NO ORDINARY OWL Read Free Page A

okay.” Her face twisted—probably so she wouldn’t cry. Vee stood up and brushed herself off. “I think I’ll live.” Her clean jeans now had muddied knees. The palms of her hands were muddy and scraped. “C’mon, let’s lie down in here so we’re not the tallest things on the road.”
    That was it. Now Esther remembered.
    I mean, that’s not it
.
    Weather camp:
Never, never lie down in a ditch when there’s lightning
. That scrap of memory ejected itself from the past into the now. The wind was picking up. She had to shout to be heard. “No, don’t lie down!” They were supposed to get into a car, roll up the windows, and not touch the sides of the car.
    Except they didn’t have a car.
    The girls were looking at her, expecting her to have a better idea. After all, she was the Internet expert.
    Squeezing her brakes, Esther stopped so suddenly her back tire skittered a bit. With a big wobble of the handlebars, she managed to get her feet down and keep the rest of her standing up.
Away from trees?
There was nothing
but
trees. Trees on either side of the road. Trees over that creepy black fence. Trees as far as she could see across the road.
    “No, don’t lie down in the ditch!” Her breath came in gasps. Uncle Dave’s ranch was still out of sight on the road that began at the community center and wound its way as a country road. About the only ones who drove it were the people who lived in the sparsely dotted homes, farms, and ranches. Boy, did they need help now. “Help, Lord!”
    The first rumble of thunder sounded like a giant’s stomach had just decided it was lunchtime. Heavy drops screamed for a few more of their fat friends, and in the time it took Esther to scan for a spot with no trees, the girls’ legs and feet were sopping. If they hadn’t quickly tied the hoods of the many-colored raincoats, they would look like they’d just washed their hair.
    “We look like M&M heads,” Sunny said.
    Flash!
One–two–three–four—BOOM!
    Aneta screamed.
    Vee jumped.
    Sunny laughed. “I think my ribs rattled!”
    Esther needed a plan to help her friends.
    In the next moment, while they crouched near the side of the road away from the big bare tree that leaned over the black fence, the air stilled. Solitary still. Scary still. Like nature had sucked in a bottomless breath and held the planet hostage. A tingle shivered through Esther.
Whoa. What was that?
    Thwaaack!
Not a pop, not a thud.
Something hit by something else
.
    “My cousin’s car!” Sunny shouted, looking around.
    “It’s a gun!” Vee flattened herself on the ground.
    Aneta and Sunny joined her. “Esther, get down!”
    Esther dropped so fast dirt went up her nose.
    A rustle in the overarching branches of the big tree made them look up in time to see two objects, one larger than the other, dropping fast in front of their faces.
    Two pairs of round yellow eyes; wings spread awkwardly; wideopen, sharply curved beaks hissing; and a strange sound that could not be mistaken for anything other than pain.
    And blood. Blood on the feathers. Blood on the ground.

Chapter 3

    The Man with the Mask
    A neta screamed.
    Vee pulled her hood up until it covered her eyes. “What is that?”
    “Blood. There’s blood!” Sunny scooted back from the two owls.
    “Are they dead?” Esther watched. One wasn’t. It twitched and flopped. The other was still, raindrops denting the feathers. Dead?
    Aneta crawled forward on her elbows toward the two big-eyed owls. Yellow eyes the size of dimes. “Oh, the poor things are hurt!”
    The sharp-looking beak opened farther. Another hiss. Another flop with the brown, white, and gray feathers.
    Vee threw back her hood and crouched by the two birds. While the storm continued to jolt and pour, Esther didn’t know what to do. But she did know if they didn’t get somewhere safe, both the girls and the owls would be dead. She cast another look back down the road.
    The truck! It had stopped at the big black fence.