Turkey Hunt

The boy relaxed on the grass under the clear, warm sky. The farmhouse behind him might have been a million miles away. The boy's turkey, safe in the wooden pen alongside him, strutted about, inspecting its domain.

Down the gently sloped field of grass, the boy saw a spark of light appear in midair. The spark grew. The boy cocked his head to one side and watched as the light grew into a tall, flat oval, floating above the grass. A body, clad in dark clothing and bristling with complex and lethal equipment, stepped out of the disc of light, as if through a doorway. The disc of light collapsed upon itself, vanishing.

"You there!" the body called out. The voice was muffled and mechanical. The body consulted a device upon its wrist. It then took off its helmet and breathing apparatus. It was a man. He had a thick, short beard and smudges of grease or dirt upon his face. "You there," he repeated, "is that your turkey?"

The boy nodded.

"I must have it!" The man approached confidently. He was about to explain why, when another something happened nearby.

A golden ring of light appeared, hovering low over the grass nearby. It was about a meter across. The ring rose, then fell. It rose and fell again. It continued this cycle, gaining speed as it cycled up and down. A dark shape began to form inside the ring. Slowly, the shape took form. It was another man. When he was complete the ring slowed, fell to the grass, and vanished.

This man was clad in long, colorful robes and had a pale, bald head. He saw the turkey and smiled as he approached. His movements were graceful, he seemed to float over the grass.

"I require this turkey." The new bald man stated calmly.

"I made first claim!" The earlier arrival declared.

The two men stared at each other, studying their unexpected competition.

"Why do you want my turkey?" The boy asked. The men turned to him.

"On my world, my Earth, the turkey is extinct." The first man stated. His voice was a growling, rough noise. "I come from a parallel universe, from an Earth like yours. I have come to fetch a turkey, which we no longer have, so that we might hunt it and cook it for our autumnal feast of thanks."

"How barbaric," The second man said. His voice sang hypnotically. "I too come from a parallel Earth. But I come to save the turkey. Many of the infinite parallel Earths have lost many species. My people believe in helping to restore the balance. We collect samples of lost species from one Earth so that all might gain them. With this one turkey, we might repopulate the turkeys of all the Earths." He bowed low at the boy.

"Fool! What does it matter of the others? I must have this turkey!" The first man ripped a weapon from his side, raised it, and sent a blast of energy at the second man. The turkey began to flutter its feathers, gobbling noisily as it danced in the tiny pen.

When the burst of orange fire died down the second man, impossibly, remained. He stood before the turkey pen calmly. A gentle blue glow about his person flickered with the last remnants of hostile energy. "You shall not harm me. I must collect this turkey." He licked his lips eagerly, eyes darting to check if anyone had noticed his hungry gesture.

The boy leaned in close to the wooden pen and spoke to the turkey. "Would you like to go with one of these men?" he asked.

The first man snorted. "Ha! He speaks to it. Fool."

"Perhaps you would like to play with them?" The boy reached around to unlatch the wooden pen's small door. The turkey gobbled excitedly, hopping up and down on its little claws.

"Do you understand what we are saying?" The second man asked in his sing-song voice.

The pen's latch opened and something changed. The turkey's anxious gobbles became deeper, angrier. The boy stood up and moved away, grinning. The turkey burst from the cage in a furious cloud of feathers. It emitted horrible screeching and growling noises as it changed. Its talons grew, its beak grew into a fearsome weapon. Its entire body expanded, becoming a horrible parody of a turkey. It was a beastly, bulging creature with glowing red eyes. It attacked.

The men stood their ground. The first man fought furiously, throwing blasts from his weapons at the turkey beast. They were ineffective. The ball of charred feathers and muscle took him down, tearing at his screaming throat.

The bald man waved his hands in curious patterns, wielding shiny crystals to strengthen the blue glow around him. The turkey was unimpressed. It closed the distance slowly, its glowing eyes sending forth beams of red light, burning the energy field. The blue glow faltered and failed, making way for horrible, jagged beak and talons to rip at the man's body.

The boy clapped happily as the turkey danced and growlingly gobbled a bloody victory cry.

The boy turned to the empty turkey pen and dug a fist beneath it. He extracted a small device. He began to adjust the controls to retune it. Excitedly, he talked to the turkey as he worked. "I can't believe our luck. Two at once! That never happens. Can we try again? I don't know how many infinite is, but I bet there are more out there!"

The noise of renewed violence made the boy look up from the transdimensional beacon. The giant turkey beast was shaking one of the corpse's legs angrily in its beak, tearing it from the body. Its deep, angry gobbling was muffled by the thigh.

The boy smiled. "Oh, all right. You just enjoy your drumsticks for a while. You earned them."