Page 55

Story: As It Was

So Cain had simply let me get attacked.
Fucking dick.
“Should she be out of her run?” I asked.
“It’s fine.” He sounded unbothered.
“Are you sure Cain is okay with this?”
Eric winced, and I knew that Cain did not know what was going down.
“Okay,” I said. “We need to get her back in?—”
Hennifer jumped from my shoulder andran.I gaped, wondering if she somehow knew what I was saying.
“Wait!” Eric said. “I need to catch her.”
He burst into a run, and I realized that as the adult in this situation, I should probably help.
Hennifer yelled something in whatever language chickens spoke and flapped her wings as she saw me. She went over my head and onto the roof.
Eric gasped. “No. She’s trying to perch.”
We both looked up. “How mad will Cain be if she stays here?”
“Um, very?”
“All right,” I muttered. “Guess I’m going on my own roof. Is there a ladder somewhere around here?”
“Yeah, in the shed behind the house.”
Thankfully, the shed wasn’t locked, and I was able to easily find a ladder to get up there. I checked to be sure it was stable like I’d seen Wren do many times before climbing up.
“Don’t look down,” I muttered to myself. “Or else you’ll figure out really quickly if you have a fear of heights.”
I made it to the top and reached out a hand to her. “Come here, Hennifer.”
She glared at me, and I realized I hadn’t brought any worms.
“You’ll have to grab her!” Eric called.
“I have no food.”
“I’ll throw you some!”
I waited, and then realized that this five-year-old didnothave the throwing skills of a future baseball star. Worms rained on the side of the house. One went into the gutter that was several feet away.
“Thanks, I got some,” I lied as I climbed fully on the roof. Hennifer let me get close, but her glare told me I was on thin ice.
I tried to shuffle closer, but she flapped her wings and lunged at me. I yelped and lost my footing. My stomach went into my throat as I fell, and I was able to barely catch myself on the edge of the roof.
But that meant I was dangling.
“Fuck!” I finally looked and knew there was absolutely no way I could hop down. Not unless I wanted a broken ankle.
“That’s a bad word!” Eric called out.
“I think I have bigger problems!”

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