Owloween
V
OCTOBER 27
Besides that funky disquieting dream, when I woke up the next day I felt like I got hit in the head with a hammer. The first image that came through my mind was the owl in the rearview mirror coming after us. Its large yellow eyes were like two more moons in the sky. The light reflecting off them reminded me of two searchlights in a prison movie. It also reminded me of Grandpa Joseph's story about the light in the chest of an owl that indicated if the bird was an evil spirit or not. What about two lights? Two beams coming like spotlights out of its eyes. I felt like one of these gigantic owls could see the entire landscape for miles with a single glance. How is a conventional military going to combat something like that? I remember thinking those exact words. These were the thoughts that ran through my mind when I stumbled down the stairs in my PJs to the kitchen. Grandpa Joseph was drinking orange juice.
-There's some scrambled eggs in the pan, he said.
-Morning, I said, stumbling over my words as I scooped scrambled eggs onto a plate and sat down.
-Tell me about the owls last night, he said.
-One followed us when we drove away in the truck.
I failed to mention Dr. Veggente's role in the affair because I'm not sure Dr. Veggente would want that information known. Although, I'm not sure Grandpa Joseph would tell Prof. Klemm anyway. But I figured it was best to keep it to myself for now. I told him everything else though. I said the reason I was down there was to see Cedar. I really didn’t think of it as a lie, but I figured it was more of an omission.
-You had to outrun one with the truck?
-Well, I'm not sure we out ran it Grandpa. It pretty much kept up with us the whole time we were driving away from it.
Grandpa Joseph put his chin in his hand and thought about it for a minute.
-Well, said Grandpa Joseph. I appreciate you looking out for that girl out there. But because of what is happening, you need to try and stay indoors after the sun goes down. Buffalo, I don't want anything to happen to you. It was a rare moment of outward affection. I knew he loved me and he knew I knew that, so he rarely had to show it. He looked at me with those sad old eyes of his and I felt awful for going out last night, and awful for 'omitting' parts of the story. But I knew that I would have to see it again the following night.
-If you want to see that girl, either stay in doors here or stay in doors down at Cedar's place. I'd prefer it here of course, but I'm not sure Cedar's mom would want her to be gone for two nights in a row.
-Okay, I said.
-Get yourself dressed, we're going into town.
-No sign of the owls here in town last night Mayor, said Prof. Klemm as we walked in the door. By the way he said it, it was obvious he was trying to draw information from us about sightings out in the country. He knew he wouldn't find out if he asked Grandpa Joseph point blank.
I looked around for Dr. Veggente but didn't see him.
-That so? Said Grandpa Joseph.
-Yep. But planning a large offensive tonight. We're going after them and scare them out.
-Not tonight, said General Greer sitting in the barcalounger.
Professor Klemm's face reddened. He couldn't believe it.
-Not tonight? The longer we wait the more at risk we are.
-Sorry Lester, said General Greer, but we want to make sure are defenses are ready in case anything drastic happens. If no developments occur tonight, we'll attack tomorrow.
Professor Klemm glanced at Capt. Terrell, shot his arms up in the air as if to say, 'I tried' and then went to the kitchen table and sat down to more of his studies.
At that moment I saw Dr. Veggente through the front window coming back from one of his excursions with the trombone in his hand. He had on the same green shoes, orange pants, purple shirt and green wide brimmed hat over his mane of white hair. He looked like an exploding carnival.
I left Grandpa Joseph in the house and went outside to confront Dr. Veggente. As I stepped outside, I became acutely aware of the military presence in town. 1000 troops is a lot of guys in a town with less than 1000 population. They were mainly sitting around and laughing and joking and pushing and shoving and throwing footballs around. It was a nice day that day. I remember they were in the sun in the cool air enjoying themselves. It was perfect fall weather. Not such a bad mission I guess if they haven't seen the owls yet.
-What happened last night? was all I could think to ask Dr. Veggente. He stopped in the yard and looked me over.
-What were you doing out there with your friend?
-I could hear you playing from my house and wanted to see what it was.
-Well... said Dr. Veggente slowly looking into the house and the front door to make sure no one was coming out.
-You seemed to have them in some sort of trance.
-Exactly.
-You can put an owl in a trance by playing the trombone?
-You could say that.
-So they can hypnotize us by locking eyes, but we can hypnotize them with music?
-It seems that way.
-I play the trombone too, could I put them in a trance?
-Well, you have to play a certain combination of notes, G-A-G-A in a smear or legato. I'm an amateur player myself. Used to play in a blues band back in college. But the interesting thing is that I hadn't played in many years when I discovered this phenomenon. I had a dream one night where I remembered to play every note on the instrument. I was in an old 18th century country band in the dream and we were going from town to town in Prussia playing in outdoor amphitheaters for animals. But the animals were dressed in suits and speaking with one another with proper etiquette. It was an anthropomorphic nightmare. I had forgotten the dream when I woke up until I passed a music shop downtown in Mexico City. I mean, it was bizarre, I hadn't played it in about 25 years and I just suddenly remembered how to play in a dream. And then in this window I see one really cheap. Maybe for like 20 bucks or something. It was nothing. So I buy it and take it out into the country with me on my next research project. Only, when I'm out there, I can't seem to be able to get the damn thing to sound right. Something with my lips not being in the same shape. But it was a great way to entertain myself during the long hours of fieldwork. So I just blared out a note as fast as I could, sliding the instrument back and forth. WaAAAHHHBLLAHAHAHT is how it sounded. Just terrible. And I hear this 'hoot' come back to me through the forest. It was fantastic. I did it again, and again I heard another 'hoot'. Whooo whooooooo. There was an owl responding to my blaring of the trombone. I couldn't believe it. A very surreal experience to be sure. Especially in my state of mind at the time. I looked around the campsite, I thought one of my friends had been playing a trick on me, like maybe they followed me out there and were hiding in the woods. But no one was there. I did it again. And 'hoot' back again. So that night I practiced and practiced the instrument. I wanted to play well again. The trombone had tapped some primal instinct in the bird. And I wanted to know if there was more to it. Blatting out some nonsense couldn't be the only way to get a response. I tried everything for the next few years. I played Beethoven, I played Tchaikovsky, I played the Beatles, I played Nirvana. Nothing seemed to speak to the bird like a simple blat. And they would usually respond with a hoot. I mean, I'm not Fred Wesley or Tommy Dorsey or anything, but I did get some responses to be sure. I played all these songs to birds in cages in the lab. I remember I was playing Please Please Me and one of my Barn Owls bobbed its head in time to the music. And then I realized at some point when I was playing Takin Care of Business by BTO or something and an owl sort of looked at me with an expression that indicated, is that all you got? That I had to get out in the wild. That doing these experiments in a controlled atmosphere simply wasn't appropriate. So I went out into the woods for some field research. I tried all the old standards. Suddenly, owls flew over my head during a Kinks song. I yelped with joy and euphoria. It was working. It didn't work the next time though and I wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or if I was screwing up the style. It wasn't until I was drunk one night and playing a bluesy note, a take off of an old Josh White tune that I was improvising and I just launched into the Henry Fillmore tune Lassus Trombone - but I wasn't in the right state of mind and just played that G-A back and forth softly and then cutting into a riff, when five owls landed on the tree above me. Two Great Horneds, Cesar, that Mexican screaming owl inside the house, and a couple little pygmy owls. It was exciting. I played it again and again. They seemed mesmerized. I still don't know what it means. But I was deeply involved in my research into owl group behavior and owl-human mind manipulation that I didn't have time to specifically focus on this phenomenon.
I told him about the owl landing on the roof when I was playing Bob Dylan.
-Fascinating, he said.
-Can I try it with you, was all I could get out. I desperately wanted to try it.
-Sure, he said.
-Why don't you tell them about it, I said, indicating them in the house.
-They don't know?
-No.
-Well, I just assumed you told them all. Very good, very good. You are definitely a budding scientist, he said, smiling. What made you keep this valuable secret to yourself?
-I wanted to learn how it worked because I played the same instrument.
-Well, I suppose that would be a motivating factor. Patience is key. And your girlfriend?
-She's not really my girlfriend. I don't think she told anyone either.
-Good.
-Why don't you tell them, I insisted. It might help them.
-Oh, I doubt that, said Dr. Veggente. Some things are not understandable through reason. Let's just keep it between us for now and see what we can discover. When you get your trombone later, come and talk to me.
We went inside and I resolved to go back out to the farm to get the trombone. I noticed the expressions on the faces of everyone when Dr. Veggente walked into the house. General Greer and Grandpa Joseph had amused looks on their faces. Prof. Klemm and Capt Terrell were indifferent. And Donovan was watching Prof. Klemm and Capt. Terrell. Then I noticed Capt. Terrell and Prof. Klemm caressing each other's backs and unsuccessfully trying to hide it from everyone else. It was pretty obvious to me, anyway. You'd have to be plain blind not to see it.
Donovan really did look miserable. His crush on Capt. Terrell was fierce. I just assumed they'd get together eventually as much as he did for her. It was difficult to watch him get cuckolded by a stranger in a matter of days. Especially the way he used to grovel over her.
-Grandpa Joseph, can I borrow the truck, I asked him.
-Sure, just come back and get me. You heading out to the farm? You might want to stop by and check on your friend too.
He was right, I should go out there and see what Cedar was up to. I already missed her and I had just seen her the night before. Hopefully her mom didn't have to deal with any owls last night either.
Thinking about it now, one of the oddest feelings during the whole experience was driving out to the farm that day. It stunned me just how creepy it was not to pass any cars. A lot of times I would drive home and not pass a car, but the air felt great coming in the windows with the prospect of whatever I had coming up that night or the next day. It was probably just the knowledge of the absence of any souls anywhere near the area that made the drive so foreboding. But I think even no matter how isolated you are, you feed off other people. Like you can sense them. And when no one was there, it was empty in my stomach. I suppose I knew no one was there, but maybe I’d feel it even if I didn’t know they were all gone. Maybe if everyone disappeared I would feel it even before I realized it happened. Maybe this explains our group behavior, like it is a sixth sense, and maybe that’s true for the owls.
I remember there was still a breeze coming through the windows but that it felt stale. I kept looking in the rearview mirror and out of the side windows. I always rode with the windows down and my arm out when it was over 50 degrees. And I remembered it was warm that particular day. But I had both hands on the wheel as I felt the eerie atmosphere coarse through my body. It was like there was an invisible protoplasmic barrier in the open window between me and the outside world. Then, as I was pondering this strangeness, a deer flew up out of the ditch and frightened me. But I was so vigilant that I was able to divert the car just enough to miss it. On any other day, I probably would have hit it without even seeing it. The deer careened off into the woods disturbing low hanging branches momentarily before he was gone like he had never been there. I was suddenly concerned more about ghosts than owls. I remember I got a text message from Noah around that time as I was getting to the farm.
Whats hppng? Hope yre all right, cant find any info online He signed it off with his favorite emoticon at the time ``?=~ . I immediately replied and told him about the National Guard. We texted back and forth for a little bit but I was in no mood to give him a call; although the diversion was appreciated because it pulled my mind out of the gutter of paranoia of the drive.
I pulled into the lane and jumped out, ran upstairs and grabbed my trombone case and something quick to eat.
Cedar lived out on a dirt road nestled back behind a forest. I'd never been out to her place. I overheard one girl in my class telling her friend that she went out to Cedar's for a slumber party when they were kids and that they had dead bodies buried in the yard and practiced voodoo. I figured that wasn't true. No one knew too much about their family. I learned later that her dad had left and moved to Milwaukee. He was the only one in the family originally from Lake Bawshkinaway. Cedar's mom was from somewhere else. No one really knew where. They didn't really socialize with the rest of the town. It wasn't like you saw them at the 4th of July parade or at the ball games. They pretty much kept to themselves. Their mysterious circumstances made me a little nervous when I was driving up to their place. The house was almost like a log cabin. It was a little bigger, a type of ranch style house. The dirt road off the main road ended at their place but you had to take it for a couple miles to get there.
I knocked on the door, hoping to surprise her. But no one answered. I thought about it for a moment and wondered if maybe she went into town. I called her number on my cell phone but no one answered.
-Cedar! I yelled and walked around the back of the house.
She was standing in the back yard staring off into the woods.
-Cedar! I yelled. She didn't respond. I walked over to her still shouting her name and then I shook her shoulder. She finally came out of her daydream. She turned to me and smiled broadly. Her smile made me weak. Especially under those wild eyes of hers staring up at me.
-I called your name like ten times, I said, didn't you hear me?
-No, I was back here thinking. I guess I just shut everything out, she said.
-What were you thinking about?
-Oh, a poem, I guess.
-What kind of poem?
-Nothing special.
I didn't pry; I was afraid of disrupting her thoughts. A clothesline and a fire pit decorated the backyard. I imagined when Cedar was younger it was probably littered with her little toys.
-Let's go inside, she said.
Inside the place was very clean. Bookcases lined the living room overflowing with books. A TV in the corner had books piled on top of it and around it.
-Where's your mom? I asked.
-She's not here, responded Cedar quickly.
-Did she go into town?
-No, she went down to Tomah where she is from.
-What? You’re here by yourself?
-Yes.
-What do you do for food?
-Before she left we went shopping and got me enough food in here for a month.
We walked into the kitchen and she waved her hand around. She was right, there were boxes of all kinds of cereal and cans of food lying all over the counter.
-Why didn't you want to go down to Tomah?
-I wanted to see what would happen.
-Didn't she try to make you go? It's dangerous.
-Is this an interrogation? she said, piercing me with her eyes. I took a few steps back, then she grinned, her eyes now glinted and she laughed a little. I'd never heard her laugh before. It was awesome. As Grandpa Joseph always says, until you hear someone laugh, you can never be sure of their intentions. And when I heard her laugh it erased all doubts. As if I didn't like her enough already.
-Didn't your mom hear what happened to the chief?
-Oh I made sure she didn't know about that, said Cedar mischievously. Someone came out here to our door and told us the area was being evacuated but they didn't say why. They just said that there were some vicious wild animals. My mom wanted to stay too, but the man said it was pretty touch and go with the wild animals. Their argument was pretty intense, but he insisted that she leave the area. So I suppose mom decided to follow the rules, but in the end she didn't see why I should. She left me a shotgun in the closet. Said I could take care of myself. I can be pretty stubborn.
She looked at me for some sort of validation.
-That's awesome! I remember I said.
And I did think it was fricking awesome. Still do. I was excited as hell. It felt like I had a partner in this whole mess. Everyone else from the high school was gone but us. The first thing I did after she revealed that to me was tell her why Dr. Veggente was playing the trombone. Her eyes were wide with interest in the whole deal. Then I took her out to the truck and put my trombone together and started playing it. I mean, the trombone isn't that great of a solo instrument. It's actually pretty funny when you hear it by itself. And just looking at it sometimes makes some people laugh. But I played all the stuff I knew from band and some stuff that I knew by listening by ear, like the Sesame Street theme song. I played Jeremiah was a Bullfrog. I played Hey Jude. Now that I'm remembering it, it sounds like I was some sort of ridiculous show off. At the time, maybe I was just trying to impress her. Not sure how impressed she was by a trombone, but anyway, we had a blast talking in her yard that afternoon.
-I have an idea, I told her. Can we use your yard tonight for me and Dr. Veggente to try dueling trombones?
Cedar was all for it, so we got into the truck and headed back into town.
When we walked into the O'Neil place we saw one of the weirdest sights I'd ever seen. I'd seen friends of mine making out in the hallways at school or at parties. But I'd never seen two people in their 30s and 40s in a full on make out session. It was pretty crazy, Capt. Terrell and Prof. Klemm were all over each other. We felt like parents walking in on teenagers. Their bodies writhed on the floor awkwardly. It was kind of funny and desperate the way they groped each other. And even funnier the way they scrambled for clothes when they saw us. My crush for Capt. Terrell immediately dissipated after that experience. She was more beautiful than I had imagined naked, but maybe in some masochistic fashion I was attracted to her as an authority figure, because when she was caught with her pants down, my attraction washed away, like seeing the exposed technique behind a fascinating magic trick. Even Cedar had to laugh a little. When Capt. Terrell composed herself, she finally gathered her wits.
-Cedar, what are you still doing here? Why haven't you evacuated?
-My mom and I wanted to stay.
Capt. Terrell gave her a look of admonishment, which was ridiculously ironic considering the state we caught her in. And she seemed to have her hands full, so I doubt she was going to kick up much of a fuss about Cedar. I knew I was going to catch hell from Sarah as soon as she told her that she saw us together though. Although, maybe she'd refrain out of fear I'd tell Sarah about her little romp in the hay with Prof. Klemm.
-Have you seen my Grandpa Joseph, I asked them, not wanting them to know we were after Dr. Veggente.
-Haven't seen him, said Prof. Klemm as if wondering why I was still standing there.
-Thanks, I said, as Cedar and I hurried out the door.
On the way through the front yard we saw Donovan walking up the street.
-Wouldn't go in there if I were you, I said to him.
He knowingly looked sadly at his shoes. Poor Donovan, I really did feel bad for him. He was stuck in this town with these crazed owls, and the woman he loved was with another guy, and his partner just got killed. And he worked for that same woman, and she didn't seem to care about anything other than Prof. Klemm. But it wasn't any of my business.
We ran into Grandpa Joseph down at one of the houses talking to some of the soldiers. They were showing him some of their equipment and how it worked. Grandpa Joseph always took an interest in things like that. Like he said, it's better to try and understand than to dismiss what you don't. I think he respected military advances in engineering, even though he wouldn't want me on the other end of the destruction or operation of it. The soldiers were excited to meet me when they heard I was his grandson. Grandpa Joseph told them goodbye and walked with us back out into the street past the jeeps and tanks.
-How is everything out there Cedar, anything happening? He asked as he lit a cigarette.
-No, nothing at our place. I don't think they could get through the windows if they tried.
Grandpa Joseph took a drag off his cigarette, regarding her disposition.
-How's your mother? He said suddenly. I tensed up a little.
-Good, was all Cedar responded. I took in a breath, relieved that Grandpa Joseph didn't catch on.
-Yeah, I suppose the Chief did have a pretty big pane window on that cabin, he said, eyeing the large double window in the O'Neil place across the street.
-Grandpa Joseph, I said, rolling the dice, is it all right if I have supper out at Cedar's.
Grandpa Joseph stopped walking just outside the O'Neil house.
-I'm not sure about that Buffalo, he said.
-It's safe Grandpa Joseph, I can drop you off at the farm and then I'll be in the truck, the owls aren't attacking a truck. Cedar has a garage that is attached to the house.
I pleaded with him.
-Let me think about it, he said, I have to say goodbye, and he walked in through he front door.
At that moment, I noticed Dr. Veggente sitting outside in a lawn chair.
-How are you doing today, miss, he said, tipping his hat to Cedar.
-I have my trombone I said, we are going to try and be at Cedar's place Northwest of town, it's due west of that first hayfield you came through out of the woods there.
Dr. Veggente nodded his head. His white hair always seemed to get caught up in the breeze, like smoke.
-I'll stop by there before the sun goes down, he said without hesitation.
-Okay, I said, excited. Grandpa Joseph stepped out of the house then after saying his goodbyes to Prof. Klemm and Capt. Terrell and strolled over towards us. He nodded to Dr. Veggente. I was definitely going to skip out that night if Grandpa Joseph wouldn't let me go down. I think he sensed that, because the first thing he said when he saw us as he walked out of the house was 'I guess it's all right if you go for supper, but come back not too late after dark.' I guess he figured it was better to know exactly where I was and what I was doing, than to worry about it when I skipped out at night.
I dropped Grandpa Joseph off at the farm and then drove over to Cedar's. We waited in eager anticipation for the sun to go down around six at night. I turned on their grill and threw on some frozen burgers that I found in the freezer. We had the burgers between slices of wonder bread. Cedar made some macaroni and cheese. I have to confess that while we were making supper, we were pretty scared about the prospect of going out again that night after what happened to us the other night. We were so nervous about Dr. Veggente's visit that we couldn't really concentrate on each other. The macaroni and cheese was delicious though, I can tell you that much. She threw some bread crumbs on it and baked it for a while after it was finished in the pot. Fantastic.
About the time we finished eating, it was getting dark out and Dr. Veggente rapped on the door. He stood at the front door with his massive white beard hiding a wide smile. He was not scared or nervous at all.
-Are you two kids up for this? he asked sincerely.
-I'm ready, I said. I didn't want to give him any indication that I wasn't up to the task.
-All right, he said, remember to stay calm out there, I won't let anything happen to you.
That reassured me a little but I was still more nervous than I'd ever been in my life. For god's sake, I was about to go out into the yard, exposed, like a little rat for these owls to swoop down and gobble up.
Cedar mixed up some lemonade for us while Dr. Veggente practiced the notes with me. There were certain rules. One rule was that if for some reason while both of us were playing, it had the opposite effect on the owls, I was to stop playing while he continued. He was certain this would work to keep them placated. I wasn't sure it would, and my imagination was running away with the type of disembowelments I might suffer. I was sweating and shaking.
-So by saying that it would have the opposite effect of one trombone, are you saying they might decide to attack? I asked.
-Yes.
-If that happens, aren't we kind of screwed because we won't even have enough time for me to quit playing? What if I don't realize they are attacking?
-You'll realize it.
I knew from the night before that he had a point. And then I knew that was why he was okay doing this with me. I'd seen these owls on the front lines. My mind relaxed. I'd been there before and survived. And suddenly I was ready.
My anticipation during that walk out into the back yard was at an all time high. My senses were so heightened, I believe I could have heard a pin drop in Madison. And ironically, one of those owls could actually probably hear a pin drop in Madison. So the first step out of the house was the most nerve-racking step. Because if they heard us and they were hungry, and close, we'd be dead. Thankfully, Dr. Veggente stepped out first. Cedar stayed in the house. During the ordeal, I looked at the house occasionally and could see her sometimes in the window. She had a fire going and smoke circled out of the chimney. We sat out there with our trombones and waited. I wasn't so sure about this plan either. I felt like we were sitting ducks. But Dr. Veggente assured me that if the owls were out, they would find us better if we were out in the open. I wanted to play, but he said it was better to wait. One of the rules was that if we played before they saw us, they would come to hear the music and not be invested. But if they came to see us and heard the music from us, it would have more impact on them.
We sat in two lawn chairs that Cedar got out of the garage. I'm not sure how long we sat out there, but I definitely broke Grandpa Joseph’s curfew. Dr. Veggente told stories the entire time. He told me stories about looking for owls in Africa.
-You ever been to Mali? I remember him asking me.
And of course I hadn't. His stories were wild, crazy adventures from all over the world. He said he had found a bird in Papua New Guinea that was an owl/bird of paradise hybrid. Do you know what a bird of paradise is? he asked me. I couldn't say I did, I responded. He told me there were several varieties in a jungle in Papua New Guinea that all had elaborate mating rituals. More elaborate than the peacock. Birds that could literally change shape or turn on fluorescent colors to attract a mate. All the females are homely looking, like a common sparrow, he said. But the males danced and changed shape and stuck out bright colored plumage and strutted around. Each one has a different dance. He said that each bird had a different niche in the jungle. Only one bird of paradise species could be found in one little area, and each bird was so different from the other you wouldn't think they weren't even remotely related. And it's always the male that is so different. He said. It was astonishing. Beautiful. But he was down there to see about an owl. And then he found one, an owl that behaved like a bird of paradise in its ritual. When it was performing its mating dance, he said, its feathers in its pleated chest would turn inside out, revealing a luminescent ball in its chest. The ball was the size of its eyes. And its eyes would literally glow, more so than just simple reflection. Almost like there were two flashlights on its head. And unlike the bird of paradise, where the dancing was frantic hopping or some sort of wild twisting. The owl would sort of undulate, while rotating its head. Almost like some sort of poltergeist dance to a slow blues song. It was the most bizarre thing I'd ever seen in the bird world, he said.
I thought it was interesting and told him the story about the spirits with the light in their chest coming back to life as an owl. He smoked his pipe and listened intently.
After a while I had to pee. He told me not to go far.
-Just turn around and pee the other way. Stay here by your chair. He said, more forcefully than he normally talked. That frightened me a little bit. He was always so laid back. I wasn't sure what to think of that. But I didn't want to pee facing the house, because I knew that Cedar was probably looking out the window.
I pointed back there and asked him if he might look back towards the house while I peed towards the woods. So there we were, not more than a few feet apart with me peeing towards the woods while he looked back at the house. I remember I looked up at the sky, staring at the stars. I saw a shadow over the trees briefly. And then in my face, there it was: a massive owl. Its eyes were as red as grenadine. Not yellow like the ones I had seen before. But a deep red. Not more than 15 feet away from me standing in the backyard near the fire pit. I didn't have time to warn Dr. Veggente. All I heard him say was -
-Are you finished?
And then my mind spun out of control. I couldn't see around me anymore. It was like I was in the mind of the owl. I could see his face. He seemed human. And he was telling me many different things at once. A swirl of voices bombarded my skull. All kinds of voices. Some inhuman. And then more human. And then the voices became clear. Like I put them into a translator online and it came out in my own language. Everything that I will write here, I heard in the span of seconds. But it was imprinted in my brain. Pounded inside and impossible to forget. While it was happening I felt the pull towards the huge owl. I wanted to be a part of its life. I couldn't control myself. It was the most frightening experience I'd ever had, but yet I felt like I was a part of something greater - something worthwhile in my existence of the universe. I suppose this is what it feels like joining a cult, frightened and comforted by your own insignificance in the scheme of the collective goal of the group. Thankfully Dr. Veggente pulled me out of my trance with his crystal locket or I fear what I would have done. Before he saved me, this is what I heard:
Soothe the truth. Tonight is the night to act.
Smoke flows through the cave. It wafts like the fog and mist in the early morning. They move through smoke without fear. They cut it like a creek through the soil. Smoke is the terrifying evidence of fire. Molga stays away. Molga knows it is not death. Molga is safe and not afraid of their smoke. Their smoke rises from their repressed fire. Soothe and grow.
They want to capture time. They control the heat and the cold as well as the sounds. To wonder at their attempts to grasp time past or future. They will never fully understand that time is now.
They control the placement of trees.
They control their feathers. The more order and control, is how Molga knows how to determine who has dominion over who among them. And he knows it is time.
Why can’t they control their feathers to fly like the owl? They don't want to fly like the owl. They make big bellies of metallic birds and fly together without precision. They devour poison. Their tree like posture and tuft of hair sticking off the top of their awkward protruding head. Their ridiculous pink featherless shape. They don't want independence of flight like an owl. They don't want to fly solitary.
It is their own fault they create such incessant order. It is their own fault their limited ratiocinations understand nothing else.
They also control the animals they eat. They eliminate the hunt. If you hunt you are rewarded for your ability. Their ability is abstract and ephemeral.
Molga knows that hunting them is noble. Molga knows they are as powerful as they are incomprehensible. The struggle will be great. They can create their own caves. They manipulate the earth. Their ability to warp into submission all nature to fulfill their desideratum impresses Molga. They are full of surprises. A delectable cow taught Molga of their need.
Molga dismissed their ordered stories. They've invaded our territory. It is time to assert ourselves in our domain. Hasn't Molga proved to them that they are no match for us? They've killed already. They've killed them awake. They are learning and will be superb in the field if they encounter them again. We will wait for them to attack. We will hope they attack. Because they will not survive our response.
He knows they catalog the night and he has to be very specific when he arrives for the desired affect.
They always must know when you will be there. They have to have things orderly or they don't understand. They detest nature. They detest what they cannot know, and what they cannot control. They find meaning in the meaningless. They find little meaning in nature. Therefore they must go.
They are the only animal worth hunting now. And the carcasses skirted across the rocky floor. Bloodstains cover it like grass. The smell is pungent. He likes the smell. It smells like cohesiveness. It smells like togetherness. It smells like the birth of the group. It smells like they are willing to serve.
They long for companionship and enjoyment. Enjoyment in their communal mind. They need each other. They need their acceptance, they need to control, they need the dominion. They cannot be content without interaction. They betray insecurity and their protestations reveal the nature of their mind.
They are the perfect prey. Meat that fills the owl with challenging life.
Soothe and grow.
Molga can feel questions. Questions about what Molga did not know. They are full of questions. They must extract information. They take and take, but they will make what they cannot take. And they give rabbits. They want to take and they want to give. They don't want to live.
But they have a weakness. A weakness for meaning, a weakness for signs, a belief in their significance. And that is why Molga is here.
They will be a protector. The great god has rewarded Molga with extra flesh for his efforts with them. The important one has agreed to fight for the owls. Molga's visits have created a sign in their mind. They will protect the owls at all cost. They detest their nature and desire to be the nature of the owl. To triumph over them is to have them fighting them.
They are submissive before the great god. The great god will have a diversion to enjoy. And they human will provide security in the day. While the owl sleeps triumphantly at night.
He is the god! He is larger and anointed king by the entire parliament. He is consulted on every move they make. And he knows they have to obey. He has had many struggles. Many kills, many betrayals. Now he sits perched on the rock in the cave, in their home, and Molga brings him his sustenance. The owl knows he has given them everything. And the owl must repay him. Before him they lived in uncertainty.
It is the recrudescence of the feast. Their pink flesh now feeds us nightly. The owl has emerged. Soothe and grow.
Molga has visited the important one during every phase of the moon for two seasons to solidify the sacred bond. They are in the same design and follow the same plan. They believe in owl prominence as bestowed by the great owl. Molga infuses their mind with the loftiness of its position and soothes the thoughts of significance they want to have.
When owl clashes with them in the final battle, they will destroy each other as emissaries of the owl.
Molga knows their mind has morphed the act into a numinous invocation. And Molga knows what happens next - tears stream from their contorted visage. What wonderful fantastic minds they have! The struggle with nothing!
Soothe and grow.
It is time.
It is loud, stark and orderly. Music is the ultimate evidence of them. Molga's head rotates. Molga listens to their sounds. Molga likes the sounds. The sounds float out into the night in bewildering synchronicity. The control of the sounds is tied to Molga's heartbeat. Many things about them are repulsive. But not the control of sounds. They make the most beautiful sounds. They move to them. They twist their bodies grasping a moment to live forever and they want to capture it now.
But what is the sound. The sound! Glorious! Molga is ecstatic, his mind lifting up into the air without flight. Molga knows his fellow owl share his ecstasy and they are all combined in brotherhood moving at the same pace to the beautiful rhythms of the smooth sound. Like the presence of the great owl. And the stories he could tell you about the life. The wisdom of the sliding sound explores his thoughts. The sound changes and it provokes amorous longings in Molga's mind. Love of the female. The mist and the sea and love for his mate and him in the sky at night and the mice to eat. They will never part and will always be together. Their lives are intertwined and meshed to the surreal encapsulation of love and serenity.
The whistle penetrates Molga's brain like a screech. The blaring scream sucks into his soul. The sound of nourishment is near and the intense shriek of the whistle and the beat of the footsteps play an ancient tome upon his ears. He pricks his snow feathers over his ears and stretches.
Soothe and grow.
I came back to reality at that moment, I looked up, and saw the owl, with its pulpy red eyes staring over me at Dr. Veggente. Dr. Veggente had his crystal locket in my face, while he played the trombone with dexterous vigor with one hand. The owl was like a baby in his arms. It stood there and stared. Doing nothing. Dr. Veggente made a motion with his eyes for me to get back. I ran towards the house. Cedar stood near the house, holding a smoking shotgun. Her eyes were wide, huge; I pulled her back into the house quickly.
-Give me a notebook, a pen! I yelled to Cedar. She reached into a drawer and hurriedly gave them to me. I was able to write everything above from memory. It was like it was tattooed on my mind. But its wild to me that everything I heard happened in the span of about five seconds. Dr. Veggente said that when he turned around to let me go to the bathroom, he heard me stop peeing as he felt a shadow cross over him, blocking the moonlight. He was sure that it was a clear night, so he asked me if I was done, then he turned back around and saw the owl with the red eyes hovering over me. The owl's wings were spread out, blocking out the moon and the stars. He immediately grabbed his trombone and started playing. Then shined the locket in my eyes. And all of that took about five seconds. The amount of information the owl put into my head in that time was plain crazy.
Once we were inside, about five more gigantic owls swooped down from the woods and landed in the yard to listen to Dr. Veggente’s trombone. Cedar tried to make me look up from my intense writing to see. But I had to keep writing.
When Dr. Veggente shined the crystal locket in my face, he released me from the spell. It was almost as if the owl’s trance caused me to enter another time warp, where things moved slower, where time was more compact. It is still hard to explain. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to do it. But when it was happening, when I was under the spell, everything I felt going through my mind, which I believe was going through the owl’s mind simultaneously, was true to me. A ‘spell’ is the best way to describe it. It was as if the owl had performed some ritualistic hijacking of my brain. I felt there wasn’t a greater truth in the world. I knew that I wanted to support the owls. If he had five more seconds with me, and if Dr. Veggente’s locket wasn’t nearby, I would have wanted to become a member of the owl parliament. I would have detested my human existence. And I wondered what would happen with someone who had not been released from the spell.
-That is something that I’ve seen happen, said Dr. Veggente, later, when the owls flew away and we were all inside. We were sitting in the living room by the fire recanting the experience.
-Have you ever been under the spell, I asked him?
-Yes, I have, from Cesar. But that wasn’t a Great Horned. The potency of what you experienced is much greater than what happened to me. I had one of my graduate students, David, shine the crystal locket to my eyes to release me. But it was different than what you’ve described. Much different. I felt like I understood the night. Like I wanted to live at night. It was a rather gothic experience. I didn’t hear any words. I just had urges. Urges to fly, to be cloaked in the darkness at night. That was about it. It was an overwhelming feeling much like you describe. But not as frightening. I mean, it would seem it would be frightening to want to be a silent shadow. Literally, live as a silent shadow gliding through the soup of blackness, but it wasn’t frightening. I was like a baby discovering my favorite blanket. Strange to be sure, he said, drawing off his pipe.
-I wasn’t scared either. It felt comfortable But reading what I have written down now scares me. What do you think about this?
-Well, reading what you wrote down, I think the owls have been communicating with other humans. Based on what I felt, and what I’ve seen, I know they can manipulate us. David had a worse fate than me. Without my knowledge he had been entranced by Cesar, and he kept coming back to be put under the spell, or HOMI, the human owl mind interface. They had a sort of symbiotic relationship. Cesar was caged and David wasn’t. Cesar’s motive was to live vicariously through David. He had David relish in the night. Then Cesar could enter his mind and feel like he wasn’t caged. David ended up getting shot and killed trespassing on a farmer’s land North of Mexico City. He was stark naked when he was shot and I hadn’t seen him for a few months. But one of the other students who was working late at night saw him come in for his fix once. He came in the building after hours, looking nervously over his shoulder. The other student watched him with Cesar from the corner of the room. That poor student was fascinated, and couldn't have known what would have happened. This is why I normally keep Cesar’s cage covered up. It should be said that most owls don’t have this strong of a HOMI like the Mexican Screaming Owl, or these Great Horneds, and that all owls are different. I’m not sure a regular Great Horned has the ability to affect a human in this way. Maybe on a much smaller scale, maybe a little rift in your psyche that you barely notice. This is why people must beware of owls. Even a slight tweak of your mind can set you on the wrong path – you can suddenly become aggressive, or insecure or paranoid. Maybe it could be beneficial, like you suddenly develop a sense of humor. I don’t know, and it certainly hasn’t been studied that much. I’m not sure if this can cause a change that cannot be reversed. In David’s case it seemed quite permanent. Here’s what we know about your owls up here: they can potently affect humans too. And since we know that some owls can manipulate us, such as Cesar, then these ones seem to also be a part of that group. We also know that my crystal can break the spell, the HOMI. Another thing we know is that some owls are exhibiting group behavior, and these owls are no different. Now, if these owls are able to influence the language of our minds, who knows what type of manipulation they are capable of. Reading what you wrote down makes me think that someone has already been under the spell in this town. It is possible that they are trying to manipulate us in their fight against us. Sort of like creating a double agent. As strong and agile as they are, has me frightened for our prospects in this struggle. And the owls seem to think it is a war.
I offered Dr. Veggente a ride back into town, but he just tipped his hat as he stepped out the front door with his trombone case and said, ‘I’ll be fine, they'll follow me’ before trudging off into the woods. That left Cedar and me alone. My mind was in a knot. My attraction for her came at me in waves, but I couldn’t concentrate on one particular thought.
-Come back with me, it’s not safe here, was all I could say.
-Go home, she said forcefully, you'll be fine in the truck. Her eyes burned holes in my skin.
I couldn’t let on that I was dazed, especially when she seemed so composed. I couldn’t persuade her. She could see I wasn’t myself. My mind was swirled as I stumbled out the door and she wished me luck. I feel awful even now about leaving her there alone that night. On the drive home, my mind spun like a record. I felt like someone who just ran a marathon. Or my mind was put into a washer and drier and rinsed and tumbled dry. I couldn’t stop thinking about what I heard. I wanted to hear more. But I knew it was dangerous. I didn’t see an owl on the drive home, and when I finally made it up the steps, I collapsed on the bed until morning without even waking up for a glass of water.
