2
It’s a Giant Owl
________________________________________________
------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Suddenly, a rooster crowed. He called out fondly to his pet rooster, “Hey, you out there! This is Texas! Are you dreaming you’re still in Kikicoo? That’s the moon shining out there in the sky, not the morning sun. Stupid bird.” While mentally calculating the time of day in Kikicoo, he slowly dozed off.
He took a look at the clock; it was exactly twelve minutes after twelve. This is the police’s duty. Shit…Why are they so persistent on calling me this time of night? Although ignoring those ff-calls with a sense of uneasiness, he still managed to doze off again.
Fifteen minutes later, the sheriff further annoyed him with another ff-call to inform him that the girl had been “released” by the giant owl in exchange for Senator Spencer’s baby. That’s none of my business, right? I’m just an inconspicuous professor, and the giant owl was not a specimen from my lab. Why is the sheriff reporting to me everything that happened? When did I turn into the director of the FBI? Soon he dozed off again.
At 1:30 a.m., an imperative personal call from Senator Spencer heightened the sense of urgency that awakened Roc fully.
“I’m sorry to bother you at this late hour, Professor. It took a while for several people to convince me you were the only suitable candidate to lead this search and rescue expedition.”
Roc gritted his teeth and glared at the clock. “Why don’t you ask that famous Dr. Dick to help you? Wasn’t he invited to your house last night? Now at this insane hour you ask me to go out there catch a bird? Sorry, but I’m losing sleep.”
* * * * * *
Around midnight, Roc lay half-awake on the bed, wondering if he was having a series of nightmares, as frantic emergency calls from the KIPC competition chairman and the county sheriff subsequently rang one after another, attempting to inform him that a giant owl had “kidnapped” one of the competitors’ three-year-old sister.He took a look at the clock; it was exactly twelve minutes after twelve. This is the police’s duty. Shit…Why are they so persistent on calling me this time of night? Although ignoring those ff-calls with a sense of uneasiness, he still managed to doze off again.
Fifteen minutes later, the sheriff further annoyed him with another ff-call to inform him that the girl had been “released” by the giant owl in exchange for Senator Spencer’s baby. That’s none of my business, right? I’m just an inconspicuous professor, and the giant owl was not a specimen from my lab. Why is the sheriff reporting to me everything that happened? When did I turn into the director of the FBI? Soon he dozed off again.
At 1:30 a.m., an imperative personal call from Senator Spencer heightened the sense of urgency that awakened Roc fully.
“I’m sorry to bother you at this late hour, Professor. It took a while for several people to convince me you were the only suitable candidate to lead this search and rescue expedition.”
Roc gritted his teeth and glared at the clock. “Why don’t you ask that famous Dr. Dick to help you? Wasn’t he invited to your house last night? Now at this insane hour you ask me to go out there catch a bird? Sorry, but I’m losing sleep.”
Roc provoked the snobbish senator deliberately. The reason he’d been declined for the party was because the senator thought Dr. Dick Fisher’s dad was a famous anchorman. Roc refused to call him “Dr. Fisher.” The guy was a dick.
“No! No! You are the best biologist in this region and you are also one of the finest specialists in birds. Our SAR team really needs your expertise and experience to search for that bizarre giant owl that stole my baby.”
“Ornithologist.”
“Sorry for my ignorance. Please, will you come lead the search?”
The amenable tone in the man’s voice mollified Roc. “Hmmm—all right, I’m on my way now.”
After Senator Spencer put down his ff-phone he remembered just two days ago he had refused a request from a former Miss Texas to invite a TAMUK professor he never heard of to attend his party. Oh shit…that’s him!
* * * * * *
A group of hidden thieves from Rodriguez Ranch couldn’t believe their luck. Just as they were preparing to steal Professor Rochester’s rooster, their prying eyes noticed the professor’s house suddenly brightening up and they saw him bustling around.
Soon they saw him leaving the house in a great hurry—hopping into his vintage Land Rover and zooming off with a blast of trailing thick black smoke that dissipated under the streetlights and soon into the darkness.
The thieves who had been crouching and waiting behind the shrubs nervously breathed easier; they now had the freedom to take a few puffs before proceeding to steal the rooster as planned.
“No! No! You are the best biologist in this region and you are also one of the finest specialists in birds. Our SAR team really needs your expertise and experience to search for that bizarre giant owl that stole my baby.”
“Ornithologist.”
“Sorry for my ignorance. Please, will you come lead the search?”
The amenable tone in the man’s voice mollified Roc. “Hmmm—all right, I’m on my way now.”
After Senator Spencer put down his ff-phone he remembered just two days ago he had refused a request from a former Miss Texas to invite a TAMUK professor he never heard of to attend his party. Oh shit…that’s him!
* * * * * *
A group of hidden thieves from Rodriguez Ranch couldn’t believe their luck. Just as they were preparing to steal Professor Rochester’s rooster, their prying eyes noticed the professor’s house suddenly brightening up and they saw him bustling around.
Soon they saw him leaving the house in a great hurry—hopping into his vintage Land Rover and zooming off with a blast of trailing thick black smoke that dissipated under the streetlights and soon into the darkness.
The thieves who had been crouching and waiting behind the shrubs nervously breathed easier; they now had the freedom to take a few puffs before proceeding to steal the rooster as planned.
They approached the coop with an imitative cock’s crowing in their thick soothing voices, “Cock-a-doodle-doo…cock—oh FUCK!”
These thieves weren’t aware that this particular species of primitive fowl could recognize its master and even its master’s voice, thus it would act very aggressive toward any stranger.
Painful screams were muffled but replaced by clear, undertoned curses. “Shit! Oh, damn fowl! I’ll castrate you—let’s see if you’re able to cluck or rock with your hens anymore!”
“Hey, this bastard can’t understand you. Let’s get out of here quick.”
Soon all the noises dwindled, followed by five or six creeping black shadows camouflaged under the darkness. They skedaddled and soon disappeared from Professor Rochester’s house with one of them carrying a rooster-filled cage.
-----------------------------------
These thieves weren’t aware that this particular species of primitive fowl could recognize its master and even its master’s voice, thus it would act very aggressive toward any stranger.
Painful screams were muffled but replaced by clear, undertoned curses. “Shit! Oh, damn fowl! I’ll castrate you—let’s see if you’re able to cluck or rock with your hens anymore!”
“Hey, this bastard can’t understand you. Let’s get out of here quick.”
Soon all the noises dwindled, followed by five or six creeping black shadows camouflaged under the darkness. They skedaddled and soon disappeared from Professor Rochester’s house with one of them carrying a rooster-filled cage.
-----------------------------------
-----------------------------------
P.N.V. is available at:
No comments:
Post a Comment