Featherquest: Chapter 2
"The Escape"
Start here: Chapter 1
Chapter 2:
“The Escape”
Having agreed on leaving the farm, Jimmy and Gary decided to get some rest in the early evening before pursuing options after dark. They wanted to make sure the old man was fast asleep, so they’d have a better chance of making their escape undetected.
The moon was high on a clear night and offered a welcoming glow, as the two awoke and carefully made their way to the nearest perimeter. The entire farm was surrounded by an 8-foot-tall, razor-wire-topped, chain-link fence. The only interruption in the fence was the house itself.
“We have to be quiet, Gary.”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Of course, we’ll be quiet. C’mon, let’s take a look at the gate by the house...Oh, you got your keyboard. Cool. Did it always have a strap?”
“Yeah, it’s handy. Why the front gate?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we can unlatch it.”
Gary carefully examined the gate and the latch, methodically pecking and probing, while Jimmy nervously kept watch, occasionally joining in to peck at the latch. There didn’t seem to be anything they could do about the gate through incessant pecking. Then Gary caught a moment of inspiration.
“Well…I could just fly over it, I guess.”
“Oh yeah. You can fly, huh?”
“A little bit. I can definitely reach the top of the fence. Lemme back up a bit.”
Now, Gary knew he wasn’t the most athletic peacock on the block, but he also knew that his own sense of stubborn arrogance had gotten him this far in life, and he wasn’t about to let any old fence stand in his way. Tall though it was. He swiftly trotted away from the front gate, spun around, and ran as fast as he could before taking flight.
He rose easily over the razor wire and then…
Swiftly caught his tailfeathers on it, letting out a short squawk. He swung down like a pendulum, landing beak first into the ground with a muted thud. Jimmy looked on in horror, trying desperately to keep silent.
“Ah damn. Psst…Gary. Are you OK?”
A muffled response came from a face halfway under the dirt, “Umfine, Jimmy…Jussgimme a sec.”
Gary wriggled a bit to untangle himself from his own feathers. Looking up at the top of the fence, he could see that he’d left more than a few behind.
“Yeah, I didn’t need those anyway.”
“You made it!”
“SssSHhhh! Quiet!” Gary whispered loudly.
“Sorry, well…now what? How am I gonna get out?”
“Gimme a sec, man. Let me take a look. Maybe I can find a way to open the gate from this side. Wow, even with the moon out, it’s still hard to see. I also don’t have a clue as to what I’m doing. Heh, so that’s a thing.”
“I’m gonna jump it.”
“What?? No, Jimmy wai - ”
It was too late. Jimmy was already running full speed. As he got close, he launched with a powerful heave upward…Managing a solid hop, right before smashing straight into the middle of the gate with a loud crash and bouncing onto the ground.
A rush of adrenaline and shock came over Gary as he saw the lights go on inside the house. He did his best to hide himself near the closest bush. Jimmy sprang to his feet just in time to hear the front door to the house open. The old man had his shotgun and was more than ready to defend the farm with it.
“Gary, what do we do?”
“Ahhh, hang on, lemme think!… Wait, he’s going back in.”
The old man had gone back inside, only to then open the door that led to the garden at the back of the house. It was just a short chicken wire fence that separated the garden and the back door of the house from the larger fenced habitat for the birds.
“Jimmy, that’s it! Go through the house. He left the front door open.”
“Are you crazy? The old man is right there!”
“He’s not gonna hurt you. Besides, he won’t be expecting it. At all. Just…you know. Rush him.”
“No, I don’t know, Gary. He seems really irritated. This is a bad idea.”
“Trust me. When I take off and scream, you run past him and into the house. Don’t stop running until you come out the other side.”
“I’ve never been in the house before. How will I know where the front door is?”
“You’re not gonna get lost in the house! Just keep going until you make it out the front.”
“You’re the one who said I had a terrible sense of direction, Gary!”
“Just go when you hear me yell at him. It’ll be fine!”
Jimmy was terrified, and Gary, while not quite as scared, was about as unsure as he’d been in a long while. He also knew this was the moment. As he backed up to get a running start, he knew he couldn’t let Jimmy down.
“Get ready, Jimmy!”
Gary’s alert was already enough to catch some attention as the old man peered into the darkness. A determined peacock sprinted towards him and leapt into the air, beating his wings as hard as he could to get as much height as possible.
“Hey dumbass! Yeah, up here! Your mom lays rotten eggs!”
( ‘Kaoooooa-Wa! Kaoo-wa!’ Kaoooo-wah!’ )
The old man was immediately startled! A peacock outside the gate was suddenly descending out of the moonlit night, screeching at him. The sound was deafening, and the old man was, indeed, distracted.
At that moment, Jimmy made his move. He broke through the chicken-wire fence, dodged the old man, and bolted into the house, dragging bits of flimsy fence with him.
“Go, Jimmy!” Gary cheered him on, landing just outside the front door to the house. He could hear the sounds of shattering and chaos occurring inside. It seemed to be going on for a while, too. Gary nervously watched and paced. The old man, still near the back door, stood in shock with a hand on his head. He couldn’t believe what he was witnessing.
“Ah, Jimmy…Geeze. Let’s gooo…”
Suddenly, Jimmy came crashing through the front doorway in full sprint!
“Ahhh! Gary! C’mon!”
Gary didn’t waste a moment and launched himself straight up as Jimmy was passing, grabbed onto his back feathers, and held on for dear life as they raced off into the night. Only the sound of rapid ostrich feet on gravel road broke the silence. Well, that and the curses of an old man who just lost his birds.
“Jimmy!…We’re going really fast!”
“I know!”
“I…I don’t think we’re being followed!”
“Are you sure?”
“No!...Hey. Up ahead! It looks like maybe we can get into some trees. Let’s hide out for a sec.”
Jimmy slowed to a quick trot as they veered off the road and into dense brush. They plodded on, deep into the tree line. It was then that a realization came over Gary.
“Wow! It is really dark in here, Jimmy. I can barely see you, and I’m about as close as I can get.”
“Yeah, no kidding. I don’t think we should go too much further.”
“Deal...Hey, what’s that?”
The faint sound of a vehicle approaching caught the pair as they waited in hiding.
“Is that the old man’s truck, Gary?”
“Yeah, I think so. I’d recognize the sound of that rolling trash pile anywhere. Yeah, look. The lights are getting closer.”
They waited in the trees and watched as the lights passed and headed down the road. It was clear the old man was out looking for them. So they decided it would be best to bed down for the night and head out in the morning. They’d both be able to see well enough to travel in the brush. Staying off the road, at least for a few miles, would give them a better chance at a clean escape.
“Hey, Gary.”
“Yeah, buddy?”
“That was awesome…We did it!”
“I’ll feel better when we’re farther down the road…But yeah. Good job back there.”
“You too, Gary…Hey, Gary?”
“What’s up?”
“We forgot my batteries.”
“We’re not going back for batteries.”
“I know…Just, like, we’ll need to get batteries somewhere.”
“Sure thing. Good night, Jimmy.”
“G’night, Gary.”
____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading! If you liked it, leave a like and comment as you please! Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss a chapter!
I really want a Choose Your Own Adventure episode where we can help Jimmy and Gary make all the wrong decisions and end up at like a nude bar in Tijuana... I mean, help them unite with Razorblade Fungus.
I love this! I was laughing the whole time. The dialogue is so good! Seriously, you are a master of dialogue. The chaos, the action, the antics are all so perfect. When Gary felt the adrenaline and shock because the old man turned on the lights, I felt it as if I was there. Hilariously descriptions all throughout. Thank you!