Draiks and Angels: Rescued

22 - Bridge

Michael raced for the city limits. The wind tore at his face and made his eyes water. He had somehow managed to evade Andrew and knew that if he could make it to where the trees were growing, he could hide long enough to get Andrew off his trail and give him a little freedom. The sun was setting, casting an orange glow on everything except for the bright green trees that Michael could just see in the distance.

When he reached the line of trees, he dove sharply, landing on the forest side of the Volatum River, right next to a small bridge. The road that belonged to the bridge wasn't used very often, so no one saw him land. The bank of the river had a little slope covered in grass that the bridge also went over. It made a perfect place under the bridge for homeless people, and Michael, to take shelter. The grass was short, though coarse. It must have been trimmed recently.

He hung out under the bridge as the sun set completely and dark took over. That would make it harder for Andrew to find him. The first car came over the bridge, but Michael wasn't worried they would see him, so he stayed where he was. Oddly, the car stopped on the bridge. A little late for a picnic at the river.

Slightly alarmed, he got up and peeked at the vehicle on the bridge. It was a blue pick-up truck, the kind that was regularly modified to have lifted suspensions, though this one looked normal. He saw two burly men getting out of the passenger side. He could smell the diesel exhaust and wrinkled his nose. He hated the smell of diesel. The trees grew pretty thick, and were only five or so yards away, so when he was sure they weren't looking, he ran into the forest.

As he walked in the same direction as the river, hiding in the trees and bushes, a knife came whizzing through the air and embedded itself into the ground right in front of him! Curious, he pulled the knife out of the soft ground. The blade was a few inches long and it wasn't very sharp. The handle was round and just fit in his hand. It must have come from the humans on the bridge. Taking a closer look at the scene on the bridge, he saw that there was a total of four burly men all wearing black shirts and sunglasses, and they were laying something along the railing. Upon closer inspection, Michael noticed that it was a woman! He also noticed an anchor on the railing near her feet. They were going to sink her in the river!

Without thinking, Michael gripped the smooth handle of the knife hard in his hand, stepped out of the trees, and took to the air. He flew to the bridge and landed on the cab of the truck, wings spread. The thin metal caved in underneath him, making a loud noise. All four men flipped around, and their jaws dropped. Hoping to use the shock of his appearance as a distraction, he flew over their heads and landed on the railing next to the anchor.

The anchor was shiny silver, as if it had never been used before. It was tied to a yellow rope that was bound around the woman's clunky, black, knee-high boots. She wore a black skirt and bikini top, and there was rope around her arms and torso. After using an instant to take it all in, Michael bent and began sawing at the anchor's rope with the dull blade. A moment later, one of the men came to his senses.

He grabbed his own knife and lunged at Michael, shouting, "No ya don't!"

Michael jumped back, trying to dodge the blade, but the man sliced him across the left leg, cutting Michael's jeans and limb. Fire slashed across his leg as the pain caught up with the slice. Wincing, Michael instinctively backed up along the rail. He held back his cry of pain because he didn't want to give the man any satisfaction, and it would make it more unreal to the humans if he didn't. The more unreal this encounter was, the more they would fear him, and that would make them easier to defeat. The human that attacked him looked between Michael and the anchor tied to the woman, came to a decision, and pushed the anchor off.

Shocked, Michael stepped forward along the rail, took a well-placed kick to the man's head, knocking him out, and dove into the water after the woman. Was it really so important to that man to kill this woman?! He swam slowly, with his wings making it difficult to move. He ignored his own burning lungs and finally made it to the anchor. Finishing the cut in the rope between her feet and the weight, he grabbed her and swam for the surface.