Sharing is Caring
Some bedtime reading to help you get to sleep...
Howdy!
I hope everyone is having a swell week so far.
In today's new chapter, our little group of escape artists are going to have to take some new and scary risks.
Here's a link to the full series:
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Unfortunately, there is a good chance that I won't be able to get a chapter out next week. I'm just about to start a new ESL teaching job and I'm sure you all know how stressful starting a new role is!
In any case, thanks for stopping by and thanks for following this story.
I hope you enjoy today's new chapter!
I couldn’t have been happier to be leaving those horrible train tracks. Those pitch-black tunnels were plucked straight from a bird’s worst nightmare – so long as that bird wasn’t a bat.
We turned away from the dark tracks and made our way across the platform of the new train station.
Flying under the station lights, it felt good to be able to see what was in front of me again, a break from that terrible tension of not knowing if there’s a brick wall right in front of my beak.
The new train station was thankfully smaller and quieter than the first one. In any case, compared to the tunnel, anywhere was a welcomed change of scenery.
I looked back as we created some distance between us and the tracks and I saw Mac and the others still there behind us, chasing us down, relentless as ever.
We just couldn’t shake them off. It felt like an upwind battle – and that wind just kept getting stronger. It would be like a tornado soon. I didn’t know how much longer we could go. We were an injured and exhausted little bunch. They were faster and stronger than us. We were surviving on Francois’ wits, but we weren’t going to be able to keep doing this forever.
As we flew across the low-ceilinged station, a small group of pesky young humans decided to get in on the action. They jumped at us and tried to catch us in their caps which they snapped through the air like butterfly nets. It felt like every creature on earth was against us.
Making it past them, we left the open part of the station and set off through a brief maze of narrow and painfully bright hallways.
Just like last time, there was then a long stairway packed with people. The exit was close. Flying just above the heads below, we eagerly climbed the steep stairs.
Soon enough, I could see light in the distance – actual light, real light.
I couldn’t help but smile when we got out into the open and that warm light hit my feathers.
We’d made it!
Up above, the sun was still high and bright in the clear sky. It was bliss to no longer have that terrible tummy-turning feeling that came with having a ceiling hanging over my head. I was where pigeons belonged, out in clear air with nothing but sky above me.
We were back in the open – free. With Mac and company still chasing us down, we were also right back to square one…
I looked at Francois and saw a creeping dread in his eyes as he scrambled for a new plan.
My muscles were starting to feel fuzzy and tight. The jewellery felt like it was getting heavier and heavier. My wings felt like they were getting heavier too.
I caught Ruby wincing in pain. She was trying to hide it, but she was hurting.
I asked her, “How much further can you go?”
“It’s ok,” she lied. “I’m alright.”
Out in the open again, racing above the traffic down the long busy street, Mac and the others were gaining on us quickly now. The gap was closing.
It was hard to tell where we were in the city. It looked familiar, but mostly it looked the same as any other busy street in the never-ending metropolis that was New York City.
“We don’t have long,” said Joan. “They’re going to catch us.”
Francois was deep in thought, trying to dream up a new plan.
“We could try and lose them in the mall,” Joan suggested. “We know the place like the back of our claws. We would have a home ground advantage.”
“It’s too far away,” said Francois. “They would catch us before we could get there.”
“Then we could go back down to the subway,” Joan tried. “We could sneak on to one of the trains.”
“Not with all of the gold and silver we have on us,” said Francois. “It’s too dangerous.”
Joan was getting frustrated.
“What do we do then?” she asked.
The fact of the matter was, for once, Francois didn’t know.
“I have an idea,” said Ruby.
No one had seen that coming. The chatter stopped and we all listened in.
“Everyone chasing us, they’re all pigeons,” said Ruby. “Just like you three. And what do all pigeons have in common? Even each of you. Pigeon greed.”
“So what’s your plan?” Joan asked.
Ruby continued on. “When I was working at the billboard club I met a type of bird called an azure-winged magpie.”
“This isn’t story time,” said Joan.
“You know what is special about azure-winged magpies?” asked Ruby. “They share their food with those in need.”
“You want us to share the gold and silver?” said Joan, confused and outraged. “After all we’ve been through, you want us to give it all away? And to them?”
“What I want is for you three to fight against your pigeon greed,” said Ruby. “It doesn’t have to be everything. Just enough to get them to go away.”
I could see that Joan and Francois were resistant to the idea. Except, in that moment, they couldn’t think of an alternative to hit back with.
From my brief time in the city and from my time back home when food was rare, I understood why pigeon greed existed. Because being a pigeon is hard. You have to fight for every crumb. But maybe Ruby was right.
“We need to try,” I said.
The silence from Francois and Joan was its own answer. We didn't have any other option.
"We need to get high and then we need to start dropping things," said Ruby. "The longer the fall, the longer the distraction."
Going clear of the city, we flew up above the rooftops and skyscrapers.
The sticky stink of cars was replaced by fresh air. The noise of traffic fell away. There was just the sound of the wind in our ears.
Of course, Mac and the others followed us up high into the sky…
Thanks for reading, everyone! Have a great week!