Unlikely Friends: Volume Two

Chapter Twelve

Before

A small girl in a tattered, dirty hoodie raced down an abandoned street. Her hood had been concealing her face until she was forced to break out in a sprint, desperately trying to lose the mutated gang chasing after her. The slight breeze in the air paired with her momentum sent her hood flying backwards off her head. Her wild, orange hair whipped behind her and her cat-like ears laid pinned to her head as she swerved through yards, trying to escape her threat. The loud thump of approaching footsteps sent her into another panicked spin and she dared to cast a worried glance behind her. There were three men closing in behind, each one more grotesquely disfigured than the next.

She jumped up onto a trash bin and tried desperately to leap over the fence but a scaled hand caught her thin ankle.  She twisted her leg around to free herself only for an even larger, clawed hand to catch her other leg. She screamed at the pain as she fell from her vantage point. They dragged her back to where their leader stood. “Get on your knees bitch,” he growled. The other men laughed as they pushed her down.

"You're such a pretty kitty," the leader teased, tugging on the whiskers embedded in her cheeks. She winced and tried to pull away but her back landed against a large reptilian man.  His body was covered in scales, his mouth a full set of sharp teeth, and he had large, yellowed eyes. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked. His tone was calm yet menacing, like a snake preparing to strike. The girl was paralyzed, unable to speak, as they circled around their prey.

A rustle in a nearby tree caught the gang's attention as they looked up at the branches, towards the source. "You brought along a friend?" the deformed leader taunted followed by the laughter of his two friends. The man spotted a figure perched in the braches and allowed an unsettling grin to stretch across his unfortunate face. "Here kitty, kitty" he called towards the tree. "Don't you want to come play with your friend?" The figure remained still, silently observing the scene below. Eventually the leader shrugged and turned back to the cat girl. "I guess they'd rather just watch then," he grinned down at her.

He licked his lips greedily before turning back to his followers. "Let's see what else she's hiding." He laughed as the men roughly grabbed the girl, tearing the tattered hoodie from her body. She kicked and screamed, slashing into their skin with her sharp claws. The reptilian man yelped as the scratches cut deep through his scales and a thick brown sludge poured from his veins. "I wouldn't do something like that again if I were you," A clawed beast warned. His claws extended a few inches from his fingers and he had long, thick fangs poking out his snarled mouth. He made her claws look comical in comparison and the cat girl retracted them immediately. "I'm not really scared of you," she stated defiantly as the thugs laughed. Her shaking body and wide eyes gave way to her lying.

Her eyes lit up when she heard a branch snap above them. She was on her knees, surrounded by monsters, as she lifted her head and looked up towards the tree. "Help me," she cried out. A plea, a wish, anything to save her.

"A prayer," the dark voice pointed out as Pando  watched the terrified girl from atop the tree. He had seen thousands of people falling to their knees, head tilted towards the sky, and praying in eerie unison. It was always caused by the toxic smoke though. This was different. She wasn't praying to some unknown god or fog demon. She knew someone was there now, watching over her. He could save her.

Pando spread his long, dark wings, blocking the sky. The gang murmured in confusion from the sudden darkness. The winged boy swooped low, covering the girl in his shadow. He began to close his eyes, ready to remove these monsters from existence but he hesitated. What if this girl was not innocent? What if she was as evil as any other mutant? Pando glanced down at her. She was crying, hidden within his wings with her face against his chest. He could just stop these cruel men now and deal with the unknown girl next, he decided.

He blinked and they vanished.