The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien-Jones Page B
Authors: Christine Brodien-Jones
Tags: Fiction, General, All Ages, Children's Books, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Family, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, Magic, Fantasy & Magic, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Nature & the Natural World, Social Issues, Animals, Human-animal relationships, Children: Grades 4-6, Friendship, Nature, Body; Mind & Spirit, Family - General, Social Issues - Friendship, Magick Studies, Prophecies, Owls, Birds, Environment, Nature & the Natural World - Environment
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angles. "A giant grub, maybe?"
Max was too terrified to speak. How could Rose be so casual? Why wasn't she frightened? He heard the creature's wings crackle as they opened. It was a sound he remembered clearly from his dreams.
"Looks like somebody hacked those with a scissors," said Rose.
Max stared at the creature in horror and disbelief. Its face looked pliable and half-formed, like one of Mrs. Crumlin's griddle cakes. The eyes were sunk deep into its head, so deep he couldn't see them. It was all he could do to not throw up.
"It can't be a worm or a grub, can it?" Rose went on. "Because it's got those tacky-looking wings." Her eyes grew bigger. "Hey, it could be a genetically spliced mutant! My dad would know for sure. You can bet it was made in a laboratory."
"You don't know that," said Max, his voice shaky. "It could be some animal we never saw before, something from a swamp or a jungle--"
Nostrils quivering, the creature flicked its stringy tongue.
"Yeeks, black licorice!" Rose glanced up at Max. "See how its tongue forks at the end? These mutants are lethal, you know, they can slice you to ribbons in minutes flat."
Max nodded. She didn't have to tell him--he already knew.
The creature snarled at them, showing two rows of tiny serrated teeth.
"Nice choppers," quipped Rose, as if she wasn't in the least bit scared. "That's how it rips things apart."
103
Max was repulsed, horrified. His heart hammered so loud he was sure Rose could hear it. How could she be joking at a time like this? His stomach churned wildly.
He looked over at Rose. Her green eyes were gigantic, like they belonged to some extraterrestrial being. Rose is frightened too, he told himself, she's just good at hiding it.
The creature pressed its face to the screen and hissed. Max jumped. "It's got no eyes!" he screamed.
"Those little operating tables, the teeny-tiny instruments," Rose whispered. "The eyeballs in the fridge, Max! They were going to give it eyes!"
"Don't say any more, Rose, I don't want to know." Max backed away, sickened to the core. The creature writhed and squirmed, clawing at the sides of the box.
He had to get away from here; his nerves were shot and his sun mark throbbed painfully. Worst of all, the creature's shrieks were getting inside his head.
"I'm going, Rose," he said. At this point he didn't care what she thought of him. "Are you coming?"
"Look, it's bleeding, Max! It cut itself on the wire."
Max peered into the box, trying not to gag. He could see a trail of purple-black liquid, flecked with bits of red, oozing from its leg.
He looked up in horror at Rose.
"Those glass tubes," she murmured, leaning closer to the box, "that bubbly purple stuff with red bits in it..." He watched the color drain out of her face. "Oh, Max--"
Thoroughly rattled, he shook his head vehemently. "No, Rose,
104
that would never happen." He knew Dr. Tredegar would never inject him with blood from a gene-spliced creature. "Only mad scientists in comic books do things like that."
And yet, he thought, only a mad scientist would create a genetically altered mutant like this one.
"Forget your stupid comic books!" shouted Rose. "Mad scientists work for the High Echelon! The government funded all this!"
Max felt a roaring inside his head. Sickened and overwhelmed, he slumped against the wall, the harsh reality sinking in at last. It was time to stop kidding himself and admit that Rose was right. Gran had always said the High Echelon was evil, but he'd never realized how truly malevolent it was. How could he deny the secret experiments, he asked himself, when he was staring one in the face?
Rose grabbed his hand, squeezing it so tightly his bones felt crushed. "Do you know what this means? They're giving you this mutant's blood! Why, Max?"
The creature flung its grublike body against the mesh, whipping its head back and forth. As it twisted and turned, Max saw a yellow shape on the side of its head and beside it the number 176.
"A
Max was too terrified to speak. How could Rose be so casual? Why wasn't she frightened? He heard the creature's wings crackle as they opened. It was a sound he remembered clearly from his dreams.
"Looks like somebody hacked those with a scissors," said Rose.
Max stared at the creature in horror and disbelief. Its face looked pliable and half-formed, like one of Mrs. Crumlin's griddle cakes. The eyes were sunk deep into its head, so deep he couldn't see them. It was all he could do to not throw up.
"It can't be a worm or a grub, can it?" Rose went on. "Because it's got those tacky-looking wings." Her eyes grew bigger. "Hey, it could be a genetically spliced mutant! My dad would know for sure. You can bet it was made in a laboratory."
"You don't know that," said Max, his voice shaky. "It could be some animal we never saw before, something from a swamp or a jungle--"
Nostrils quivering, the creature flicked its stringy tongue.
"Yeeks, black licorice!" Rose glanced up at Max. "See how its tongue forks at the end? These mutants are lethal, you know, they can slice you to ribbons in minutes flat."
Max nodded. She didn't have to tell him--he already knew.
The creature snarled at them, showing two rows of tiny serrated teeth.
"Nice choppers," quipped Rose, as if she wasn't in the least bit scared. "That's how it rips things apart."
103
Max was repulsed, horrified. His heart hammered so loud he was sure Rose could hear it. How could she be joking at a time like this? His stomach churned wildly.
He looked over at Rose. Her green eyes were gigantic, like they belonged to some extraterrestrial being. Rose is frightened too, he told himself, she's just good at hiding it.
The creature pressed its face to the screen and hissed. Max jumped. "It's got no eyes!" he screamed.
"Those little operating tables, the teeny-tiny instruments," Rose whispered. "The eyeballs in the fridge, Max! They were going to give it eyes!"
"Don't say any more, Rose, I don't want to know." Max backed away, sickened to the core. The creature writhed and squirmed, clawing at the sides of the box.
He had to get away from here; his nerves were shot and his sun mark throbbed painfully. Worst of all, the creature's shrieks were getting inside his head.
"I'm going, Rose," he said. At this point he didn't care what she thought of him. "Are you coming?"
"Look, it's bleeding, Max! It cut itself on the wire."
Max peered into the box, trying not to gag. He could see a trail of purple-black liquid, flecked with bits of red, oozing from its leg.
He looked up in horror at Rose.
"Those glass tubes," she murmured, leaning closer to the box, "that bubbly purple stuff with red bits in it..." He watched the color drain out of her face. "Oh, Max--"
Thoroughly rattled, he shook his head vehemently. "No, Rose,
104
that would never happen." He knew Dr. Tredegar would never inject him with blood from a gene-spliced creature. "Only mad scientists in comic books do things like that."
And yet, he thought, only a mad scientist would create a genetically altered mutant like this one.
"Forget your stupid comic books!" shouted Rose. "Mad scientists work for the High Echelon! The government funded all this!"
Max felt a roaring inside his head. Sickened and overwhelmed, he slumped against the wall, the harsh reality sinking in at last. It was time to stop kidding himself and admit that Rose was right. Gran had always said the High Echelon was evil, but he'd never realized how truly malevolent it was. How could he deny the secret experiments, he asked himself, when he was staring one in the face?
Rose grabbed his hand, squeezing it so tightly his bones felt crushed. "Do you know what this means? They're giving you this mutant's blood! Why, Max?"
The creature flung its grublike body against the mesh, whipping its head back and forth. As it twisted and turned, Max saw a yellow shape on the side of its head and beside it the number 176.
"A
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