“Nick, I’m telling you, I’m not going to watch the bird show with you!” Lauren stood in front of the entrance of the bird show with crossed arms and a stubborn look on her face.
“Aw come on, baby! You know how I love these birds. I have never seen an owl from up close!” Nick said and pouted.
“And you know how I hate birds,” Lauren said and started to walk back.
Nick grabbed her arm. “Please?”
“No.”
“Pleaaaaaaaaaaaase?” he begged and went on his knees. “I BEG OF YOU, LAUREN! COME WITH MEEEE!”
“Nick!” she hissed. “You’re embarrassing me! People are watching!”
“I won’t stop until you go with me,” he smiled an angelic smile.
“Hey guys, are you coming or what?” Brian said while walking into the falconry arena.
“Yeah, hold up!” Nick said and returned his head with pleading eyes to his girlfriend. “Please?”
Lauren sighed in defeat. “Alright. But if one of those things is getting anywhere near me, I’m gonna kill you!”
Nick nodded and took hold of her hand. “Yeah, sure, let’s go. It’s starting in 5 minutes! I hope the good spots aren’t already gone.”
They walked into the arena. Lauren looked around cautiously while Nick was frantically looking around where the other guys went to sit. He saw Brian waving from a spot in the front.
Nick enthusiastically walked to him while pulling Lauren behind him.
They sat down next to Brian. A pole with a green platform was standing right in between Nick and Lauren. They both looked up at it.
“Nick, are those birds going to stand on a pole like that?” Lauren asked scared.
He shrugged. “It would be really cool if an eagle would be standing on our pole.”
Lauren glared at him. “No, it wouldn’t.”
“Aw baby,” he said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t be scared. Those birds wouldn’t hurt you.”
Lauren didn’t seem so sure. She had a bad feeling about this. She didn’t even feel like going to a zoo in the first place. This was not how she imagined their day off. But Nick and Brian insisted on going. So Nick dragged her along and Brian took Leighanne with him.
Spectacular music began to play through tiny speakers that hung on the walls.
After a few seconds the music began to fade and a voice spoke. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the bird show where we’ll show you and tell you something about eagles, owls, falcons and Egyptian vultures. Before we start, there are a few rules to keep this show nice and safe. First of all, you are not allowed to eat or smoke during the show. And second, you are not allowed to walk around during the show. There’s a chance the birds might see you as prey and attack you. If you stick to these rules, we can all enjoy a great and fantastic show!”
The music came back again and suddenly falcons flew over the grass field in front of the audience. Nick felt Lauren tense. He rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.
When the falcons did a few tricks and flew over the crowd a few times, they separated in two groups, each flying to a tower where a falconer stood. They held their arm, covered with a leather glove, up as the falcon landed on it.
“That was awesome!” Brian said excitedly as he applauded along with the rest of the audience.
Next came a group of owls tearing through the air.
“Hey, that’s Harry Potter’s owl!” Nick yelled and pointed to a snow owl circling in the sky.
Lauren facepalmed. I can’t believe I gave in to that guy, she thought.
Along with the owls, came four eagles from both towers.
“EAGLES!” he screamed.
“Nick! Keep it down!” Lauren whispered.
“BUT THOSE ARE EAGLES!”
“I know! And everybody knows so you don’t have to scream!”
He just sighed and looked with sparkling eyes at the flying birds. One of them headed for the pole that stood between them.
“Oh hell no, it’s not-“ Lauren started but froze when the eagle landed softly on the platform.
“OH MY GAWD! LOOK AT THAT, BRIAN!” Nick yelled and immediately grabbed his photocamera and snapped a few pictures. “AJ’s gonna be a jealous motherfucker,” he smirked as he looked at the pictures he just made.
Leighanne coughed. “Language!”
Nick rolled his eyes but didn’t let that ruin the fun.
Brian didn’t take any offence. He couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s enthusiasm.
The eagle took off and flew over the crowd back to one of the falconers. Lauren sighed in relief and started to relax a little.
Nick didn’t know where to look when eagles and vultures flew all together.
“Damn, those vultures are some ugly birds!” Brian remarked.
Nick nodded, not turning his eyes away.
Buzz. Buzz.
Nick waved his hand next to his head. “Damn insects,” he muttered.
Buzz. Buzz.
“What the,” he said as he looked around in annoyance. He saw a wasp landing on his arm.
“WASP!” he exclaimed and started flapping his arms around. “WASP!!”
Several people turned around, an irritated look crossing their face. They tried to listen to what was being said about the vultures but Nick kept screaming.
“KILL IT! FUCKING KILL IT!”
“Nick, calm down! It’s already gone!” Lauren said.
Nick froze and looked around him. No wasp.
“Phew!” he said and wrapped his arm around Lauren’s waist.
Not long after he calmed down, the same wasp landed exactly on his nose. His eyes crossed as he looked at it. His face turned pale.
“AHH!!! FUCKING BITCH ASS MOTHERFUCKER!” He slapped at the wasp but it escaped before he hit it.
The wasp started flying around him angrily.
“IT’S GONNA KILL ME!” he panicked, got up and started to run.
“Nick, you can’t run!” Brian yelled.
“I CAN WHEN A WASP IS OUT TO KICK MY ASS!”
The group of eagles started flying around restlessly and Lauren, ever keeping an eye on the animals she hated, noticed it.
“Oh my God. NICK! Sit the fuck down!”
“IT’S STILL HERE!”
One of the eagles decided to take the initiative, made a U-turn and flew Nick’s way with an immense speed.
“NICK, WATCH OUT! THE EAGLE!” Lauren screamed in panic.
“Eagle?” he stopped and looked around. “What ea- AHH!”
The eagle pecked with its beak at Nick’s arm. It took a quick turn and pecked at his head.
People in the audience were screaming, some were pointing at him. None of them dared to make a move.
Two falconers ran up to him and tried to distract the eagle but the animal had its target set. And its target was Nick Carter.
When the eagle flew high into the air, Nick saw his chance and took off to the exit.
But two other eagles had noticed him too and were heading to him. One of them pecked at his shoulder while the other took hold of his ear.
“OOOW! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!” he screamed. He hit the eagle that held his ear and the bird let go. It managed to bite off the top of Nick’s ear as it swallowed the piece down.
Blood trickled down his cheek, his neck and his shoulder. He felt the warm liquid trickling down. It made him feel dizzy.
The eagles were ruthless. Another one joined the trio as all of them dove down and pecked at Nick’s every visible spot.
“SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!” Brian yelled.
The falconers ran up to him, holding food, trying to distract them again.
“JUST FUCKING SHOOT THEM!” Lauren screamed in anger.
“GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME! HELP!” He cried as more blood covered his body.
He made one mistake. He looked up so he could see the eagles to hit them.
But all of the eagles saw their chances and pecked at his face. Both of his eyes were taken out and his lower lip was torn.
He dropped down to his knees as the eagles kept pecking on him.
At last, he dropped down, face on the ground. A pool of blood grew around his head, covering the sandy ground.
The falconers finally took hold of the eagles, their beaks covered in blood.
Lauren, Brian and Leighanne ran up to him. The rest of the audience ran out of the arena around him, panicking and screaming.
Lauren knelt down beside him and turned his body over with shaky hands. She gagged as she looked at his blood covered face, no eyes and no lower lip.
Brian covered his face and looked away as Leighanne dialed 911.
“I knew we shouldn’t have come here,” Lauren sobbed. “I knew those things were no good.”
Eagles were of one Nick Carter’s favorite animals.
They were.
