The
shutters on the first window were still open, allowing the evening
to lend a faint light that spread across the scattered bones.
Lauren picked her way around them the best she could, hating the
crunch that came from beneath her feet whenever she inadvertently
stepped on one. Her skin crawled with revulsion.
Finally she reached the window. She
pulled the shutters all the way back, curled her fingers through
the holes in the wire and tugged. The wire hardly moved. Lauren
jerked backward with all her strength.
“Ow!” she cried and pulled her hands
away. The wire had cut into her fingers, but had barely budged. She
tried the next window and the next, but they were all the same.
Strong. Unmoveable. There could be no escape from the chicken
coop.
Lauren crept to the chicken coop door
and looked out at the darkness that spread before her.
What
next? she wondered. The
stalls? Or the other big pen? Both seemed incredibly
unappealing. But I’ve got to do one
or the other quick. It’s going to be pitch black in here
soon.
Lauren moved along the line of stalls,
her eyes trying to pierce through the shadows to see if any windows
were against the back wall. But none of the stalls had a square of
lightness at the back of it. When she reached the last stall, she
heard one of kittens meow.
“What’s wrong, buddy. Where are
you?”
The kitten’s mew came again and Lauren
made her way to where she thought her jacket lay. When she drew
near, she dropped to her knees and felt the floor in front of her
with outstretched hands. After a minute, she felt its wet softness.
The kittens were gone.
“Where are you, guys?” she called again.
A mew came from above her head.
The loft! The kittens were back in the
loft.
And there was a huge open door to the
outside in the loft. Excitement made Lauren’s heart race. I know I could find a way down.
There’s got to be some ropes or boards or something up there I can
use. As a last resort, I can jump. It’s high, but not that high.
And it’s a lot better than spending the night in this horrible
barn.
As fast as she could, she moved to where
she remembered the ladder to the loft being. Within seconds, she
felt the rungs beneath her hands. She lifted her foot and put it on
the first rung, then pulled herself up. The ladder creaked beneath
her, but it held. She reached higher with her foot and hand and
pulled herself up another rung. “I’m coming, kitties,” she said
when she heard the curious mew come from above her.
When she was halfway up, one of the
rungs came loose. Lauren’s feet fell back to the rung below it and
her she gripped the ladder tightly with her hands. She looked down.
The barn below was pitch black now. She could see nothing but
darkness. In her imagination, the animal bones began to stir in
their stalls again. Started to reassemble themselves. Started to
move toward her.
Don’t be
silly! she commanded herself. With a desperate lunge she
moved her foot up two rungs and pushed upward. Her hands clutched
at a higher rung. She could see the sky now, through the trapdoor
in the ceiling, and the big opening to the outside. The clouds were
almost gone and the fading red of sunset streaked across the sky.
Water dripped from the roof of the barn.
The two kittens looked down at her,
curiously. She was almost there. Just two more rungs. And she could
even see the rungs now. She didn’t just have to feel for them.
The ladder shuddered. A metallic squeak
speared the air. The squeak came again and the ladder fell back an
inch from the wall. Lauren turned horrified eyes to where it was
attached. Her weight was pulling the nails right out of the weak,
rotting wood. She had to hurry!
A long shriek sliced through the air and
the ladder tilted back farther. Without thinking, Lauren pushed
upward and made a wild grab for the edge of the loft.
But she was too late. The ladder came
free with a final wrenching sound and fell backward. There was
nothing she could do.
Lauren
shutters on the first window were still open, allowing the evening
to lend a faint light that spread across the scattered bones.
Lauren picked her way around them the best she could, hating the
crunch that came from beneath her feet whenever she inadvertently
stepped on one. Her skin crawled with revulsion.
Finally she reached the window. She
pulled the shutters all the way back, curled her fingers through
the holes in the wire and tugged. The wire hardly moved. Lauren
jerked backward with all her strength.
“Ow!” she cried and pulled her hands
away. The wire had cut into her fingers, but had barely budged. She
tried the next window and the next, but they were all the same.
Strong. Unmoveable. There could be no escape from the chicken
coop.
Lauren crept to the chicken coop door
and looked out at the darkness that spread before her.
What
next? she wondered. The
stalls? Or the other big pen? Both seemed incredibly
unappealing. But I’ve got to do one
or the other quick. It’s going to be pitch black in here
soon.
Lauren moved along the line of stalls,
her eyes trying to pierce through the shadows to see if any windows
were against the back wall. But none of the stalls had a square of
lightness at the back of it. When she reached the last stall, she
heard one of kittens meow.
“What’s wrong, buddy. Where are
you?”
The kitten’s mew came again and Lauren
made her way to where she thought her jacket lay. When she drew
near, she dropped to her knees and felt the floor in front of her
with outstretched hands. After a minute, she felt its wet softness.
The kittens were gone.
“Where are you, guys?” she called again.
A mew came from above her head.
The loft! The kittens were back in the
loft.
And there was a huge open door to the
outside in the loft. Excitement made Lauren’s heart race. I know I could find a way down.
There’s got to be some ropes or boards or something up there I can
use. As a last resort, I can jump. It’s high, but not that high.
And it’s a lot better than spending the night in this horrible
barn.
As fast as she could, she moved to where
she remembered the ladder to the loft being. Within seconds, she
felt the rungs beneath her hands. She lifted her foot and put it on
the first rung, then pulled herself up. The ladder creaked beneath
her, but it held. She reached higher with her foot and hand and
pulled herself up another rung. “I’m coming, kitties,” she said
when she heard the curious mew come from above her.
When she was halfway up, one of the
rungs came loose. Lauren’s feet fell back to the rung below it and
her she gripped the ladder tightly with her hands. She looked down.
The barn below was pitch black now. She could see nothing but
darkness. In her imagination, the animal bones began to stir in
their stalls again. Started to reassemble themselves. Started to
move toward her.
Don’t be
silly! she commanded herself. With a desperate lunge she
moved her foot up two rungs and pushed upward. Her hands clutched
at a higher rung. She could see the sky now, through the trapdoor
in the ceiling, and the big opening to the outside. The clouds were
almost gone and the fading red of sunset streaked across the sky.
Water dripped from the roof of the barn.
The two kittens looked down at her,
curiously. She was almost there. Just two more rungs. And she could
even see the rungs now. She didn’t just have to feel for them.
The ladder shuddered. A metallic squeak
speared the air. The squeak came again and the ladder fell back an
inch from the wall. Lauren turned horrified eyes to where it was
attached. Her weight was pulling the nails right out of the weak,
rotting wood. She had to hurry!
A long shriek sliced through the air and
the ladder tilted back farther. Without thinking, Lauren pushed
upward and made a wild grab for the edge of the loft.
But she was too late. The ladder came
free with a final wrenching sound and fell backward. There was
nothing she could do.
Lauren
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