BLITEOTW 2009

There was a weird storm last night.

No thunder, no wind, certainly not a drop of rain. Just lightning strikes for hours. None of them hit this house, thank goodness, but they were close by. We stood on the porch for a long time, watching the lightning streak across the sky through the clouds, hitting hard on the water at the horizon. This morning no one has power, though, and the police have been driving up and down the main road, announcing over the loudspeakers that we all have to close our hurricane shutters and stay off the beach. They're recommending we stay indoors completely until further notice.

Daddy's going to get his emergency radio powered up so we can get some more information. I wonder if the storm left something dangerous on the beach.

BLITEOTW 2009

The storm last night is bringing the dead to life. Not zombies, don't be silly. Dead animals! Fish are crawling up out of the ocean and snapping at people's feet. And the gulls...if I hadn't seen it myself, I would never have believed it.

I went out to help close the hurricane shutters, and there on the porch railing were a dozen gulls. One of them was bloody and torn, and the two next to it kept halfheartedly pecking at its ragged chest. It should have been dead, but it sat, staring with dull eyes. I waved at them to chase them off. One fell off the railing and started to drag itself toward me. The others scooted down the railing, their squawks less strident than usual. More of a groaning sound. The one on the floor lunged at me. I jumped back and ran for the screen door, just barely getting it closed before the bird tried again. It pecked at the screen, tearing a small hole. They could still get to me! I opened the glass door, closed the shutter over it and closed it again behind me. A moment later, I could hear tapping at the shutters. The gulls were still trying.

Dead gulls are just as determined as live ones. They just have a different food choice. How will we get out of the house?

BLITEOTW 2009

The house is a fortress at the moment, at least as far as the gulls are concerned. The island got power back a couple of hours ago, so we can see television reports from Charleston. The Market is covered in dead gulls and pigeons. None of them can fly any more, so they're strutting around the sidewalks attacking foolish tourists. They have this odd lurch to their strut, some of them are missing a wing or an eye. The National Guard has brigades out spraying the flocks with gasoline and setting them on fire. They're having to be careful though, since the fires could get out of control so easily, and burn down the whole city.

I peeked out of the shutters just now. The porch is loaded with gulls. The island emergency services keep saying for us to stay inside, that they'll take care of it.

I sure hope so.

BLITEOTW 2009

I wish my camcorder battery had held - if only you could have seen this! Having all those gulls on the porch staring at the house was driving me batty. I knew it was dangerous, but I snapped a little. I thawed some ground beef from the freezer, crumbled it into a bowl and carefully opened the glass door and the hurricane shutter. The gulls turned their rotting heads toward me, so I moved as slowly as I could manage. Taking a handful of meat, I tossed it over the railing. Dead gulls react just like live gulls when they think food is being thrown...half a dozen of them fell over the side to the ground, chasing after the meat. I threw more, drawing their attention away from the door enough that I could step out a little farther. They were pecking at the meat, and at each other. It was truly disgusting. I wasn't sure exactly where I was planning to go with this plan, but I kept moving. Until I heard a strange sound above me. I looked up. Gulls were sitting on the roof, staring down at me. Suddenly I realized the position I'd put myself in, and started to shake. A few of the gulls had closed in between me and the door, and I was in real trouble.

I closed my eyes, and dumped the rest of the meat over the railing. And I heard a shriek. The pelicans! Pelicans patrol up and down the island all day long, usually not bothering the gulls. But apparently whatever had happened to the gulls hadn't affected the pelicans at all. They dove toward the house, scattering the wingless gulls from the roof. They thudded to the porch around me. I leaped over their stunned bodies and got back inside the house. Watching through the glass, I saw the pelicans scooping undead gulls in their pouches and flying off. Maybe we'll get out of this after all. With the help of the pelicans.

BLITEOTW 2009

It's done. The dead gulls are nearly all collected up and disposed of, between the bizarre assistance of the pelicans and the efforts of the local emergency management personnel. Once we had a smaller and more easily handled flock to deal with, I went outside and helped sweep them off the porch with a broom.  Some of them fell into bits when they hit the driveway, chunks of rotten meat with dirty feathers still attached.  The neighbors joined us, and together we cleared the yards without too much trouble.  Small bonfires are glowing up and down the beach, where the undead are burning. No new ones have turned up since sunset, so I guess the craziness is over.

There's thunder in the distance, though, and a storm warning banner on the television screen. Surely nothing like today could happen tomorrow. Could it?



** Thanks for everyone's patience while I Blogged Like It's The End Of The World a day early.  I won't have access to do it tomorrow.  Have fun, y'all!