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The babies scattered to the edges of the pond and bit at the drone when it caled out a round and fell back into the water Cara didn’t want to hurt theet theet back home before her parents and Xan The ti harder She didn’t realize she was clenching her teeth until her jaw already hurt After nearly an hour she’d only gotten three safely back to the nest Mohtless eyes reproachful Cara’s hands ached, and the drone’s batteries were half drained
“Come on,” she said as one of the last two babies skittered away froe of the pond “Stop it Just…”
She reached the soft rubber clan, and the little sunbird struck at it, biting and tearing with its soft teeth It wrenched its head around and darted back off across the water, leaving little ripples in the dark water, and then stopping to bob on the surface and chew at its wings as if nothing rong Cara brought the drone in to land beside her while she thought The last two babies were the biggest Faster than their siblings, and they weren’t getting tired the sah to avoid predators without her Maybe they didn’t need to be in the nest
One of the babies swas Without the whirring of the drone to run froruntled kind of way Its black eyes shifted around at the night, taking in the forest and the pond, the cart and Cara with the same disinterest It was so close
Cara shifted forward slowly so as not to startle it The little sunbird huffed to itself, ducked its head under water, and Cara lunged Cold water soaked into her sleeves and sprayed her face, but the little ball of squir She stood up, grinning
“There you are, little one,” she said “Oh, you’re a pain, but I’ve got you safe now”
Except she wasn’t quite sure what made sense to do next She needed both hands to drive the drone and the waldo, but if she put the sunbird down, it would just run off again The nest was low enough in the tree, she ht be able to climb up one handed and reach it in She stepped backward, looking through the foliage for a pathway that would work
The crunch under her heel was confusing for aShe yelped, dropped the baby sunbird, and danced back The drone glittered on the clover, two of the vortex thrusters caved in by her weight She dropped to her knees and reached out, fingers tre to put it all back together and being afraid to touch it The drone was broken Her mother’s drone that they couldn’t replace because it ca ca terrible that she couldn’t take back washed over her—the broken body of Mo on each other
It was too much She’d hide the drone, just for now The case for it was still back at the house, and her ain for weeks Months If Cara kept it here, where she could work on it If she could keep it safe until there was light, then ht She lifted up the drone, felt the lies where before there had been smooth round cylinders, and knew that there were shards of it still in the clover With the instinct of a thief, she carried it away froe of the pond She shoved it under a little bush and dragged dead tree fronds over it, hardly aware that she was sobbing while she did it It would be okay Somehow, it would be okay
It wouldn’t
When she turned back around, the dogs were there
She hadn’t heard them shamble out of the darkness, and they stood there as still as stones Their five faces looked like an apology for intruding
“What?” Cara shouted, waving at the arm “What is it?”
The dog in front—the sa from when they’d been there before—squatted down, its s seeether pri to hit the that would distract her fro it like a weapon, but the dogs didn’t react They only see breaths, wet and cold and raw as a fresh-pulled scab, then sat down on the cart next to Mo her head, and wept The corpse shifted when the cart rocked, its skin glistening hatever that death as
“I didn’t ,” she said “I didn’t want to break anything It all just…broke, and I, and I, and I…”