George the Great hadn’t time to worry about Sophie Mae’s safe return to the house. The accident in the street needed his attention before the traveling herd was discovered. Switching back to invisible, he hurried to the downed elephant who was being comforted by Leggy. “We need to get her off the road.”
Mary Louise rubbed her forehead with her trunk. “I cannot move. Heavens and stars! I have no sensation in my legs. I am done for. Just leave me and save yourselves.”
George rolled his eyes and searched the street for his options. No cargo trucks or cranes out so late.
Leggy ran toward the bear wandering around the totaled car and grabbed his leash with her teeth. Dragging Gus back to George, she hummed and flicked her head to the sky.
“Good thinking!” George said. “Gus. Can you help us get her back to the estate?”
Gus Grizzly crawled on all four toward Mary Louise and lifted her front leg. With a nod, he dropped it back to the ground. Rolling his body to an upright position, he outstretched his arms. “Prepare for the greatest feat mankind shall ever witness. I, Gus Grizzly, will attempt to lift this two-ton elephant!”
Mary Louise objected. “I most certainly do not weigh two tons.”
“Further, I will soar the sky and return her to the Big Red Barn. Arreee you readyyy?!”
Gus Grizzly stood behind her and clasped his arms around her body to her front legs. “This won’t hurt a bit!” he chuckled, lifting off the ground.
“Perhaps we should talk about this, explore our—Whoaaa!” Mary Louise’s rounded feet dangled over the street as she flew through the haze along the store rooftops.
George patted Leggy’s side. “That bear came in handy, wouldn’t you say? Ready to go home, my friend?”
He and Leggy moved from the crowd, who argued the ability of a petite girl to total a work truck. The policeman on the scene dismissed them as lunatics and wrote the driver a ticket for recklessness.
George and Leggy passed the delivery door of the estate. “Go check on Mary Louise. I’ll get the first aid kit and meet you there.”
He bolted down the stairs to the lab, thankful the sleeping Bruce gave him no trouble. George laid his top hat on the black tabletop and rested his hands on the surface, hanging his head. The pleasant walk had morphed into his biggest fear, but there was no time to waste.
He ran into the barn with his first aid kit. Leggy struck a match along the metal knife sharpener and lit the wick of the hayloft lantern. Warm light softened the paint-chipped walls.
“Good evening, young man,” Gus Grizzly said to George. His giant teeth bit a juicy apple in half as his feet swung from the loft. The loud crunching had Leggy reaching her neck for a taste.
George knelt to Mary Louise and placed his hand in the curve of her ear. Her heart rate seemed normal. “How’s the patient?”
“Just look at these gashes on my side. Will I ever heal from such trauma? Oh, why me?”
He soaked a white cloth with alcohol and rubbed it over her wounds. Mary Louise’s trunk stretched tight, and her gurgled trumpet shook the barn walls.
“It’s only a few scrapes. It could’ve been much worse. What if Sophie Mae had been hit? She wouldn’t have been as lucky as you.”
“Your bedside manner is charming, George. Am I not the patient here?”
Leggy shoved a mound of hay next to Mary Louise and plopped to the pile, dozing off. Pitchy whistles and grinding snorts had Mary Louise pushing Leggy with a hind leg. “Turn over. My delicate ears need rest.”
George recapped the medicine bottle and zipped the first aid bag. He sat crossed-legged in the hay and rubbed her wide ear. “You could’ve been hurt today.”
“And I was. Can you not see my wounds?”
“I’ve been thinking our walks are too dangerous. More people move to the city from the drought lands every day.” He leaned his head on hers. “Life’s changing and not just for the nation, but for us as well.”
George blinked as water droplets fell from the rafters to his face. Gus Grizzly spat a half-eaten apple from his mouth as tears rushed down his fur.
Diving from the hayloft, the bear circled the inside of the barn like a man shot from a cannon. He landed next to George.
“Alas, it is time for the party to end. Thank you all for visiting, and may your fond memories of Brambley’s Traveling Carnival live eternally!”
“Well said, my friend.” George crossed his arms and curled up for the night. I can’t put my friends in danger any longer. I promised to watch out for them, and I will.