Heaven by Montgomery Quinn

Author:Montgomery Quinn [Quinn, Montgomery]
Language: eng
Format: epub

NINE

I circled the herd from up high. I didn’t want them getting spooked and running off. At least, I didn’t want that happening unless Polly and Felice were there to head off the herd and bring them back towards the river. There was just one problem being so high. I could see smoke, and not just a little smoke, a lot of smoke. And it was all coming from around the warehouse. Through the regular haze, I couldn’t make anything out. And I had a bad feeling.

“Edith?”

“Yes Mr. Ryan?”

“Edith, if something happened to the settlement, would I get some kind of notification?”

Edith was silent for a few moments, and I wondered if I should quickly duck home. But she popped back on after a moment. “Mr. Ryan, if the settlement is destroyed, you will be notified.”

I grit my teeth at the somewhat cryptic response and let out a sigh. Looking below, I could make out the two shriekers getting into position. Felice would wait on this side, while… Yes, there goes Polly circling around to the other. I could see an area nearby between a truck and a low rise in the ground that would be the landing zone. Hopefully, with the shriekers, the herd would buckle down and I could land without them noticing the teradon in their midst. As Polly came into position, I pitched the teradon down and descended in a spiral.

I picked up the faint shrieks of Sarge and Sneaky, despite the rushing wind in my ears. The mules reacted, thankfully, by dropping their heads to the ground and curling up. Flipping the teradon upside down, I dropped our altitude rapidly, before hauling back to slow. I had no idea why I was so comfortable riding these animals, in particular one that flew. But I wasn’t about to question it either.

The teradon flapped backward hard to arrest our speed before dropping lightly to the ground. I gave him a pat on the neck for appreciation as he lowered me to the ground. I slipped off his neck and met his gaze for a moment.

“Stay here and stay quiet. I want them to be calm.”

The teradon made the softest little chirp I had heard from any of the creatures I had tamed. So I gave him a pat on the side and walked around the debris until I spotted the herd. Just like the other three, they’d dropped in place and weren’t interested in moving. Which was perfect for me.

“Edith, vegetables…”

An hour later, the last mule gave me that look. I was familiar with it by now and knew that it was mine. So I gave it a scratch under the chin, being mindful of the tusks. The big creature lowed softly and ruffled its feathers as I stood. Felice was staring at me while Polly shot me a grin of her own.

“What?”

“I just,” Felice gestured wildly. “I’ve never seen that. You just… Fed them.”

“Yeah, it’s not always a fight to the death like with the teradon.”

“Or Sarge,” Polly added.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.