On the Horizon

Chapter One

Falling from the top of the empire state building was not on my agenda for today.
And yet there I was, falling the whole twelve hundred and fifty feet to the streets of New York City.
How did I find myself in this position?
Let me rewind.

                                                            ***

I'm sitting on the statue of liberty, eating my sandwich and watching over the tourists.
I swing my feet, flapping my wings out as a fresh breeze blows by.
That's when I see it.
A gray wisp flashes through the tourists. I glance out to the bay, and see exactly what I expect.
"Man, can't a girl just eat her lunch?" I grumble, tossing my pathetic peanut butter and jelly over my shoulder and launching off Lady Liberty.
I sneak up behind the wisp as it encircles the statue.
"Ke-hem." I clear my throat.
The wisp jumps, and it's shape forms into a startled man.
His translucent face changes into a glare. "Ozone." He hisses, the sound echoing in the wind from the storm.
"Yes that's my name." I say blandly. "Want to state more of the obvious?"
Then the windred lunges at me.
I dodge, but he keeps flying.
I pursue him, chasing him into the city.
Wind beats in my ears as I nearly knock into a large skyscraper.
Finally I catch up to the windred as he nears the Empire State Building.
But before I can attack, he backflips, landing behind me, and kicks me through a window as I turn around.
Glass shatters around me as I slam onto the office floor, humans screaming.
Of course all they see is an eagle.
They're probably thinking, stupid bird. You can't even see the glass.
Well do you think I wanted to slam into glass? No!
A few humans take out their phones as I charge back through the window, tackling the windred.
A few humans gasp and yelp and point as they watch an eagle wrestle a vulture.
Meanwhile, the windred attempts to shove me off, while flying higher and higher.
I attempt to grab the knife at my side, but the windred suddenly twists, throwing me off him.
He grabs my shoulders, and rams me into the side of the building, breaking more glass.
We crash into a large cabinet, and the windred jumps away right as the cabinet falls on my left wing!
I yelp with pain, and flap my right.
I twist, biting my tongue in pain, and push.
The cabinet tumbles off my wing.
I charge at the windred just before he dives out the window.
I punch him, but he twists me around by my hurt wing, and shoves.
I yelp as I tumble out of the window, flapping my right wing helplessly.
And here I am again, falling.
I close my eyes as the ground gets closer. I twist around just before I feel myself slam into a car roof.