The Trap Is Sprung

Bobtail

One of Headstrong's relatives hopped out from beneath a Dumpster and cautiously scanned her surroundings. Satisfied that there were no predators in sight, she chirped to her comrades. Ten more sparrows appeared and took off, hugging the ground as they made their way through Boston. The sun hadn't yet risen and the streets were still deserted. The sparrows headed north, crossed the Charlestown Bridge, and entered Bunker Hill.

Headstrong was waiting for them. He greeted his relatives and the others warmly, then quickly directed them to join the sparrows who were already camped out in the trees surrounding the park. He watched with pride as they disappeared into the foliage.

The Winged Regiment had been secretly slipping back into the city for the past two days. Traveling in groups of ten or fewer to minimize casualties in case they were intercepted, all twelve brigades had been able to reenter without being detected.

Headstrong stared at the dark obelisk towering over the park. The stone pyramid had a square base and sides that came together in a point high above. He wondered why the humans would build such an object. It served no purpose, as far as he could tell.

A flutter of movement pulled him away from his thoughts. Bobtail and Gini flew over the open field and landed next to him.

"Are you trying to give us away?" Headstrong said, unable to keep the annoyance from his voice. "Our presence here is supposed to be a secret, and you're flying around in the open!"

"You worry too much," Bobtail told him, and yawned. "Besides, nobody's here."

"That's right," Gini added. "Bobtail knows what he's doing."

Headstrong glared at the starling but said nothing. Soon after Ragtag had left, Bobtail had declared Gini to be his second-in-command. Headstrong disliked the way she was always following Bobtail around. It reminded him of the way Bobtail used to fawn over Proud Beak.

Headstrong had protested Gini's promotion, but Bobtail had overruled him. "I'm in command now," he'd said.

Headstrong had wanted to retort, "Only until Ragtag returns," but had kept quiet. He remembered what Tattler had told him: it was his job to keep an eye on Bobtail.

"Relax, Headstrong," Bobtail said when he realized the sparrow was fixated on him. "So far everything's gone smoothly."

"That's right," Gini added. "Bobtail's plan has been a great success."

"A great success?"

"Absolutely," Bobtail replied, ignoring the sarcasm in the sparrow's voice. "Thanks to my careful planning, we were able to regroup the Winged Regiment without losing a single bird."

"Don't you think that's a bit odd?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this has all been too easy. As for our success, Surt hasn't even arrived yet. What if he doesn't show up?"

"Stop being so negative," Bobtail replied. "Surt will be here. And with a bit of luck, we'll catch him completely off-guard."

The morning sun appeared over the trees, and the birds took cover. Bobtail felt optimistic as he looked at the sparrows hidden around him. Leading the Feathered Alliance came naturally to him. He believed it was obvious to everyone that he was the real successor to Hoogol, not Ragtag. His plans were perfect in his mind, and he refused to even consider that something might go wrong.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Gini's shout. All eyes turned to the field. A ripple of excitement passed through the sparrows. Surt had appeared and was slowly walking through the grass, alone and unguarded.

"Everyone get ready," Bobtail whispered.

Word was quickly passed through the ranks, and the sparrows tensed.

"Wait for my command," Bobtail said as some of the more eager sparrows spread their wings.

They all watched Surt peck at the grass.

"I don't like this," Headstrong muttered. "A falcon always hunts from the air. Why is he on the ground?"

"He's overconfident," Bobtail whispered. "He doesn't think anyone would have the courage to attack him. He's about to get the surprise of his life!"

Surt continued to move deeper into the park, seemingly unaware of the danger around him.

"Now!" Bobtail yelled.

"All sparrows!" Headstrong barked. "Attack! Attack!"

More than a hundred sparrows launched themselves from the trees and zoomed toward the falcon emperor. Surt laughed as he saw them approach. He spread his wings but made no move to flee.

A hundred yards separated the sparrows from the falcon. Then fifty. Then only twenty! Surt suddenly threw back his head and screamed at the top of his lungs. "Keeek-kek-kek!"

Forty birds of prey launched themselves from their hiding spots atop the buildings opposite the park. Screeching furiously, they beat their wings and hurtled toward the Winged Regiment. The two armies collided in midair, the panicked chirps of the sparrows drowned out by the triumphant screams of the raptors.

"It's a trap!" Headstrong shouted as he dodged a hawk's talons. The sparrows darted about in confusion as the birds of prey swooped through them.

"We've been tricked!" Gini cried, suddenly finding herself face-to-face with Gunlad. This wasn't what she'd had in mind when Bobtail had asked her to be his second-in-command. The starling shrieked and bolted away.

"Gini, where are you going?" Bobtail yelled. She didn't answer, and Bobtail soon found himself occupied with a sharpie. He managed to escape, but a pair of sparrows behind him weren't as fortunate.

Bobtail stared in shock as their bloodied feathers floated to the ground. Surt glided overhead, laughing as the sparrows were decimated.

"Bobtail, what do we do?" a sparrow cried. "Bobtail?"

Bobtail didn't answer. He hovered in midair, the screams and cries of the dying birds echoing around him.

"Bobtail, snap out of it!" Headstrong yelled as he flew up beside him.

Bobtail turned to him with a dazed look on his face. "Signal the retreat! Order the sparrows to scatter."

"No! We'll never be able to rally them again. This is our last chance!"

"I don't know what else to do!"

Headstrong cursed Bobtail under his breath, then shouted, "All sparrows to me!"

The Winged Regiment followed Headstrong away from the park.

Surt fell in next to Gunlad and took command of the birds of prey. "Finish them!" the peregrine screamed.

"Wake up!" Loki yelled. Ragtag and Tattler awoke with a start and jumped to their feet. They could tell it was midmorning from the position of the sun in the sky.

The ferry was approaching Boston. From their vantage point atop the ship, the birds watched as the Winged Regiment swooped across the Charlestown Navy Yard, over the USS Constitution, and into the North End. Behind them rose a cloud of angry raptors.

"What's Bobtail doing?" Tattler yelled. "They weren't supposed to attack until noon!"

"Come on!" Ragtag said, taking flight. Tattler and Loki quickly followed.

"What's our plan?" Tattler asked as they skimmed over the harbor.

Ragtag didn't respond. A sinking feeling came over him as he realized he didn't have one. He had hoped to arrive in time to prevent Bobtail's attack. He'd had a vague idea of begging the clan leaders for forgiveness and pleading with them to flee the city.

But none of that mattered now. As the birds approached the waterfront, they could see the sparrows regrouping on a ledge atop the Custom House Tower. Ragtag pumped his wings and climbed toward it.

Gini flew fast and low through the streets of Boston. She headed straight for the Common, no longer caring whether the birds of prey found the Feathered Alliance's secret base.

Blue Feather, Bragi, Kittiwook, and Blackcap greeted her when she arrived beneath the bridge. The clan leaders had watched the Winged Regiment being pursued by the raptors and were desperate for news.

"What happened?" Blue Feather asked. "The surprise attack—"

"It was a trick," Gini blurted out as soon as she had caught her breath. "The birds of prey knew we were coming!"

"Bobtail ... Is he..." Blue Feather's voice trailed off.

"I don't know," Gini said. "There were raptors everywhere! The Winged Regiment is being slaughtered."

The pigeons wailed as Blackcap jumped forward. "You're Bobtail's second-in-command. What are you doing back here?"

"I can't fight them!" Gini cried. "They're too strong. They're too powerful!"

"You ran away!" the chickadee accused. "You ran and left the others to die!"

"No!" Bragi interrupted. "It was good Gini ran. Better to run and live!"

"Yes, yes," the pigeons chanted. "Run and live! Run and live!"

"Quiet, you cowards," Blackcap yelled, then addressed Kittiwook and Blue Feather. "The Winged Regiment needs help. Even though we're not warriors, I say we fight anyway!"

"I'm with you," Kittiwook declared.

"Round everyone up and get them in the air!" Blue Feather shouted to the clan leaders. "It's time we all made a stand."

Bragi watched as the clan leaders took flight and headed in different directions. A feeling of shame washed over her. She realized that Surt had tricked her and she had fallen for it. Because of her, the Winged Regiment, if not the entire Feathered Alliance, was about to be destroyed.

"What do we do?" one of her pigeons asked.

"Let's run away," another suggested.

"Yes, yes," a third replied. "Run and live!"

"Run and live!" they began to chorus.

"No!" Bragi declared so loudly that even she was taken aback. The other pigeons bobbed their heads and blinked. Bragi's shame had turned to anger. Yes, she was terrified, but so were the others. If they were willing to risk their lives and fight, then so would she.

"What do you mean, no?" a pigeon asked.

"We're going to fight!" Bragi declared.

"Fight?" echoed a dumbstruck pigeon. "How? We're just pigeons."

"Cowardly pigeons!" they all howled.

"Cowardly pigeons would never have carried Bobtail's message to the sparrows," Bragi replied. "We're only cowards because we think we are!"

"But we can't fight," one of her flock protested. "What can we do?"

"Our strength is in our numbers," Bragi said, and took to the air. "Come on! I don't know about you, but I'm tired of being a cowardly pigeon!"

"Wait for me!" another pigeon cried, and hurried after her. One by one, the rest of the flock followed because there is nothing more terrifying to a pigeon than to be left behind.

***

Atop the Custom House Tower, the exhausted sparrows crowded around Bobtail and Headstrong. In the distance, they could see the birds of prey regrouping over the waterfront, preparing for their final assault.

"They'll be here in minutes!" Headstrong said.

"What do we do?" a sparrow asked.

"We can't fight them all," another declared.

"What are your orders?" Headstrong asked Bobtail.

A ripple of discontent ran through the troops when Bobtail didn't reply. The swallow was trembling and seemed disoriented.

"Snap out of it!" Headstrong said. "Ragtag left you in command. What are your orders? What do we do?"

"We—we—" Bobtail stammered.

"We fight!" Ragtag yelled as he landed on the ledge next to them, followed by Tattler and Loki.

"Ragtag! Tattler!" Headstrong shouted with joy.

"What's happened?" Ragtag asked. "You weren't supposed to attack until noon!"

"You can thank Bobtail for that," a sparrow said.

"Never mind that now," Headstrong said quickly. "The raptors will be here any second. Ragtag, where's your eagle?"

"I'm sorry," Ragtag said, bowing his head. "I failed. I couldn't convince him to return with us."

A moan of despair went through the birds.

"Then it's over," Bobtail said. "We might as well give up."

"No!" Ragtag yelled. He glanced at the birds of prey heading in their direction. They had only seconds.

"Listen to me!" Ragtag said as he took to the air and hovered over the sparrows. "This city is my home. This city is our home. Our nests are here, our children are here, our elders are here. I'm tired of running away!"

"But, Ragtag," Bobtail protested, "we'll be killed if we stay and fight. There's no way we can win."

"If that's my fate, then so be it. Hoogol fought and died for his freedom. I would rather die the way he did than wait to be hunted down and killed like a cowardly mouse hiding in some hole!"

Ragtag suddenly folded his wings and plunged toward the raptors.

"Has he gone mad?" Headstrong asked.

"Definitely," Tattler replied, and followed him down.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Headstrong shouted. The birds exchanged startled glances, then cheered loudly and followed him as he dropped toward the raptors. Only Loki stayed behind.

"You fools," the crow muttered. "This is nothing but suicide." He hopped from foot to foot, torn by conflicting emotions. He didn't want to admit that he had grown attached to Ragtag, and even to Tattler, despite her feelings about him.

"You're all fools," Loki said again. "And I must be the biggest fool of them all," he added as he dove off the ledge and hurried to join the fight.