picked up.
“Hunnn-nn-nnter is gonn-nn-e, did yyy-ou or Aaro-nnn go
inn-nn the aviary af-f-ff-fter I wenn-nnn- Gah!” I dropped the bucket and
punched the timber making up the aviary doorway. Why!? Why couldn’t I get the
words out just once!?
“Calm down kid. I get you. No, neither one of us went to his
pen after you went to bed. We finished up in the kitchen and both went straight
for our trucks.” I could hear Charlie moving around.
“He wasn-nn-n’t ready!” I wailed. There was a long silence
on the other end of the line.
“I know Jess, I don’t know how he got out but that big
bastard was pretty tough and he’s out there somewhere nearby. Put out one of
the kiddie pools with some of the meeces pieces in it. ” I was onto him. We may
not be able to catch him, but we could make it easy on him to hunt.
“Kay.” I assented.
“I’m on my way. You go to work, I’ll see you when you get
home.” He hung up without saying goodbye which was good with me. I stuffed my
phone in my pocket and went to work on his suggestion.
I pulled the empty blue wading pool out of the aviary and
out into the open and gently dumped the feeder mice from the bucket into it.
“Who let you out?” I moaned with very little trouble. No one
here to hear me, no one to judge or scream or tell me I was stupid… I sniffed
back some tears and turned sharply to look in the direction of a rustle that
came from the trees.
Wishful thinking… nothing was there.
I sighed and set about feeding the rest of my charges.
Today was going to be a bad day and not just because of
Hunter. I could feel it, like the promise of rain, the air was thick with it…
I sighed and wiped at the frustrated tears and set about
doing what needed to be done so I wasn’t late to work.
As I fed and gave morning meds to the owls, I thought about
Hunter and his enclosure. I stopped by the south aviary one last time on my way
to my truck and double checked… Yep, the enclosure’s latch was working just
fine. I was beginning to question how he’d gotten out. I know it had
been secure when I’d come out the night before and if it hadn’t been Charlie or
Aaron…
I sighed. I guess in the long run it didn’t really matter.
He was out. I went to my truck and got in. I had to go to work.
The day progressed much the same way, when it rains it pours
and I wasn’t talking about the weather.
Midway through the day Charlie called, said that he’d come
down with something awful, that he’d fed the birds, medicated the birds and had
gotten sick several times doing it, but that he’d gotten it done and was
heading home. That’d he’d see me when he’d gotten over whatever it was that was
twisting up his insides.
It was busy in the hospital. We had several regular patients
and a man come in with a half dead cat that some boys had been shooting with a
pellet gun. The poor kitty had to be euthanized. By the end of my day I was
emotionally exhausted, physically exhausted and my stomach still churned with
worry for Hunter.
I just wanted to go home.
The drive home, at least, was peaceful, uneventful. I
pulled into my driveway and immediately went in to check on Winter. He was
doing okay. I put out some fresh water for him and some mice in a pan they
couldn’t get out of. I wanted to see if he’d go after live prey. He was in an
enclosure big enough to let him, so why not try?
I should have gone through the house, but I didn’t. I went
around and headed for the barn and let myself in.
I didn’t even see it coming but something hard connected
with the back of my head, and across my shoulders and I sprawled forward onto
the cement floor. The heels of my hands burned where I’d put out my hands to
break my fall, scraping them painfully on the unfinished concrete. My knees
cracked painfully with the cement and I cried out.
“What have we here?” a male voice asked from behind me. My
vision was blurry, eyes watering fiercely from the pain in my hands and
“Hunnn-nn-nnter is gonn-nn-e, did yyy-ou or Aaro-nnn go
inn-nn the aviary af-f-ff-fter I wenn-nnn- Gah!” I dropped the bucket and
punched the timber making up the aviary doorway. Why!? Why couldn’t I get the
words out just once!?
“Calm down kid. I get you. No, neither one of us went to his
pen after you went to bed. We finished up in the kitchen and both went straight
for our trucks.” I could hear Charlie moving around.
“He wasn-nn-n’t ready!” I wailed. There was a long silence
on the other end of the line.
“I know Jess, I don’t know how he got out but that big
bastard was pretty tough and he’s out there somewhere nearby. Put out one of
the kiddie pools with some of the meeces pieces in it. ” I was onto him. We may
not be able to catch him, but we could make it easy on him to hunt.
“Kay.” I assented.
“I’m on my way. You go to work, I’ll see you when you get
home.” He hung up without saying goodbye which was good with me. I stuffed my
phone in my pocket and went to work on his suggestion.
I pulled the empty blue wading pool out of the aviary and
out into the open and gently dumped the feeder mice from the bucket into it.
“Who let you out?” I moaned with very little trouble. No one
here to hear me, no one to judge or scream or tell me I was stupid… I sniffed
back some tears and turned sharply to look in the direction of a rustle that
came from the trees.
Wishful thinking… nothing was there.
I sighed and set about feeding the rest of my charges.
Today was going to be a bad day and not just because of
Hunter. I could feel it, like the promise of rain, the air was thick with it…
I sighed and wiped at the frustrated tears and set about
doing what needed to be done so I wasn’t late to work.
As I fed and gave morning meds to the owls, I thought about
Hunter and his enclosure. I stopped by the south aviary one last time on my way
to my truck and double checked… Yep, the enclosure’s latch was working just
fine. I was beginning to question how he’d gotten out. I know it had
been secure when I’d come out the night before and if it hadn’t been Charlie or
Aaron…
I sighed. I guess in the long run it didn’t really matter.
He was out. I went to my truck and got in. I had to go to work.
The day progressed much the same way, when it rains it pours
and I wasn’t talking about the weather.
Midway through the day Charlie called, said that he’d come
down with something awful, that he’d fed the birds, medicated the birds and had
gotten sick several times doing it, but that he’d gotten it done and was
heading home. That’d he’d see me when he’d gotten over whatever it was that was
twisting up his insides.
It was busy in the hospital. We had several regular patients
and a man come in with a half dead cat that some boys had been shooting with a
pellet gun. The poor kitty had to be euthanized. By the end of my day I was
emotionally exhausted, physically exhausted and my stomach still churned with
worry for Hunter.
I just wanted to go home.
The drive home, at least, was peaceful, uneventful. I
pulled into my driveway and immediately went in to check on Winter. He was
doing okay. I put out some fresh water for him and some mice in a pan they
couldn’t get out of. I wanted to see if he’d go after live prey. He was in an
enclosure big enough to let him, so why not try?
I should have gone through the house, but I didn’t. I went
around and headed for the barn and let myself in.
I didn’t even see it coming but something hard connected
with the back of my head, and across my shoulders and I sprawled forward onto
the cement floor. The heels of my hands burned where I’d put out my hands to
break my fall, scraping them painfully on the unfinished concrete. My knees
cracked painfully with the cement and I cried out.
“What have we here?” a male voice asked from behind me. My
vision was blurry, eyes watering fiercely from the pain in my hands and
Similar Books
