Jaime opened the other eye and sat up. The eagle reared back and, instead, held out one of its legs. And that was when Jaime saw something strapped there, right above the ginormous metal claw. Some kind of band or bracelet knotted to its leg. Despite his terror, Jaime leaned closer, trying to see. Someone grabbed the back of his uniform, someone said, “No!” But what if it was one of those bands like messenger birds wear; what if the eagle was trying to tell them something?

Or maybe it was just doing a dance before it ate them.

No, the eagles didn’t hurt Theo, and this eagle wasn’t attacking him. Jaime crawled forward reached for band. Vaguely, he heard people screaming, “Don’t touch it, man! Get away! It’s going to bite your arm off!” Jaime ignored them. When he touched the band, it felt like leather, dusty with rock. He untied it, and the eagle clicked its beak, flapped its wings, as if to say, “Finally.” The eagle launched itself into the air, crashing through the ceiling. One by one, the other eagles followed, silvery rockets in the dead of night.

Mesmerized as they were by the eagles, it took Ono shrieking “OH NO!” to shake them out of their trance.

Other people were starting to crawl out from under their benches, peer over countertops, pull phones from pockets to take pictures of the shattered windows and ceiling.

“Come on, we’ve got to move,” Jaime said.

“But we need the clue!” Tess said.

“I’ve got the clue,” Jaime said. He really hoped he did. But that didn’t matter, because if they didn’t get out of here soon, they would be stuck here when the police showed up, and then they would wish the eagles had swallowed them all.

“Theo,” Jaime said. “Get in between us. Put your arms around our shoulders. Pretend you’re hurt. Everybody keep your heads down.”

They did as Jaime asked. With Theo limping between them, Jaime and Tess hobbled as fast as they could toward the stairs that led to the trains.

“Will they still be running?” said Tess.

“Hopefully, for the next few minutes they will,” Jaime said. “Still faster than a bus.”

They made it to the N just as a train was pulling into the station. Down here, on the platforms, passengers were glancing curiously at the stairs, but no one was truly alarmed. Not yet. The three of them hopped on the train and slumped down in their seats, caps pulled low over their faces. No one spoke to them; no one seemed to notice them at all.