Statera - The Balanced One

Chapter Twelve

"Keitan, you know I can walk, so why do you insist on pushing me around in this stupid wheelchair like I'm some kind of cripple?" I complained indignantly.

He continued pushing me down the sidewalk with a smugness that made me want to slap him. The sun was a hot orb warming a cloudless sky, and the slight breeze did nothing to cool the heat. The buzz in my ears and the prickling sensation engulfing my skin began as we entered the long, cool shadow of the parking garage. There was no mistaking what it meant—Afflicted were near.

"Keitan, stop!" I said, voice trembling.

"Way ahead of you," he said, scoping the area.

"I can feel them watching me. What are we going to do?"

The feeling got stronger with each step Keitan took. The parking garage was eight stories high and made of solid concrete. Lurking just within the shadows of the entrance were four sets of green, glowing eyes.

"It is broad daylight. This makes no sense!" Keitan exclaimed.

The Afflicted were hovering, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

"Why does it matter if it's daylight?"

"Afflicted Lycans have a much tougher time maintaining their Human Form. As a result, they tend to favor a nocturnal schedule due to their preferred Hybrid Form. However, seeing how they have come out during the day means they will risk anything to get their claws on you."

"I think I am going to take a flying form," I told Keitan.

Before he could protest, I took to the sky, and our living nightmare commenced as the Afflicted came sprinting out of the garage in Hybrid Form. I watched Keitan pivot and take off, running in the opposite direction. As he headed toward the small wooded area near the hospital, he took on Pure Form and booked at insane speed across the pavement. He stopped briefly at the edge of the pavement, then plunged into the overgrowth of the wooded area.

The enraged beasts followed him in hot pursuit. From my aerial vantage point, I could see through the branches of the trees. Keitan had already dispatched one and struggled to fight off the other three.

The smallest of the remaining three lunged forward and caught Keitan off guard, knocking him flat on his back. The other two saw an opportunity arise and dogpiled Keitan. From the bottom of the pile of flying fur, I heard Keitan yelp in agony. I concentrated on making myself much larger than was natural. I circled once to get the best possible angle and then dove for the topmost of the attackers. Air rushed over my wings as I positioned them to obtain maximum velocity.

When I was within striking distance, the Afflicted had spread out and pinned Keitan on each side with the runt on top, thrashing wildly. My talons dug into the back of Keitan's crazed assailant, and we swooped back into the air. I could feel the runt's attempts to use wrought on me, but those attempts were feeble, telling me he hadn't been an Afflicted for long. I climbed into the sky until we were so high that the trees resembled pixels on a television screen. The runt was still flailing madly in my grasp.

Satisfied we were high enough, I released him and tucked into another dive. On my descent, I noticed Keitan was no longer in either Pure or Hybrid Form. One of the two remaining Afflicted lay sprawled on the ground, dismantled. I came out of my dive and landed next to Keitan, resuming my Human Form.

"Keitan! Where is the last one?" I asked.

"He decided his chances of coming out alive were waning fast and decided to retreat, but it sounds like he's coming back."

He turned rigid, his stance suggesting he was prepared to fight again. I quickly grabbed him around the waist and shot us straight up, twenty feet into the air. The Afflicted came stampeding through the area below us, a fiercely fast Anissa right on his heels. She abruptly stopped, spun around, and the Afflicted arched his back ten feet in front of her. Before he could fall forward to hit the ground face first, Anissa discharged another sai.