"SANTA BARBARA DISASTER OF THE MONTH" CONTEST - ROUND TWO

Dear friends,

the second part of the SB contest has ended. I have received your stories. I thank you because all your stories are really funny and well written. Your ideas are very original and they reflect the irreverent style of SB. I have a lot of fun to read them all. But this is a "contest" and only a story can win. Actually it was not very difficult because I only got a story. But I decided to proclaim it as the winner because it is really superb! Its author is Matt Crider. In my opinion, a true genius! Theme was: BIRDS ATTACK SANTA BARBARA.

Contest will be temporarily suspended (despite being a big hit) because I am preparing in a big way Santa Barbara – The Sequel  and I want this to be spectacular. This takes a long time to me, so it is necessary to make a choice.

Enjoy your reading.

BIRDS ATTACK SANTA BARBARA

For weeks, Santa Barbara had been quiet.  In a town where children played, car horns blared, birds sang...

But wait a minute, Ted thought. He hadn't heard a bird in weeks. Ever since Laken left town, the birds had stopped singing. 

He walked down the lane to get the mail.  The Capwells had a long winding driveway to reach their luxurious mansion.  Every day after school, Ted would stop and get the mail, hoping for a letter that he knew in his heart would never come.  Laken would NEVER come back. 

Little did Ted know that he was being watched. 

Every day he did the same thing.  Everyday there was no letter.  Every day more and more eyes gathered to watch him.

But he wasn't the only one being watched. And today was the day...

In the adjoining property Augusta Lockridge was sunning herself as she did every day in her back yard. It was the perfect way to get an eyeful of whatever lovely specimen she had hired.  Joe Perkins... Brick Wallace.  No hunk was beyond her notice.  And sometimes, when she got lucky, they noticed her back.

But on this day, Augusta was about to pay for a sin already forgotten.

The attack happened quickly. It started with a single, almost warlike sound. 

<SQUAK>!

This was the day the birds attacked. Gina and Keith were among the first victims, the birds tearing at Gina's dress as she tried to run.  Keith too soon found his clothes ripped by sharp talons.  They ran naked, covered in bird droppings until they found shelter inside a nearby shop.

Julia and Mason were luckier.  They could only find one place to hide.  A single phone booth.  They started to argue about who found it first and both rushed in at the same time, the door jamming shut behind them.  Leaving them safe but trapped inside the close quarters.

All around Santa Barbara it was the same.  Augusta tried to make it into the house but the way was blocked.  Finally she jumped into the pool , quickly turning over an inflatable raft for cover.  The birds continued pecking until it deflated.  Soon it was ripped apart and Augusta had no choice but to take refuge underwater.  She would only return to the surface for brief moments to replenish air in her lungs.

Only one person was spared.  Ted.  Ashe watched what was going on a large bird seemed to be calling him. But that was impossible.  Wasn't it.  It was almost as if it wanted Ted to follow it.  But the bird was transparent, as if it wasn't really there. 

He was led to a tree where he soon found a nest.  Inside there was a cracked egg and a baby bird trapped under some twigs.  Without thinking twice, he knew that the egg belonged to a carrier pigeon.  His and Laken's.  The one the Augusta had...

Augusta was terrified.  In that moment, she remembered what she had done to Ted and Laken's pigeon.  She had cooked it and served it to her family as an appetizer!

Ted freed the baby bird and the larger bird, the one that led him there faded away.

“I'm sorry!” Augusta shrieked once as she quickly came up for air.  “I'm soooooo sorry!”

Unfortunately several birds gathered and she panicked, and in trying to evade the birds she lurched and hit her head at the side of the pool, not moving.

When Ted freed the bird, the rest of them stopped their attack.  Eventually, everything was back to normal.  Augusta survived, just sustaining a mild concussion.  But she was different now.  And she knew she had a lot to make up for.

Ted was also changed.  He realized that Laken wouldn't be coming back.  Freeing the bird and letting it flyaway, he realized he had to let Laken fly too, if only symbolically.

The next day, Gina's niece Hayley came to town.

THE END (?)