Magpie
I watches em, watches their gassin perched in the tree next to B-Wing. Head jerk-jerkin as I keep an eye, keep an eye, keep an eye I do.
Feet skitter on branches as I hop up and look for something wrigglin. See a flash of movin green and snap it up-like. Twitch-twitchin til it be dead an I flick my head up to gulp-swallow.
Back to watchin the white-coat man-ghosts. Cruel they are. Pull Magpie out the tree before I can blink they will, lock me away. Big One there, can see him a-lookin. Shuffle back behind the leaves. Stay right here still-like till he goes.
Someone’s yellin. ‘You see anything? Has to be around here somewhere.’
Big One keeps lookin but he don’t see me. Caw to myself when he’s gone. Ruffle the itch under a wing. Taste the dead green in my mouth.
White-coats still out here. Cackle as I watches em searchin for the silver-shiny. Should take more care those man-ghosts. Leavin things glintin in sunlight, ripe pickins for Magpie. Glide in and snatch-like. Never saw, never saw, never saw me comin no.
Hop down. Scuttle inside. Bright black eyes of my brothers in their cages, caw-cawin when they see me. Bleach stink burns ole Magpie’s throat an makes me choke.
Cry out for me they do, screech a warnin when they hear Big One stompin back in.
Nod to my brothers. Comin back-like. Comin back for you.
Hide behind a desk in the black. Strip lights flick-flickerin. Breathin quiet-like. Cling to the silver-shiny an try not to rattle it.
Big One sits up next to the flicker-screen, feet on the desk. Lump of a man likes to watch smaller ones runnin an catchin balls. Closest thing to runnin he ever gonna do.
Sure as a worm turns he’s soon rattle-snorin. Droolin over his whites. Flicker-screen men still runnin, jumpin, catchin. Scratch my way past, eyes dartin for the other man-ghosts.
Brothers all deep-sleepin now too, don’t hear me comin. Bring the shiny with me, push it into the first lock. Click-clack an onto the next one. Muffle a squawk as birds hop-skip outta there one by one. Some shuffle, some fly, some run. But they all goin towards Big One an screamin now.
Waited long they have. Long long time locked away with that ghost an his kind force-feedin em pills from little plastic cups. Beatin em when they can’t stand up no more. Brothers shiverin in corners of those room-cages. Howlin for their mommas.
They clawin at Big One’s eyes, squawk turnin to shriek, bird-wings to man-arms, feathers to skin.
Leave him to my brothers, walk out the door with them shoutin and whoopin behind me.
Skip-jump outta there I do, I do, I do. Into the woods before the other ghosts come.
Category: Writing