On the Horizon

Chapter Five

"How's your wing?" Nate asks as we finally enter Georgia.

I shrug. I had to keep my wings hidden since the Chevy we rented was pretty tiny.

"I can't really tell without them out." I answer. "I probably wouldn't be able to fly the rest of the way though. They've been unused for a while, I'd be pretty weak."

Nate nods.

"Why?" I ask. "You aren't trying to get rid of me are you?" I tease him.

Nate laughs. "No, I'm not. I was just wondering."

I nod. "Ever been to Florida?" I ask.

Nate shakes his head. "My sister and mom hate the cold, so after Christmas they always go down to visit my grandparents, but my dad and I never went."

"They're Snowbirds?" I laugh, Nate following.

"The joke has been made, I assure you." Nate smiles.

I laugh, looking back at... nothing. Just grass. A few trees. Reminds me of Florida.

"Well the landscape is like this." I roll my eyes. "Nothing but farms and cows."

"Cotton?" Nate asks as we drive past a cotton field. I shake my head.

"Orange fields here and there, but mostly cows."

Nate laughs, me following.

Then there's a loud bang from the back of the car. Now it sounds like wheezing.

"Crap." Nate mutters, and pulls over.

We both get out.

"Broke down." Nate grumbles, pulling out his phone.

I look into the small patch of trees next to a field. Something moves between them.

I step toward the wooden fence, squinting.

It moves again, this time I see it's shape.

It's human.

I grab my backpack from the car, just in case.

"What?" Nate asks, putting his phone away.

"There's something in those trees." I answer.

Nate squints.

It moves again.

"Okay that's not creepy at all." He mutters.

Then thunder cracks above us.

"On second thought I'll take the creepo in the trees." Nate decides, grabs his bag, and hops over the fence, I follow.

We both run toward the trees, attempting to escape the storm.

Once we're under the cover of the branches, we both stop to breathe.

"Arwen Ozone?"

I jump, and look up.

A girl with dark skin, green hair, and a green dress looks at me in wonder. She doesn't wear shoes, and her lips and cheeks are tinted pink. The skin of the tips of her thumbs are green, and flowers grow in her hair. She is at least two feet shorter than me, but in a shrunken way.

"Of course," I realize. "I saw you in the trees. You're a Dryad."

The girl nods.

"Naiads, Dryads, what's next?" Nate grumbles. "Centaurs?"

"Those don't exist." I roll my eyes.

"How would I know?" Nate grumbles.

"Human?" The Dryad asks.

I nod. "I am Arwen Ozone, how did you know?"

"I can sense your wings." The Dryad says. "The Ozones only have one child."

I reveal my wings, since there are no humans around.

The Dryad's eyes widen in wonder.

She gently touches my feathers after I shake my wings out.

Just like Wind Nymphs, she has wonder-like qualities. Only, Wind Nymphs can't speak.

"What's your name?" I ask kindly.

"Daisy." the Dryad answers.

"Daisy," I smile. "This is my friend Nate, he's helping me get home. Can you help us get to Orlando?"

Daisy thinks. "It is an awful way off, and much too far from my home tree."

"Oh." I say, my wings falling.

"But," Daisy chimes. "I can ask the Wind Nymph who lives in the branches of my tree."

Then Daisy runs to a tree, and disappears.

Then suddenly Nate and I are lifted into the air!

Nate screams. "THIS IS NOT OKAY!"

Then a girl with cotton white hair, tan skin, and a white dress flies from the trees, giggling.

Then we take off, behind the wind Nymph.

I laugh at how pale Nate is, and fan out my wings.

In a matter of hours, I see Orlando looming on the horizon.

Then suddenly, the Wind Nymph turns around and flies away, but we stay in place.

"But how do we get down?" We yelp.

We got our answer.

We both scream as we start plummeting.

Wind beats in my ears and we both flail around in the air.

I fan out my wings, and slow down drastically. However Nate keeps falling.

Some Winged would move on, leave him to fall to his death.

But I tilt my wings and dive after him.

When I begin to catch up to him, we're getting closer to the ground.

Nate clenches his eyes and stops flailing, bracing for impact.

Finally I reach him, and pull him to me. I wrap my wings around us in a protective ball as we close the distance.

When I hear the rushing of cars, I fan out my wings, flipping us so Nate is on top, then encase us again.

Just as Nate shouts in protest, I hit the concrete.