Chapter 6
Mount Eaglet
"You shot my eagle!" Warrick cried, on hands and knees. He was glaring evilly at Sara, who holstered her gun, her shoulders shaking.
"He was going to eat my broccoli!"
"But you shot my eagle!"
"But he's evil!"
"Eagle killer!"
Sara stuck her tongue out and wrung her quivering hands.
"You know you can get arrested for shooting an eagle," Grissom said calmly, stepping up next to Sara and pulling an eagle feather out of his beard.
"Do they have broccoli in prison?"
"And meatloaf. They have that and meatloaf."
"Then I'm all set."
She was still shaking and she turned to look at her toppled plate of broccoli. With a soft whimper she turned back around. Warrick was surveying the damage to his precious pet eagle, one frustrated hand cupping his forehead, the other on his hip.
Liz, Molly, and Mindy were still gasping for breath. Finally, Liz was able to speak, brushing some eagle feathers off her white shirt.
"Don't say it. Don't even say it."
Mindy took a giant breath and then screeched, "I told you so! I told you so! I told you so! I told you so!"
Liz rolled her eyes and Molly grunted. She didn't seem the least bit phased to be covered in eagle droppings and feathers.
"Oh man…" Warrick continued, bending down to the eagle's corpse. "What are your babies gonna do, man?"
"Babies?" Sara said; then her eyes widened fearfully, "I'm a parent killer?"
"Oh, of course, now you care."
"I killed somebody's parent?" she squeaked.
"Yeah. Great going." Warrick muttered. He bent down to the eagle's body and examined it. "You shot him straight through the middle of his eyes."
Sara straightened slightly at that. "Well, I guess all those hours at the shooting range paid off."
Grissom butted into the conversation, "What are you doing here, Warrick? Aren't you supposed to be on some mountain case with Catherine?"
"And I am."
"Well then, A) Where's the case, and B) Where's Catherine?"
"Well A) The case is a missing baby eagle in a nest with two other eaglet witnesses and B) Catherine is with the remaining babies."
"I'm a parent killer!" Sara moaned. "And I'm going into withdrawal. I have no broccoli. I'm going to curl up into a fetal position and then shrivel up and then die."
Grissom and Warrick let her ramble.
"I'd like to come see where you and Catherine are, if you don't mind."
"Well we'll have to walk partway, but I'm sure we'll be able to hail down some eagles to come and give us a lift."
Liz piped up, her eyes crackling. "I am not riding any eagles."
"Yes you are." Grissom said firmly to her.
"Only if Mindy gets to stay nicely on the ground."
Mindy was still ranting on and on about how she was right about the rabid eagles attacking. Grissom turned to look at her and pondered her for a few moments.
"She'll walk with us…and then…uhh…we'll figure it out when we come to it."
With a pitiful expression, Liz hung her head, muttering 'Why me?' over and over under her breath.
"I told you so, I told you so, I told you so!"
"I'm a parent killer!"
"Why me?"
"I see freaky dead people!"
Warrick shared a glance with Grissom that clearly said, 'Women…' Grissom answered with a slow nod. Warrick bent down to his eagle, gave it a soft 'farewell' pat on its head, then walked away up the grassy knoll towards the mountain, Grissom followed quietly, leaving the four blabbering females to their words.
Through her shakes, Sara managed to notice that Grissom and Warrick were in the process of ditching.
"Hey! Hey wait up!" She managed to control herself long enough to dash after Grissom's receding back.
Liz huffed loudly then took off after Sara. Molly trudged after Liz, and Mindy skipped up the hill singing, "I told you so, I told you so, I told you so!"
XxX 1 Hour Later XxX
"I told you so, I told you so, I…told…you…phew…" Mindy collapsed on the hill, panting and wheezing.
Liz threw her hands up and yelled, "Finally! She finally shuts up!"
Warrick and Sara had continuously bickered about the dead eagle and whether or not Sara was in the right when she shot it. Grissom was silent, as was Molly, but that was only to be expected. Mindy had sing-songed "I told you so" for the entire expanse of time, and Liz had to gather all self-control not to strangle her.
The group had made it up the hill, and was now standing at the foot of the mountain. The mountain ahead of them was lost in the clouds, its base steep and covered with rocks and boulders, but its tip unseen in the mist.
"Welcome to Mt. Eaglet." Warrick said, placing his hands on his hips and taking in the sight of the mountain. "I suppose we're going to need a ride…" He placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled. A loud rasping screech met the group's ears and the next second, five, six-foot-tall eagles landed, wings flapping, on the ground next to them.
"DIE!" Sara shrieked, reaching for her gun, but Warrick dived at her, both tumbling to the ground, fighting for control of the weapon.
"Sara, you can't shoot these eagles!"
"And why not?"
"Because I said so…" Warrick stood up from the tussle, gasping for breath. " and I have your gun." He opened his hand, revealing the metal object inside. Sara sighed and curled up on the ground, arms over her head.
"I miss my broccoli," she whined, sticking her right hand in her mouth and nibbling on her nails. "And I think I have gas. I'm getting cramps."
"Great." Warrick muttered. He gave Sara her gun back, and she placed it firmly into her holster, glaring at the eagles in the meantime, who watched her with large black eyes.
"Okay…" Grissom said quietly. "We can all have one to ourselves, but we're one eagle short so somebody's going to have to share."
"I'm not sharing with Mindy." Liz said quickly, eyeing the eagles cautiously.
"Mindy, you get to ride by yourself." Grissom knew that nobody would want to ride with her. "Molly, you can have an eagle to yourself too." She was too large to share with anybody.
"I'm not riding with Sara if she has gas." Warrick said.
"Sara, you get to ride by yourself too then I guess, and you have to ride downwind as well."
Sara stuck out her lip and stood up, brushing off her butt that was covered with grass.
"These eagles won't eat us." Mindy declared, walking up to one of them. "They're nice." She reached out her hand and made to pet its head, but it snapped its beak at her and stared her in the eye. "You're a mean eagle! I don't like you!"
"I guess I'll share with Liz…" Warrick mumbled, hands still on his hips, surveying the giant birds. "Okay you guys, you heard everyone. Get to it."
On command, the eagles arranged themselves. The one who snapped at Mindy went over to Sara, who glared it in the eye before climbing nervously onto its enormous back. Grissom clambered onto the back of the eagle in front of him. Mindy needed some coaxing on Liz's end to mount her ride, and Molly's eagle was shaking under her weight.
"Okay Liz, ladies first." Warrick said, stepping aside for Liz to get on. She did so apprehensively, catching sight of Mindy's eagle trying to nibble on the woman's shoelace. Warrick sat on the eagle behind her and said loudly, "Up, up!"
The eagles' wings shot out and began to flap. The riders all jumped except for Warrick who appeared calm, holding a fistful of feathers, his knees pressed tightly into the eagle's side. Liz tried to copy him as the eagle they were riding rose off the ground, its feet tucking into its belly, its head lowered, and its wings flapping.
It was uncomfortable riding the bird, the elbow of its wings bumping into Liz's knees with every flap, the only thing keeping her on top of the thing's back being Warrick sitting behind her.
Warrick and Liz's bird was first in the line, Grissom, Mindy, Sara, and Molly flying behind, in that order. The eagle was flying steadily at first, angling slowly as it went steadily higher. It leveled out above the hill, heading away from the mountain, out over the forest and then circling back above the clouds. The tip of the mountain was in view, slightly snow-capped, numerous smaller peaks around it.
Liz was finally at ease upon the giant bird. She leaned upwards back into a seated position rather than bent over the eagle, holding on for dear life.
"Feeling safer?" Warrick asked her loudly above the wind. She nodded and looked over the side of the eagle, past the tip of its enormous wing. There was no rainforest to be seen. Only pine trees and grass. No shining lights of Las Vegas. No palm trees or vines. Nothing familiar.
"How did you get here?" Liz asked Warrick, talking clearly.
"I flew!"
Liz glanced back at Warrick who was smiling lightly, staring ahead at the nearing mountain. She looked past him back at the other eagles. Everyone else appeared to be warming up to the idea of flying and was sitting upright like she. Molly's eagle was lagging behind, flapping harder and faster than the other eagles, but still managing to come in dead last. Sara was hunched over slightly atop her eagle, gripping her stomach, her face twisted. Mindy appeared to be lecturing her eagle and Grissom's lips were pursed as he surveyed the surrounding forest anxiously.
When Liz faced forward again, they were very near to the mountain, which was confirmed when the eagle slowed down as they came closer to a cliff partway to the snowy tip.
"We're here!" Warrick declared. The line of birds slowed even more, causing Liz to come very close to slipping forwards off her ride. As the cliff came even further into view, an enormous pile of sticks in a crevasse could be seen, and Liz could have sworn she saw a bob of blonde hair as they drew nearer.
The eagles landed abruptly on the rock cliff, stumbling forward, their wings flapping up and down before folding to themselves. Warrick slid off the back and helped Liz down, whose knees were shaking slightly. But she wasn't nearly as bad as Sara, who fell from her eagle trembling. She reached up to the eagle and braced herself, standing up with one hand clutching her stomach and the other on the eagle's neck.
"Oh man…I really have gas…" she groaned, hunched over.
Molly's eagle arrived about thirty seconds after everybody else's and it was the eagle that shook afterwards as Molly swung a leg over its back and slid off. The poor thing collapsed in a heap and breathed out a heavy sigh of either relief or despair. Grissom was standing placidly, hands in his pockets, looking out over the hill.
"Warrick? Is that you?" Catherine's head peeked over the gigantic pile of sticks.
"Yeah, hey! Grissom, Sara, and some other people are here!" he shouted back. "How're the kids?"
Catherine gave him a thumbs up, "Hunky-Dorey!"
"We're coming on up okay? There's…er…something I have to tell you…" Warrick threw a solemn glance in Sara's direction, no doubt recalling the dead eagle parent they had left behind. Sara didn't notice, she was still doubled over in pain.
Warrick walked over to the crevasse and eagle nest, using the sticks as a ladder. Grissom followed, and then Mindy and Molly. Liz hung back with Sara, who staggered forward. Sara managed to climb up the nest as well, and Liz brought up the rear.
The nest was about six feet wide and six feet long. Catherine sat in the back of it, leaning against the far wall. Two small, raggedy looking eaglets sat on either side of her; her arms placed on the wall of sticks behind them, leaning backwards casually. Warrick sat down on her left, Grissom on her right. Mindy took a long look at Catherine before sitting down next to Grissom. Molly walked stoically into the nest and sat by Mindy, her feet sticking out straight in front of her.
Sara stumbled in, still doubled over; Liz passed her and sat down by Warrick, and Sara managed her way over to Liz, wincing along the way. The eagles below took off into the sky and they were left alone.
"Cath, I'm sorry." Warrick began, hooking his arm over the side of the nest.
"What are you talking about?" Catherine said, smiling, laughter in her voice.
"He's dead."
Catherine stared blankly at him. "Ex-Excuse me?"
"Papa Eagle, he's dead. Sara shot him."
The two little eaglets rasped loudly and waved their tiny wings.
"What do you mean he's dead?" Catherine stared at Warrick, an eyebrow raised. "Sara shot Papa Eagle?" Her hands drooped down from the nest's edge, wrapping around the eaglets' shoulders. Catherine's gaze turned to Sara, her jaw dropped. "You shot Papa Eagle?"
Sara nodded amongst her pain, biting her lip and twisting in her spot.
"But I swear…" she gasped "It was completely self-defense…he was going to eat my broccoli."
"Who cares about your friggin broccoli?" Catherine was beginning to shout now. "You just orphaned two, probably three baby eagles!"
"Wasn't my fault! Wasn't my fault!" Sara muttered.
Grissom cut in, "Sara was incapacitated. The broccoli was completely going to her head. I was planning on taking her to a mental hospital afterwards, to deal with her obsession, but as you can see…she's dealing with the consequences of her addiction right now." He threw a pitying look Sara's way. "And I have a feeling we'll be dealing with it soon as well. Obviously she's recovered from her temporary insanity now. She's not flying into a furious rage whenever I say broccoli. But I can tell you, she apologizes completely for the death of Papa Eagle."
Sara nodded. Catherine glared.
"So…on a slightly off-topic note…" Warrick said, changing the subject and clearing his throat. "What are you all doing here?"
"Looking for my guy." Grissom said quietly, looking at Warrick.
"Uh-huh…" Warrick raised an interested eyebrow, "Which one?"
"Nick."
Warrick nodded in understanding then turned to look at Catherine.
"Wasn't Nick visiting us for a little while?"
"Yeah, he left the nest right after Warrick heard shots and took off on Papa Eagle."