Going Bovine

Page 144

Gonzo and I run in opposite directions. With a war cry, Balder advances on the snow globers, wielding that piece of driftwood like the badass warrior he is inside. One guy’s coming after me full speed.
My legs and lungs burn, and I stumble. I try to get back up, but I’m having a hard time. My E-ticket meter’s nearly blank—there’s just a tiny shred of Tomorrowland hanging on.
“Cameron!” Dulcie’s here, reaching out. “Hold on!”
I grab her hand and we’re flying over the beach. I wrap my legs around her. “Whoa!”
Dulcie turns my face to hers. “Just don’t look down and don’t let go.”
“Trust me. I will not do either of those things.”
Something zips past. Dulcie cries out and we’re tumbling through the air. We land in the sand. Dulcie’s curled up.
“You okay?”
“Bad landing.” She sits up, grabbing her shoulder. Singed feathers fall from her wing.
“What happened?”
In answer, a bullet zips past. A USGW employee is making his way through the sand, gun glinting in the sun.
“Grab hold,” Dulcie croaks.
“You can’t fly like that. Can you?”
Dulcie doesn’t wait. She draws me to her and we sort of half fly, half trot on the beach. But with Dulcie’s injured wing, we can’t get enough lift.
“Ahhhh!” A bullet grazes Dulcie’s other wing and we drop onto the pier. “Run out!” Dulcie instructs.
This time I pull her. We’re bordered on all sides by the ocean.
She tries to smile, but I can see the pain in her eyes. “The water, Cameron.”
“No. No water,” I say.
“You’ll be okay.”
“Is that a sure thing or a destiny-can-be-changed thing?”
She doesn’t answer. “Cameron,” she whispers. It’s like the cooing of doves. Her wings smell of rain and smoke. She pushes me hard and I fly backward into the ocean. The water’s cold and heavy, like being wrapped in a blanket soaked with snow. Feels like I’m going to drown, like when I was five. Dulcie’s on the edge of the pier. United Snow Globe Employee #457 aims a long gun with a spray nozzle at her. “Gotcha,” he growls.
Dulcie closes her eyes as he hits the trigger. There’s a blinding flash. When it clears, Dulcie’s gone. Where she was standing, there’s nothing but a snow globe.
“Dulcie!” I scream. “Dulcie!”
“You’re next.” Employee #457 aims the nozzle at my head.
I take a deep breath and let the ocean carry me down.
“Cameron? Look at that! Isn’t it wonderful?”
Mom’s pointing to a marionette Inuit boy pulling a fish out of the hole again and again. The snow glistens. A kids’ choir sings that it’s a small world after all. It’s the most amazing thing, this ride. I love it. I want to go on it again and again and again.
“I want to play in the snow!” I tell Mom.
“We have to stay in the boat, honey.”
I notice a tiny door behind the igloo. “Where does that door go?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Somewhere. Oooh, isn’t that cute?” Mom points out a dancing girl to Jenna. Dad puts his arm around me. I’m here and I’m safe with my mom and dad and sister. But I can’t help it. I want to know where the door goes. I want to play. Over there.
And then I’m in the water, going under. Above me the surface gleams with color and light. Muffled screaming filters down. But it’s peaceful here, and I could just reach out and touch that other shore. My lungs can’t hold back anymore. I open my mouth and the water rushes in.
With a loud gasp, I break the waves and stagger toward the sand. Employee #457 is waiting with the weird gun in one hand and the Dulcie snow globe in the other. “Knew you couldn’t stay down there forever.”
“Give … her … back,” I pant.
“Sorry. She’s a threat that must be contained. Now. Smile pretty. Maybe we’ll call this one Beach Break.”
He lowers the nozzle. I hear it making a weird wheeeeee sound as it fires up.
“That’s the creep!” The motorcycle guy is back with the bicycle cops. “He was trying to kidnap a kid.”
“Officer, you’ve got it wrong. I’m working with United Snow Globe Wholesalers.” The vigilante points to his cap. “We’re working to protect your safety!”
The wail of sirens fills my ears. Cops scramble down the dunes and cuff the snow globe guy.