Copyrighted 2002 - All rights reserved
_________________________________
THis was my first story ever published. Unfortunately, the e-zine has gone belly up!
Chaunte
The Attack of the Killer Geese: A Children's Story
I awoke with a start out of a deep, dreamless sleep. It took a moment to remember where I was.
It was a beautiful September day. The kids were playing in the yard and I had spent this autumn day raking leaves. With the job complete, I sat down to rest and enjoy the afternoon sun. The chair was just too comfortable and, soon, I had drifted off.
The kids were pointing at the sky and shouting to each other. That's when I saw them. Geese. Their honking has caused me to wake in a cold sweat for over twenty years, and probably will for the rest of my life.
My youngest one, Liam, saw me staring at the sky. He came running over and jumped onto my lap.
"Daddy, would you tell me about the geese again?"
"Sure," I replied with a forced smile. "A long time ago, back when I was a little boy..."
It was a cloudy afternoon. My sister, Beth, was drawing another sketch. I was finishing another video. It was a typical lazy Saturday. Mom called to us and said that we had some left over bread that was going stale and asked if we wanted to feed the birds.
"I know!" Beth said. "Let's go down to the lake and feed the geese!"
The movie was over and I knew Mom was chasing us outside to play. The sun was starting to come out from behind the clouds, so I said sure. We ran outside to wait for mom by the car. Beth had her drawing pad and I was humming the music from some action movie.
I didn't know that it was going to be dangerous.
Mom dropped us off near the lake and said she would be back soon to pick us up. There was a family of ducks near the water's edge. They looked hungry, so we thought we should give them something to eat.
We tossed a few bread crumbs in their direction and the ducks pounced on those first scraps. Beth threw a few more crumbs into the water so everyone could have a nibble. When we stopped the free meal, the ducks came out of the water and quacked for more. A few last crumbs sent them back into the lake.
We didn't know it, but we were being watched very carefully.
There was a flock of geese a little farther down the shore. We walked over to feed the closest group of birds.
Like before, we threw some bread crusts out into the water. The geese attacked the crumbs as if it was their first meal in days. They pushed and nipped at each other. Feathers were flying everywhere. The rest of the flock looked at us. Waiting.
They were hungry, too.
We threw some more crusts into the water. It was enough to feed a few more geese, but not enough for everyone. The geese started coming out of the water towards us, honking and hissing as they came.
I started to back away slowly, throwing crumbs in their direction the whole time. More geese came over to see what was happening. They saw the bread and started honking and hissing for their share. Soon, geese from all over the beach started to close in on us.
My imagination was starting to run wild. I swear that I could almost hear theme music in the background. It was the sort of music you hear when the bad guys come on the screen.
The geese almost seemed to be saying, "Drop the bread, and no one will get hurt."
We were outnumbered, and it wasn't looking good for us.
I suddenly bumped into something. Someone. It was my sister! She had been backing away from her own flock of angry geese. Now, here we were, standing back to back, facing more geese than what we could count.
I had seen this happen before in the movies. The heroes always ended up protecting each other. It always looked fun and exciting. Well, it was exciting, but I was too scared to be having any fun. Besides, didn't one of the heroes usually die in this scene?
"These geese are a lot bigger than the ducks," Beth said.
"Yeah, a lot bigger!"
By now, there were geese all around us. They were honking for bread and all I had left were a few slices.
"Beth," I whispered. "I'm running out of food!"
"So am I," she whispered back. Beth looked up and down the road that ran by the shore. "I wish Mom would get here!"
We threw a few more precious bits of bread at the flock. A few geese in the back slowed down just long enough to grab the morsels, but it didn't stop them. They kept coming right at us.
Closer.
And closer!
The movie music was getting louder in my head
I remembered hearing in school that birds might be related to dinosaurs, maybe meat-eating ones. I started to wonder what these dino-geese were going to nibble on first. I decided that I would make good finger sandwiches.
"I'm scared!" I whispered. "What are we going to do?"
It looked like there were more geese than ever! Now some seagulls and the first family of ducks we fed wanted to come to the feast. I wasn't sure there would be anything left for them after the dino-geese finished having us for dinner.
"We're not going to make it, are we." It was a statement and not a question. All sorts of movie scenes were racing through my head now. None of them pleasant and all of them involving the dino-geese that had us surrounded.
Before Beth could answer, our rescue pulled into view. Mom was coming down the road. All we had to do was get to the car without being eaten alive.
Easier said than done.
"Listen, I have an idea," Beth finally said. "Give me the bread."
I looked down at the single piece of bread I held in my hands. Just one tiny bit of crust to keep a zillion geese from eating us alive. I whispered back the only thing I could think of.
"Are you crazy? No way!"
"Trust me," she said confidently.
There was something in how my sister spoke that made me trust her. I handed her my last scrap of bread and held up my hands to show the geese that I was out of food. That seemed to make them angrier.
I was sure going to miss my fingers.
"When I shout 'now,' I want you to run for the car," she said. "Don't look back, just run. Okay?"
My whole body shook in reply.
Mom's car was slowing to a stop. The geese paid no attention to it as they continued their relentless match toward us.
"Ready..."
Mom honked and waved at us. The sound just added to the feeding frenzy.
"Set..."
We were doomed, and Mom couldn't stop it.
"...NOW!"
Beth threw the last crust at the flock and then charged at the birds. I mean she ran right at them!
There were feathers and wings flying everywhere. Honks, hisses and shouts filled the air. The movie music was reaching its climax!
"Run!" I heard her cry out.
She didn't need to tell me again! My legs were like bolts of lightning. In a flash I was in the car. I nearly slammed the door on a goose that still wanted a piece of me. Probably a finger.
As the cloud of dust and feathers started to settle, I looked for Beth. I couldn't see her. The geese were probably eating her alive while I sat in the car! I had to rescue her!
I was just about to jump out of the car when the other door suddenly opened. My sister calmly climbed in and fastened her seat belt. There were a few feathers on her, but she seemed okay.
"Did you have a good time?" Mom asked.
"It was okay," Beth replied. "The geese were a little hungry."
"It looked like it," was all Mom said.
I looked at Beth and she at me. Then she gave me a wink to know that everything was fine.
Then I did something I had never done before. I reached over and took my sister's hand. She gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled at me. I smiled back in relief.
She was the hero. I was the sidekick. And I was okay with that.
I looked up from telling my story and saw that the rest of the kids had gathered to hear it as well.
"I like that story," Liam said, and ran off to play.
I smiled and was about to get up...
... when I heard them!
I turned and there was a gaggle of geese sitting on the lawn. They were between me and the back door of the house.
They started to honk angrily. The geese almost seemed to be saying, "Drop the bread, and no one will get hurt."
I could hear the movie music starting to play in my mind...[/size]
