The creature nosedived for the lynx. Its talon-like claws went for the lynx’s head. As it flapped its wings, the lynx began to rise. The bear grabbed the lynx by its tail and slammed the lynx’s entire body against the cylinder. Once the lynx began to show signs of losing consciousness, the bear stood on its hind legs and snapped the maimed lynx’s head. This was the first casualty of combat.
Ann new instantly that her animal guide was dead. The group had developed a new sense once the bond of human and guide was established. She incurred a vacuum within her. A sense of loss. A sense of loneliness. Johnny seemed to understand Ann’s experience and hugged her, “It’s okay, Ann. You got me. You got me.”
Tricia watched this display of love and affection between Johnny and Ann. She knew at this instant she and Johnny could never couple again. She felt a momentary sense of happiness for Ann. But that fleeting instance of selflessness was crowded out by a wave of jealousy. And as that emotion retreated, she smiled at the thought that she enjoyed Johnny’s affection first and that Ann was simply ‘sloppy seconds.’ She was gleeful at the thought.
The victorious grizzly concentrated on the creature flapping above. It tried to grab the creature as it roared its deafening cry. Ascending the stair case on its hind legs, the bear’s front legs were flailing at the creature above. The creature retreated to a higher level as the bear persevered ‘upward and onward.’
The bear’s strategy was to corner the creature at the top of the cylinder where it could not escape, then extend its claws to grasp its body and rip it to shreds.
The creature’s plans was to exhaust the bear and cause to lose its balance, nudge it off the staircase then claw it while using its serpentine tongue to prevent the bear’s breathing from mouth and nose.
Both strategies were reasonable, but luck played a crucial part in the end game: The creature reached the top of the cylinder and the bear lunged at it. The creature flapped with all its might enabling the bear to descend slower than the gravitational force although faster than a parachute effect. The two reached the ground floor with the creature completely in the bear’s vice-like grip. Although somewhat wounded, the bear ripped the creature into two pieces. And when the creature still moved, the bear ended its last breath of life.
At that instant, Tricia’s gleefulness vanished. A pit of loss overcame her. She groped her stomach in attempt to vanquish the sense of loss. Ann instantly knew what had happened. She ran to Tricia and grabbed her arm. “Tricia, it will pass. I understand what happened. It will pass.”
Tricia turned to Ann, “Yes that feeling is leaving me. Thanks for understanding, but you know, you really are a slut.” Ann smiled at Tricia and whispered, “No, I’m a whore. A real whore. And I like it.” The twosome laughed wildly.
The bear exhilarated in the aroma of death that surrounded him. He was in a victorious mood as he licked its wounds. Suddenly, the mood came to a halt when it heard the barking of Plato from the floor above. Surely that is where the birds were. He suspended his victorious mood and climbed the staircase with a limp from the previous battles.
Plato’s barks came to a fever pitch. Banks knew that the victor was coming for the remaining animals. As he turned towards the door to peek out, the door flew off its hinges knocking Banks down. The bear entered as the ravens hid atop the light fixtures.
Sway needed to rescue Peyton from becoming an inadvertent casualty. The battle was sure to come so she opened the bathroom door and pulled Peyton out. Peyton was screaming as she closed the door trapping Plato in the bathroom. “Sway, you just want to protect the ravens but what about Plato...he is no match for the bear.”
Holding onto Peyton with one hand she removed the unhinged door covering Banks with the other. The bear bashed in the bathroom door and Peyton screamed again. Meanwhile, the ravens rested quietly and were shielded from sight by the ceiling light fixture. They quietly communicated with one another.
Sway caught the sounds of the birds above and mentally understood their plan. Banks was bleeding from his forehead. Peyton yelled, “Red. I think that is red.” To which Banks assured, “Yep, blood is red.” Sway grabbed a pillowcase and wrapped it around Banks’ head.
Plato gave out a muffled cry as the bear pushed Plato’s head into the toilet bowl and drowned him. The demise of Plato created a wave of emptiness in Peyton. Peyton knew it was over and he sobbed.
The bear came out and scrutinized the room for birds. The White Raven leapt from the light fixture and dived for the bear’s eye. The beak unhinged the eye and caused the bear to lose balance and fall to the ground.
The Monarch Raven dived directly into the bear’s heart. In tandem, the two birds pecked at the eyes and heart. The bear was going into shock as Banks, Sway and Peyton watched.
With one final breath, the bear grabbed the White Raven and started to squeeze, but Sway was quick and grabbed the still bird from the bear’s claws. The Monarch Raven found the heart of the bear and punctured the life out of the grizzly.
All attention turned to the White Raven. It moved slightly. It was still alive. Johnny, Ann and Tricia came to the door. Sway’s attention switched from the bird and the group to the translucent walls. She saw Shaman Roger Rainwater in a chanting position.
The entrance/exit opened! Sway yelled, “Quick, down the stairs...let’s get out.
The shaman had opened the cylinder. Carrying the White Raven, Sway led the way. The Monarch Raven attached itself to Banks’ shoulder as Banks picked up Peyton and ran to the exit.
When Sway exited, she told the shaman that everyone must leave the summit. She forewarned what Evelyn said earlier, “Something terrible is going to happen, so run for you lives.”
The shaman had no doubt about Sway’s words. No questions. No comments. The shaman yelled to the others to run down the trail as fast as they could.
Most of the crowd followed instructions but some police officers would not budge. Sway turned around and counted, “One, two, three, four, five, five, five! Someone is missing!
Banks yelled, “I’ve got Peyton. Did you count Peyton? There’s Johnny and Ann. Tricia! Where is Tricia?”
Tricia was at the Eye of Mount Juneau. She grabbed her scarf which was attached to five pieces of gum. She stopped to think how badly she needed gum at that moment, when a pleasant looking rodent came to her feet. A porcupine to be exact. She bent down to pet its behind and its quills stood up with menace. And what followed was excruciating pain to Tricia.
Tricia’s screams were heard by the others as she came out with about fifty quills in her hand and legs. At the same time the opening of the cylinder closed. It began to rotate counterclockwise. At the top of the cylinder tornado like vortices spread out to the ocean, forest and wildlife wilderness. When each individual vortex hit land/water, it carried up nature’s animals. All looked up at the six vortices sucking up animals into the cylinder.
Sway yelled at Banks, “Do you have a pliers in your car? Those quills on Tricia have to be twisted out as opposed to being pulled out. Come Tricia, I need you to run.”
The police officers told them to stay and answer some questions. It was too late, they were running down the hill and as they ran, the vortices dissipated, the hatch reopened, and hundreds of animal ran out. The first group was a prickle of porcupines that ran up against the remaining people at the summit.
Several policemen with dozens of quills plunged into their legs retreated downhill in agony. Those that stayed watched a squadron of flying squirrels crawling out. The squirrels used the summit as a takeoff platform and initiated their running start: They opened a fold of skin, retracted their heads and gained lift that would last the entire downward journey. Their flight benefitted from the sloping Mount Juneau Trail.
Some squirrels displayed their hostility by landing on the necks of fire and rescue members and began chewing.
The shaman greeted the jogging group of Sway cupping the White Raven, Banks carrying crying-Peyton, Johnny and Ann holding hands as Tricia whined
about the quills. The Monarch Raven glided above the group as it noted the descent of the flying squirrels. The raven cawed and clicked as Sway warned of impending doom.
The shaman told the group that he’d take care of Tricia and for all to meet at the tribe’s compound. Meanwhile, other animals escaped from the cylinder apparently from the same vortex: Shrews, raccoons, weasels, minks and beavers all scurried down the trail.
Apparently that was the remainder of the first vortex. The next groups of animals appeared more menacing and the remaining few people from the media smartly jogged down. They were chased by a herd of moose with threatening antlers, a flock of mountain goats with alarming horns and a sloth of brown bears with hungry growls and then rushed a stampede of wild bison.
Banks shoved Peyton into his pickup as Sway entered from the other side. Johnny escorted Ann into his car and the shaman seated a whimpering Tricia. The shaman looked for his tools and found a scissors. He cut off the tops of the quills and found a pliers to twist off the shortened quills.
Johnny started his car and told Ann that he thought her family and the Powers’ kids’ family were currently safe atop the highest residential area of Juneau. He told her to call their parents and tell them the current status of the group and that the kids would be going over to the apartment at the complex. He started the car.
Banks car would not start. The thunderous noise of the running herd of moose was increasing in volume. Peyton noticed the shrews snapping at the tires. Curious raccoons surveyed the truck with interest, but the herd of moose mowed them down. Several moose stuck their antlers against the pickup. Three of them in unison battered the pickup as it slowly rolled over.
Johnny backed up his car quickly so that once the group was able to exit the top sided door, they could crawl onto the roof of his car. The plan was successful and Banks, Peyton and Sway were able to get into Johnny’s back seat as goats and bears were approaching.
The shaman phoned Marilyn and Carol and explained the situation. He told them to set up Banks’ old apartment on the second floor. The shaman added, “Be sure to board the windows and set up a sturdy barrier to the staircase and use the barbed wire from the shed. Explain to the others...quickly”
The next vortex arrived at the cylinder with things that fly. A parliament of owls were first to take flight. Followed by a threatening convocation of eagles. Then came the murder of crows and the unkindness of ravens. The final birds of a feather were a kettle of hawks and a descent of woodpeckers.
When the shaman and Tricia arrived at the compound, they were met with working tribe members securing the two story apartment complex. Tricia had finished rubbing the salve that Roger had given her. All quills were out and she was feeling better. Still, she decided to milk the incident for all it was worth. She limped out of the car and exaggerated her disability to the point that others noticed her. Once again, she was the center of attention until Johnny drove up with his group.
The Monarch Raven landed on the roof of Johnny’s car as Sway exited with the White Raven in her hands. Sway got the attention of the shaman who in turn told her that Marilyn and Carol had healing seeds and that the bird should be draped in a bed of watercress.
Sway thanked Roger and told him that the onslaught of animals was heading to the city. Banks and Peyton led Sway to Marilyn and Carol’s apartment as Johnny and Ann asked Roger how they could help.
Back at the summit, the last vortex that landed in the waters of Stephens Passage sucked up things that swam: a school of minnows, a down of sea urchins, an army of frogs, a bind of salmons, a rookery of seals and a gam of orca whales. Once released from the cylinder the flopping-flinging animals initiated a feeding frenzy. The result was that all the orcas survived and were sliding down hill after seals.
Inside the cylinder, Evelyn Sands unlocked the doors of her safe place. She closed the entrance/exit of the cylinder. The remaining vortex dissipated. She took a deep breath. And raised her arms to the opening above. She spoke as if she were being spoken too. “The animals have been released. Yes, that’s right. The cylinder will become invisible once again. I have done what you have requested of me. Well, well, one animal is alive but should die soon. It is the White Raven. Yes, the Monarch Raven was the victor. Well, not exactly. They all survived, unless one died when the group was released. Yes, I know. I am sorry. No there are no animals in the cylinder. Really? Where? What kind of animals? Oh, no. Of course, I will do as you say. Yes, I will kill the person myself if need be. Yes, I will. Please don’t release the animals...the wolves.”
Powwow
Above the Powers’ house on Skyline Boulevard in the gutter the raven egg moved a bit. If one were on the roof, the amazing view of the city below would be awesome. But right now, the view would include the rush of rodents and the stampedes of hoofed animals. Even the bears were threatened by the stampeding herds.
People were crushed to death. Cars thrust against concrete. Shops were devastated. And above, birds that flock together blocked the sunlight. An ominous curtain of flying animals shrouded the city of Juneau.
Stan Powers learned from Banks that Peyton and Tricia were sound asleep on the second floor of the compound where only yesterday morning he attended the wedding of Carol and Marilyn. His children’s habitat was Banks’ old apartment which still had boards of lumber covering all possible entry ways. In addition, Marilyn and Carol stood outside with fishing spears to protect them.
Banks had told Stan about Tricia’s encounter with a porcupine in front of Tricia where she screamed at his cell, “And I am limping from all those quills and the sting of the shaman’s creams made me cry.” But in a moment when Banks’ voice was out of earshot to Tricia he simply told him that she suffered the most minor of wounds and she would be just fine by morning.
Next came a discussion about Evelyn Sands which was awkward for Stan since she was his paramour in the past. She was also Julie’s best friend during the time she was pregnant. Stan could not figure out any reason that Peyton should be kidnapped by her unless it had something to do with their history.
Perhaps the most interesting point of the discussion was that Peyton had almost full use of his eyes. There was no medical or scientific evidence that this could possibly emerge. His best friend and next door neighbor Murray Abrams was the only ophthalmologist in Juneau and Murray had contacts all over the country. The Powers had taken Peyton to retina specialists, neurosurgeons and Eastern holistic doctors and all told them the same: “Abandon all hope.” But Peyton could see because of something Evelyn Sands was doing. The irony of it all!
When Stan ended the conversation he knew that time was of the essence. He asked Julie to get the Abrams and the Kadets over to his safe place while he boarded the windows for the second time in a month. He knew what eagles could do and that frightened him.
Mr. Kadet, Dassi and Julie hammered the wooden boards on the first floor. Stan was on his ladder taking care of the second floor. He got a glimpse of the egg in the gutter and thought that was interesting. He wanted a closer look but Julie screamed that birds were coming. Stan abandoned his interest in the egg and climbed down the ladder. He would attempt to board the upstairs windows from inside the house with furniture. His first glance at a group of birds was ominous. A descent of woodpeckers!
Inside the Powers’ house, Mrs. Kadet was asking Murray if her eyepatch of red, white and blue were acceptable since today was Labor Day. Murray said that he missed that lecture while in med school. When the others ran in, Mrs. Kadet suggested that they play music. Really loud music. “It might scare away the birds.” Murray thought that this was the most intelligent thing his neighbor had ever said. And Julie knew what to do as Stan secured the second floor. Then, they were ushered to the safe room.
Meanwhile, in his upstairs apartment, Roger Rainwater set up a circle of chairs while puffing on his pipe. He pointed and assigned chairs to Banks, Sway, Johnny and Ann. There was one empty chair left.
He clicked and cawed to the Monar
ch Raven and Sway knew that soon Chief Dan Blackhorse’s shape would be shifted for that empty chair. The raven leapt to the floor as Roger had placed a robe over the raven. Banks teared as the deceased Chief Dan rose from the floor and covered his body then took the empty seat.
The shaman began, “We begin with the ‘ua neeb’ which is the first part of our spiritual process. Johnny, you will learn more about this later. We must examine the spiritual aura by determining the facts that led us to this current situation. The shaman banged a drum while puffing on his pipe. He chanted in Tlingit and then turned to Banks, “When did this all begin, Banks?”
Banks responded, “It began The Night the Sky Fell, the night the Leonids fell to earth last November. That was the night that we all made wishes at the Powers’ house.”
“We need to start at the very beginning,” interrupted the shaman. “Go back when you were a baby. Can you help us Chief Dan?”
Dan said that he witnessed both of the two states. He witnessed the deaths of Banks’ parents both from his physical state as the Monarch Raven and as the physical state of Chief Dan, the brother of Banks’ father. “I know who killed Banks’ parents and who was responsible for my death. It was the Old Soul! And the Old Soul lived within Peyton Powers. Peyton was chosen by the Spirit Above Our Heads. But now, a new Old Soul is before us. And Peyton’s eyesight is the evidence of our Spirit’s transition of the Old Soul to another.”
Ann couldn’t hold it in any longer, “But Peyton wasn’t even born when he allegedly killed Banks’ parents.”
There was a silence as the shaman puffed on his pipe, then he simply said, “Isn’t that interesting?” He posed that question rhetorically as if he already knew the answer, but would not reveal it at this time.
The shaman continued, “Now, Banks, help me before I make spiritual contact, who is Evelyn Sands and what exactly did she say when you were all inside the cylinder?”
Banks recounted the words of Evelyn Sands. Johnny and Ann occasionally corrected him and he acknowledged and agreed to those corrections. It was repeated that all animal guides would die except one and one human would die. It was repeated that these events would occur before sunset...today.
The Day the Sky Shattered Page 6