Birth of a Monster by Daniel Lawlis Read Free Book Online Page B

pausing a moment, he stooped down, picked up
both body parts, and sprinted off into the woods.
     
    “Get me out of here, Harold,” he said
in as loud a voice as he dared.
     
    Sure enough, twenty seconds later, he
felt a whoosh of air, and then Harold landed and quickly flattened
his body out.
     
    Righty jumped on top, and Harold didn’t
need to be told to take off like the hounds of hell were closing in
on their heels.
     
    “Head for the mountains!” Righty
said.
     
    As soon as they began to reach a
heavily forested area, Righty dropped both halves of the officer
down to the trees below.
     
    Moments later, he said, “Find a tall
tree, Harold. We need to talk.”
     
    Righty was relieved to see there were
numerous konulans nearby.
     

Chapter 17
     
    Righty felt like a man below deck in
rough seas who witnesses so many leaks spring all at once that he
stands petrified, unsure which to plug first and wondering if
perhaps the exercise is futile anyway.
     
    The federal
agents.
     
    Yes, those two had really had fun with
him, and unlike with the chief, not even a deal had ever been
reached to ameliorate the humiliation he had gone through. Those
two were most likely headed back to the capital right now to let
their bosses know of the large bust and the embarrassing
jurisdiction battle they had lost in front of the entire police
station.
     
    “Harold, how many paths are there
leading from Sivingdel to the capital?”
     
    “Quite a few at first, but once you get
about fifteen miles north of the capital, most of them converge
into one.”
     
    Righty gave a quick, but detailed,
description of the two agents, and then jumped on Harold and told
the konulans, “Go north of the city. Explore all paths. Let me know
if you find them!”
     
    Harold took off quickly towards
Sivingdel, which was currently north of their location.
     
    They passed the city quickly, and then
Harold lowered his elevation slightly to scan for any sign of the
men.
     
    An hour of searching yielded nothing.
Righty told Harold not to veer too far from where the smaller roads
converged into the large road heading northeast to the
capital.
     
    Then, one by one, the konulans began to
approach Harold and Righty and assure them that they had searched
all the smaller roads carefully, and no men fitting Righty’s
description had been seen.
     
    “They’re probably further on down the
road!” Righty said. “Go back and keep searching the smaller roads.
Harold and I’ll head up the main road!”
     
    No sooner had he spoke than Harold took
off like a champion horse out of the starting gate. .
     
    As they cut through the air, Righty
noticed that the farther they got from the city the more spread out
the traffic was. They were now truly out in the country.
     
    The konulans certainly had an advantage
by being able to fly nearby the travelers without serious chance of
alarm, while Harold had to remain several hundred feet above
ground. Recognizing someone he already knew at this height would
not be a problem—the smell and sound of a familiar person’s voice
being of considerable aid—but approaching unknown travelers from
behind with nothing but a verbal description was proving quite a
challenge. For that very reason, Righty had Harold go back and
forth every time they passed someone before continuing
onward.
     
    As for Righty, he was stuck with his
naked eyes, though he made a mental note to get the best telescope
money could buy as soon as the next couple of days were over.
Provided he survived them.
     
    After a fruitless half hour, Righty
said with a weary sigh, “Let’s head back to the city. Maybe they’re
still there.”
     
    Harold started to turn back as ordered,
but then suddenly said, “Wait!”
     
    “What is it?”
     
    “Maybe nothing, but that dust cloud
about ten miles down the road is quite a bit larger than most of
the others we’ve passed today. Someone’s in a bit of a
hurry.”
     
    “Let’s find out!”