek, my sensitive ears rang in agony, and I let go of the pigeon.
And then I was falling. Falling and falling, it seemed like forever. At first I could only see the giant bird growing smaller in the blue sky above me. Then, my reflexes kicked into overdrive, my body twisted in the air, and I could see the ground growing closer and closer beneath me. I braced myself for impact and mentally crossed off yet another of my nine lives.
Stay Tuned for Book the Third: The World Below
It occurred to me then that this pigeon, (although it was an impressively sized bird), couldn’t be strong enough to pull us both into the air. Plus, at the moment I had its right wing in my mouth. I craned my neck around and looked up, and nearly dropped the pigeon out of shock.
Just above me, with the pigeon grasped in its tremendous talons, was the largest bird I had ever seen. It was as brown as the backyard dirt, and had a hooked beak that flashed menacingly in the sunlight. Its wings, each of which were longer than my body nose to tail, pushed gusts of air down on me with each mighty flap.
I must have made some sort of gasp of shock, because this colossal monster of a bird twisted its head down and sideways, eyeing me with one of its large, gleaming black eyes. The bird’s sharp beak opened suddenly, and I winced in anticipation of a deadly peck. But instead the bird let out a piercing shriek, my sensitive ears rang in agony, and I let go of the pigeon.
And then I was falling. Falling and falling, it seemed like forever. At first I could only see the giant bird growing smaller in the blue sky above me. Then, my reflexes kicked into overdrive, my body twisted in the air, and I could see the ground growing closer and closer beneath me. I braced myself for impact and mentally crossed off yet another of my nine lives.
Stay Tuned for Book the Third: The World Below
# posted by Alison @ 10:15 AM 