When Pigeons Take the Subway
A High Octane Chase Across New York City…
Hi there!
July is almost here! As is the finale of Lew’s adventure.
I hope your week is going well and I hope you’re ready for some high octane pigeon chase action!
For those that are new here (welcome!), this is the ongoing story of a lost pigeon named Lew in New York City.
You can find the full series here:
Make sure to subscribe to make sure you never miss a new chapter!
Now, please enjoy today’s chapter!
There was something very familiar about the two metal tracks that outlined the narrow path on the ground beneath us. I’d seen it before somewhere. I just couldn’t quite put my claw on where.
Back on the station platform, the line of humans were all staring at us. In all their lives, they would have never seen such bedazzled pigeons.
Above them in the distance I saw Mac and his friends charging in our direction. To their credit, they were an impressively persistent bunch.
Without another word, we went into the tunnel.
Entering into it, the lights all fell away. I don’t like the dark. I never have. The dark is for sleeping and, most importantly, staying still. That was always my parents’ key advice. Us pigeons, we don’t have the right eyesight for nighttime adventures. Flying in the dark is playing with fire. As a bird, you’re a small fragile thing in a world of bone-breaking bricks and trees and bigger beasts. One awkward clash with an unseen obstacle can change your life forever. And yet there we were hooning it down a dark tunnel, who knows how much earth between us and the surface.
Things went creepily quiet as we went deeper into the abyss of the tunnel. The echoing sounds of humans talking and walking disappeared. There was just the hollow flapping sound of our wings.
Francois was moving fast at the front of the pack. If his speed was anything to go by, then there probably wasn’t too much to be concerned about on the obstacle front, at least for the time being.
Very faintly, I could hear the familiar flapping of wings in the distance behind us, of Mac’s chasing pack, except the echoes made it sound like there was even more of them than there had been before — a whole army chasing after us.
The worst part was that with the darkness and the twists and turns of the tunnel and the disorienting echoes of every sound that was made, we had no idea how close they actually were. They could have been just one short corner away.
My ears pricked up at the sound of a quiet but deep hum in the distance. You probably know what’s coming next, but I sure didn’t.
“Get ready!” Francois called back. “It’s coming our way!”
The hum was consistent and quickly getting louder. It wasn’t just us getting closer to it, it was also getting closer to us.
Distant light curled around the corner in the tunnel ahead of us. It sure wasn’t daylight. Every second it was getting brighter.
“It’s here!” Francois cried out. “Stay up high! Right near the ceiling!”
I checked myself and scooted the little bit higher that I could fit. Whatever was about to happen, it was out of my hands now. I was as high as I could manage. All I could do was lean on the faith I had in Francois.
The noise was louder and clearer. A soft almost rhythmic thumping, not dissimilar to a heartbeat. As it approached, there was also a very unnatural whirring sound, almost like a sea bird’s dawn time holler, except never-ending, just growing louder and louder, sharper and sharper.
The source of the light suddenly appeared around the corner and flared like a mini-sun. The light left me frantically blinking to regain my vision, scrambling for shapes to re-emerge.
I briefly dropped lower in the air as I tried to sort myself out. The next moment, still blinking, I felt a steadying balance underneath me. Once I could look around properly again, I saw that it was Francois nudging me up towards the ceiling, making sure I was keeping as high in the tunnel as possible.
“Careful,” he said. “Get ready.”
The four of us made a row as we faced down the beam of light coming at us. It raced viciously fast towards us, the horrible mechanical sound of it hitting us straight on now before it could even hit the wall and echo.
It was in that exact moment that I suddenly realised what it was… A train!
Everything was adding up, and in the worst way possible. I had seen trains back home before, but they were rare.
Before I could even start to panic, the train was already roaring past beneath us. Hot sticky air rushed up at us as the gigantic machine burrowed by. My ears blared with the train’s rolling mechanical thunder.
The four of us held strong right up by the ceiling of the tunnel as the train went past, each of us fighting the tension and panic inside so that we could keep flapping our wings and holding a straight and steady flight path.
Suddenly, the train was gone. The roar eased and the hot wind stopped. I felt my whole body finally un-tense and relax.
With the train past, that once cramped and claustrophobic little tunnel now felt like a wide-open sky.
The hum of the train gradually softened and then disappeared in the distance behind us.
It was just us again, back in darkness.
I was actually relieved when I heard the return of the echoed flapping of those who were pursuing us. At the end of the day, I didn’t want anyone getting hurt.
A little bit further and then I saw a new light coming from around the corner ahead of us. My mind jumped to another oncoming train and a feeling of tension immediately came back to me.
We continued towards the brightness. Francois seemed strangely relaxed this time around.
We made it around the corner and then I saw that it was just the lights of the next subway station. I couldn’t help but let out a massive sigh of relief.
You have no idea how badly I wanted to get out of there…
Thankfully, once we reached the subway station, we left the tracks.
Thanks for reading! I hope you’re enjoying the chase so far.
Please do have a fantastic rest of your week!