Draiks and Angels: Rescued

6 - Phone Call

Mara heard a whoosh of air, a thump of something large hitting the top of the truck and the roof buckling, as if a bobcat had landed on it. She opened her eyes and saw a young man in just jeans, no shirt or shoes, perched on top of the cab with her knife in his hand. Her eyes were dazzled by a pair of glorious, white angel wings that seemed to glow in the light from the truck's headlights.

He jumped into the air and flew over her attackers to the railing where she clung. The men ducked and cursed, stepping back and running into each other. He landed near the anchor and after a moment's pause, started sawing at the rope tying her ankles to it.

The man formerly of the red baseball cap recovered first, pulled out a switchblade and lunged at the angel, yelling, "No ya don't!"

The angel jumped back, but the knife caught him on the shin, slicing his jeans and drawing blood. He backed up along the railing, wincing, but didn't cry out. Mara was amazed at his control. The man with the knife looked from the angel to the anchor, made a decision, and pushed the anchor off.

Mara was so surprised that she forgot to take a deep breath before hitting the water. The anchor dragged her feet-first until she felt it settle on the riverbed. She struggled against the ropes, but they wouldn't release her. She saw a flash of something in the murky water and felt a tug at her feet. She was running out of air. She vaguely recognized that she was moving upward toward the surface.

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Mara woke slowly. She was laying on grass. Not the kind of grass someone grew on purpose, but it had been mowed down just the same. She was on her back and could see concrete above her. She was under the bridge, on the bank. She looked to the side and could see it was night. Was it the same night? Or had a whole day passed?

She rolled over and got to her hands and knees. She saw her knife, then, laid next to a coil of yellow nylon rope. She could see her wrists were red and raw. She picked up her knife and stood up. Her head pounded at her, unhappy at the change. She saw the place where she was laying was damp. There was another spot that was also damp next to her. Someone had been there not too long ago. Maybe it was that angel.

She turned around and looked at the pure black river. That inky darkness was almost her end. No amount of gaming or fawning or playing would have saved her. Maybe no one would have noticed that she had disappeared. They would have breathed a sigh of relief and gotten back to their business. The only one who cared was a complete stranger. He risked himself for her. He was hurt. And he left before asking for anything in return. What was she doing?

Mara stared at the river for a long time, thoughts running in circles around her head. Eventually she realized she had to leave before the sun came up. She took to the air and tried to get her bearings. She figured out where she was and headed for her apartment. As she drew near, she glided past the large black building with broken gargoyles that towered over her building. She soared around it a couple times to make sure no one was in the street in front of the run-down apartment building she lived in.

It was a basement apartment with stairs from the outside. One of the club owners had given it to her as a gift when she was quite a bit younger and new on the scene, and promised to pay her rent as long as she kept coming regularly. He had offered to upgrade the apartment several times since, but she declined, feeling the junkiness of the complex made it easier for people to ignore her wings when they didn't know about the clubs.

She unzipped her boot, pulled her key out of her sock, and put it in the lock. Her head hurt too much by now to be grateful the key hadn't fallen out. She closed and locked the door behind her. After changing into more comfortable and dry clothes, she laid on her bed, thinking about her life. Soon she fell asleep, dreaming of inky water and white wings.