Chapter 41
Chapter 41
There's a light drip of rain. A rhythmic tap tap, tap, against the thick metal fence enclosing the wolves. The rain wasn't heavy, barely enough to make a mud puddle or two. It was a brief sprinkle that came and went and now there is no more than a light dusting of dew on the grass and a few drops dripping from the overhanging trees.
The wolves were easy to manage. Their enclosures was well built. The only reason they got out is because they lept over where a bench was pushing the fence inward. All I had to do was reinforce the fence and put them back inside. It had only barely begun to rain when...
Of course, the rain isn't the important thing. No, it's not the rain.
I could look at the two bodies on the ground not ten feet from me. I could look at the gelatinous mess that came when a bombarda struck their heads. I could look at the crows currently picking at the thicker globs.
Or I could look further.
I could look at the Tiger laying asleep in his enclosure down the lane. We got him settled first and he's still sleeping off the stunning spell. I could look at the tall walls and barred roof that I transfigured to keep him caged while giving him space.
I could even look at the chickens pecking at the grass, having followed us around in true hen fashion.
It doesn't change the fact that Shane is dead.
I want to say it isn't my fault but somehow it feels like I am to blame. Merle warned me that Max's body was missing and I should keep watch. I thought I could get the animals sorted first. I guess I thought that his body had been dragged off by the tiger. I guess I thought that he didn't turn.
The truth is, he did turn. He turned and while I had asked Shane to keep watch while I fixed the enclosures, he attacked.
Maybe I wasn't specific enough. Maybe I should've stressed to Shane that he should watch out for Max. That it was that threat, not the animals, that he was supposed to keep watch for. Instead, he was distracted by the show of magic and didn't see the danger until his throat was getting torn out. He died, spewing and choking on blood.
I heave a heavy sigh, bone weary tired.
I don't bother trying to cage any of the other animals. Instead, I spend a few minutes cleaning up the mess. The bodies get levitated outside of the zoo. I vanish or transfigure the mess at the front so we will still have a couple picnic tables. I meander through the gift shop for about an hour. The toys and plushes would be nice for the kids. The shirts too, might be welcome. I shrink most of it down, tucking it into one of the packs they had for sale.
I still need to feed the animals. We were going to do that after we got the tiger and wolves settled. I still have the food but...
I don't know much about animals or what they can or can't eat. What if I give them the wrong food? Will it make them sick? Could it kill them? I can't ask Shane, he's dead. Josh might be as well. Merle certainly didn't look hopeful. With any luck, we will still have Kimberly but how will she manage this entire zoo by herself? We could get volunteers to move here to learn but it's not like we have the people for that.
Okay, time to think. We've been stretching ourselves to get places protected but we can't put people in them. More than half of our people are kids and half of the adults can't help for various reasons. Now we have a zoo that is a bit of a distance from our base with only one person, maybe two, who know how to care for them.
There is no way that will work.
So what will work?
Could we move the animals? Would that be a feasible plan? The farm animals and deer for certain but what about the monkeys and birds? What about the wolves and the tiger? I don't want animals to suffer or die just because their diet is inconvenient but would it be safe to keep them on base? Where would we keep them? The werewolves corner could work but would there be problems during the full moon? Would they fight if put in the same enclosure?
I rub at my forehead, already dreading the headache building.
In the end I have to admit defeat. We CANT keep the zoo. It's just not feasible. We're stretched too thin and we don't have the numbers to protect it. No, the zoo is lost. So the best thing to do is bring the animals back to our base. We can extend our borders, engulf a farm or two that's closest. Most of these animals should be fine to mix in one large pen or lot.
The sky is dimming overhead but I'm not tired. A few flicks of my wand has the containers near the front shift around to block in the parking lot and front gate. Then I try my best to shrink down the ones I can without leaving the zoo. Night falls and a string of wizard orbs float along to light my way. I resize and transfigure a couple containers into ones that can hold animals. We will need a truck to pull them but they are sturdy. A layer of hay along the bottom should make it comfortable for them. I work to move the animals gently.
Many are asleep and I'm careful not to jostled them awake as I levitate them into place. I put the larger animals such as the cow, mini horses, mule, and alpaca in one container. In the second goes the turtles, hens, rabbits, hogs sheep, peacocks, and hedgehogs. A sleeping spell on both containers should keep them from startling awake during the move. I transfigure a third and forth container as the sky is starting to brighten. One gets the ostriches, gazelle, goats, and two bison. The other gets the foxes, lynx, otters, sloth, lemurs, various monkeys, and raccoons.
There are still more animals, the wolves, tiger, bear, as well as the vultures and various birds. I toss down some birdseed and vanish the walls of their cages. That way they can fly off if they need to or use the frame of the cages for shelter if they want to stay. I don't know what I'll do about the dangerous animals but perhaps someone else will have an idea.
It isn't long after sunrise that I hear the truck rumbling up.
I'm sweating and exhausted. My feet ache something awful too. Still, I walk over to the gate and open it up, not even flinching when the three dead that were crowding close drop with arrows in their skulls. I levitate them to the side and pull the gate wide, waving Merle to drive past. He drives forward, circling close and repositioning the truck to face back at the gate as I close it.
"What happened?" Merle demands through the half open door while Daryl hops out on his side, both watching me concerned.
"The guy, Shane, didn't make it," I answer with a shrug, walking past Daryl who reaches out to squeeze my shoulder.
"Was it tha other guy turned?" Daryl asks, moving into step with me while Merle circles the front of the truck to join us.
I avoid looking at either as I nod, motioning towards the animal containers and changing the subject, "I have most of the animals sorted and under sleeping spells. I think it would be best to take them back to base and extend our main borders rather than keeping them here and stretching ourselves thin."
"Pro'ly for tha best," Merle drawls, slapping my back companionably.
"Did the other guy survive?"
Merle scoffs while Daryl shakes his head sadly, "An tha woman didn't say nothing so we didn't know til she screamed."
"So we lost both?" I ask, mostly to verify.
Daryl nods, turning to watch his brother approach the animal containers. Merle talks without turning back to us, "Gonna need a truck to pull these."
"Can your truck pull them?"
"Naw, too much weight an they ain't got wheels."
"I could transfigure wheels and lightening the load."
Merle waves me to try, stepping back to watch as I cast the spells. Their shapes shiver as the undercarriage changes. The wheels plump up, raising the containers high off the ground. They are made more like an old wagon wheel instead of normal tires. It leaves enough room that if I bend down, I could walk beneath it but the brothers would struggle.
Merle pushes at the container, letting it roll a bit before I stop it's movement. Raising an eyebrow, he nods at me, "It may work."
It does, in fact, work. The truck already has a tow hitch on the back and with Merle's help I am able to transfigure a connector and chains to bind the container to the truck. Merle climbs in the truck and waves as I hold the gate open for him to pass. Daryl and I slip out, closing the gate and walking slowly. We will find another truck to pull a second container so we will only need to make two trips.
I'm not sure where we will put the animals in the meantime. Maybe we can use a couple backyards for now. At least until we get something better sorted.