Come, Llamas by Jennifer Morris

Author:Jennifer Morris [Morris, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-51797-5
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2005-02-14T05:00:00+00:00

I put Jordy in with Dusty. The barn was crammed full—two dams in each stall, males separated so they wouldn't spit at or bite each other. I even had to put two yearlings in Snow's stall, where I'd cared for her and Elmo just that morning. The air was filled with warm musky llama smells, stomping and humming—an orchestra of wild music.

I leaned my head against the wall. Fatigue yanked on my muscles, pulling everything down. I couldn't even make my lips stay together. The baseball game seemed like it was ages ago, or like it had been someone else playing. I dragged the lead ropes to the tack room and stared at the hooks, trying to gather the energy to lift my arms and hang them up. Even my eyeballs hurt.

Then I heard a noise—pop.

It had to be a gunshot. Greg.

I heard four more quick shots.

I ran over and opened the barn door. A rush of hooves and bodies came toward me. I ducked back as the sheep stampeded into the aisles. The wild music built in wave after wave as bedded llamas got up, swaying their necks and stomping, craning to see or hear or smell what the danger was.

I grabbed a lead rope, slung it over the nearest sheep's neck, and put it in an empty stall. Then the next. Offended bachelors kicked and hummed, irritated by the sheep.

Greg came running in behind them. “Did you get them?”

“Yeah. Did you shoot the bear?”

“Not with a twenty-two,” Greg said. “I was scaring off a wolf pack.”

“Were they coming after you?”

“I could see their green eyes just behind me.”

Together we fed and watered. Greg lit the burn pile and we stood watching the flames swirl around Snow's body. With the smell of burning meat in my nostrils, I trudged back to the house, and the night that had seemed like it would never end finally did.

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