World War II by Katrina Charman

Author:Katrina Charman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2019-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

As furious as he was at Toca for betraying him, Francis could see that the toucan was struggling. She flew in ever-decreasing circles, disoriented by the noise and the smoke and the planes. He had to lead her back to the zoo. Maybe he could force her to land and make her realize she was wrong.

He flew on, pushing his injured wing to its limit, even though the searing pain had returned and his whole wing burned. Toca was flying much lower to the ground now, trying to get away from the chaos all around her. But that meant that she was in danger of being hit by the groundsmen below, a blast from the bombs, or flying into one of the barrage balloon’s wires. She knew nothing about the dangers of war, dangers that were hidden in plain view all around them, like a tiger waiting to strike its prey.

Francis closed in until he was only feet away from Toca.

“Toca!” he yelled, hoping she could hear him over the rattle of gunfire and the thunderous cracks of the bombs landing.

She glanced backward, startled for a moment, but then flapped faster.

“Toca!” Francis shouted again, trying to compete with her much larger wingspan. “Just drop the capsule,” he begged. “If all you wanted was to escape, you’ve done that. The capsule means nothing to you.”

She ignored him, but she seemed to be tiring. Some birds were not made for long distances, Francis knew; maybe toucans were one of them. She soared for a moment on the wind, heading back in the direction of Regent’s Park and giving Francis the opportunity to catch up. He swooped down in front of her, cutting her off so that she had to frantically flap again to stop herself from dropping out of the sky.

Toca looked terrified and exhausted as she searched for an escape. But Francis and Toca both knew by now that although he was the smaller bird, he could outlast her in the sky.

“I just wanted to be free,” she cried. “Is that so terrible?”

Francis shook his head. “Of course not. But why did you take the capsule? You could have left without it.”

“I knew you would only let me out of the aviary if I promised to help you. I had to take the capsule in case you changed your mind and locked me back up.”

Francis felt ashamed of himself. She was probably right. He was so focused on his mission that he didn’t stop to consider the other animals in the zoo. He’d only thought of those who would be helpful to him.

“I just want the capsule back,” Francis said. “Please, Toca. You know how important it is.”

“No!” Toca screamed. “I can’t. If I land now, I’ll be caught. I don’t want to go back there, Francis.”

“Pass me the capsule, then,” Francis asked, reaching out a claw.

Toca’s talons tightened around the capsule, and Francis could see the terror in her eyes. “I can’t,” she said. “I don’t want to fall.”

Francis’s mind raced.

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