The wet grass soaks my pants as the fight carries on around me. The sound of gunshots and crackling electricity fill the air, but it's all distant and muffled, and explosions remind me of the Chemical Wars. My throat feels raw from screaming and yelling. Tears run down my face as I cradle the head of a fallen dove in my arms. A small hand with scales grabs my shoulder from behind, forcing me to look into the large hazel eyes, framed by frizzy black hair. I watch as the young girl's mouth moves, not hearing her. Looking into her eyes I see fear, pain and worry fill them. Iara's desperate gaze brings the world crashing down around me and the sound of battle fills my ears.
"Please! Amirah, please! We need to go! The white coats are going to catch us again." Iara pleads, tears falling down her face and across the scales there. I swallow the lump that has grown in my throat.
"Let's go," I say under my breath.
'I'm not losing another' I think to myself. I stand up, lifting the fallen child with me.
"Let's go," I yell louder and start running, mutant children of various ages and ethnicities follow my command and flee, both in the air and on the ground. I risk a look behind to make sure no one is left, and see rows upon rows of robotic nursemaids, that once aided us with domestic chores inside the facility, now firing guns at us. They march over the bodies of fallen beastmen, with no thoughts other than to follow the orders given to them by the government. The sight of them silhouetted against the harsh light coming out of the facility's windows is enough to keep me running. Drones fly overhead, trying to take out those of us with wings. We finally make it across the green and to the edge of the moat.
"Everyone, swim to the other side! Those who can fly or breathe underwater, pair up with someone who can't swim! Now go, go, go!" I call out, and once again, they all do as I say.
"Go Iry. I'll follow you, I promise. The others need your help crossing the moat." I whisper to Iara. She looks from me to the being in my arms and nods before finding another beastman to help through the water. Once the others are swimming or flying across, I get in the water and start swimming with one arm as I keep a hold of the girl in my other. I make it halfway before Nyix circles back and hovers over me.
"Give her to me! You won't make it across. They're going to freeze the moat over. You don't need the added weight of a body and wings slowing you down. Let me take her for you." He calls over the gunfire, worry evident in his deep voice. I reluctantly hand over the being who gave me purpose in this cursed world and watch as Nyix starts flying back to the opposite bank.
"Swim, Ami! Don't stop!" I hear him call out and I start swimming after him as fast as I can. The water rapidly cools around me as I near the bank. The sound of gunshots stops but is replaced by the sound of ice forming. I'm the last one in the water and I can hear the mutant children calling out for me to hurry. Almost at the bank, I hear the mechanical voice of a nurse-maid order poison to be released into the moat. Making it out of the moat, I am crushed into a tight embrace by Iara, just as the last of the moat freezes over.
"They aren't going to stop here! We need to keep going. There should be a forest over the rise that we can hide in. Let's go!" I call out. Everyone starts heading in the direction I pointed as I make my way over to where Nyix is standing.
"Thank you for taking her," I say, taking the seven-year-old from his arms. Nyix nods before taking to the air on his massive black bat wings. Taking a quick look at the face of my fallen sister I whisper, "We're almost safe. We'll make it." A tear slips from the corner of my eye before I chase after the others, being careful not to step on the magnificent owl wings that hang from her.
"I see the forest!" Someone calls from up ahead once I reach the base of the small hill.
"Yeah, and I see a swarm of drones coming after us!" an older boy with an accent calls back from where he is in the air.
"Head to the forest, we can defend ourselves better in there!" Nyix advises and everyone starts moving. We're almost at the forest, moving like a stampede, trampling everything in our way, with our gaze fixed on the only place of safety in sight. Suddenly a loud bang fills the air, signifying that the drones have caught up to us.
"Faster!" I scream, urging the beastmen to pick up their pace. Screams fill the air as the drones keep firing. At some point the beastmen with wings started attacking the drones, knocking them to the ground where they are then trampled. We finally reach the fringes of the forest and those who've been trained, climb the trees, ready to attack the oncoming drones. I lead the young children and those who aren't in the trees deeper into the forest where we find an area of dense shrubs to hide. Double-checking everyone with me is hidden well, I tell them to remain quiet while we wait. I make my way towards where Iara is and she instantly snuggles up beside me, careful not to touch the girl in my arms, and I wrap my tail around her. We all sit in silence, listening to the sound of gunfire, clanging metal and screams.
"How long until it's over?" Iara timidly asks.
"Not long," I reassure her, refusing to acknowledge that when it's over, it may not be our friends that find us.
'Not long,' I think. 'Not longuntil we meet our future, whether it be back in the test labs or in freedom. Itis coming.'
YOU ARE READING
Short Stories
RandomA bunch of short stories from competitions that I've been in. WARNING: Some of these are really short, and so far none have won in any of the comps that I've been in.
