Chai

Chapter 18

I fall to my knees, causing Prichard to rush over. My throat constricted, an invisible hand choking me. I garbled a scream, my wings thrashing at the air around me. A catlike form burst towards me. I batted at it. Alice's voice cut through the haze, "Damn, they beat us here. Johnathan, go make a mess." The sound of heavy boots grate at my ears. I whimpered as soft hands grabbed my shoulders. "This is gonna hurt. Sorry, Chai."

Fire tore through my brain as the soft hands held me still. My mouth gaped and gagged. The choking stopped. I fell limp to the earth.

*

"Hey, buddy. Shhhhh... OW! DAMN, this fox is pissed. Do you think it's like... a familiar or something? Do Radiated have familiars?" I groaned as I sat up. My heart stopped as an Old-Worlder made direct eye-contact with me. His eyes went wide. My mouth went dry as I pressed myself against the van seat. My wings wrapped around me.

They reached out and stuttered, "I... Uh... You probably don't like me... um... I'm with... I'm with the agency..." I batted their hand away and chattered at them. "You don't have to be scared..." I hissed, my heart pounding.

Alice snapped, "Tadashi! Leave the girl alone, unless you want more blood on the floor of my van! She's on the verge of tears, and if you hurt her..." I stared at Tadashi as he stared at me with strange eyes. They were a dull green, but held a sense of confusion. A loud growl echoed through the van. Tadashi scrambled through a small door, putting a metal mesh between them and myself. Before I could orient myself, a louder crash echoed through the van.

"OW, GET OFF ME YOU LITTLE..." The van lurched aggressively. I screeched. The little door flew open and crashed into the grate. "S**** S**** S****!!! YOU TWO ARE DRIVING ME NUTS!!!" A familiar smell brushed my nose a small creature scrambled into the back of the van beside me. I pushed it back and scooted away from the strange being. The door swung shut and latched as the van lurched back onto the road.

His snowy fur glowed even in the dim, dusty van. His brown eyes stared up at me, boring holes into my skull. I glanced past his eyes and to his owl-esque wings. The wings seem to have talons and a calloused pad on the top most joint. The talons clicked as he used them like paws. The creature had black tipped, slightly rounded ears. The Old World biology textbook I read as a child came back to my mind. Arctic Fox. I don't recall the wings though. The fox chattered at me and flapped his wings. My eyes widened as a second set of wings was revealed. My mind reeled.

The balcony. The man with the baseball bat... He had a monster like this one... Cruror... He called it Cruror... The breath leaves my lungs. I saw him in the window when Gizmo was in the bathroom. I ran, but the monster shut and blocked the door when I tried to rescue Gizmo... I blacked out...

I pushed myself against the seat, eyes wide. I spat, wings ruffling, "Cruror." The van swerved and the monster landed on my lap. I screeched. My body jerked, but was stopped by the locked seat belt. The roar of the van died.

The wind rustled against the van, slightly rocking it. A small chatter came from the "Cruror".

"RRRAAAARAAAARAAAAAAA" I jumped and glared down at the monster. He bared his teeth, his wings flapping aggressively. "RARAAAAA" It screeched at me and growled. I chattered at it, wings ruffling. He pawed at my lap and squawked.

The gate opened, and Alice slid through the door. She sat on the seat near me, slouching forward and putting her forearms on her thighs and knees. She made a "Eh eh eh eh" noise and tilted her head. I flapped my wings slightly and I squirmed, my head full of pressure. Alice whispered, tail waving gently, "Do you need to talk, or do you want me to explain?" I gestured for her to explain, and she obliged:

The man who tried to kidnap me broke into Gizmo's house and tried to kidnap me. They disguised themselves as Alice and another guy Gizmo knows. They almost killed Gizmo. I helped save him, somehow, and the real Alice came through and scared them away. Now we're going somewhere safer. The little animal in my lap isn't Cruror, just the same species as Cruror.

Alice leaned forward and held her arms out. I leaned forward and she squished me with a massive hug. The pressure reduced and I whimpered. What did that man want with me anyways? The small creature let out a whimpering chatter. Drowsiness clung to my bones like wet fur.

Alice commented, letting me go, "I can pull down the window shades on the van and you can nap, if you want?" I nodded, and she pulled down the blinds. I curled up on the seat, and closed my eyes. I pulled a heavy blanket over myself. The small animal crawled up onto the seat, curling himself into the nook near my stomach. Sleep slipped over me and I finally rested.

*

I woke up in darkness. As my eyes adjusted, I felt a warmth across my stomach. I glanced between my wings to find the curious animal. He was curled into a ball, resting on my feathers. His fur was still glowing, like an otherworldly lantern. His eyes opened and he glanced up at me. The bright blue... wait... I squinted and my breath hitched.

The bathroom... the bath... the blood... the kiss...

I whispered, reaching down to pet his soft fur, "Gizmo..." Gizmo chattered and jumped at my face. He flapped his wings and chattered. He shivered and shook before I could say his name again. He squawked and scrambled. He fell to the floor and convulsed. I screamed, paralyzed. He suddenly stopped. I unbuckled and slid to the floor. He stared up blankly.

I grabbed his face as a bright glow consumed the back of the van. I winced away, covering my eyes with my wings. I squeaked as the glow faded, lowering my wings.

"Don't look!" The sound of wild scrambling filled the van, followed by the sound of zippers. Cloth shuffled for a small eternity, and wind howled. "O...Okay, you can um... open your eyes..." My wings dropped and folded. My breath caught. Beautiful...

I reached out. He flinched back. I froze. The van quietly rumbled, idling. I whispered, "Gizmo?" The wind rustled the van and Gizmo stared at me. I scooted closer. I breathed, "Gizmo..." His soft wings ruffled. He winced and shuffled. I stared at the wings, the sheer size taking my breath away. They flowed from well above his head down past the floor, the snowy feathers bending and continuing down the floor of the van. The black spots were like seeds in snow.

He snapped, shoulders hunched and eyes wide, "What?" His neck was tense and pulled back. He stared with cold blue eyes and grimy blue hair. He snapped something but all I saw were the small fangs in his mouth, pearly white and curved for the kill. Why is he scared of me? My wings shuffled and flapped slightly, and his mirrored mine. He shivered and whimpered.

I whispered, opening my wings in the small space as much as I could, "You have wings like mine..." Gizmo stared at my wings, the objects of my social outcasting, like most people did. Confusion. Fear. Flying meant freedom. Flying meant being 'untrackable', 'a loose cannon', 'a social wild card'. And a fox with wings... an untrackable trickster, a raging maniac with no limits. The Old World stories... they shaped so much of us. Who we see ourselves as...

Gizmo snapped again, his eyes feral and unforgiving, "Say it! Just say it, I know you're thinking it!" His eyes became glassy. I scooted closer. Inch by inch as he snarled at me. I brushed his flight feathers.

"You're beautiful." He remained frozen, his eyes a pale blue. They were brown before... must be his Radiated form instead of his "Feral Form". I hesitated, coming back to reality to find myself sat before him. His face was centimetres from mine. His nose twitched. His eyes became a beautiful sunset before he scrambled away and out of the van.