Alebrijes--Flight to a New Haven by Donna Barba Higuera

Author:Donna Barba Higuera [Higuera, Donna Barba]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

18

SELAH DISAPPEARS INTO THE NIGHT SKY AFTER EZRA.

I look below at La Cuna and all the trapped Alebrijes, then back up into the starry sky where Selah just flew. Convincing her to return to Pocatel with me feels impossible. But she doesn’t know what’s happening there—though if she’d even care, I don’t know. I just hope Gabi doesn’t do anything stupid until I can return. My feathers shudder, imagining her sneaking away from the orphanage to the Dead Forest or over the Trench.

I should go to Jovi now. Tell him about the Thinning. He has a family too. He’ll understand why I didn’t tell them right away.

But my best chance just flew out into the night sky.

I push off from the branch and follow the direction of Selah.

I land on the lip of the opening. The air is clear and cold. I spin in each direction, but don’t see Selah, Ezra, or Rose, or sense their signals. They might not be real scavengers, but they could attack me like Rose did before I knew they were on top of me.

Selah said, “No one leaves.” But they just did. Still, I shudder looking just above my head at the spot where Rose hit me.

I look west toward the Outlands, but I see nothing in the dark. Then, a light catches the corner of my vision to the north. 15.7 kilometers. It sways back and forth in the dark. It’s much too far to be Selah and the others. It would be a half-day journey on foot, but with how fast I am now . . .

Suddenly another light appears. The second light is brighter and steady. The swaying light approaches the other until they are so close, they could touch.

I could be there and back before anyone notices me missing.

I lower my signal as far as I can. I hover for a second, and when there are no other signals, I speed to the north. The lights grow brighter and brighter. In the dark, my vision shifts. The heat of the light glows just like the ant inside the tree. The shape of a—could it be? Yes: the shape of a person lights up orange and red in the darkness. But there’s more. Something else gives off heat too. Something far larger sits next to the person. It’s too far to see, but I will be there in . . . just . . . a . . . minute . . .

Then in an instant, they both disappear.

I fly low to the ground. A cloud of dust surrounds me and clouds my vision. I spin to look in all directions. But there’s no sign of what left the dust behind.

I know what I saw. Next time, I’ll have to be faster—if I’m lucky.

The last of the dust settles. Suddenly I’m reminded of Celia. Very slowly, I lift higher and higher. What if I’m hovering right over a wyrm? What if he devoured the person and burrowed beneath, like he’d done with her?

Spores can’t hurt me anymore.

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