One Bad Day - Chapter 10 - Cow Leashes and Jellyfish Skies πͺΌπ
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Chapter 10
That is⦠until we ran out of cows.
βWhat do we do now?β the girl says as we hover next to an antsy Angus thatβs making me nervous. I glance ahead and then quickly down at sharp hooves stepping too near my bare mud-covered toes. She does it too but looks up at me as if expecting my brilliant answer. And when I donβt reply right away and instead quirk my left cheek up to my eye, she throws a hand out to still the cow from stepping too close. Apparently, sheβs over her fear of cows.
βI said, what do we do now?β Her commanding whisper is getting annoying.
I look behind us where the herd isnβt as thin and gaze again at the dark spotted landscape ahead. The cows are like far away steppingstones now and we canβt play leapfrog with the jellyfish overhead. The girl scans the skies again.
βIt might rain,β she says.
I hadnβt considered this. A good rain would help. I havenβt had a chance to worry about the weather and quite frankly on second thought, I donβt think itβll make a difference. Not for the jellyfish side, our ours.
My silence, the girl isnβt having it, and she huffs out a breath.
βOkay, kid,β I lay an arm over the cow and point as if this is the most natural thing in the world. βYou see that building over there?β
βThe one in the distance without the cows?β
I ignore the sarcasm and nod. βThereβs a pickup truck parked under the overhang.β
She shakes her, Iβm guessing, twelve-year-old head at me and begins to count out her fingers. βWe donβt have the keys. It might be out of gas. Those things will follow us in the space in between. We wonβt make it a mile and againβ¦ there are no cows between here and there.β
She ended by leap frogging her pinky a space ahead and we both stare at it for a second.
βI know, but look around. We donβt have a lot of options, those things in the sky are staying over there and besides, we can take this one for a walk with us across the field.β
βFor a walk? You want to walk this cow, across that field? We donβt have rope and neither of us have shoes and he keeps trying to lean against me.β She braced both hand against the cowβs side and locks her elbows.
βQuit that. We need to stay close, and heβll only keep pushing you. Youβll attract attention from those things it you fight with the cow.β
She slacked her arms away and scanned the sky while I sat my pack down on the muddy ground and crouched nearby while keeping an eye on the cowβs hooves. Inside my bag, I noted the shattered laptop with a click of my cheek and pulled out my longest computer charging cord. As I un-Velcroed the strap, she chuckled.
βWhat are you going to do with that?β
I doubled the length and twisted the ends. βI know itβs not perfect, but it could be a leash.
βHe doesnβt have a collar. Thereβs no way weβre going to lead a full grown cow with that thing. Itβs too flimsy.β
Ignoring her, I said, βGot any better ideas.β
βMaybe we should find a smaller one?β she scanned the field.
βNope. This one is used to us now. Itβs got to be him.β
βHow do you know its a him?β She peered beneath.
βI just know.β I wasnβt going there.
Butβ¦ and this is where I take a moment. Have you ever tried walking a cow on a leash? I mean, this is not a domesticated animal. Not like a dog. I think of him as a walking steak. Heβs a heavy ribeye, docile but heavy.
And it doesnβt exactly go how you might expect. Or, perhaps it does and youβre shaking your head knowing a barefoot man is about to feel as if heβs met his maker. Because, exactly what you might think, happens.
βThis is a bad ideaβ¦β the girl says as I loop the cord around the cowβs neck.
And sheβs rightβ¦ 3, 2, 1β¦.
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