9 Shadow of the Condor

Chapter 9 SHADOW OF THE CONDER "You said condors prey on small animals!" said Annie. "Sometimes maybe. Not always!" said Jack. "What about now? Are they after Cria?" cried Annie. "No, no. Stop. Stop walking," said Jack. He, Annie, and Cria came to a halt. Jack and Annie leaned against the mountainside. They looked up at the giant vultures circling overhead. One curved through the air and glided closer to them. "We have to protect Cria!" cried Annie. She put her arms around the baby llama. "I'll carry her."

"No, you can't. She's too heavy!" said Jack. "Then let's do it together," said Annie. "No, the trail's not wide enough," said Jack. "Then what?" said Annie. "I'll carry her," said Jack. "I'm bigger than you." Jack put his arms around the baby llama. He slowly and carefully picked her up. "Ahh!" he said, almost falling over. Jack got his balance. He took a deep breath. Then he began moving down the narrow trail with the baby llama in his arms. "Hold her tight!" said Annie. "I'm trying!" said Jack.

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A condor floated closer. Its wide wings cast a shadow over them. Jack couldn't believe how huge the bird was! "Go away! Leave us alone!" Annie yelled. "Cria's too heavy! We have to stop again!" said Jack. "We need another plan!" He lowered the llama to the ground. Annie threw her arms around Cria, and Jack pulled out their travel guide. The baby llama let out high-pitched cries, as if she was terrified. "It's okay, it's okay," Annie said, trying to soothe her. "Hold on, be calm," said Jack. He found the page on condors. He read the caption under a photo: The huge condors of the Andes once held a high place of honor. In old

legends, they were portrayed as special creatures that carried messages from earth to the starry heavens. "Oh… okay! I got this," said Jack. He closed the book. He knew what to do. He remembered another thing their guide book said about llamas: The Incas once believed llamas were protected by a star constellation shaped like a mother and a baby llama. "Hey there!" he called to the condor hovering above them. "Hey there, listen to me! Take a message to the starry heavens. Tell the llama constellation to look down on this baby llama and take care of her! GO! NOW! PLEASE!" The condor floated for a moment. Then it dipped its wings and soared upward. The others followed. The flock of huge birds gracefully glided through the sky and disappeared behind the mountaintop.

"Jack, it worked!" cried Annie. "How did you do that?" "I—I don't know. I did what you did with Cria for a moment. I believed the Incas' legends could be true," said Jack. "And I guess the condors believed that, too!" "Great work!" said Annie. "To the bridge!" Annie, Jack, and Cria started walking again single file down the trail. Jack could see the rope bridge. The river far below roared and tumbled between mountains of rock. When they reached the bridge, the baby llama tried to turn back. "Wait!" said Jack, stopping her. He looked in her eyes. "Remember you crossed before? With the guards and the other llamas? You got this." "You do," Annie said to Cria. "Plus, Jack and I are with you." "I'll go first," said Jack. He stepped onto the