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"You only got two kinds of people out here," Kyna said as she sidestepped an oblivious runner. "The quick and the dead." |
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The park was vast and green, full of imported trees and flowers and green plants, all nourished by the city's temperate climate and an almost daily bath of fog. The sun had burned off most of the early morning haze, but the air was still loamy and tart and as sharp as a paper cut. |
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They returned just as the museum was opening and, opting to tour the aquarium first, they wandered the dark corridors, wading through throngs of scuffling and shouting children and their keepers. Cyrus stopped in front of the shark exhibit and watched closely as a snaggletoothed sand tiger lethargically circled the tank. On one trip around, the shark slowed and seemed to stare at Cyrus through the Plexiglas. The creature's eyes were as friendly as a trocar: black within black, like drops of ink in pools of oil. If Cyrus had been wearing one, he would have tipped his hat to his fellow predator. |
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When they'd had their fill of fresh- and saltwater aquaria, Cyrus trailed Kyna across a lobby filled with mechanical dinosaurs and entered the natural history museum. It was a wondrous place. Of particular interest to Cyrus were the full-size dioramic scenes from Africa and Asia. Especially the reenactment of four hairy humanoids frozen in the act of stabbing a snarling wolf with stone-tipped spears. The wolf's fangs were bared and the creature's glass eyes somehow conveyed real pain and rage. |
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"Not very pretty, is it?" Kyna asked. |
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"Gives new meaning to the word 'underdog.'" |
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"You feel sorry for the wolf?" she asked incredulously. "He's the predator. He probably attacked the men." |
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"I doubt it. No wolf is going to attack four men armed with spears," Cyrus replied. His eyes were fixed on the wolf's canines. They looked like sharpened pieces of blackboard chalk. |
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"After what happened to us, I'm surprised you feel that way," Kyna said with a sniff. "I certainly wouldn't hesitate to kill one if I had the chance." Cyrus's expression became |
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