Chapter 19
When Hawk heard: “Take the shot” he turned, out of concern. He didn’t know if the shot had to do with a shot gun, a dart gun, or a bow and arrow. For Hawk ‘take the shot’ was a death warrant. The moment he turned, Hawk saw the blazing strike from the Stun Duh. He dodged it with great accuracy but although the strike missed him, it didn’t miss a cage directly above him. One of his wings got caught in the bars of the cage. The cage and Hawk tumbled down, crashing to the floor.
“Dang it, I was almost out of here,” Hawk said as he heard three sets of footsteps running toward him.
Even if he was to get out of this snag, by the time he was up to take flight, he would be stunned duh by at least one of Onree’s henchmen.
“Would you look at that, that is some beautiful bird,” the young man said.
“It kind of looks like an eagle. I didn’t know we had eagles like this around here,” the young girl said.
“Okay, you boy and girl, enough of the admiration. I’m sure if this bird could talk he would probably say thank you to the two of you, but since he can’t, get me a cage ready, so I can stun duh this bird really good, so we can take him to Onree.”
The man and the woman both pulled a huge cage that was in a reachable shelf.
“You think this one is good enough, Randall?” the girl asked.
“That is great, perfect. Alright, bird, any last wish before I put you to sleep?”
Yeah, I hope this doesn’t hurt too bad, Hawk thought then closed his eyes tightly.
But before he could prepare his mind and body for the impact of the blast, there was a loud crashing noise coming from the back of Randall and the man and woman. “That sounds like cages. Go check it out. I will stay here with the bird,” Randall said.
A moment of inspiration popped in Hawk’s mind. Maybe someone is coming to stop them. Maybe one of those people got hurt and they need some help. He continued assessing the situation until he saw a single black feather fly in his direction. Worm, Worm, it’s Worm. It has to be Worm! Now Hawk was moving hysterically. Even though the tight grip the cage bars had on his wing was painful, he pulled harder.
“No matter how you pull on that cage you’re stuck, bird.” When Randall’s efforts of pushing the button on his Stun Duh didn’t work, out of frustration he hit it against his hand and shouted: “Work, you piece of crap.” Again he went to slam his Stun Duh against the palm of his hand when he felt something pointy and clammy in his head, and then felt himself being lifted off the ground and tossed aside like a rag doll.
“Worm, thank goodness you were here all along!”
“Ugh, yeah, I came through the back. I can get you out of there if you ugh…, would like out of there.”
Before Hawk answered he gave Worm a short stare then he said, “What would I do without you?”
With one talon, Worm held on to one of the bars then yanked on Hawk’s wing that was stuck between the bars with the other. Hawk yelled but his wing was free.
Randall saw the ordeal from the floor right under the side door. He wanted the Stun Duh but he wasn’t getting it. Hawk got to it first.
“Please, pretty please, bird, don’t do it.” With the first impulse of his orange beak Hawk pressed the button on top of the Stun Duh.
“I think the better way will be out the…, ugh…, way I came in,” Worm suggested.
“I don’t know. They are probably up there and if we get shot with those rays they are going to have us,” Hawk said.
Then out of the shadows, someone was looking over Hawk and Worm. A Stun Duh ray came from one of the aisles, striking the handle on the side door. Hawk then gave it a shot from Randall’s Stun Duh and they flew away out of the opening in the door.
When the sun broke through the clouds and a beam of warmth shone through Kelly’s animated cat curtains, she sat up straight in her bed. “Oh no, I’m late for work,” she exclaimed. But when she remembered that she had to be at the shelter by eight thirty instead of seven, she relaxed. She had told her associates and her shift supervisor, who was out of the shelter more than she was in, that she had some personal issues which she had to handle before work.
No problem, Kelly, but if you decide that you can’t make it at all just give me a call. Kelly smiled when she thought of the kindness and the love her supervisor showed to her, not because she gave her time off when she needed it but because she cared so much about the few of them who volunteered, including Kelly.
When Kelly had put her sweatshirt on that said, “Pet are number one” and parted her dark brown hair to comb it in her favorite style, her smile disappeared in the mirror. “Dad, you don’t have to sneak around the corner. I can see you in the mirror, you know.”
“Honey, I know that you are preparing to go to work and I don’t want to hold you up but…”
“Then why holding me up, Dad?” Kelly interrupted.
“Because I love you and I care about you, and you being mad at your father does bother me, Kelly,” her dad said. “No matter what you think or how mad you get, I’m still your father, Kelly, and all I want is the best for you. That’s it.”
“Dad,” she said, tears now streaming down her face. “Pets are my life. It’s all I know since I was a little girl. The way that we humans treat them isn’t right. What I see on television with these stun guns isn’t right either. All of the pets that are being stunned aren’t bad pets, they need an advocate. Someone that can speak for them! And today, Daddy, when the owner of the company comes in, I will talk to him.”
“Honey, honey, why are you…?”
“I don’t care who thinks it’s dumb, but something has to be done about what I’m seeing and it has to be done now.” She turned to her father. He looked back at her. He felt burdened with shame, so much so that what he knew was right all along, what he had been holding in all this time, had to be said.
“I’m sorry, Kelly, you are my daughter and whatever you choose to do in this life, I respect it to the utmost. I was being selfish all these years, why…” Now his words became harder to come out. His eyes watered with tears. “Because I was so afraid of losing you like we lost your mother ten years ago in that car accident, I thought I was protecting you, but I wasn’t. I’ve been holding you back. Yes, those pets need an advocate, someone who can give them a voice and what better voice than my daughter’s, Kelly Bernice Adams. I hope the meeting goes well for you, baby girl.”
There would be no walking out for Kelly this time – only after the two of them were done crying and embracing each other and saying I love you.
In the parking lot of the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter the tears had dried up minutes ago and the sorrowfulness that she felt while driving from her house to work subsided some, but not enough.
I can’t go in here crying. I have to talk to him, Kelly thought, referring to the CEO and President of the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter. But then as bad as she didn’t want to see, she did. She went to the picture part of her cell phone and opened the photo album where there were many pictures of Kelly and a very small Pomeranian puppy.
I hate that we had to move and I couldn’t take you with me, Jasper. Then you ran after me and got hit by a car. I haven’t gotten another dog yet. I haven’t gotten over you yet. I know it’s been two years. I guess I will always have a place in my heart for you, Kelly thought as she wiped away the tears that dropped out of her eyes and on to her shirt.
She switched off the phone, dried her eyes then resumed thinking of something entirely different from her Pomeranian puppy dying in her arms. What if he doesn’t want to talk to me? What about my hair? Does my hair look presentable? Is this the way a nineteen-year old woman’s hair supposed to look when they want to talk to the CEO of a company?
Those thoughts weren’t just nerve-wrecking they scared her. But she refused to let fear get the best of her. She put on her coat and walked into the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter. It wasn’t as it had been when she walked into work. “Hi, K
elly! Love to see that beautiful smile. We have some coffee brewing for you.”
Then it was: “There is a poodle that came in last night right after you left. It’s a boy. It was found on the side of the road. We gave it some meds for the pain, but it’s going to need your loving care if he has any chance of surviving.” Then there was Huel, way in the back, who tended to himself most of the time, until he saw Kelly.
“Well, well, well, look what God brought in this morning; that beautiful smile. Good morning, young Kelly. Glad to see you this morning.”
But that particular morning, there was none of the usual greetings. It was: “Kelly, the CEO is here! You’re lucky you’re just getting here. We had a meeting with him already.”
While Kelly walked through the double doors and toward the back where the animals were, she saw a tall man.
Oh God, that must be him, Kelly thought. No, maybe it’s not him. It has to be him. What other person dresses nicely like that, Kelly questioned. She didn’t know the CEO and founder of the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter personally, of course. She had only seen him once and that was when she shook his hand along with the other employees. Other than his name she knew nothing else about him.
“Excuse me, Mr. Johnson?” Kelly said in a soft, timid voice.
“Yes, and you are…?”
“I’m Kelly Adams. I work here first shift. I do a little bit of everything from giving the pets their medicine to walking the dogs. I even…”
“What is it that you need, Kelly?” Mr. Johnson interrupted.
Kelly’s smile disappeared and her heart sunk in her stomach.
“Kelly, Mr. Johnson is a very busy man. Don’t you have…?”
“Oh, it’s okay, Linda, not a problem, she’s fine,” Mr. Johnson said.
“I know that you are a busy man but if possible, could I speak with you, please?”
Linda, who was Kelly’s supervisor, looked on with great concern. What in the world do you have to speak with Mr. Johnson about, she wondered.
Mr. Johnson looked awkward then peered down at his cell phone. Kelly swallowed the lump in her throat.
“Sure, not a problem. Linda, can we use your office?”
“Sure, Mr. Johnson,” Linda said, still wearing a confused look on her face.
“Is it alright if Linda sits in on this meeting as well, Kelly? I don’t ever like to be alone when I’m in a meeting with employees. Why? I don’t know it’s an old habit of mine. Okay, Linda, lead the way,” Mr. Johnson said when Kelly agreed with the suggestion.
Kelly was extremely nervous and scared. The clean cut, brown hair and mustached CEO wanted her to get straight to the point. “So what is it you want to talk to me about, rather than to your supervisor, Kelly?” Mr. Johnson asked.
When Kelly thought about all the pets, including her deceased Pomeranian puppy, Jasper, and all of those that had died since she began working at the shelter, the ice of nerve broke into pieces. Kelly went straight to the point when explaining how wonderful Mr. Johnson was for creating a hospital-like facility for dogs and cats. She then went on to say that it was a humane society inside the shelter, but when she looked at her TV screen the picture was very different.
“I believe the Stun Duh that Mr. Onree John Thomas has created and is selling out here is not only bad but it is inhumane, and most of all, it is mean.”
“And your point is what, Kelly?” Mr. Johnson asked.
“My point is since you are the CEO and founder of the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter; I was thinking that there was something you could do about it. Some of those pets out there are being hurt bad by the Stun Duh.”
Mr. Johnson smiled. “I understand your concern, Kelly, but there’s nothing I could do. These animals are not people, they are animals. They don’t have a spirit like we do. They are just animals. People have to protect themselves and if a vicious animal tries to attack me or you and I have a Stun Duh, I am going to protect you and me both. Our lives matter, Kelly, theirs don’t.”
Kelly’s lips began to quiver, her wide eyes filled with tears which ran down her cold cheeks.
“I’m sorry to cut this meeting short. But I want to thank you for expressing your concerns and I hope you understand.” Mr. Johnson rose from the desk chair and walked to the office door.
“They are just like us, Mr. Johnson,” Kelly blurted, wiping tears from her eyes and cheeks.
Mr. Johnson turned around.
“Animals or not they deserved to be treated with compassion just like humans are, and I will never stop believing that,” Kelly added.
Mr. Johnson forced a smile then walked out of the office.
Linda quickly grabbed Kelly and held her by the arm.
“It’s going to be alright, Kelly. You’ve done well and you are right, but sometimes you just have to let things be; leave them the way they are.”
Kelly sniffled and pulled away from Linda. “I can’t, Linda. If I don’t speak for them, then, who will?” Kelly asked.
Linda shook her head in sympathy. She understood her passion for her pets, but in Linda’s heart she believed that with all the care in the world, they were just animals, and at the end of the day you could only do so much.
“I want to take a five-minute break alone, can I do that?” Kelly asked Linda.
“Sure. Not a problem. Take as long as you want, Kelly.”
Kelly walked to the front of the shelter. She didn’t see the stares, but she could feel them piercing her face. Outside it was cold, but Kelly didn’t feel the cold, she felt the sting of Mr. Johnson’s words as they replayed over and over again in her mind. The pain of what happened when pets were hit with the Stun Duh bothered her to the point she felt weakened in her faith. Maybe Mr. Johnson is right. They are just animals and I should leave it at that, she thought. Then she replied with a rebuttal thought. If they aren’t any more than just animals, why do they have emotions? Why do they care for humans with more care than we care for each other? Why do they save lives and why are German Shepherd dogs used as guide dogs for blind people?
There wasn’t a reply, but there was the cold air now beginning to bite at her coverless neck.
I guess I better be getting back in and do some work. I know there has to be some pets in the back who need my help, Kelly thought.
Then she saw something move fast across the sky overhead. “What in the world? What is that?” She looked up. Two birds? Oh wow! Cool! They look like eagles. What are they carrying?
Kelly didn’t have to wonder long because the two hawks were coming at her full speed. “Is that…? Oh my goodness! That’s Molly. That eagle has Molly!”
Before Kelly had time to process what was going on, Hawk was coming in for a smooth landing while Worm, who was carrying Louis and the woodchuck, was far off but drawing closer.
“Molly, Molly, is that you?” Kelly said.
Molly was hesitant but hobbled to Kelly. She scooped Molly off the ground, hugged and kissed her. “I missed you, Molly. Where have you been?”
Molly jumped out of her arms and sat slowly on her hind legs. She stretched out her front paw.
Kelly bent down on one knee. “Okay, you want me to shake your paw? Kelly smiled. “Sure, I will shake your paw,” she said.
But when Kelly gently grabbed Molly’s paw the rush of excitement that came from Molly’s paw went through Kelly’s arm and up to her mind.
The rush felt relaxing somehow. “Hi, Kelly. I am so happy to see you again.”
Kelly snatched her hand out of Molly’s paw.
Hawk, who watched from a tree, moved in slowly and flew right beside Molly, as she backed away from Kelly.
“If you want to back out of this, we can. I’m sure there is another way, Molly,” Hawk said.
“Oh my, this beautiful bird can talk. This is wonderful. This is great. I knew it. I knew it was something special about you pets,” Kelly said.
Then Hawk and Molly turned to the air when they saw Louis, Worm an
d the groundhog but they heard the woodchuck first.
“I made it very clear that this was a bad idea. We would have been better off walking here. But no, Louis, you had to listen to Worm and just when I thought you were past this letting someone think for you,” Woodchuck said, “Well, you couldn’t come up with anything better. So I went with Worm. He flew us here okay, but now, please, put a muzzle on it.”
As Worm began to shake from side to side, Louis and Woodchuck yelled. “I think you should just let us go when we get close to where they are, like close to the ground, Worm,” Louis said.
“Ugh…, okay. I can do that. I think we are close to the ground, Louis,” Worm replied then let go of them.
“You call fifteen feet in the air close to the ground, you stupid bird?” the woodchuck said. They dropped, rolled and hit the soft patch of dirt under a tree in the yard of the shelter.
“Ouch,” Molly whispered.
Kelly couldn’t stop smiling.
“Ugh…, are you guys okay?” Worm asked.
“Yes, but I think someone will need to ask you that once I get my paws on you, and Louis isn’t going to hold me back this time,” Woodchuck yelled, chasing and jumping, trying to get Worm.
“Those are my friends,” Molly said with a smile.
With his teeth Louis grabbed Woodchuck by the nape of the neck and walked to where Molly, Hawk and Kelly were.
“Let me at em, I said let me at em, Louis. He deserves a good punch and I want to be the one to give it to him,” Woodchuck yelled.
“You are so cute, Mr. Woodchuck,” Kelly said, bending down to eye level with him.
“Oh, you must be Kelly. I know you don’t understand me but how do you do?”
“I’m doing perfectly fine, Mr. Woodchuck,” Kelly replied.
“Yikes,” the woodchuck said, scurrying to hide behind Louis. “She…, she understands me?”
“Yes she does, Woodchuck,” Molly said.
“You gave her our secret?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Have you told her the terrible news, Hawk?” Louis asked.
All the animals looked at each other as if one was waiting for the other to talk. Kelly frowned and couldn’t figure out what the animals were talking about. Whatever they were up to, it didn’t bother Kelly. She was just so happy to be interacting with animals, just as she had been with her human counterparts.
“Ugh…, can we trust her to tell her? Or will she turn on us if one of us decides to tell her?” Worm asked.
“Of course she won’t. That is why I suggested coming here once you, Hawk, told us what Onree was doing.”
At the word ‘Onree’ Kelly’s eye grew the size of silver dollars. “Onree John Thomas you mean?”
“Yes, that’s him,” Hawk replied.
“I wish I could shoot him one good time with his own stun gun so he could see how it feels.”
“Yes, she is on our side,” Woodchuck declared.
“Why wouldn’t she be on our side, Woodchuck?” Louis asked.
“I just wanted to say that there’s nothing wrong with having a cool human on our team. Please, Louis. Cut the nonsense,” the woodchuck said.
“There is a major problem going on, Kelly, and since you are our friend, I believe you can help us.”
Louis, Molly & the Woodchuck Page 19
