Danny was running after the animal in a frantic rush, while Aaron was on the phone trying to keep up with the action and report on it.
“Danny said the unicorn was injured, so it certainly won’t get far. If this really is an animal and not just a hoax, we are about to witness a huge sensation! Can you see anything, Danny?”
“I think we’re about to catch up with it! There it is, look!” He pointed into the bushes, and sure enough, they saw a gleaming horn in the vegetation, and on the other side a hoof seemed to be sticking out from under the bushes.
“He couldn’t run any further because of the injury… now he’s lying in the bush. We’re getting close now so you can see it too!”
Meanwhile, Aaron caught up with Danny, who blinked at the screen, wondering how many people were watching his broadcast. There were almost 30 000. He touched Aaron’s arm, signalling them to stop. They were quite close to the bush, but the unicorn wasn’t moving. Danny stood in front of the camera.
“In seconds, we’ll show you the wounded unicorn lying here in all its glory. You still have time to invite some friends to see it too!”” ““I don’t believe it! How can they be such bad boys? I was the first to spot that unicorn, I was the first to catch it on camera!” ErikTheViking almost slammed his phone to the ground when he saw the Danny’s live-stream feed, which he saw almost as soon as he opened the video app.
“Mum, I’m going up to Turpin Street!” He called to his mum in the kitchen.
“How come? Didn’t you say you were going to go at six?”
“But yes, just… Ah, never mind, I have to run there right now! Bye!” But his mum didn’t hear him because Erik had already slammed the door behind him.
The bus that took him to Turpin Street was full of kids. Everyone was talking about the unicorn. The lucky few who had their own phone were staring at it, while the others crowded around them.
“It’s unbelievable to see something like this… It looks completely real, no glue around the horn, no other fixings visible. He’s exhausted, his right hind leg is bleeding, I think it’s broken.” Danny’s voice said from the device.
“I’ll try to pet him now”. But the unicorn didn’t let him do that, neighing furiously and shaking its head in pain and fear.” ““Turpin Street!”
A gaggle of children flowed out of the bus, pushing and shoving each other as they headed for the woods beyond the playground as a single body. Erik put his phone in selfie mode, pressed the start button and ran around the others into the woods, where he suspected the unicorn would be.
“As you may already be aware, some people have beaten me to it, but that doesn’t change the fact that I spotted the unicorn and showed it to you first. I’m on my way to the scene now, and you should know that I called the police and the fire brigade while I was on the bus and told them that there was a rare and special animal lying wounded in the forest and a bunch of kids were heading there. I am expecting a huge scandal!” He blurted into the camera.
“Crikey! I’m afraid there’s about to be an invasion!” Danny gasped into Aaron’s phone. He was still streaming the events live. “The whole school is on its way here!”
The camera now showed the forest, and sure enough, there were lots of people running towards them through the trees. Meanwhile, Erik arrived via another route, phone in hand. He was terribly angry.” ““You’re going to get it now you goons! Let’s see how tough you really are. Steal my idea would you! I saw the unicorn first!”
“So, what, stupid?” Danny retorted. “And what were you going to do? Instead of calling PETA, you started making videos”.
The three boys stood facing each other, Erik and Aaron both holding their phones. While they were arguing, they were streaming each other. At their feet, under the bush, the unicorn panted in exhaustion.
“There will be a whole crowd here because of you! And the animal is dying in front of our eyes! You have no idea what a stupid thing it is you’ve done!”
“Can you hear the siren?” interjected Aaron. “They must be very close… it’s very loud!”
“The Police! And firefighters! And the other kids will be here soon!” Cried Danny. Uniformed men were running towards them through the trees.
“Stand back!” Shouted a tall, hefty policeman. In the meantime, the firefighters had pushed to the front of the crowd of children and were trying to herd them in the opposite direction.
“You can’t stay here! We’re sealing off the area, go home! Let’s go! Let’s go! Nothing to see here.” They were already putting up the tape around the site.
“Wait a moment you three!” The hefty policeman shouted at the boys, “and turn off your cameras!”” ““Some schoolchildren have reportedly found a unicorn near Turpin Street. The police, the fire brigade and zoo staff are already on the scene. Next to me is Doctor Alexander Fodor, the zoo’s spokesman. Are you absolutely sure that the animal is a genuine unicorn?”
“Well, we’ve never seen one either, but there’s no doubt that the horn on its head is real and its coat is really unusual, it is not traditional horsehair. We don’t know what kind of animal it is yet; we will have to run some tests. Since his right hind leg is injured, the most important thing is to put it in a cast first. We have taken him to the zoo’s health department for treatment and further observation”.
“Thank you, Doctor Fodor, back to the studio now” The news presenter handed the microphone to the cameraman and hurried over to the three boys, who were sitting in the back of one of the fire trucks, waiting for their parents.
“Hi guys! Would you like to be on our morning show tomorrow? You could tell the whole unicorn story!”
“You’ll have to ask their parents’ permission for that, madam” Said one of the policemen who were loitering nearby.