Mac’s on a Mission
New free chapter in A Lost Pigeon Named Lew...
Hola!
Long time no see!
Today’s post is the newest free chapter in the bedtime serial, A Lost Pigeon Named Lew.
They’re almost in the clear. They just need to deal with Mac…
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Now, please enjoy today’s chapter!
Mac continued his charge.
We weren’t purposefully slowing down anymore to close the gap. We were going as fast as we could; it just wasn’t fast enough.
There was rage in his eyes as flapped his giant wings. In that moment, he looked more like an eagle than a pigeon.
I dropped another piece of jewellery and it meant absolutely nothing to him.
He was in striking range. He had his target.
Mac pounced at Francois and bit his foot. It was a gnarly bite and anyone but Francois would have reacted by yelping out in pain. Still, I knew he was hurting. There was no possible way he couldn’t be.
Clearly, Mac had been given precise instructions on who to go for. This had Howell’s vengeance written all over it. They didn’t just want to take our jewellery. They wanted to send Francois a message.
“Mac, stop it!” Joan cried out.
Her voice was water off a duck’s back. He was already gearing up to strike again.
We tried to stay close together. Mac went for Francois again, this time digging his beak into Francois’ back.
Joan reacted quickly and barged Mac off. He was knocked away and we had a brief gap between us and him again. Beside me, Francois was hurting badly, although he was trying to hide it.
“The diamond ring!” Ruby called out at Joan. “Give Mac the diamond ring!”
She was talking about the giant diamond ring clutched in Joan’s claw – the true prize of the bunch, a piece of jewellery that looked far more valuable than anything else we had.
Joan was hesitant, a guilty look on her face.
“Don’t!” said Francois suddenly.
All eyes turned to Francois.
“It’s our best chance,” Ruby plead.
“Not the ring,” he said. “Throw something else.”
I quickly released a bangle, but it didn’t have any effect. Mac just kept flying on, like a bull seeing red.
“We have to use the diamond ring,” said Ruby.
It was the first time I had seen Francois grapple with his own pigeon greed. I could tell he was tossing and turning in his mind, unable to commit, unable to agree to throw the ring away.
Mac was getting closer again, about to come in for another attack.
Ruby wasn’t going to just sit around waiting for Francois to come to an answer. If dropping the ring was going to happen, then it had to happen right now.
Ruby suddenly ducked out of formation. She dropped back behind Joan and went straight for the ring. Like Francois, Joan was still lost in hesitation, unwilling to commit. And yet she didn’t resist. Some part of her knew that this was what had to happen.
Ruby swiftly unhooked the ring with her beak, holding it tight. She didn’t let go straight away, even though Mac was so close now that he was just about to pounce.
Ruby lined him up and then she threw the ring.
Time slowed down as the ring flew through the air, twisting and turning and spiralling. I couldn’t take my eyes off the enormous diamond. Seeing the shininess of it, the pigeon greed in me wanted to just drop everything and chase after it.
We were all looking at it, even Mac.
Ruby’s throw had been true and the ring clonked Mac square in the forehead. He was briefly dazed, having to shake his head to re-alert himself. On tenterhooks, we all watched on.
He looked at the ring that was now right in front of his face, just about to start falling. His eyes had changed. The rage was gone. Something else was there. I think you know what.
The ring began its fall through the air.
A couple of seconds passed and then Mac plunged after it.
He was gone…
I let out the biggest sigh of my life. Finally, I could breathe again. We could all breathe again.
Our celebrations were cut short when I saw the look of pain on Francois’ face. Mac had done a number over on him. We needed to land somewhere. We needed to rest.
“Where do we go now?” I asked.
“This way,” said Francois, grimacing.
***
We slowly descended through the sky back down to the city. It was a relief to be able to see the ground below us again.
Francois led the way as we glided above the skyscrapers. It was a quiet and sombre little trip. We were all exhausted.
Eventually, we arrived at an unmanned crane that sat on top of a tall glass building.
We landed on top of the little glass cabin where a human would usually be sitting. Francois nudged open an already loosened window with his beak and we all climbed inside. Clearly, Francois had been there before.
There was a long silence among us as we sat down on the seat inside. We each soaked in the heartfelt relief that came with finally resting our wings.
Joan and I both took off all of the jewellery that we had been carrying. My muscles were aching.
Now that the excitement was over, Francois and Ruby’s injuries were catching up with them. They had been through the wars today. Ruby winced as she tried to find a comfortable position to relax. Francois was missing chunks of feathers all over, an especially big patch gone on his back where Mac had attacked him. His poor little foot that had been bitten was quivering too.
I wondered what was going to happen next, but I didn’t have the guts to break the silence.
Francois broke it for me.
“Let’s take a nap,” he said, sighing the words.
Just like that, he closed his eyes.
Joan and Ruby followed suit. I then did the same.
It was time that we all got some rest.
Thanks so much for stopping by for today’s chapter!
Next part coming soon…