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At long last chapter 7 is here after a lot of editing. This is a longer chapter, and quite important for the story. If you notice any issues, feel free to tell me in the comments.
CHAPTER 7
Jake ruffled his feathers against the cold, stretching the aching muscles of his jaw as he watched Sam wash herself at the water’s edge. The sun had dropped below the edge of the island now, casting the pebbly beaches on the leeward bays into relative darkness. After several hours, and many, many miles of flying, he was tired, sore, and impatient, but out of kindness to Sam he’d allow her these few minutes to bathe before they found a place to rest for the night.
Glancing around as he waited, Jake could see that the island was conspicuously open. Aside from some small scrub dotting the landscape and a few bushes near the island's upper slopes there was little vegetation. Everything above the tideline was covered in rolling grass except the pebbly, crescent shaped beach where they landed. It was obvious that the island was quite rocky. Patches of rock were visible through the grass all along the island's coast and hills.
The island reminded him a lot of Egg island, where he’d grown up, where they were trying to get to, and where he’d never be welcome, or trusteed…But Sam trusted him.
‘She even wants to be friends’ he mused, finding surprising joy in the thought. She’d had been expectedly terrified of him at first, then reluctantly trusting, and now they even had a tentative familiarity with one another. He still noticed the odd flash of apprehension in her eyes every now and then, the most obvious being when they had eaten together, but the fact remained that she trusted him enough to carry her, and feed her, and sleep under his wings. Hell, she’d even let him eat her, although he suspected that had been more out of desperation than any kind of trust.
Of course, he still felt a little embarrassed remembering the look of fear and disgust that had crossed across her face as he’d swallowed that big piece of fish earlier that afternoon. He’d been trying to avoid eating in front of her, correctly surmising that as prey, it would make her uncomfortable, but today he had been too hungry and too tired to care. At least by the end of the meal she seemed a lot more comfortable than she had during the first few bites. Almost unusually comfortable, he thought, watching as she finished bathing and fluffed her feathers to shake off the excess water.
“Jake, have you been here before?”
“No, everything I've heard about it is word of mouth.”
“Who told you?”
“It’s not important” Jake said, feeling a little impatient. Seeing how Sam took a slight step back, he took a deep breath, collecting himself.
“I think we should try and find somewhere for the night. There plenty of good places here”
………..
The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon as they picked a place after combing over the island. “Are you interested in any dinner?” Jake asked.
“No thanks, I'm still full from lunch.”
“Good, I’m too tired to hunt.”
The spot they’d picked to sleep was a small, rocky grove near the middle of the island overlooking a soft grassy plateau. It was protected from the wind by some small scrub brush and large stones and boulders. There was soft grass to lay on, but it stopped under a slight overhang that blocked the sunlight during the day. Thus, they’d probably only use that for rain. Sleeping on the grass would be a lot more comfortable. The only thing that bothered Jake about this spot was the openness. There was something about it that made him uneasy.
“I'm going out for a few minutes to try and get the lay of the land. Are you okay waiting here for a bit?"
“Um, yeah, I guess” Sam replied.
“Why are you going out? Changed your mind about food?”
“No…there’s just…something I want to check. I'll be back soon.”
With that, Jake took flight and headed towards the leeward side of the island where it intersected the crescent shaped bay they landed on earlier in the evening. Something seemed off about the emptiness of this place, like prime real estate left abandoned, and he wanted to find out why.
Seeing a common tern flying in for the night he banked around. The other bird spooked and veered sharply away.
“Hey! Wait!” Jake called out, but the tern had already disappeared into one of the island's stony nooks and crannies.
Deciding to be less intimidating, Jake set himself down on a peak and waited for another bird to fly past. He didn't have to wait long before catching sight of a white streak moving swiftly against the darkening outline of the hills. As the other bird noticed his presence, she steered away from him, clearly intending to keep her distance. Realizing that he was unlikely to get an audience waiting passively for the right bird to pass by, Jake made pursuit, taking aggressively to the air and flapping his wings to gain speed.
The tern was an elegant and agile flier, but Jake was considerably bigger and stronger and it didn't take long before he overtook her. Because he was not hunting, Jake did not want to harm his quarry- instead he moved directly behind and above her and descended, pushing the smaller seabird downwards until she was forced to land. They descended on a grassy slope overlooking the sea to the west side of the bay. Jake set about his next moves carefully, not wanting to be too aggressive.
“W…what do you want?” she asked, wings spread nervously as she looked for an opportunity to take off again.
Jake stepped closer, stifling her changes of escape.
“Relax!” he said.
“I’m not going to hurt you, I just want some information.”
The tern looked dubiously at him, folding her slender wings slightly.
“Really?”
Jake nodded.
She didn’t relax with the knowledge, but her gaze now held a hint of curiosity.
“You’re not from here, are you?”
Jake shook his head.
“What's your name?” she asked.
“Jake.”
“Mine's Emily. What is it you’d like to know?”
“It's very simple” said Jake, feeling more relaxed now that she was opening up to him.
“I heard there was supposed to be a tern colony here, but I’ve hardly seen anyone. Has something happened to drive them away?”
Suddenly Emily looked a lot less interested in talking.
“If you’re asking me where to find defenseless chicks to steal, find them yourself. That is what you gulls are good at, isn’t it?”
Jake was suddenly taken aback.
“No, it’s not that…I’m just wondering if there’s something going on that’s…scared them away?”
Emily eyed him mistrustfully, and perhaps not entirely unjustifiably as he spoke. Jake had to admit that his species did have a habit of eating tern chicks, and occasionally even adults.
“What do you mean by 'something going on'?” she finally asked.
“I don't know… weather? Predators? No food? What could cause a colony to desert an island like this?”
“There was a big storm that wrecked a lot of the nesting sites on the windward side a few days ago, but mostly it’s gulls like you endlessly stealing chicks that’s driven most of us away.”
“Black Backed Gulls, like me?” he pressed, suddenly feeling an intense urge to return to Sam as quickly as possible, fearing what he might find if he waited too long.
Emily thought for a moment.
“No, they’re smaller than you, and grey…herring gulls I think.”
Jake sighed with relief. Herring gulls weren’t likely to be interested in Sam, especially if he was there to protect her.
Emily looked confused at his reaction.
“Why are you asking me this? What do you care about other gulls on the island?”
“Oh, it’s nothing” Jake said, feeling much better now that he had an explanation for the island’s uncanny emptiness.
“And thank you for that. I'm sorry for detaining you” he continued apologetically.
“You know, for a gull you're not too bad, Jake” she said with a shy smile, before spreading her wings and flying off.
“I'd like to think not” he said to himself, watching the tern fade away into the night. Then he took to the air, quickly making his way back to the dale where Sam was waiting. It was getting dark quickly now, soon he’d be unable to see.
Two minutes later he alighted next to Sam, in the lee of the rocky overhang she’d chosen to sleep near. There was a bit of a chill in the air even in their sheltered surroundings, and Jake preemptively laid his wing gently over Sam like the had done in previous nights before. He smiled to himself as she snuggled closer to him without opening her eyes, enjoying the warm embrace of soft, downy white feathers. It felt stage, but oddly satisfying to have a living, breathing warmth against his feathers. In a way it reminded him of the responsibility that came with Sam’s trust. He’d do his best to make sure that trust wasn’t unfounded.
It was very dark now, and Jake began to feel the fatigue of the day setting in. He stretched and yawned broadly, and tucked his head under his wing, blocking out the light and noise of the outside world. All he could feel now was the soft swell of Sam’s breathing and the relaxing, soft grass below them. It was the most comfortable had been in a long time, and was not long in coming. His last conscious thought before the world blinked softly out around him was to be wary of the herring gulls Emily had mentioned and keep Sam safe and close.
…………
When Sam awoke, the first thing she noticed was a cool damp hanging in the air. Jake was still asleep, and to avoid waking him she tried carefully to slip her way out from under his wing. Stealthily she began to creep forward. Before she had even moved an inch his golden eye cracked open. With a face of sleepy recognition he lifted his wing off her and then the eye slid shut again. The even breathing returned, and Sam, free from her friend's warm encumbrance, knew that he was already fast asleep again. She couldn't blame him. It was still very early. She paused a moment to stretch and then took in the surroundings in the light of a new day. There wasn't much to see; a soft white mist covered everything in sight. Even the rolling hills just fifty feet beyond their little enclave appeared blurred and indistinct. Fifty feet behind that, they became gray lumps, and beyond that they were merely a suggestion of mass in the fog. The mists were so thick around her that she couldn't see the waters of the bay below. Even the dull roar of the breakers on the island's windward side sounded oddly subdued and distorted. She felt a pang of nostalgia at the sight. It was so much like home. Maine born and bred, Sam was no stranger to fog. It was a common sight during her fledging on Egg island.
“I don't much care for fog” came Jake's voice from behind her.
“I do” Sam said.
“It reminds me of home."
“Oh yeah, Egg Island was always really foggy. I guess I always thought of it more as a nuisance than an enduring quality.”
“Most do, I think.”
They sat in silence for a moment, and both were struck by how unbelievably quiet it seemed in the absence of speech. To Sam, it felt as if they were utterly alone. The fog, a welcoming coolness before now felt like a clammy entrapment, enclosing them from the outside world like shipwrecked sailors on a sodden raft with nothing but ocean as far as the eye could see.
“I hope this clears up soon” Jake said, mirroring her sentiments exactly.
“It won't be easy to find food in this soup.”
Sam nodded in agreement.
“Last night- Did you find anything out about this island?”
“I talked to a tern yesterday and she told me the island was empty because when the storm destroyed the colony grounds, gulls arrived and fed off the carnage.”
Sam felt a lump forming in her chest.
“What type of gulls?” she asked, looking around nervously.
“Herring gulls” said Jake.
“Oh. I've seen herring gulls before. They were very interested in stealing chicks and relieving us of our fish, but they never take adult puffins.”
“The herring gull is a big bird, and they can attack quite viciously. You should be careful of them.”
“But they won't really hurt me. Will they?”
“You would make an easy catch with a broken wing, but you are too big for them to swallow” Jake admitted.
“They’d have to snap your neck and rip you to pieces first.”
Sam shuddered at the thought.
“Uggh Jake, that’s grizzly!”
Jake smiled mischievously.
“Heh, sorry. I got a little carried away on the description there.”
“I guess it’s not a good idea to take a walk then” Sam said dejectedly.
"No, it isn't. You're right that they probably won't try to hurt you, but I wouldn’t risk it.”
“I was hoping to get some exercise. I haven't moved in days. And you've been feeding me so much when I get my wing back I still won't be able to fly!”
Jake laughed, his gaze softening as he noticed her disappointment.
“You've still got an avian metabolism. You need the extra energy just to heal that wing.”
Sam examined her wing carefully. Since receiving Jake's care, the wing had started looking much better. It hurt less now too, although it was still pretty uncomfortable when she moved around.
“Do you think it's starting to heal?”
Jake stepped closer and arched his neck downwards to scrutinize the wound.
“It looks better. Don't try and use the wing though. It still has a long way to go before it starts to get as strong as it was before.”
Sam sighed. She longed to take to the air again. Having to walk and be carried everywhere made her want to tear out her feathers in frustration.
“I think the fog is clearing up” Jake observed.
Sam glanced around quickly and noticed that it was. The sun was coming out and already she could see the faint glint of the pale sunlight hitting the surface of the water below. Jake would be able to go in search of breakfast soon.
……….
The morning wore on slowly. Sam could tell that Jake was still tired from their long flight the day before. After getting breakfast, he seemed content just to perch on a tall rock and passively survey the sea below. With increasing restlessness, Sam couldn’t imagine how he could just sit for so long doing nothing. After an hour of inactivity, she decided she’d had enough.
“Jake, I want to see the island. Will you walk with me?”
“It’s better to stay here. You should save energy to heal.”
“I’m not meant to sit around doing nothing.” Sam said impatiently.
“Alright” Jake said, smiling gently.
“I’m tired now, how about we do it tomorrow.”
“But I don’t want to wait until tomorrow!”
Jake shrugged and turned his gaze back to the sea.
“Jake?...Please, don’t ignore me. Jake?”
“I said I’d do it tomorrow!” he snapped angrily.
“Fine, if you’re going to be like that I’ll go out on my own!”
“No! It’s not safe for you!” Jake said, feathers bristling.
Sam frowned, annoyed by his overprotectiveness. He didn’t have to watch her all the time.
“You said yourself the gulls here probably wouldn’t hurt me.”
“They could kill you if they wanted to” he said, flaring his wings slightly for emphasis.
“I’ve seen them hunt before, they never take adult puffins.”
“I won’t let you risk it. If I were hunting I’d snap up injured prey like you in a heartbeat.”
“YOU won’t let ME?” she cried, furious that he talked as if she was a commodity to be controlled and eaten.
“I thought you were my friend!” she continued, her voice breaking as anger and frustration began to bubble over.
“Sam, that’s not what I meant, I-“
“I know what you meant!” she cut him off.
Jake winced like he’d just been injured.
“Sam…it’s for your own good” he said quietly.
“The safest thing to do is to stay here, together so-“
“I don’t want to hear it! You’re just like the other Black Backs, a bully, using your strength to get what you want!”
Jake looked angry now.
“Sam, that’s not fair! If you’d just stay here, and wait to heal, in time-“
“Ugh, stop trying to control everything I do!” she snapped.
“You never let me out of your sight, like a fledgling. I’m not a baby, I can take care of myself!”
With that she stormed off, plodding up the hill as close to stomping as one could get with webbed feet.
“Sam, wait!” Jake called out, his voice measurably injured.
“Just leave me alone!”
Sam fumed as she climbed up the grassy slope, out of their miniature protected valley, and then upwards towards the island’s apex. As she gained altitude, her legs, which were unused to such treatment, began to feel heavy. Soon she began to feel better as the sun came out, warming the dew on the grass around her. She also felt a little guilty, realizing that perhaps she’s been hard on Jake. She knew he meant well, even if he was way overprotective of her. ‘Oh well’ she thought. She’d apologize later.
The center of the island wasn't too far away. Sam wanted to see the deserted colony grounds. Jake had said there was no colony on this island, but obviously there had been. She reached the top of the green hill and stopped a moment to take in the vista stretching out to windward below her. Being a flying bird, such views were commonplace, but somehow climbing to this one made it feel more rewarding than simply flying over it. It also offered the opportunity to truly look at the scenery, rather than just travel through it.
After a short pause she set off down the slope of the windward side, the soft grass of the rolling hills rustling softly under her feet. She passed a few large boulders and then came up to a stony patch with a rocky basalt-like ridge partially encircling it to one side. The hard edge of the ridge contrasted surprisingly with the soft grassiness and occasional boulders that characterized the rest of the island. The rock formation provided good protection from the wind, and the sea was just visible from one corner where the ledge sank smoothly down and disappeared under the waving grass at the space's edge. This must have been the colony ground. There were still nesting materials in place, and it was probably a comfortable spot for a small or medium sized group of birds. Intrigued, Sam stepped down for a closer look. Not finding anything of interest, she decided to take a quick up-close look at the rocky ridge-wall that served as a wind break for the grounds. Reaching the wall, Sam could see that it was wholly unremarkable. Sighing, and realizing it was probably best just to head back and apologize to Jake, she took a step back, and tensed in surprise when she ran into something. Or more precisely, someone.
“Why hello there” a smooth voice said with a hint of menace that sent a chill tingling down her spine.
Apprehensively, she turned around, heart sinking as she caught sight of an unfamiliar Black Backed Gull. He looked mature, smartly groomed, and quite lean, lending him an almost rakish appearance. Yet looking into his eyes, it was obvious that concealed beneath that clean, civilized façade was a cold, hard predator casually sizing up his next meal. Sam gazed appealingly into those steely, silver eyes looking for any sign of empathy, but saw only an icy stare devoid of all emotion.
She swallowed nervously.
“H...hello to you too…” she finally stammered, forcing herself to remain calm as she took several quick steps backwards.
“You're an awfully long way away from home for a little puffin” the gull said almost conversationally as he hungrily advanced towards her, bill poised slightly open.
Sam backed away nervously and came up sharply against cold hard rock.
“I'm on migration” she said pitifully, knowing it wasn't going to get her out of this.
“In that case, I'm sure no one back home will mind if I eat you.”
“Please don't!” she begged miserably.
The predator looked down at her with mild distaste.
“Ugh, ‘please don’t!’” he said, imitating her in a demeaning voice.
“That's what they all say. It’s so boring....so unoriginal. You prey types are all the same. Of course, I suspect you can't expect too much from someone born to be food. But you could at least try to be creative. If you’d said something truly amusing I might’ve even considered letting you go.”
Then his voice changed to a cruelly patronizing tone.
“Don't worry though little bird. You’ll have plenty of time to think of something better once you're stewing in my crop.”
Sam tried to stammer something in defense, but the gull’s words steamrolled right over her as he kept talking. She was nearly stifled into inactivity by her own fear, but it wasn’t as bad as when she’d first met Jake. This time she could even look the gull in the eye as he teased her with a sickeningly superior smile, looming so close that they were face to face, intentionally over-mouthing every word to intimidate with his beak.
“What a poor little puffin with a broken wing. Lost and alone. None of your family or friends will ever know what happened. They’ll think you’re happy and safe, gone on migration. They'll never know your trip really led straight down my gullet.”
“Don't you have any sympathy?!” Sam pleaded angrily in one last desperate attempt to appeal to his emotions.
“No.” he replied coldly, pure contempt reflecting in his eyes.
Sam’s mind raced to stall for time, realizing she was probably close enough to summon Jake if she cried loudly enough. Yet, as she inhaled, the gull immediately spoke, seemingly knowing her every move before she made it.
“Don't even think about calling your friend” he said in a low, threatening voice.
“Or you’ll regret it immediately.”
Frozen in her tracks, Sam could only wait helplessly while the gull decided what to do with her. ‘How does he does know about that?' she wondered. His previous words must simply have been to toy with her. The realization had the intended effect, and despairingly Sam began to feel her hopes and resolution start to crumble.
The gull spoke again, and his tongue flicked out hungrily in a grotesque display of self-confidence.
“I think I'll swallow you whole- unless...” his voice trailed off softly.
“Unless what?” Sam offered meekly.
The gull brought his wickedly curved jaws within half an inch of her face such that his freezing hard gaze met hers exactly. They were so close together now that Sam could see the inside of his mouth and feel the hot gust of his breath over her body when he spoke.
“If you tell me where Jake is I might consider letting you go.”
That last sentence gave Sam pause.
“Really? Wait... how do you know his name? W...what are you going to do to him?”
“It's your life. I suppose it’s fair to tell you. If you tell me where your friend is hiding, I might consider sparing your life provided the information proves... useful.”
Sam shivered. The gull was backing off a bit now, and that made her very, very nervous.
“If I tell you, w…what are you...what are you going to do to Jake?”
“When we find him, my friend and I are going to kill him” he said nonchalantly.
Sam was horrified.
“Are you from Brandon Island?” she asked, assertively enough that it surprised even herself.
“So many questions. That's mighty bold for someone in your position. A little bird would be wise not to query too much into the affairs of a big bird lest he gain the inclination to eat her” the gull said with a threatening undertone of impatience in his voice.
Sam quailed despite herself. When HAD she gotten so brave? Spending so much time with Jake must have deadened some of her natural fear of gulls.
“I’m waiting” the gull reminded her, his voice accentuated by a sound that inspired dread down to the bone: the hungry gurgle of an empty stomach waiting to be filled.
“I'm starting to get hungry. You’d better decide between your friend or your life before my belly chooses for you. If I were you, the right choice would be obvious.”
Hanging on the faint thread of hope that Jake would feel her absence and come looking for her, Sam decided to stall as long as possible.
“I don't know where Jake is right now. He told me he was going hunting” she lied.
“You're lying” the gull said acidly.
“If your friend was really out hunting you wouldn't have tried to call out to him. Now I'm going to ask you one more time. Where is Jake?”
“I already told you I don't know.”
Anger flashed briefly through golden eyes.
“Where is he!” her captor demanded, biting down with some force on her good wing.
“Ahh!” Sam gasped in surprise at the pain.
“Tell me where he is!” he demanded again, sounding a little muffled from the feathers crushed in his mouth.
Sam winced as the cruel jaws crunched down even tighter.
“I don't know!” she cried, grinding her jaws together at the pain.
“Where?!” Still tighter.
“Where!” The pain was becoming unbearable now.
When Sam refused to answer the gull began twisting and bending the bone slowly back. Rather than breaking the bone outright by crunching his beak down harder, he was prolonging her agony by slowly adding more and more pressure so that each living second his grip became more and more excruciating, tearing into flesh and feathers, bone scraping against bone as his beak cut deeper, and deeper, grittily mushing through her, slowly, ruthlessly, blood soaking feathers, vision blurring as the pain mounted. The word agony couldn’t do it justice. Sam really didn't want to give the gull the pleasure of a scream, but as the pain rose to an in unbelievable agonizing, crescendo, she could handle it no more.
“He's on the leeward side!” she choked desperately. The grip lessened immediately and then slackened off entirely.
“Now, was that so hard?” the gull asked, almost gently.
Sam sobbed at the pain and gasped for breath as it gradually lessened. A wet stain of blood slowly grew as it soaked into her primary feathers.
“See? I knew you’d be willing to cooperate. Just tell me the rest of the details and this can all be over."
Sam didn't want to spill everything like his on her friend, but at this point she didn’t really have a choice. Jake was tired and wouldn't be expecting an attack, and even if he was, he wouldn’t stand a chance against two gulls at once without the element of surprise. Still, he would have an almost infinitely better chance surviving it than she would.
Summoning up her last bit of courage, she dejectedly began speaking softly to the ground in front of her, not wanting to give the gull the satisfaction of seeing the pain in her eyes.
“Jake and I are staying in a small grassy dale on the leeward side of the island about one hundred yards behind that rise over there” she said, gesturing to the hill she had climbed to get to the old colony grounds.
“Will he be expecting us?”
Sam didn't answer.
“Answer the question!” The predator snapped, with a dangerous sharpness in his voice.
“No…” Sam said miserably.
“….He….he's probably sleeping, and he thinks he’s the only Black Back on the island. He won't expect anything.”
“Excellent” the gull crooned, with malevolent satisfaction. Smiling cruelly, he continued.
“Well, I'd like to thank you for your cooperation little bird. Your information will prove quite useful for the task ahead after I've eaten you.”
Sam looked at him aghast.
"You didn't really think I'd let you go just for selling out your friend, did you?"
Sam, finally finding her voice managed to spit back “You are horrid and cruel. Jake will tear you to shreds. I hope you suffer in atonement for all the fear and pain you instill in others!”
“Defiant last words for sure. But they won't make one bit of difference. Jake is asleep and unsuspecting, remember? If it’s any consolation, there really wasn't a thing you could do. I want you to know I'll be enjoying every bit of you on the way down. A meal like you is a rare find. Goodbye little bird.”
...................
Anthony pumped his dark wings powerfully, driving himself swiftly across the rolling green landscape below. As he crossed the island, he kept himself diligently at a constant height relative to the ups and downs of the island’s many hills, making sweeping passes back and forth to locate the telltale black and white feathers of his target.
Maintaining height was imperative for such a search. He had to be high enough to see a wide swath of land for a rapid search, yet close enough not to miss his target completely as the ground passed by. It was tiring and boring, and Anthony resented the fact that the head gull left him to search the entire island while he simply searched the coast. ‘That bastard is probably gorging himself on fish right now’ he thought, sighing to himself after a yet another fruitless sweep.
Losing patience, he dropped down and landed on a small hillock overlooking a grassy dell from the south. To his surprise, as he turned to rest for a moment, he saw exactly who he was looking for less than fifty feet away. The gull was resting quietly in an open patch of grass, facing away from him. Luckily, he hadn’t been noticed yet. The other seabird appeared to be lost in thought, and paid no attention as he carefully hid himself behind the crest of the hill. As quietly and quickly as he dared, Anthony took to the air again so as not to arouse the target's suspicion and headed to the other side of the island. There he would meet up with the head gull so they could plan their attack.
As he rose over the ridge that formed the island's peak, Anthony noted with some disappointment that he hadn't seen the puffin anywhere in the target’s territory. That didn't bode well for his payment. Before he could dwell more on the thought though, he spotted a large gull standing in a rocky patch just ahead. He made for the patch and then faltered when he saw the bird’s behavior appeared quite peculiar. With rising uneasiness, he noticed another, much smaller bird at the predator’s mercy.
With growing suspicion, he dropped stealthily downwards and approached the rocky clearing indirectly, planning to land in a discreet location for a better view. He didn't trust the Head Gull farther than his wingtip, and the sight below gave the distinct feeling of something fishy going on. Moments later he landed quietly behind a rocky outcropping directly above the clearing.
Virtually invisible in this location, he was close enough to see and hear what was going on quite distinctly. His suspicions quickly gave way to anger as he saw the Head Gull toying with a puffin. Yet rather than charging in with blazing accusations, Anthony decided to watch the exchange for a while, fascinated by the unusual conversation despite himself. He also wanted to be sure for certain whether he’d been double crossed before picking a fight with a bird as large as the Head Gull.
Watching the puffin, Anthony could tell from her visibly broken wing that she was the same bird he’d chased a few nights before. Yet somehow, she seemed different than the terrified prey he’d chased then. Bolder perhaps, or maybe just desperate. He couldn’t quite tell what it was, but as he watched, he found himself admiring the plucky little seabird as she stood up to her antagonist’s intimidation. She definitely had some spirit. He felt an unexpected twang of guilt and pity at this thought, realizing that if he had his way, it would all be in vain for her.
As the intriguing exchange wore on, it didn't take long for the skua to gauge the intentions of his “partner.” Anthony had been expecting to be double crossed, but not like this. Two days with the Head Gull was enough to know he was an exceptionally manipulative individual, but even that was not enough. He’d expected the gull would try and take the puffin for himself, but not before the job was done! He had to admit that was pretty clever: Divert him to the other side of the island, swallow the puffin, use him to kill Jake, and then return home, compensating him with tribute from the colony, leaving him none the wiser as to the true fate of his reward. If the impromptu plan had worked, he would have done the gull's dirty work for almost nothing. He’d been fooled, and that made his blood boil. He wanted to brazenly swoop in to a fight, but he checked himself as a wild idea came to him that was better than anything he could accomplish by himself. Anthony smiled devilishly. When the time came, the head gull would regret his betrayal.
........................
Jake sat dejectedly in the middle of the grass, running Sam’s last words to him miserably through his mind, over and over again. Had he really crossed the line from protecting to controlling? He wasn’t sure. Everything he’d done had been for her benefit, but he couldn’t help thinking perhaps it was his fault she felt like prey to his eyes. That wasn’t really how he saw her, but from his perspective she was small and weak. All he’d really wanted was to keep her safe, and thinking like a potential predator was exactly the way to foresee any risks that might occur. Even now he couldn't stop second guessing the wisdom of letting her go out by herself. Yet, despite this logic, ashamed as he was to admit it, he did occasionally have predatory thoughts of a different nature when they were together. Savage thoughts, always closer to the veneer of civility than he’d like. Jake didn’t want to ponder whether their argument was the result of Sam noticing this brutal part of himself he desperately wanted to hide. The possibility was too real and too painful to consider.
Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a shadow in the corner of his eye, and what he thought to be a rustle of wings, but when he looked, there was nothing there.
‘I must be imagining things’ he thought bitterly. The thought caused him to get up and start pacing restlessly. He thought about going to look for Sam. He wanted to join her on her walk, to talk to her, to apologize... but every time the thoughts came up he reminded himself that he had to respect her need for solitude if he really valued her friendship. She wouldn't want him to come looking for her, and after what he’d said, his presence would be an intrusion. He paced faster, back and forth, suddenly possessed of a strong urge to fly and move and do something. Anything would be better than sitting around. The sudden change in mood led Jake to contemplate himself. Gone was the lethargy of the morning. Now, under the heat of the building sun he was filled with the same restlessness that had driven Sam to walk and explore the island by foot.
At the thought of his friend, his former agitation returned. 'I'm a lot more worried about defenseless Sam than I ever would be about any of my other friends’ he thought, not enjoying the sensation. He didn't have long to dwell on the thought though, as he was suddenly aware of the sound of wingbeats approaching his position very quickly. Raising his head, he watched a big brown seabird crest over the hill ahead of him than then come sweeping down into the clearing before landing with obvious urgency on the grass in front of him. Jake recognized the stocky bird as a great skua, an accomplished hunter and a formidable fighter.
“There’s a gull torturing your puffin friend!” he said breathlessly, panting and heaving heavily from the intensity of his flight.
“Who are you?” asked Jake, perplexed and somewhat alarmed.
“How do you know about Sam?”
“My name's Anthony” he gasped.
“And as for your friend, do you really want to waste the time it'll take to explain? He’s gonna eat her any minute now!”
“Where is she?” Jake demanded, grasping the need to act quickly.
“The Brandon Head Gull’s got her right over that ridge. I'll show you. It's not far.”
“Hold on, hold on! Do you mean the boss of Brandon island?” Jake asked, suddenly feeling a knot of cold dread forming within him.
“Yeah. That double-crossing bastard owes me and I want to settle!”
Jake only paused a split second, realizing he’d have a better chance of saving Sam with the skua’s help.
“Help me save her” he said.
“I’ll make sure the Head Gull gets what he deserves.”
Anthony nodded with a smile, seemingly in anticipation of the coming bloodbath.
“That will work.”
“I get the first crack at the head gull” Jake said tersely as he took off, beating the air furiously with his wings, pushing himself to the limit to accelerate as quickly as possible. The grass whipped by below as Jake reached the ridge after mere seconds, topping fifty miles per hour.
“There they are!” Anthony shouted over the rush of the breeze. Jake saw where the skua was motioning and adjusted course, gaining even more speed as they descended the windward slope of the island. They were less than fifteen seconds away now. Jake brazenly pushed onwards, not slowing down as he descended in full-on attack mode. It was now or never. He couldn't miss. There was no time left for a second chance.
.............................
Sam shrunk away from the advancing gull as far as she could, as if warding off the hungry jaws and inevitable fate. A lethal, concentrated gleam filled the gull's coldly anticipating eyes, as the long, powerful bill with its sharp tip and red spot stretched open, beckoning hideously, glistening saliva gleaming across the tongue and hanging and dribbling in sticky strands from the eagerly drooling jaws, big enough to swallow her whole. Despite a strong urge to avert her eyes, some sort of sick fascination kept her gaze riveted on her predator, unable to look away. She was going to be eaten, but somehow, besides a resigned whimper, she almost didn’t want to do anything about it. Knowing that the end was upon her, Sam cried in fear and confusion, mixed emotions both anticipating and dreading an unavoidable, natural conclusion to her life.
Yet as the jaws came down around her, so did a black and white streak hurtling with murderous speed from the sky, uttering a deafening war shriek!
“Keeeiow!”
Seemingly in slow motion Sam saw the Head Gull’s expression change from greed to fear as he was slammed off his feet by Jake! For a moment, both birds tumbled in a confusion of feathers before coming to a tangled stop. Immediately, twisting savage blows came from both sides as a fight broke out. Bills flashed and blows were exchanged in rapid, brutal succession as they pecked and scrabbled viciously in the dirt. The fight ran so quickly that Sam couldn't tell who was who. They were tearing viciously at each other in full on stock rage and Sam realized in horror that they were actually trying to kill each other!
With her heart in her throat she watched as the other gull closed his jaws on Jake's head, twisting and thrashing violently in an attempt to break his opponent’s neck. In a fraction of a second, Jake managed to twist around and gain a choke hold on the head gull, forcing him to release his grip. They wrangled some more and Sam could see that her younger and bigger friend had a distinct advantage over his opponent despite his superior fighting experience. The battle was over almost as quickly as it started as another bird entered the fray, body slamming her would-be-predator to the ground.
Pinned by one bird and held by the throat by another, the head gull finally gave up fighting, going limp and keening weakly in submission. Jake released his jaws and ran over to her.
“Sam! Are you alright? Did he hurt you?”
For the first time Sam noticed herself shivering in fear as Jake comforted her, embracing her in his wings and speaking softly and soothingly to her.
“Shhh, it’s okay, you're safe. I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise” he whispered.
Her shuddering subsided somewhat and she looked at him.
“You came for me” she said, her voice thick with emotion and gratitude.
“I wouldn't be a very good friend if I didn't, now would I?”
“I guess not” she whispered.
With concern, he noticed a sodden pool of blood on her left wing.
“You're bleeding!”
“Don't worry” she chided.
“It’s no big deal. It’ll heal in a few days.”
“This scumbag tortured her!” a rough voice interrupted loudly from behind.
“I saw it.”
Sam glanced around behind Jake, a chill running through her as she realized who the familiar voice belonged to.
“Y…you….” her voice faltered. Swallowing hard, Sam stepped closer to Jake, taking reassurance from his presence.
“You tried to eat me!”
A questioning, and slightly guilty look spread across the skua’s face.
“Yeah...sorry about that. I guess I did take a bit of a snap at you.”
Emboldened by Jake’s presence, Sam felt a strong urge to speak her mind.
“You broke my wing. I can’t fly anymore because of you!”
“Hey! Give me some credit, I just saved your life. I said I was sorry.”
Sam didn’t buy it.
“Yeah, right. You probably came here to eat me like everyone else.”
The skua looked a little angry now.
“If it wasn't for me you’d be lunch by now!”
Sam stopped for a second, looking to Jake to gauge his response to this new information. Jake didn’t respond, his eyes fixed with a mistrustful intensity on the skua after realizing exactly who he was.
“Is that true?” Sam persisted.
Jake nodded slightly, and then stiffly introduced her to the skua, clearly holding back his anger as he addressed the other bird.
“This is Sam. I'm Jake.”
“Anthony. And our friend here is the Head Gull of Brandon Island.”
Sam felt a chill, suddenly realizing this wasn’t random, and she’d been hunted all along. Looking into the Head Gull’s eyes, all she saw was malice staring back at her.
“If we could skip the formalities and let me free…” the other gull interrupted in a wheezing voice.
“No!” Anthony and Jake said at the same time.
“You tried to eat me too!” Sam said.
“In fact, no one here hasn't!”
“You tried to eat her?” Anthony asked.
Jake looked a little embarrassed.
“No...well yes actually, I DID eat her, but that was part of an escape plan.”
“Ah, that explains some things” said the Head Gull.
“Shut up!” Jake and Anthony said simultaneously.
“We need to decide what to do with him” Anthony said.
“I want him to suffer for what he’s done, but if we kill him we’re no better than he is. I think we should let him return to Brandon Island. He’ll have face the shame of failing this little vendetta and watching someone supersede him” Jake said.
“No one will supersede me!” the Head Gull butted in angrily.
“I told you to be quiet!” Anthony snapped, his temper raising.
Jake shifted his weight slightly, keeping his eyes on the Head Gull as he did so.
“I have a guess, based on what I’ve heard of you, you wanted to kill me, eat Sam, and come home showing off what happened to the gull who disobeyed you, correct?”
The Head Gull said nothing, but it was obvious that Jake had struck quite close to the truth.
“That meshes pretty well with what he told me” Anthony said smugly.
There was an infinitesimal pause before the Head Gull saw an opening and pounced.
“You can't trust Anthony” he said acidly.
“He lied right to your face. He came with me to help kill you. He wants to eat your precious puffin friend as much as I do. She was to be his reward for helping me kill you. He's only on your side because he caught me in the act of taking the spoils for myself.”
Jake rounded on Anthony. “Is that true?” he demanded, placing a wing protectively over Sam.
“Yeah it’s true.” The skua admitted.
“I was gonna eat the puffin, but now that I've seen you together, I've changed my mind. You two have something. It's weird, but its special. I'd be cruel to take it away from you.”
Taking a short breath, he continued.
“Sam, I truly am sorry for what I did to you. I don't want your forgiveness, I just want you to know that if by chance we meet again, I wouldn’t hurt you.”
“You manipulative snake! I’ll-”
“Jake!” Sam interrupted him gently.
“It’s okay.”
Then she stepped tentatively forward, looking deep into the skua's eyes and seeing a surprising sincerity there.
“Sam, no!”
She gently shrugged him off and walked right up to her former antagonist.
“I...I forgive you” she said timidly, touching bills and looking straight into his dark eyes.
“Sam!” Jake cried, a tone of hurt anguish leeching into his voice.
“What I did should not be forgiven. My species respects strength. I admire you Sam, for standing up to intimidation. Not many would have done the same in your place.”
Sam looked at the ground, unsure what to say to the unusual show of empathy from the fierce dark skua.
“Sam! You can't trust him!” Jake keened desperately.
“I trusted you!” she shouted back, immediately regretting it when she saw the hurt look on Jake's face.
Anthony pulled back away from Sam, being careful to maintain his pin hold on the head gull and looked directly across at Jake.
Sam stepped quickly out of dodge, sensing a sudden tension building in the air.
“I don't trust you” Jake said, dropping his wings and arching his neck aggressively.
“You tried to kill Sam not even a week ago and now you want to apologize? I don't buy it. You just stay away from her, or you'll be sorry!”
Anthony bristled in rage. “I have told you nothing but the truth! I don’t have the best track record, but I'm not a liar!”
“Then why didn’t you tell me who you were?” Jake asked.
“I've only known you for five minutes!” Anthony gasped defensively.
“There wasn't time for all that.”
“Alright, but I’d still like to know how you knew exactly where to find me in the nick of time?”
“As for your location...well I sort of found you on a search mission for the Head Gull.”
“He was right, you ARE a lying scumbag! You knew where I was because you looked to kill me to win Sam. You've been working for yourself all along!”
“You’re not listening to me!” Anthony shouted in exasperation.
“I already told you why I came here, and that Sam appealed to my better nature. What more do you want?”
“A few minutes ago, you were willing to kill me just to get her as a reward” Jake pointed out.
“It seems unlikely that if you were willing to fight me for a puffin, you would change your mind about eating her so easily.”
“Oh yeah? You’re not that tough. My kind kills gulls like you all the time. I could take you easily!”
“Bullshit. You and I both know that’s not true!” Jake said belligerently.
Sam could tell the tension in the air was rising, and in his anger, Anthony was gradually losing his hold on the Head Gull. Looking closely, she could see him grinning malevolently, preparing to slip free of his captor’s grasp any moment, eyes focused directly on her as he did.
“Just stop it, stop fighting!” Sam cried, suddenly casting them both into a tense silence.
“This is exactly what he wants!” she said, motioning to the Head Gull.
Anthony looked down at the gull underneath him and repositioned his weight, keeping him pinned by his neck.
Jake glanced at the ground in silence, the tension draining slowly out of the air. After a moment, he lifted his wing off Sam, looking up at Anthony.
“I’m sorry” he said quietly.
“I’d like to thank you for helping Sam. I may have judged you prematurely.”
“It's alright” said Anthony.
“I get it a lot. Anyway, if you’d like to make amends, some free fish would go a long way towards alleviating any hard feelings.”
Jake laughed.
“I think we can arrange that.”
Sam smiled at seeing the two resolve their differences, nuzzling Jake affectionately with her beak. He cast her a quick, reassuring smile, helping to assuage the guilt she felt over her words earlier. She was relieved that even after the events of today, their friendship was still intact.
“What are we going to do about the Head Gull?” Anthony asked again, bringing attention back to the pressing issue at hand.
“Do what you like. If it were up to me I'd let him go. The shame he’ll feel at the destruction of his empire far outweighs anything we could do.”
The scowl on Anthony's face made it obvious that he didn't think much of that suggestion.
“Why don't we let Sam decide?” he said.
“She's the one he just tried to eat.”
Both Jake and Anthony looked to her, waiting for a decision. She noted with some pleasure that the Head Gull was prudently keeping his mouth shut during this whole exchange. Saying anything could potentially turn attitudes far against his favor. To his credit, his expression of remained unchanged, and he didn’t do her the disservice of trying to take advantage of her, instead simply remaining resigned as they all waited for a decision. Sam still feared him, but she didn’t want to kill anyone. Unlike her present company, she didn’t feel the need for revenge. All she really wanted was for the Head Gull to be gone.
“I want to kill him." Anthony interjected.
“He definitely deserves it.”
“I agree with Jake” Sam said carefully.
“We should let him go.”
“Well aren’t you lucky. The puffin wants to let you go” Anthony said, relinquishing his grip. The Head Gull sprung in to motion, scrabbling to get away and spread his wings.
“Wait a moment.” Jake said, blocking his path.
“I'm sure I don't have to tell you what will happen if you ever touch Sam again” he said darkly.
“Nothing!” the Head Gull sneered.
“I'm head of Brandon Island. If I ever see your precious puffin friend again, I'll make sure you watch while I break her neck and swallow her whole.”
Jake visibly trembled with anger, but didn’t strike the Head Gull as he leapt into the air, acting in accordance with Sam’s wishes.
They all watched as the Head Gull gained altitude, his disfigured wings flapping furiously in a frenzy to get away. Quickly, he banked around, dwindling rapidly into the horizon.
"Do you think we made the right decision?" Sam asked tentatively.
“I hope so” Jake said.
“I really hope so.”
CHAPTER 7
Jake ruffled his feathers against the cold, stretching the aching muscles of his jaw as he watched Sam wash herself at the water’s edge. The sun had dropped below the edge of the island now, casting the pebbly beaches on the leeward bays into relative darkness. After several hours, and many, many miles of flying, he was tired, sore, and impatient, but out of kindness to Sam he’d allow her these few minutes to bathe before they found a place to rest for the night.
Glancing around as he waited, Jake could see that the island was conspicuously open. Aside from some small scrub dotting the landscape and a few bushes near the island's upper slopes there was little vegetation. Everything above the tideline was covered in rolling grass except the pebbly, crescent shaped beach where they landed. It was obvious that the island was quite rocky. Patches of rock were visible through the grass all along the island's coast and hills.
The island reminded him a lot of Egg island, where he’d grown up, where they were trying to get to, and where he’d never be welcome, or trusteed…But Sam trusted him.
‘She even wants to be friends’ he mused, finding surprising joy in the thought. She’d had been expectedly terrified of him at first, then reluctantly trusting, and now they even had a tentative familiarity with one another. He still noticed the odd flash of apprehension in her eyes every now and then, the most obvious being when they had eaten together, but the fact remained that she trusted him enough to carry her, and feed her, and sleep under his wings. Hell, she’d even let him eat her, although he suspected that had been more out of desperation than any kind of trust.
Of course, he still felt a little embarrassed remembering the look of fear and disgust that had crossed across her face as he’d swallowed that big piece of fish earlier that afternoon. He’d been trying to avoid eating in front of her, correctly surmising that as prey, it would make her uncomfortable, but today he had been too hungry and too tired to care. At least by the end of the meal she seemed a lot more comfortable than she had during the first few bites. Almost unusually comfortable, he thought, watching as she finished bathing and fluffed her feathers to shake off the excess water.
“Jake, have you been here before?”
“No, everything I've heard about it is word of mouth.”
“Who told you?”
“It’s not important” Jake said, feeling a little impatient. Seeing how Sam took a slight step back, he took a deep breath, collecting himself.
“I think we should try and find somewhere for the night. There plenty of good places here”
………..
The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon as they picked a place after combing over the island. “Are you interested in any dinner?” Jake asked.
“No thanks, I'm still full from lunch.”
“Good, I’m too tired to hunt.”
The spot they’d picked to sleep was a small, rocky grove near the middle of the island overlooking a soft grassy plateau. It was protected from the wind by some small scrub brush and large stones and boulders. There was soft grass to lay on, but it stopped under a slight overhang that blocked the sunlight during the day. Thus, they’d probably only use that for rain. Sleeping on the grass would be a lot more comfortable. The only thing that bothered Jake about this spot was the openness. There was something about it that made him uneasy.
“I'm going out for a few minutes to try and get the lay of the land. Are you okay waiting here for a bit?"
“Um, yeah, I guess” Sam replied.
“Why are you going out? Changed your mind about food?”
“No…there’s just…something I want to check. I'll be back soon.”
With that, Jake took flight and headed towards the leeward side of the island where it intersected the crescent shaped bay they landed on earlier in the evening. Something seemed off about the emptiness of this place, like prime real estate left abandoned, and he wanted to find out why.
Seeing a common tern flying in for the night he banked around. The other bird spooked and veered sharply away.
“Hey! Wait!” Jake called out, but the tern had already disappeared into one of the island's stony nooks and crannies.
Deciding to be less intimidating, Jake set himself down on a peak and waited for another bird to fly past. He didn't have to wait long before catching sight of a white streak moving swiftly against the darkening outline of the hills. As the other bird noticed his presence, she steered away from him, clearly intending to keep her distance. Realizing that he was unlikely to get an audience waiting passively for the right bird to pass by, Jake made pursuit, taking aggressively to the air and flapping his wings to gain speed.
The tern was an elegant and agile flier, but Jake was considerably bigger and stronger and it didn't take long before he overtook her. Because he was not hunting, Jake did not want to harm his quarry- instead he moved directly behind and above her and descended, pushing the smaller seabird downwards until she was forced to land. They descended on a grassy slope overlooking the sea to the west side of the bay. Jake set about his next moves carefully, not wanting to be too aggressive.
“W…what do you want?” she asked, wings spread nervously as she looked for an opportunity to take off again.
Jake stepped closer, stifling her changes of escape.
“Relax!” he said.
“I’m not going to hurt you, I just want some information.”
The tern looked dubiously at him, folding her slender wings slightly.
“Really?”
Jake nodded.
She didn’t relax with the knowledge, but her gaze now held a hint of curiosity.
“You’re not from here, are you?”
Jake shook his head.
“What's your name?” she asked.
“Jake.”
“Mine's Emily. What is it you’d like to know?”
“It's very simple” said Jake, feeling more relaxed now that she was opening up to him.
“I heard there was supposed to be a tern colony here, but I’ve hardly seen anyone. Has something happened to drive them away?”
Suddenly Emily looked a lot less interested in talking.
“If you’re asking me where to find defenseless chicks to steal, find them yourself. That is what you gulls are good at, isn’t it?”
Jake was suddenly taken aback.
“No, it’s not that…I’m just wondering if there’s something going on that’s…scared them away?”
Emily eyed him mistrustfully, and perhaps not entirely unjustifiably as he spoke. Jake had to admit that his species did have a habit of eating tern chicks, and occasionally even adults.
“What do you mean by 'something going on'?” she finally asked.
“I don't know… weather? Predators? No food? What could cause a colony to desert an island like this?”
“There was a big storm that wrecked a lot of the nesting sites on the windward side a few days ago, but mostly it’s gulls like you endlessly stealing chicks that’s driven most of us away.”
“Black Backed Gulls, like me?” he pressed, suddenly feeling an intense urge to return to Sam as quickly as possible, fearing what he might find if he waited too long.
Emily thought for a moment.
“No, they’re smaller than you, and grey…herring gulls I think.”
Jake sighed with relief. Herring gulls weren’t likely to be interested in Sam, especially if he was there to protect her.
Emily looked confused at his reaction.
“Why are you asking me this? What do you care about other gulls on the island?”
“Oh, it’s nothing” Jake said, feeling much better now that he had an explanation for the island’s uncanny emptiness.
“And thank you for that. I'm sorry for detaining you” he continued apologetically.
“You know, for a gull you're not too bad, Jake” she said with a shy smile, before spreading her wings and flying off.
“I'd like to think not” he said to himself, watching the tern fade away into the night. Then he took to the air, quickly making his way back to the dale where Sam was waiting. It was getting dark quickly now, soon he’d be unable to see.
Two minutes later he alighted next to Sam, in the lee of the rocky overhang she’d chosen to sleep near. There was a bit of a chill in the air even in their sheltered surroundings, and Jake preemptively laid his wing gently over Sam like the had done in previous nights before. He smiled to himself as she snuggled closer to him without opening her eyes, enjoying the warm embrace of soft, downy white feathers. It felt stage, but oddly satisfying to have a living, breathing warmth against his feathers. In a way it reminded him of the responsibility that came with Sam’s trust. He’d do his best to make sure that trust wasn’t unfounded.
It was very dark now, and Jake began to feel the fatigue of the day setting in. He stretched and yawned broadly, and tucked his head under his wing, blocking out the light and noise of the outside world. All he could feel now was the soft swell of Sam’s breathing and the relaxing, soft grass below them. It was the most comfortable had been in a long time, and was not long in coming. His last conscious thought before the world blinked softly out around him was to be wary of the herring gulls Emily had mentioned and keep Sam safe and close.
…………
When Sam awoke, the first thing she noticed was a cool damp hanging in the air. Jake was still asleep, and to avoid waking him she tried carefully to slip her way out from under his wing. Stealthily she began to creep forward. Before she had even moved an inch his golden eye cracked open. With a face of sleepy recognition he lifted his wing off her and then the eye slid shut again. The even breathing returned, and Sam, free from her friend's warm encumbrance, knew that he was already fast asleep again. She couldn't blame him. It was still very early. She paused a moment to stretch and then took in the surroundings in the light of a new day. There wasn't much to see; a soft white mist covered everything in sight. Even the rolling hills just fifty feet beyond their little enclave appeared blurred and indistinct. Fifty feet behind that, they became gray lumps, and beyond that they were merely a suggestion of mass in the fog. The mists were so thick around her that she couldn't see the waters of the bay below. Even the dull roar of the breakers on the island's windward side sounded oddly subdued and distorted. She felt a pang of nostalgia at the sight. It was so much like home. Maine born and bred, Sam was no stranger to fog. It was a common sight during her fledging on Egg island.
“I don't much care for fog” came Jake's voice from behind her.
“I do” Sam said.
“It reminds me of home."
“Oh yeah, Egg Island was always really foggy. I guess I always thought of it more as a nuisance than an enduring quality.”
“Most do, I think.”
They sat in silence for a moment, and both were struck by how unbelievably quiet it seemed in the absence of speech. To Sam, it felt as if they were utterly alone. The fog, a welcoming coolness before now felt like a clammy entrapment, enclosing them from the outside world like shipwrecked sailors on a sodden raft with nothing but ocean as far as the eye could see.
“I hope this clears up soon” Jake said, mirroring her sentiments exactly.
“It won't be easy to find food in this soup.”
Sam nodded in agreement.
“Last night- Did you find anything out about this island?”
“I talked to a tern yesterday and she told me the island was empty because when the storm destroyed the colony grounds, gulls arrived and fed off the carnage.”
Sam felt a lump forming in her chest.
“What type of gulls?” she asked, looking around nervously.
“Herring gulls” said Jake.
“Oh. I've seen herring gulls before. They were very interested in stealing chicks and relieving us of our fish, but they never take adult puffins.”
“The herring gull is a big bird, and they can attack quite viciously. You should be careful of them.”
“But they won't really hurt me. Will they?”
“You would make an easy catch with a broken wing, but you are too big for them to swallow” Jake admitted.
“They’d have to snap your neck and rip you to pieces first.”
Sam shuddered at the thought.
“Uggh Jake, that’s grizzly!”
Jake smiled mischievously.
“Heh, sorry. I got a little carried away on the description there.”
“I guess it’s not a good idea to take a walk then” Sam said dejectedly.
"No, it isn't. You're right that they probably won't try to hurt you, but I wouldn’t risk it.”
“I was hoping to get some exercise. I haven't moved in days. And you've been feeding me so much when I get my wing back I still won't be able to fly!”
Jake laughed, his gaze softening as he noticed her disappointment.
“You've still got an avian metabolism. You need the extra energy just to heal that wing.”
Sam examined her wing carefully. Since receiving Jake's care, the wing had started looking much better. It hurt less now too, although it was still pretty uncomfortable when she moved around.
“Do you think it's starting to heal?”
Jake stepped closer and arched his neck downwards to scrutinize the wound.
“It looks better. Don't try and use the wing though. It still has a long way to go before it starts to get as strong as it was before.”
Sam sighed. She longed to take to the air again. Having to walk and be carried everywhere made her want to tear out her feathers in frustration.
“I think the fog is clearing up” Jake observed.
Sam glanced around quickly and noticed that it was. The sun was coming out and already she could see the faint glint of the pale sunlight hitting the surface of the water below. Jake would be able to go in search of breakfast soon.
……….
The morning wore on slowly. Sam could tell that Jake was still tired from their long flight the day before. After getting breakfast, he seemed content just to perch on a tall rock and passively survey the sea below. With increasing restlessness, Sam couldn’t imagine how he could just sit for so long doing nothing. After an hour of inactivity, she decided she’d had enough.
“Jake, I want to see the island. Will you walk with me?”
“It’s better to stay here. You should save energy to heal.”
“I’m not meant to sit around doing nothing.” Sam said impatiently.
“Alright” Jake said, smiling gently.
“I’m tired now, how about we do it tomorrow.”
“But I don’t want to wait until tomorrow!”
Jake shrugged and turned his gaze back to the sea.
“Jake?...Please, don’t ignore me. Jake?”
“I said I’d do it tomorrow!” he snapped angrily.
“Fine, if you’re going to be like that I’ll go out on my own!”
“No! It’s not safe for you!” Jake said, feathers bristling.
Sam frowned, annoyed by his overprotectiveness. He didn’t have to watch her all the time.
“You said yourself the gulls here probably wouldn’t hurt me.”
“They could kill you if they wanted to” he said, flaring his wings slightly for emphasis.
“I’ve seen them hunt before, they never take adult puffins.”
“I won’t let you risk it. If I were hunting I’d snap up injured prey like you in a heartbeat.”
“YOU won’t let ME?” she cried, furious that he talked as if she was a commodity to be controlled and eaten.
“I thought you were my friend!” she continued, her voice breaking as anger and frustration began to bubble over.
“Sam, that’s not what I meant, I-“
“I know what you meant!” she cut him off.
Jake winced like he’d just been injured.
“Sam…it’s for your own good” he said quietly.
“The safest thing to do is to stay here, together so-“
“I don’t want to hear it! You’re just like the other Black Backs, a bully, using your strength to get what you want!”
Jake looked angry now.
“Sam, that’s not fair! If you’d just stay here, and wait to heal, in time-“
“Ugh, stop trying to control everything I do!” she snapped.
“You never let me out of your sight, like a fledgling. I’m not a baby, I can take care of myself!”
With that she stormed off, plodding up the hill as close to stomping as one could get with webbed feet.
“Sam, wait!” Jake called out, his voice measurably injured.
“Just leave me alone!”
Sam fumed as she climbed up the grassy slope, out of their miniature protected valley, and then upwards towards the island’s apex. As she gained altitude, her legs, which were unused to such treatment, began to feel heavy. Soon she began to feel better as the sun came out, warming the dew on the grass around her. She also felt a little guilty, realizing that perhaps she’s been hard on Jake. She knew he meant well, even if he was way overprotective of her. ‘Oh well’ she thought. She’d apologize later.
The center of the island wasn't too far away. Sam wanted to see the deserted colony grounds. Jake had said there was no colony on this island, but obviously there had been. She reached the top of the green hill and stopped a moment to take in the vista stretching out to windward below her. Being a flying bird, such views were commonplace, but somehow climbing to this one made it feel more rewarding than simply flying over it. It also offered the opportunity to truly look at the scenery, rather than just travel through it.
After a short pause she set off down the slope of the windward side, the soft grass of the rolling hills rustling softly under her feet. She passed a few large boulders and then came up to a stony patch with a rocky basalt-like ridge partially encircling it to one side. The hard edge of the ridge contrasted surprisingly with the soft grassiness and occasional boulders that characterized the rest of the island. The rock formation provided good protection from the wind, and the sea was just visible from one corner where the ledge sank smoothly down and disappeared under the waving grass at the space's edge. This must have been the colony ground. There were still nesting materials in place, and it was probably a comfortable spot for a small or medium sized group of birds. Intrigued, Sam stepped down for a closer look. Not finding anything of interest, she decided to take a quick up-close look at the rocky ridge-wall that served as a wind break for the grounds. Reaching the wall, Sam could see that it was wholly unremarkable. Sighing, and realizing it was probably best just to head back and apologize to Jake, she took a step back, and tensed in surprise when she ran into something. Or more precisely, someone.
“Why hello there” a smooth voice said with a hint of menace that sent a chill tingling down her spine.
Apprehensively, she turned around, heart sinking as she caught sight of an unfamiliar Black Backed Gull. He looked mature, smartly groomed, and quite lean, lending him an almost rakish appearance. Yet looking into his eyes, it was obvious that concealed beneath that clean, civilized façade was a cold, hard predator casually sizing up his next meal. Sam gazed appealingly into those steely, silver eyes looking for any sign of empathy, but saw only an icy stare devoid of all emotion.
She swallowed nervously.
“H...hello to you too…” she finally stammered, forcing herself to remain calm as she took several quick steps backwards.
“You're an awfully long way away from home for a little puffin” the gull said almost conversationally as he hungrily advanced towards her, bill poised slightly open.
Sam backed away nervously and came up sharply against cold hard rock.
“I'm on migration” she said pitifully, knowing it wasn't going to get her out of this.
“In that case, I'm sure no one back home will mind if I eat you.”
“Please don't!” she begged miserably.
The predator looked down at her with mild distaste.
“Ugh, ‘please don’t!’” he said, imitating her in a demeaning voice.
“That's what they all say. It’s so boring....so unoriginal. You prey types are all the same. Of course, I suspect you can't expect too much from someone born to be food. But you could at least try to be creative. If you’d said something truly amusing I might’ve even considered letting you go.”
Then his voice changed to a cruelly patronizing tone.
“Don't worry though little bird. You’ll have plenty of time to think of something better once you're stewing in my crop.”
Sam tried to stammer something in defense, but the gull’s words steamrolled right over her as he kept talking. She was nearly stifled into inactivity by her own fear, but it wasn’t as bad as when she’d first met Jake. This time she could even look the gull in the eye as he teased her with a sickeningly superior smile, looming so close that they were face to face, intentionally over-mouthing every word to intimidate with his beak.
“What a poor little puffin with a broken wing. Lost and alone. None of your family or friends will ever know what happened. They’ll think you’re happy and safe, gone on migration. They'll never know your trip really led straight down my gullet.”
“Don't you have any sympathy?!” Sam pleaded angrily in one last desperate attempt to appeal to his emotions.
“No.” he replied coldly, pure contempt reflecting in his eyes.
Sam’s mind raced to stall for time, realizing she was probably close enough to summon Jake if she cried loudly enough. Yet, as she inhaled, the gull immediately spoke, seemingly knowing her every move before she made it.
“Don't even think about calling your friend” he said in a low, threatening voice.
“Or you’ll regret it immediately.”
Frozen in her tracks, Sam could only wait helplessly while the gull decided what to do with her. ‘How does he does know about that?' she wondered. His previous words must simply have been to toy with her. The realization had the intended effect, and despairingly Sam began to feel her hopes and resolution start to crumble.
The gull spoke again, and his tongue flicked out hungrily in a grotesque display of self-confidence.
“I think I'll swallow you whole- unless...” his voice trailed off softly.
“Unless what?” Sam offered meekly.
The gull brought his wickedly curved jaws within half an inch of her face such that his freezing hard gaze met hers exactly. They were so close together now that Sam could see the inside of his mouth and feel the hot gust of his breath over her body when he spoke.
“If you tell me where Jake is I might consider letting you go.”
That last sentence gave Sam pause.
“Really? Wait... how do you know his name? W...what are you going to do to him?”
“It's your life. I suppose it’s fair to tell you. If you tell me where your friend is hiding, I might consider sparing your life provided the information proves... useful.”
Sam shivered. The gull was backing off a bit now, and that made her very, very nervous.
“If I tell you, w…what are you...what are you going to do to Jake?”
“When we find him, my friend and I are going to kill him” he said nonchalantly.
Sam was horrified.
“Are you from Brandon Island?” she asked, assertively enough that it surprised even herself.
“So many questions. That's mighty bold for someone in your position. A little bird would be wise not to query too much into the affairs of a big bird lest he gain the inclination to eat her” the gull said with a threatening undertone of impatience in his voice.
Sam quailed despite herself. When HAD she gotten so brave? Spending so much time with Jake must have deadened some of her natural fear of gulls.
“I’m waiting” the gull reminded her, his voice accentuated by a sound that inspired dread down to the bone: the hungry gurgle of an empty stomach waiting to be filled.
“I'm starting to get hungry. You’d better decide between your friend or your life before my belly chooses for you. If I were you, the right choice would be obvious.”
Hanging on the faint thread of hope that Jake would feel her absence and come looking for her, Sam decided to stall as long as possible.
“I don't know where Jake is right now. He told me he was going hunting” she lied.
“You're lying” the gull said acidly.
“If your friend was really out hunting you wouldn't have tried to call out to him. Now I'm going to ask you one more time. Where is Jake?”
“I already told you I don't know.”
Anger flashed briefly through golden eyes.
“Where is he!” her captor demanded, biting down with some force on her good wing.
“Ahh!” Sam gasped in surprise at the pain.
“Tell me where he is!” he demanded again, sounding a little muffled from the feathers crushed in his mouth.
Sam winced as the cruel jaws crunched down even tighter.
“I don't know!” she cried, grinding her jaws together at the pain.
“Where?!” Still tighter.
“Where!” The pain was becoming unbearable now.
When Sam refused to answer the gull began twisting and bending the bone slowly back. Rather than breaking the bone outright by crunching his beak down harder, he was prolonging her agony by slowly adding more and more pressure so that each living second his grip became more and more excruciating, tearing into flesh and feathers, bone scraping against bone as his beak cut deeper, and deeper, grittily mushing through her, slowly, ruthlessly, blood soaking feathers, vision blurring as the pain mounted. The word agony couldn’t do it justice. Sam really didn't want to give the gull the pleasure of a scream, but as the pain rose to an in unbelievable agonizing, crescendo, she could handle it no more.
“He's on the leeward side!” she choked desperately. The grip lessened immediately and then slackened off entirely.
“Now, was that so hard?” the gull asked, almost gently.
Sam sobbed at the pain and gasped for breath as it gradually lessened. A wet stain of blood slowly grew as it soaked into her primary feathers.
“See? I knew you’d be willing to cooperate. Just tell me the rest of the details and this can all be over."
Sam didn't want to spill everything like his on her friend, but at this point she didn’t really have a choice. Jake was tired and wouldn't be expecting an attack, and even if he was, he wouldn’t stand a chance against two gulls at once without the element of surprise. Still, he would have an almost infinitely better chance surviving it than she would.
Summoning up her last bit of courage, she dejectedly began speaking softly to the ground in front of her, not wanting to give the gull the satisfaction of seeing the pain in her eyes.
“Jake and I are staying in a small grassy dale on the leeward side of the island about one hundred yards behind that rise over there” she said, gesturing to the hill she had climbed to get to the old colony grounds.
“Will he be expecting us?”
Sam didn't answer.
“Answer the question!” The predator snapped, with a dangerous sharpness in his voice.
“No…” Sam said miserably.
“….He….he's probably sleeping, and he thinks he’s the only Black Back on the island. He won't expect anything.”
“Excellent” the gull crooned, with malevolent satisfaction. Smiling cruelly, he continued.
“Well, I'd like to thank you for your cooperation little bird. Your information will prove quite useful for the task ahead after I've eaten you.”
Sam looked at him aghast.
"You didn't really think I'd let you go just for selling out your friend, did you?"
Sam, finally finding her voice managed to spit back “You are horrid and cruel. Jake will tear you to shreds. I hope you suffer in atonement for all the fear and pain you instill in others!”
“Defiant last words for sure. But they won't make one bit of difference. Jake is asleep and unsuspecting, remember? If it’s any consolation, there really wasn't a thing you could do. I want you to know I'll be enjoying every bit of you on the way down. A meal like you is a rare find. Goodbye little bird.”
...................
Anthony pumped his dark wings powerfully, driving himself swiftly across the rolling green landscape below. As he crossed the island, he kept himself diligently at a constant height relative to the ups and downs of the island’s many hills, making sweeping passes back and forth to locate the telltale black and white feathers of his target.
Maintaining height was imperative for such a search. He had to be high enough to see a wide swath of land for a rapid search, yet close enough not to miss his target completely as the ground passed by. It was tiring and boring, and Anthony resented the fact that the head gull left him to search the entire island while he simply searched the coast. ‘That bastard is probably gorging himself on fish right now’ he thought, sighing to himself after a yet another fruitless sweep.
Losing patience, he dropped down and landed on a small hillock overlooking a grassy dell from the south. To his surprise, as he turned to rest for a moment, he saw exactly who he was looking for less than fifty feet away. The gull was resting quietly in an open patch of grass, facing away from him. Luckily, he hadn’t been noticed yet. The other seabird appeared to be lost in thought, and paid no attention as he carefully hid himself behind the crest of the hill. As quietly and quickly as he dared, Anthony took to the air again so as not to arouse the target's suspicion and headed to the other side of the island. There he would meet up with the head gull so they could plan their attack.
As he rose over the ridge that formed the island's peak, Anthony noted with some disappointment that he hadn't seen the puffin anywhere in the target’s territory. That didn't bode well for his payment. Before he could dwell more on the thought though, he spotted a large gull standing in a rocky patch just ahead. He made for the patch and then faltered when he saw the bird’s behavior appeared quite peculiar. With rising uneasiness, he noticed another, much smaller bird at the predator’s mercy.
With growing suspicion, he dropped stealthily downwards and approached the rocky clearing indirectly, planning to land in a discreet location for a better view. He didn't trust the Head Gull farther than his wingtip, and the sight below gave the distinct feeling of something fishy going on. Moments later he landed quietly behind a rocky outcropping directly above the clearing.
Virtually invisible in this location, he was close enough to see and hear what was going on quite distinctly. His suspicions quickly gave way to anger as he saw the Head Gull toying with a puffin. Yet rather than charging in with blazing accusations, Anthony decided to watch the exchange for a while, fascinated by the unusual conversation despite himself. He also wanted to be sure for certain whether he’d been double crossed before picking a fight with a bird as large as the Head Gull.
Watching the puffin, Anthony could tell from her visibly broken wing that she was the same bird he’d chased a few nights before. Yet somehow, she seemed different than the terrified prey he’d chased then. Bolder perhaps, or maybe just desperate. He couldn’t quite tell what it was, but as he watched, he found himself admiring the plucky little seabird as she stood up to her antagonist’s intimidation. She definitely had some spirit. He felt an unexpected twang of guilt and pity at this thought, realizing that if he had his way, it would all be in vain for her.
As the intriguing exchange wore on, it didn't take long for the skua to gauge the intentions of his “partner.” Anthony had been expecting to be double crossed, but not like this. Two days with the Head Gull was enough to know he was an exceptionally manipulative individual, but even that was not enough. He’d expected the gull would try and take the puffin for himself, but not before the job was done! He had to admit that was pretty clever: Divert him to the other side of the island, swallow the puffin, use him to kill Jake, and then return home, compensating him with tribute from the colony, leaving him none the wiser as to the true fate of his reward. If the impromptu plan had worked, he would have done the gull's dirty work for almost nothing. He’d been fooled, and that made his blood boil. He wanted to brazenly swoop in to a fight, but he checked himself as a wild idea came to him that was better than anything he could accomplish by himself. Anthony smiled devilishly. When the time came, the head gull would regret his betrayal.
........................
Jake sat dejectedly in the middle of the grass, running Sam’s last words to him miserably through his mind, over and over again. Had he really crossed the line from protecting to controlling? He wasn’t sure. Everything he’d done had been for her benefit, but he couldn’t help thinking perhaps it was his fault she felt like prey to his eyes. That wasn’t really how he saw her, but from his perspective she was small and weak. All he’d really wanted was to keep her safe, and thinking like a potential predator was exactly the way to foresee any risks that might occur. Even now he couldn't stop second guessing the wisdom of letting her go out by herself. Yet, despite this logic, ashamed as he was to admit it, he did occasionally have predatory thoughts of a different nature when they were together. Savage thoughts, always closer to the veneer of civility than he’d like. Jake didn’t want to ponder whether their argument was the result of Sam noticing this brutal part of himself he desperately wanted to hide. The possibility was too real and too painful to consider.
Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a shadow in the corner of his eye, and what he thought to be a rustle of wings, but when he looked, there was nothing there.
‘I must be imagining things’ he thought bitterly. The thought caused him to get up and start pacing restlessly. He thought about going to look for Sam. He wanted to join her on her walk, to talk to her, to apologize... but every time the thoughts came up he reminded himself that he had to respect her need for solitude if he really valued her friendship. She wouldn't want him to come looking for her, and after what he’d said, his presence would be an intrusion. He paced faster, back and forth, suddenly possessed of a strong urge to fly and move and do something. Anything would be better than sitting around. The sudden change in mood led Jake to contemplate himself. Gone was the lethargy of the morning. Now, under the heat of the building sun he was filled with the same restlessness that had driven Sam to walk and explore the island by foot.
At the thought of his friend, his former agitation returned. 'I'm a lot more worried about defenseless Sam than I ever would be about any of my other friends’ he thought, not enjoying the sensation. He didn't have long to dwell on the thought though, as he was suddenly aware of the sound of wingbeats approaching his position very quickly. Raising his head, he watched a big brown seabird crest over the hill ahead of him than then come sweeping down into the clearing before landing with obvious urgency on the grass in front of him. Jake recognized the stocky bird as a great skua, an accomplished hunter and a formidable fighter.
“There’s a gull torturing your puffin friend!” he said breathlessly, panting and heaving heavily from the intensity of his flight.
“Who are you?” asked Jake, perplexed and somewhat alarmed.
“How do you know about Sam?”
“My name's Anthony” he gasped.
“And as for your friend, do you really want to waste the time it'll take to explain? He’s gonna eat her any minute now!”
“Where is she?” Jake demanded, grasping the need to act quickly.
“The Brandon Head Gull’s got her right over that ridge. I'll show you. It's not far.”
“Hold on, hold on! Do you mean the boss of Brandon island?” Jake asked, suddenly feeling a knot of cold dread forming within him.
“Yeah. That double-crossing bastard owes me and I want to settle!”
Jake only paused a split second, realizing he’d have a better chance of saving Sam with the skua’s help.
“Help me save her” he said.
“I’ll make sure the Head Gull gets what he deserves.”
Anthony nodded with a smile, seemingly in anticipation of the coming bloodbath.
“That will work.”
“I get the first crack at the head gull” Jake said tersely as he took off, beating the air furiously with his wings, pushing himself to the limit to accelerate as quickly as possible. The grass whipped by below as Jake reached the ridge after mere seconds, topping fifty miles per hour.
“There they are!” Anthony shouted over the rush of the breeze. Jake saw where the skua was motioning and adjusted course, gaining even more speed as they descended the windward slope of the island. They were less than fifteen seconds away now. Jake brazenly pushed onwards, not slowing down as he descended in full-on attack mode. It was now or never. He couldn't miss. There was no time left for a second chance.
.............................
Sam shrunk away from the advancing gull as far as she could, as if warding off the hungry jaws and inevitable fate. A lethal, concentrated gleam filled the gull's coldly anticipating eyes, as the long, powerful bill with its sharp tip and red spot stretched open, beckoning hideously, glistening saliva gleaming across the tongue and hanging and dribbling in sticky strands from the eagerly drooling jaws, big enough to swallow her whole. Despite a strong urge to avert her eyes, some sort of sick fascination kept her gaze riveted on her predator, unable to look away. She was going to be eaten, but somehow, besides a resigned whimper, she almost didn’t want to do anything about it. Knowing that the end was upon her, Sam cried in fear and confusion, mixed emotions both anticipating and dreading an unavoidable, natural conclusion to her life.
Yet as the jaws came down around her, so did a black and white streak hurtling with murderous speed from the sky, uttering a deafening war shriek!
“Keeeiow!”
Seemingly in slow motion Sam saw the Head Gull’s expression change from greed to fear as he was slammed off his feet by Jake! For a moment, both birds tumbled in a confusion of feathers before coming to a tangled stop. Immediately, twisting savage blows came from both sides as a fight broke out. Bills flashed and blows were exchanged in rapid, brutal succession as they pecked and scrabbled viciously in the dirt. The fight ran so quickly that Sam couldn't tell who was who. They were tearing viciously at each other in full on stock rage and Sam realized in horror that they were actually trying to kill each other!
With her heart in her throat she watched as the other gull closed his jaws on Jake's head, twisting and thrashing violently in an attempt to break his opponent’s neck. In a fraction of a second, Jake managed to twist around and gain a choke hold on the head gull, forcing him to release his grip. They wrangled some more and Sam could see that her younger and bigger friend had a distinct advantage over his opponent despite his superior fighting experience. The battle was over almost as quickly as it started as another bird entered the fray, body slamming her would-be-predator to the ground.
Pinned by one bird and held by the throat by another, the head gull finally gave up fighting, going limp and keening weakly in submission. Jake released his jaws and ran over to her.
“Sam! Are you alright? Did he hurt you?”
For the first time Sam noticed herself shivering in fear as Jake comforted her, embracing her in his wings and speaking softly and soothingly to her.
“Shhh, it’s okay, you're safe. I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise” he whispered.
Her shuddering subsided somewhat and she looked at him.
“You came for me” she said, her voice thick with emotion and gratitude.
“I wouldn't be a very good friend if I didn't, now would I?”
“I guess not” she whispered.
With concern, he noticed a sodden pool of blood on her left wing.
“You're bleeding!”
“Don't worry” she chided.
“It’s no big deal. It’ll heal in a few days.”
“This scumbag tortured her!” a rough voice interrupted loudly from behind.
“I saw it.”
Sam glanced around behind Jake, a chill running through her as she realized who the familiar voice belonged to.
“Y…you….” her voice faltered. Swallowing hard, Sam stepped closer to Jake, taking reassurance from his presence.
“You tried to eat me!”
A questioning, and slightly guilty look spread across the skua’s face.
“Yeah...sorry about that. I guess I did take a bit of a snap at you.”
Emboldened by Jake’s presence, Sam felt a strong urge to speak her mind.
“You broke my wing. I can’t fly anymore because of you!”
“Hey! Give me some credit, I just saved your life. I said I was sorry.”
Sam didn’t buy it.
“Yeah, right. You probably came here to eat me like everyone else.”
The skua looked a little angry now.
“If it wasn't for me you’d be lunch by now!”
Sam stopped for a second, looking to Jake to gauge his response to this new information. Jake didn’t respond, his eyes fixed with a mistrustful intensity on the skua after realizing exactly who he was.
“Is that true?” Sam persisted.
Jake nodded slightly, and then stiffly introduced her to the skua, clearly holding back his anger as he addressed the other bird.
“This is Sam. I'm Jake.”
“Anthony. And our friend here is the Head Gull of Brandon Island.”
Sam felt a chill, suddenly realizing this wasn’t random, and she’d been hunted all along. Looking into the Head Gull’s eyes, all she saw was malice staring back at her.
“If we could skip the formalities and let me free…” the other gull interrupted in a wheezing voice.
“No!” Anthony and Jake said at the same time.
“You tried to eat me too!” Sam said.
“In fact, no one here hasn't!”
“You tried to eat her?” Anthony asked.
Jake looked a little embarrassed.
“No...well yes actually, I DID eat her, but that was part of an escape plan.”
“Ah, that explains some things” said the Head Gull.
“Shut up!” Jake and Anthony said simultaneously.
“We need to decide what to do with him” Anthony said.
“I want him to suffer for what he’s done, but if we kill him we’re no better than he is. I think we should let him return to Brandon Island. He’ll have face the shame of failing this little vendetta and watching someone supersede him” Jake said.
“No one will supersede me!” the Head Gull butted in angrily.
“I told you to be quiet!” Anthony snapped, his temper raising.
Jake shifted his weight slightly, keeping his eyes on the Head Gull as he did so.
“I have a guess, based on what I’ve heard of you, you wanted to kill me, eat Sam, and come home showing off what happened to the gull who disobeyed you, correct?”
The Head Gull said nothing, but it was obvious that Jake had struck quite close to the truth.
“That meshes pretty well with what he told me” Anthony said smugly.
There was an infinitesimal pause before the Head Gull saw an opening and pounced.
“You can't trust Anthony” he said acidly.
“He lied right to your face. He came with me to help kill you. He wants to eat your precious puffin friend as much as I do. She was to be his reward for helping me kill you. He's only on your side because he caught me in the act of taking the spoils for myself.”
Jake rounded on Anthony. “Is that true?” he demanded, placing a wing protectively over Sam.
“Yeah it’s true.” The skua admitted.
“I was gonna eat the puffin, but now that I've seen you together, I've changed my mind. You two have something. It's weird, but its special. I'd be cruel to take it away from you.”
Taking a short breath, he continued.
“Sam, I truly am sorry for what I did to you. I don't want your forgiveness, I just want you to know that if by chance we meet again, I wouldn’t hurt you.”
“You manipulative snake! I’ll-”
“Jake!” Sam interrupted him gently.
“It’s okay.”
Then she stepped tentatively forward, looking deep into the skua's eyes and seeing a surprising sincerity there.
“Sam, no!”
She gently shrugged him off and walked right up to her former antagonist.
“I...I forgive you” she said timidly, touching bills and looking straight into his dark eyes.
“Sam!” Jake cried, a tone of hurt anguish leeching into his voice.
“What I did should not be forgiven. My species respects strength. I admire you Sam, for standing up to intimidation. Not many would have done the same in your place.”
Sam looked at the ground, unsure what to say to the unusual show of empathy from the fierce dark skua.
“Sam! You can't trust him!” Jake keened desperately.
“I trusted you!” she shouted back, immediately regretting it when she saw the hurt look on Jake's face.
Anthony pulled back away from Sam, being careful to maintain his pin hold on the head gull and looked directly across at Jake.
Sam stepped quickly out of dodge, sensing a sudden tension building in the air.
“I don't trust you” Jake said, dropping his wings and arching his neck aggressively.
“You tried to kill Sam not even a week ago and now you want to apologize? I don't buy it. You just stay away from her, or you'll be sorry!”
Anthony bristled in rage. “I have told you nothing but the truth! I don’t have the best track record, but I'm not a liar!”
“Then why didn’t you tell me who you were?” Jake asked.
“I've only known you for five minutes!” Anthony gasped defensively.
“There wasn't time for all that.”
“Alright, but I’d still like to know how you knew exactly where to find me in the nick of time?”
“As for your location...well I sort of found you on a search mission for the Head Gull.”
“He was right, you ARE a lying scumbag! You knew where I was because you looked to kill me to win Sam. You've been working for yourself all along!”
“You’re not listening to me!” Anthony shouted in exasperation.
“I already told you why I came here, and that Sam appealed to my better nature. What more do you want?”
“A few minutes ago, you were willing to kill me just to get her as a reward” Jake pointed out.
“It seems unlikely that if you were willing to fight me for a puffin, you would change your mind about eating her so easily.”
“Oh yeah? You’re not that tough. My kind kills gulls like you all the time. I could take you easily!”
“Bullshit. You and I both know that’s not true!” Jake said belligerently.
Sam could tell the tension in the air was rising, and in his anger, Anthony was gradually losing his hold on the Head Gull. Looking closely, she could see him grinning malevolently, preparing to slip free of his captor’s grasp any moment, eyes focused directly on her as he did.
“Just stop it, stop fighting!” Sam cried, suddenly casting them both into a tense silence.
“This is exactly what he wants!” she said, motioning to the Head Gull.
Anthony looked down at the gull underneath him and repositioned his weight, keeping him pinned by his neck.
Jake glanced at the ground in silence, the tension draining slowly out of the air. After a moment, he lifted his wing off Sam, looking up at Anthony.
“I’m sorry” he said quietly.
“I’d like to thank you for helping Sam. I may have judged you prematurely.”
“It's alright” said Anthony.
“I get it a lot. Anyway, if you’d like to make amends, some free fish would go a long way towards alleviating any hard feelings.”
Jake laughed.
“I think we can arrange that.”
Sam smiled at seeing the two resolve their differences, nuzzling Jake affectionately with her beak. He cast her a quick, reassuring smile, helping to assuage the guilt she felt over her words earlier. She was relieved that even after the events of today, their friendship was still intact.
“What are we going to do about the Head Gull?” Anthony asked again, bringing attention back to the pressing issue at hand.
“Do what you like. If it were up to me I'd let him go. The shame he’ll feel at the destruction of his empire far outweighs anything we could do.”
The scowl on Anthony's face made it obvious that he didn't think much of that suggestion.
“Why don't we let Sam decide?” he said.
“She's the one he just tried to eat.”
Both Jake and Anthony looked to her, waiting for a decision. She noted with some pleasure that the Head Gull was prudently keeping his mouth shut during this whole exchange. Saying anything could potentially turn attitudes far against his favor. To his credit, his expression of remained unchanged, and he didn’t do her the disservice of trying to take advantage of her, instead simply remaining resigned as they all waited for a decision. Sam still feared him, but she didn’t want to kill anyone. Unlike her present company, she didn’t feel the need for revenge. All she really wanted was for the Head Gull to be gone.
“I want to kill him." Anthony interjected.
“He definitely deserves it.”
“I agree with Jake” Sam said carefully.
“We should let him go.”
“Well aren’t you lucky. The puffin wants to let you go” Anthony said, relinquishing his grip. The Head Gull sprung in to motion, scrabbling to get away and spread his wings.
“Wait a moment.” Jake said, blocking his path.
“I'm sure I don't have to tell you what will happen if you ever touch Sam again” he said darkly.
“Nothing!” the Head Gull sneered.
“I'm head of Brandon Island. If I ever see your precious puffin friend again, I'll make sure you watch while I break her neck and swallow her whole.”
Jake visibly trembled with anger, but didn’t strike the Head Gull as he leapt into the air, acting in accordance with Sam’s wishes.
They all watched as the Head Gull gained altitude, his disfigured wings flapping furiously in a frenzy to get away. Quickly, he banked around, dwindling rapidly into the horizon.
"Do you think we made the right decision?" Sam asked tentatively.
“I hope so” Jake said.
“I really hope so.”
Category Story / Vore
Species Avian (Other)
Size 50 x 50px
File Size 178.8 kB
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