Wingless [Complete]

Chapter 26: Dead Land and Killer Plants

Flying, flying, and more flying. I have flown so much in the past few days. At first, it was nice to be up in the air. I was usually stuck on the ground, so my first few days in the air were spent marvelling at the view and the feeling of flying. But now, I had been flying for so long, I wanted to just take a break. 

It also doesn't help that the surroundings are getting bleaker and bleaker. Even if I tried, there wasn't much to look at. Everything was becoming washed-out and dead-looking. There was grey fog everywhere, coating everything and dampening the few colours there were. 

"This place is so dead looking." Lina sighs. "I wonder what happened here. there are no plants or animals."

"There are some plants and animals." I point out. "Not everything is dead."

"Some."

She has a point. 

"Can we rest soon?" Ryan asks. "It feels like we've been flying for ages. I need some food and water."

"Good idea, let us rest for a minute." Isabella agrees as she starts to swoop down to land.

Everyone follows suit. Personally, I feel fine, but I haven't been flying. Everyone else is probably exhausted. Lucas most of all, as he had been carrying me too. I really don't know how he did that. 

As we approached the ground, I started being able to see things more clearly through the thick fog. There really weren't any animals to be seen. There were probably a few . . . there had to be. What I could see, though, were the strange looking plants. They weren't anything I had seen before. 

"Creepy." Kaylie shudders as her feet touch the ground.

"What are these things?" Alicia says in a hushed tone, disgust showing clearly in her tone. "They're so weird."

"Let us quickly eat and drink, then be on our way." Isabella hustles us along. "I do not feel safe here."

"Neither do idea." Corrin agrees. "Let's get a move on."

Everyone grabs a sip to drink and starts grabbing bites to eat. It was rushed and hurried. Everyone here felt the horrible atmosphere. It was so negative. I felt the lack of . . . life around here. Why? Where were the animals and creatures?

Suddenly, Kaylie lets out a shriek as she gets yanked backwards. Something's wrapped itself around her ankle and sweeps her off her feet. She hits the ground and gets pulled into the fog, screaming all the way.

I watch, frozen and not quite registering everything, as Kaylie gets pulled away. She fights and struggles to get free. I have no idea what's holding her and I don't think Kaylie does either. No one can see anything in this fog.

Isabella quickly jumps into action. She was already on guard and her reaction time is near unbelievable. She starts at a sprint and quickly engages her wings. I feel the push of air as she uses her magic to gain speed. She pulls out her bow and arrow. Around her, the fog swirls and she creates a parting in it. That's when I see Kaylie has been pulled a surprising distance away already. Isabella has managed to almost completely catch up to her, though.

"Isabella," Corrin shouts, jumping up from his seated position. 

I hold my breath as I see an arrow flying through the air. I have no idea how she's going to hit her target, or even how she knows what she has to hit. I have a feeling, though, that she knows exactly and this arrow will hit what it needs to.

Suddenly I have the breath knocked out of me as something big crashes into me. Then I feel weightless as I am picked up. I gasp; my heart rate spikes even higher. I struggle in fear and open my mouth to scream for help.