United We Stand

31. Fighting

War breaks out as soon as the crowd steps out of the building. I duck backwards, avoiding a flying fist. I run, trying to cover the perimeter of the building. From the corner of my eye I see a limp body on the grass. The girl who tried to kill me.

Gravity fails under me, making me float into the air. My legs dangle in the air. I look down and see a guy with his palms raised toward me. Really? I flap my wings, sending a power wind toward the guy. He stumbles backward, gravity resuming normal. I land on the ground carefully. The guy scrambles to his feet and begins to raise his hands again.

I clamp my hands into fists and tree roots erupt around the guy. He gasps and turns to run but it's too late. The roots curl around his ankles rapidly and I raise my hands, the roots growing. The guy yells out in fear as he dangles in the air upside down.

I unclench my fists. The tree roots unfurl, dropping the boy on the ground like a rag doll. I gulp, taking a step backwards. The roots zap back into the ground.

What have I done? The question forms in my mind. I walk cautiously toward the unmoving body on the ground. Yelling and screaming fill the air all around. People take out knifes or other weapons but not guns. I spot a small girl wrestling a boulder of a man. She's losing...

I look away, focused on the boy before me. I check for a pulse. A faint heartbeat reaches my fingers. I sigh in relief. Despite him trying to kill me, I don't want to murder someone. I probably won't go to jail but... that's just wrong. I remember my dad telling me how precious life is.

A battle cry erupts from behind me. I get tackled on the ground, my wings spread behind me. "Let go of me!" I yell, the person on me. As my eyes focus on the person on top of me, my blood runs cold. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Skylar Madison." Says the voice I use to like to hear. "What are you doing here, Josh?" I growl, fighting against his iron grip on both of my wrists.

He pins my hands over my head, his breath hitting my face. His legs cradle my waist, keeping me from kicking his parts. I struggle against him, my wings moving as well. His eyes trail down to my stomach. Where a huge stain of blood is. The girl's blood. "You're hurt." He states, his voice not one bit friendly. Josh's lips curve into a wicked grin.

What is wrong with him? I'm about to argue that I'm not hurt but I bite my tongue, letting him think what he wants. "Get away from me." I snarl, still attempting to fight against his grip. Josh chuckles. "No, I won't be doing that. You need to be dead, unfortunately. If I knew that you needed to be killed you would already be. Silly me, not getting updated to the news." He says.

I yell in frustration as I find myself in no position to fight him. Josh pouts. "Poor Skylar, useless just as you were even before when you were normal. I gave you the chance to be on the winning side, Skylar. Consider this all your fault." Josh says, lowering himself. I move my head away from him but since he has the advantage on me, I can't do much more.

He presses his lips on mine, nice and soft. I shove that thought away. I bite his lip with all my might. He reels back, blood trickling down his chin. "You bit me!" He exclaims in shock. Josh raises his hand to slap me. I quickly flick my wrist up, roots emerging from the ground and wrapping around his torso.

I curse at him, smiling as I stick my middle finger at him. The roots drag backwards, yanking him away from me. He makes a noise like a strangled animal as he digs his fingers in the ground. I stand up, kicking him in the face.

I keep moving, leaving the roots wrapped around Josh. A random girl tries to fling a knife at me but I easily dodge it with my cheetah speed. She looks at me with astonishment. I don't bother punching her or something. Brock sees me and gives me a pained smile before he smashes his fist against his victim.