Rescue Mission: A Short Story

Updated on December 29, 2017
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Then with powerful strokes of its wings it begun to ascend into the sky


The poor creature had no chance.



He turned and looked at his two companions.



They began moving on again. Yet the further they went, the more he felt the tug within himself. Nature? How could he even conceive of it in that sense here? He recalled the extraordinary experiences he had been through since crash-landing in this peculiar region.

There must be something more to this than meets the eye.

He stopped. Motioning to the others, he said, “Look, I know we need to move on because of time and Delvin may call both of you to account if we arrive late. But somehow, I cannot allow that helpless creature to be found by some wild predator or beast. I do not think we just encountered it there by sheer chance or coincidence. Nothing has so far happened here by accident.”

His two companions looked at each other for a moment. There was a pause and eventually they nodded their agreement and began following him back to the spot where they had found the bird.

Undoing the delicate network of twigs, thorns and branches without further wounding the animal was a painstaking process. Aremon got himself a large pole and gently pried at the longer branches, while the two scouts unsheathed their knives and joined in, cutting away at the bushy stems. Soon, enough space had been made for the bird to be taken out of its intricate prison. While each of the scouts held back a mass of tangle, Aremon reached out for the bird.

Immediately the creature shrank from him in fright. It was clearly unaccustomed to humans. He could see it did not know what to make of him, whether he was a greater or lesser danger.



He pushed his way closer and started stroking its ruffled feathers. As he did so, he observed this was unlike any bird he had ever seen in his life. It appeared somewhat like a crossbreed between a wedge-tailed eagle and an Andean condor. He proceeded, his curiosity blending with fascination and though it took a while, he did seem to succeed in winning its confidence. He began to lift it carefully from among the branches. With the assistance of the two scouts, he was able to finally bring the bird into the open. They took some time to examine its features and determined it was good enough for a test flight.

“There!” With one mighty swoop, he flung the bird skywards. From the cramped state the bird had been in, it took a while for it to gain some velocity. It tottered this way and that in the wind, but finally managed to find its balance. Then with powerful strokes of its wings it begun to ascend into the sky, giving a screeching sound as it went.

Aremon gave it one last look and turned back to the scouts. As they resumed their way back toward the camp, a loud noise similar to that of a train echoing in the distance came to their ears. They instinctively halted in their tracks and looked beyond to the mountains in the horizon. The sound seemed to have come after the screeching of the bird had gone out of earshot, but they could not see a thing in the gathering dusk.

Aremon turned to his companions with questioning eyes, but they seemed to just as surprised themselves. Without a word, they resumed their trek and were eventually in full view of the camp.

They were standing atop a towering precipice whose jagged cliffs wound downwards
They were standing atop a towering precipice whose jagged cliffs wound downwards

The Mission





“Sure, no problem.” Aremon heard himself respond.

He followed the leader back to the quarters where they fetched heavy rope and climbing gear. After Delvin gave him a quick crash course on how the basic equipment functioned, they emerged in time to join four other rescuers. They too had been informed concerning the predicament. The evening was slipping by and dusk was about to settle in. There was no time to waste.



They had just been engulfed in darkness as the setting rays of the evening sun were blotted out in an instant. For the brief moment it lasted, it was almost like a mysterious blanket had been thrown over the canopy above. However, nothing odd or unusual could be detected from where they stood.



The father was pointing down to the right.










Sudden gusts of wind.



Something had to be done. Quickly.

Aremon leaned his weight against the rope.
Aremon leaned his weight against the rope.

A Precarious Incline

Precious seconds were slipping by.

Aremon realized he was the only one closest to the one remaining gear. The others were too far away and their limbs were already covered with the ropes they were tugging. As he looked up, his eyes met with Delvin’s. He knew what had to be done.

Springing into action, he grabbed the gear, wrapped it on himself and gestured his intention to those further up next to the trees. He was going to be the third rescuer. After testing the strength of the knots with his weight for a few seconds, he begun to descend before fear could make him change his mind.






He received a nod and half smile even though he knew the youth could not understand a word he said.





Then it happened.



The rocky support above him was unable to bear his weight and without warning broke off in his hands. The binds came undone and though the youth was held by the other rescuers, he himself was slipping down through his own gear! He grabbed at the rope but it was no longer where it had been.

His hands clutched at empty air.

He could hear loud exclamations above him as he slid down several feet among jutting pieces of rock and protruding bushes. He tried to seize at them, but they were too weak to hold up his weight. In stark disbelief, you would have watched transfixed, as his body lurched and fell hundreds of feet down that incline and finally shot out into the open space beneath.

Covering many miles inside the interior.
Covering many miles inside the interior.


Arms outstretched, Aremon's body plummeted further down the expansive precipice. The sky above him moved round in circles as the momentum made his head spin and the force of rushing air completely cut off his breath. All his senses seemed to implode on him and soon he was swaying this way and that like a rag in the gale.

Minutes later something else begun to happen. Out of what seemed like a huge void of blackness, he felt a change come over him. Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, his senses were gathering themselves together ever so slowly. Was he alive or was he dead? It must be that he was still in the air as he could feel his body floating against strong wind currents. From an engulfed state of dizziness, he felt trickles of balance being restored to his brain.

Though his whole body felt limp, with the energy he could muster, he slightly steadied his face and opened his eyes.

Huge boulders and cliffs were still flashing past him. Only this time something was different.

What was happening to him?

He shook his head in an effort to steady his mind. New sensations were registering in his brain.

The world around him was no longer ascending. It was descending. Slowly at first, a few feet at a time, and then fast. Very fast. He had caught onto something. Something physical. But why was his body still airborne? No, it can't be.

Again, he opened his eyes.

He had not caught onto something. Something had caught onto him. Both his shoulders felt the grip. A vice-like grip of steel. Whatever thing it was had broken his fall and was taking off into the air with him with a force more powerful than his mind could register. As his sensory receptors begun making critical readjustment, he chanced a gaze upwards and was immediately thunderstruck by what he saw.

As though out of a make-believe birdlife museum, the underbelly of an enormous fowl came at once into view, complete with massive wings that made mighty strokes against the wind currents. Aremon could see its huge talons wrapped around and beneath his shoulders and knew how his fall had been broken. Though he could not make out all the features, he could see this airborne creature was not like anything he had ever seen before.

Was this a dream? Had he suffered a major concussion during the fall and was now hallucinating? Where was he being taken? Was he going to be supper somewhere above the towering cliffs? The talons indicated it was clearly a bird of prey. He may have been out of one danger, but had he found himself in another? He tried to struggle to free himself from its grasp but soon found it was impossible. One look down and he knew even if he did free himself, he would not live to tell it.

After a while, he noticed they had ascended beyond the precipice and were covering many miles into the interior. He did not know for how long the creature flew him with the cold dusk air whipping past his face and body. But eventually the bird did begin to slow down. It was about to land.

Aremon could see they were now over a huge plateau. Unlike what he had imagined, there was no nest in sight. He strained this way and that but could not see anything that resembled a home for a bird of such magnitude. Then the huge fowl begun to move around in circles as though seeking for something. Aremon was learning a new definition of suspense and apprehension.

Finally the bird let out a loud sound and slowly flapped its wings as it descended. As the ground in a clearing rose up to meet them, Aremon felt the talons begin to release their grip on his shoulders. Just when he thought he would be crushed on impact, the creature stretched out its wings, giving him the landing of a paratrooper.

The giant bird moved further ahead and settled on a boulder, folding its wings as it did so. From its perch, it turned to the human and for a while, the two gazed at each other. Aremon could clearly see its colossal features were even more pronounced than he had imagined. And those eyes. Yes, he had seen them before. Somewhere.

Again the huge bird threw back its head and let out the sound akin to that of an express train rushing in the distance. Within moments, it flapped its wings and ascended from the clearing, cutting into the air back the way it had come.




It was late. Most of those who had been present by the campfire had already retired for the night. A few remained however, wrapping up the day's events. Among them were two who almost seemed to be the centre of attention.

"It is good they found you just before the darkness set in. After such an adventure, you wouldn't want to be walking around the forest on your own in the night, would you?"

"How did they find me?"

"The men were returning back from cultivating near the hills when they heard the rare cry of the Thun. It was then that they saw you being lowered into the clearing."

"I recognised the eyes of that giant creature instantly. Same as bird we rescued some days back in the forest."

"Irban told me about that. That was a young Thun you rescued while you were away on your scouting trip. Its mother was on the way, but you managed to free it before she arrived. It was a good thing too, otherwise she would have torn you all into pieces had she suspected you were about to harm the young one. They have a powerful vision and can spot your activities from very far even if you cannot see them. "

Aremon was amazed. Delvin went on. "You see, the bird is of a rare species here. To this day it is a dangerous and cautious breed, and will often keep a low profile when crossing through these parts. Yet because of the continuity of its species, those who fend for its young easily win its allegiance."

"Another case of reaping what you sow."

Delvin smiled. "Unitan must have given you a good introduction to Ishara."

Aremon recalled something else. "The thick shadow that fell over us as we headed for the cliffs…"

"That was her.” Delvin interjected. “She was following us and must have observed the moment you lost your grip. In the meantime, help arrived in form of reinforcement from the nearby village. We were able to rescue the lad as well as the two other men. They are incredibly grateful that you were willing to place your life on the line because of the rescue mission. You will see them tomorrow."

The Wajumbe leader rose to his feet. "Now that we are all thankfully home safe, tended and fed, I think it is proper for us to call it a day. Come, it’s time to get some rest."

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