Page 10 of Echo
Ranger laid his head in my lap, trying to soothe the fury he could no doubt sense brewing in me.
The hard ground was covered in little white flowers, and like the mature adult I was I picked one and threw it at the cage. The flower managed to slide through the chicken mesh and onto the other side with the Keeper of Eggs. To say the rooster attacked that flower like a starved man would be an understatement. Who fed the animals while the land was exchanging hands? I threw another flower and had the same response. The hens all meandered up curiously wanting some too. “Are you hungry too?”
They didn’t answer. Instead, they cocked their heads to the side as if to wait patiently for more. Okay. If I were animal feed where would I be?
The barn.
I was being an asshole cause I was hungry. Of course, the animals would feel the same.
I opened the barn door, and the cows mooed at me. Shit, everything was probably hungry. If I was lucky, Eddie had fed them recently.
Okay. If I wanted stuff to feed me, I probably had to feed them. That was solid logic, right?
Eventually, I found feed for the cows, but nothing for the damn chickens.
Fuck a duck.
“What do chickens eat?” I asked myself. I fed the cows to fuel my sense of accomplishment and went out the other side of the barn to find a giant garden and orchard that I overlooked.
Okay, there was no joke about there being plenty of food, as long as I managed to keep everything alive. I was glad I didn’t waste my money. I went through the rows and found some squash that was in less than stellar condition. Probably from being over ripe.
I grabbed those and went back to the coop. “Okay. Mr. Dinosaur, Sir. Fair trade, okay?”
I opened the door, and tossed in the squashes, like they were hand grenades, snapping the door shut before he could attack me. The squash split in two when it hit the ground, and in seconds chickens were feasting on them.
I tip-toed in, grabbed a few eggs off the ground, and boogied out, shutting the coop door with my hip. But then I didn’t have a free hand to latch the door. I was suddenly jealous of that apron Hilda Falin wore in town. It would be perfect for this.
With some finagling, the door latched into place.
Madison -1, Dinosaur Chicken -1.
At least we were tied now, and I had something to eat. With plenty of stuff from the garden to put with it.
Ranger growled and snatched my attention away from my victory. His black fur stood up on the back of his neck as he backed into my legs, like he was guiding me away.
“Oh, fuck. What is it?” Please not the bear.
That’s when I heard it. Barking and growling from the treeline. I let out a sigh of relief.
It was four-ish, so there wasn’t a reason for a wolf or coyote to be active. The only other thing that could make those sounds was another dog.
And what was I supposed to do about it? Go in the house anytime an animal comes out? Shoot it? Set traps? I didn’t thinkany of that was feasible. People had to get things done. They couldn’t be stuck in their houses all day. I didn’t know where the gun was, and if it was this close to the house, it was probably too late for a trap.
I scanned the treeline, searching for the source of the sound. It sounded pretty far off, maybe I should ignore it. Sallie Mae’s words echoed in my mind,respect the mountains.
Was this one of those things where, if I left it alone, it would leave me alone?
Ranger’s head whipped to the trees to the left and barked like he had a mission. My eyes went to where his attention was. As my eyes moved, I could have sworn in the corner of my gaze a tall figure moved behind a tree.
My heart stopped.
That wasn’t dog or bear-shaped.
Had he already caught up to me?
No. That didn’t make sense. It took me days to get here. Unless he’d been following me the whole time, And if he was he would have caught me well before now.
My throat closed and my lungs stopped working, as my heart pounded against my chest hard enough to make my breast bone complain.
