“Goodbye, Timmy,” said Timmy’s mother, Everlen.

“Yes, enjoy your night!” said Timmy’s father. “Your mother and I really appreciate that you are giving us this opportunity to spend some time together. Remember: your grandma is in the kitchen if you need anything!”

Timmy nodded and said, “Okay, Daddy!”

The mother and father smiled at their ten-year-old, and with that, they left the house and drove off into the night.

Timmy watched as his parent’s car slowly vanished from sight. He was going to miss them very much; however, he enjoyed having the house to himself with grandma. She always baked the best cookies. It was at this moment that he became aware of the fact that he was being watched. He turned, and there, sitting on the windowsill, was a barn owl. The owl’s massive eyes were staring at him intensely and unblinkingly.

Timmy stared at the owl for a moment, then walked toward his grandma.

The kind, elderly woman turned to Timmy and asked, “How are you, Timmy?”

“Great!” said Timmy.

“Are you looking forward to an exciting evening?” asked his grandma as she stirred cookie dough in a mixing bowl.

“Yes!” said Timmy anxiously. He could have sworn he heard a voice whisper his name, but he ignored it.

“I am glad to hear that!” said the grandma. “Why don’t you wait in the living room while I finish the dough? I am sure I have a board game we can play once the cookies are in the oven.”

Timmy nodded excitedly and ran into the living room, and to his surprise, the barn owl was still there, sitting on the windowsill, staring at him. Timmy cautiously approached the owl and looked at the animal closely. The young boy frowned and then spotted the board game his grandma had been referring to and picked it up. Timmy gave the owl one last look then turned around with the game in his hands. He set up the game pieces and the board and waited for his grandma to arrive.

A few moments later, his grandma arrived and sat down with Timmy, and they had a wonderful time together. The cookies were finished soon after, and Timmy enjoyed every second of that night. One thing that bugged him slightly was the owl’s piercing stare; however, when he focused hard enough on the game, he was able to partially shut the owl out of his mind.

When it was finally time for bed, Timmy went upstairs to his bedroom and snuggled into bed. He was just about to turn off the lamp on his nightstand when he noticed the owl was now sitting on his bedroom window.

“I know you can talk,” said the boy suddenly.

The owl sighed. “Fine. I can talk,” he said. “I was hoping I could observe you unnoticed, but clearly, that is not the case.”

“Who are you?” asked Timmy curiously, who did not seem the slightest bit disturbed by how suddenly this owl had begun talking.

“I am Mr. Barns,” said the owl. “And I am here to relay a message.”

“A message?” asked the boy. “What is the message?”

“What you seek is at the old movie screen,” said the owl.

“The old movie screen?” asked Timmy curiously. “Why? What do I seek?”

“The old movie screen has something that is hidden,” said the owl. “Something you need.”

“Well, in the morning, I will take a look—” began the boy, but the owl interrupted.

“I am sorry, Timmy, but you have to come now,” the owl said.

Timmy frowned. “Why?” he asked.

“Because what you need to see only happens once every two hundred years,” said the owl hurriedly. “I strongly urge you to make haste. Your life depends on it!”

“My life—” began Timmy.

Suddenly, the sound of pounding on the front door thundered throughout the once quiet house.

“OPEN UP!” shouted a gruff voice from the front door below.

“He’s here,” said the owl. He looked around worriedly, then said, “Climb on my back.”

“What?” asked Timmy.

“Just do it!” said the owl.

“But what about grandma—” began Timmy, but the owl cut in.

“Your grandma is more than capable of defending herself,” said the owl. “This is supposed to be the safe house, after all.” Just then, a loud BANG thundered below as the front door was blasted off its hinges, and a pair of boots began to run up the stairs.

“But—” began Timmy.

“No buts! Just climb on my back and hold on!” shouted the owl.

Timmy got on the owl’s back, and the bedroom door burst open as a man in a black suit and tinted glasses entered holding a gun. The man pointed the deadly weapon at the owl.

“Hand Timmy over, and nobody gets hurt,” said the man menacingly.

“How about no!” said the owl.

The man fired three quick shots at the owl, and to Timmy’s surprise, the owl batted the bullets away with his wings as if he were some kind of ninja. The man fired three more shots and the owl swatted these bullets away too.

“Go pick on someone else, Orange,” snapped the owl.

“I have my orders,” said Orange. “And I intend to follow through with them.” At this moment, he began to blow orange haze out of his mouth. The owl’s eyes widened, and Timmy began to cough violently as if he suddenly could not breathe.

The owl immediately turned toward the window and shouted, “Hold on, Timmy!” He beat his wings and took off with Timmy on his back.

Orange stopped blowing his toxic fumes, whipped out a massive shotgun, and aimed it at Mr. Barns. From where the owl and Timmy were, the sound of a loud, slow gunshot was heard from behind.

“Shoot,” murmured the owl. Mr. Barns banked to the left just as a red, pulsating rocket raced past them. A few moments later, the rocket turned and began to fly toward them again.

“Is it following us?” gasped Timmy.

“Yes. We have to find a way to lose it,” said Mr. Barns as he banked to the right and the rocket soared past them again, then turned around for the second time.

“Can’t you bat this one away, too?” asked Timmy worriedly.

“That thing explodes,” said Mr. Barns. “If I touch it, I’ll die.”

Timmy thought some more as they flew through the air and the rocket chased them around the sky. “Couldn’t we trick it?” inquired Timmy.

“Trick it how?” asked Mr. Barns.

“How about the city lake?” asked Timmy. “We dive toward the water then pull up last second?”

“What an excellent idea!” cried the owl. He dived downward, and the rocket followed suit. Just as they were about to plunge into the icy depths, Mr. Barns pulled up, and the rocket fell into the lake. A few seconds later, the sounds of water splashing everywhere and a loud explosion thundered behind them, and the owl smiled. “Well done, Timmy!” he said. “Well done!”

The owl circled for a second by an old movie screen, then gracefully landed in the deserted street.

“Who was that man? What did he want?” asked Timmy, who felt a little shaken up.

“That was Agent Orange,” said the owl. “As for what he wanted: he was hired to assassinate you.”