Read The Encounter for Free Online Page A
Authors: K. A. Applegate
further and stood his ground.
The dead rabbit lay between them, only a few feet from the vicious teeth on either side.
I said.
No answer. Everyone was so tense they were quivering. At any second this would explode into all-out gang warfare of the wolf variety.
I knew what I should do. But it went against every instinct in the hawk’s brain.
And Tobias the human wasn’t exactly thrilled, either.
I flapped up to gain a little height. I would need the speed. Then I locked my eyes on that rabbit and prayed that I was as fast as I thought I was.
Down I shot. My talons came forward.
“Tseeeeer!”
I screamed.
Zoom!
A wolf on each side.
A dead rabbit.
Thwack!
My talons hit the dead animal and snatched at the fur.
I flapped once, twice. The rabbit came off the ground.
The big wolf lunged. I could feel his teeth rake my tail.
I flapped for all I was worth, scooting along the ground, half-carrying, half-dragging the dead rabbit, with the wolf racing just inches behind me.
Rachel cried.
I yelled.
Fortunately, when he isn’t being an idiot wolf, Jake is quick and decisive.
I dropped the rabbit just as the wolf caught up to me.
SNAP!
Jaws that could kill a moose scissored the air a tenth of an inch from me. I’m telling you, he was close enough for me to count his molars.
I felt the tiniest bit of a breeze. It was enough. I opened my wings and let the breeze lift me up and away.
I said.
I said. Tail feathers grow back.
I caught up with the others. They were moving as fast as wolves can move. Time was running short. I didn’t know exactly how much time. It was one of the continuing problems of morphing. Even if you
could
wear a watch, you wouldn’t want to. A wolf or a hawk with a watch looks slightly suspicious.
I said. I was tired. Very tired, after the long flight here and not one but two close calls involving wolves. The hawk inme just wanted to find a nice branch with a view of an open field and take a rest. But I knew I couldn’t.
I gained a little altitude, not too much. Just enough to spot one of the Park Service trucks. The Controllers were off somewhere, but there was a clock in the dashboard.
I stared at the number in disbelief.
It had to be wrong! It had to be!
CHAPTER 11
I wasn’t tired anymore.
At top speed, I raced back to my friends. I felt sick. I felt like my heart was going to burst.
They had missed the deadline! It was too late. Too late, and they would all be trapped. Like me. Forever.
I screamed as I closed in on them.
Thought-speak is like regular speech. It gets harder to hear the farther away you are.
Maybe the clock in the truck was off. Maybe five minutes one way or the other wouldn’t matter.
There! I saw them. Four wolves moving relentlessly toward the distant city.
I screamed as I shot like a bullet over their heads.
Marco demanded.
That got them going. I landed, exhausted, on a branch.
Cassie was the first to begin the change. Her fur grew short. Her snout flattened into a nose. Long human legs swelled and burst from the thin dog legs.
Her tail sucked back in and disappeared. She was already more than half human by the time the first changes began to appear on the others.
I urged them.
Jake demanded.
I said. It was a lie. According to the clock, they were already seven minutes too late.
Too late.
And yet Cassie was continuing to emerge from her wolf body. Skin was replacing fur. Her leotard covered her legs.
But the others were not so lucky.
I heard Rachel cry in my mind. Her morph was going all wrong. Her human
The dead rabbit lay between them, only a few feet from the vicious teeth on either side.
No answer. Everyone was so tense they were quivering. At any second this would explode into all-out gang warfare of the wolf variety.
I knew what I should do. But it went against every instinct in the hawk’s brain.
And Tobias the human wasn’t exactly thrilled, either.
I flapped up to gain a little height. I would need the speed. Then I locked my eyes on that rabbit and prayed that I was as fast as I thought I was.
Down I shot. My talons came forward.
“Tseeeeer!”
I screamed.
Zoom!
A wolf on each side.
A dead rabbit.
Thwack!
My talons hit the dead animal and snatched at the fur.
I flapped once, twice. The rabbit came off the ground.
The big wolf lunged. I could feel his teeth rake my tail.
I flapped for all I was worth, scooting along the ground, half-carrying, half-dragging the dead rabbit, with the wolf racing just inches behind me.
Fortunately, when he isn’t being an idiot wolf, Jake is quick and decisive.
I dropped the rabbit just as the wolf caught up to me.
SNAP!
Jaws that could kill a moose scissored the air a tenth of an inch from me. I’m telling you, he was close enough for me to count his molars.
I felt the tiniest bit of a breeze. It was enough. I opened my wings and let the breeze lift me up and away.
I said. Tail feathers grow back.
I caught up with the others. They were moving as fast as wolves can move. Time was running short. I didn’t know exactly how much time. It was one of the continuing problems of morphing. Even if you
could
wear a watch, you wouldn’t want to. A wolf or a hawk with a watch looks slightly suspicious.
I gained a little altitude, not too much. Just enough to spot one of the Park Service trucks. The Controllers were off somewhere, but there was a clock in the dashboard.
I stared at the number in disbelief.
It had to be wrong! It had to be!
CHAPTER 11
I wasn’t tired anymore.
At top speed, I raced back to my friends. I felt sick. I felt like my heart was going to burst.
They had missed the deadline! It was too late. Too late, and they would all be trapped. Like me. Forever.
Thought-speak is like regular speech. It gets harder to hear the farther away you are.
There! I saw them. Four wolves moving relentlessly toward the distant city.
That got them going. I landed, exhausted, on a branch.
Cassie was the first to begin the change. Her fur grew short. Her snout flattened into a nose. Long human legs swelled and burst from the thin dog legs.
Her tail sucked back in and disappeared. She was already more than half human by the time the first changes began to appear on the others.
Too late.
And yet Cassie was continuing to emerge from her wolf body. Skin was replacing fur. Her leotard covered her legs.
But the others were not so lucky.
I heard Rachel cry in my mind. Her morph was going all wrong. Her human
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