Chai

Chapter 3

The next day I went to the roof for a nice flight before breakfast.

The wind caught my folded wings.

I breathed with the clouds, my body already soaring high above the world. My feet shuffled on the roof tiles. A voice yelped, "Chai, wait!"

I leaned forward. The campus was below me, alive with a thousand of cultures and tribes.

My wings began to unfold.

My heart pounded.

My legs went on autopilot. I lunged off the roof. A hand grabbed my arms. It was too late. A scream echoed through the air. I spread my wings fully. I flapped aggressively. I glanced down. Gizmo was clinging to my waist with terror in his eyes. I was going to crash, but I couldn't drop him either (Even though that's exactly what we're trained to do). Something about staring in his terrified eyes, when his ears were flat against his head, struck a nerve. Chills ran down my spine. My vision pulsed. I headed for the roof. You know that moment from when you were a kid learning to swim in the deep end? That moment when you don't know if you can make it across and start to sink and the water starts to swallow you whole?

I was too low to reach the roof safely.

I was too late.

Again.

Gizmo started to whimper. His grip tightened around my waist. I didn't know how much longer either of us could hold out like this. I grimaced. My wings were weakening by the second. My wings aren't meant for sustained hover, I'm an owl not a hummingbird.

I scanned the compound for help.

Realization dawned.

No one was around to help. Nobody could save us. It was up to me. I tried to flap harder. My muscles tore themselves into shreds. Memories rushed through me like a river.

Something wrapped around my legs. I glanced down. Gizmo had wrapped himself fully around me like a snake. He was staring straight down; his clothes being blown about by the slight breeze. His hair was ruffled from being buffered by the wind as well.

Safety appeared suddenly in the form of a third story balcony. How had I not seen it before? It's only a few floors straight below me. If I can just keep going, I can save us both!

I chirped, glee as lit a fire in my chest, "I'm going to drop you, is that ok?" He nodded; eyes squeezed shut. I fly closer. "Open your eyes. You need to grab the railing on three, ok?" My wings were straining, but it would've been worth it if I could have saved us both from being killed. Turns out, I'm not that great at that.

"One."

"Two." He wasn't in the right position to catch the railing. I could tell he was going to miss if he stayed like that. I snap, starting to fall faster as my wings began to give out, "I'm not joking, stupid. Let me go on three and grab the railing. Otherwise, we're both gonna die in the next few seconds." He got into what looked like a better position to drop.

Something broke.

"THREE." He wasn't in position. I watched him miss the railing as I fell to my own swift death. He shifted into a fox. I managed to shift into owl form, but my wings were still broken.

I couldn't save him.

The wind ran it's gnarly fingers through my bloody, burning feathers.

We could've both died because we're idiots.

Before I could really understand the gravity of the situation, something snatched me from behind. It also snatched Gizmo mere seconds before he would've been too low to catch. The scent of pine filled the air. We landed on the ground. The teeth that were wrapped around my body released and I was dropped to the ground. Gizmo was just laying on the ground beside me. I shifted back to human form. I was laying on my back, my wings splayed across the concrete. Two massive wolves were towering over us. Thank goodness for my RA., Lexi, and her boyfriend were staring at us both.

Lexi growled, "What were you thinking, Pine? Do you think you're a hummingbird? You drop when overloaded!" Her boyfriend (he was also an RA) nudged Gizmos' unconscious body.

He glared at me and snarled, standing on my stomach, "Why did he grab you?"

I snapped as tear flowed down my face, "I don't know. Get off!"

Lexi integrated, shoving her boy off me, "Why didn't you drop?"

I snapped, dragging myself backwards, "He looked..."

"WHAT IS GOING ON OUT HERE?" The headmaster, a massive man with large antlers, was charging straight for us. He stood at least seven feet tall and had scruffy brown hair. His eyes were black as coal and twice as lifeless. His fists, which were locked onto the scruffs of two wolves, were bigger than dinner plates. This is why I don't mess with moose.

The wolves dangled in the air as he boomed, "DID YOU HEAR ME?" The wolves yelped and scrambled. I hoped he wouldn't step on me. I never saw a pair of loafers that intimidating again; mind you they were bigger than my head.

I croaked, staring up at him, "I... I got overloaded. It's my fault... It's my fault..." The man huffed and glanced down at me. He squatted down, squinting. The wolves twisted free and bolted yelping. My eyes widened.

He gaped, like a deer... er moose... in the headlights, "I didn't see you there, I'm sorry. Are you alright?" Breath rushed into my lungs. He wasn't about to murder me. I would live another day.

I sputtered, sitting up with my wings dangling broken behind me, "No, but he's... gone?" I had turned to gaze at Gizmo, but he'd disappeared.