Thanagarian

Chapter 14

I felt like all the life was crushed out of me. Tears fell unchecked onto Jet's cold, black fur. It felt so alien. "I want her dead." I choked. "She killed my boy."

"I know." Hawkgirl soothed. "But not right now, you're not trained enough." I leaned my head on her shoulder, my broken wings had gone numb along with my mind. All I was feeling was raw emotion. Outside the sun was shining bright, so contrast to the sullen atmosphere inside the warehouse. It was so quiet. "We should bury him." Hawkgirl suggested quietly.

"I know just the place." I whispered, my voice choked with tears. I unbuckled his leather collar, kissed his forehead and breathed in his sweet doggy smell one last time.

Hawkgirl gently lifted his limp body and looked at my wings. "You can't fly, Abi, your wings." I looked over my shoulder at the limp mass of feathers and sighed, tears running a path down my face. I sniffed and shrugged my shoulders, wincing as the wings were disrupted and pain burned my shoulder blades. Hawkgirl smiled sadly. "I can carry you, Kid." I nodded.

"Thank you." I picked my up and I clutched Jet to my chest as we flew. I held his head up so it wasn't hanging at an unnatural angle and I gazed upon his handsome features one last time.

We flew across the Hudson River as I watched the sun glitter on the water. My tears fell into the water and soaked into Jet's fur as we flew, my feet grazing the water's surface. We flew until I saw the small island of trees and directed Hawkgirl's flight there. We touched down and I handed Jet back to her. She took him and gently stroked the fine, short hairs on his muzzle. "Good boy, Jet." She crooned. I watched his limp tail, just waiting for it to start wagging, for him to jump right up and play, running around and barking. He remained still. Hawkgirl kissed his head gently and I lead her up the way I went when I took him for a walk here, reaching the creek in a matter of minutes. But it wasn' the same without Jet running in front.

Hawkgirl used several rocks to dig a deep hole. We gently lowered his body down and buried him, scooping handfuls of dirt over his lean body. The way he was laying, you would have thought he was asleep. I wiped away my tears with a dirty hand, smearing mud across my cheek. Hawkgirl carved 'Jet; beloved dog and friend' on a huge rock with another, smaller rock, then placed it at the head of his grave. I knelt down and kissed my fingers, then pressed them against the dirt. "You were the best dog a girl could want. I'll never forget you, Jet." Hawkgirl put her arm around me and I buried my face in her shoulder, grief shaking my shoulders. She held me close until the sobs subsided and I could breathe again.

"Ready to head back, Kid?"

I sniffed, rubbing the back of my hand across my nose. "Yeah, I guess." She picked me up and together we soared back over the Hudson, just without my dog.

I sulked for days, my heart torn apart by grief. Every day was cold and empty ithout Jet, and Hawkgirl let me grieve in peace, often joining me. She set my wings so they could heal well but I wouldn't be able to fly for a while.

I sat down heavily on the bed, the grief of those past few days clutching my heart like a vice. The warehouse felt so empty without my boy, so quiet. I hung my head as tears began to flow and I began to sing our special song. "Ooh, Jettie Bettie of mine, everything about you is especially fine..." My voice was weak and cracked from crying and every word threatened to shove me over the edge into the dark abyss of grief. "I love what you are, I love what you do. Ooh, I love you." I began to sob and fell back onto the bed, clutching his braided collar to my heaving chest.

I felt a gentle nudge and a whine. I looked up from my damp pillow to find Angel, her head resting on the bed and her tail slowly wagging. "Hey Angel." I said sadly. "Jet's not here. He never will be, kid. I'm-I'm..." I trailed off and she scooted her head closer. I hugged her close and cried into her white side. She stood there until I calmed down, then I gently put my finger on her muzzle and turned her head to look at mine. "Thank you, Angel." I said quietly. "Thank you." The feeling of her strong heart beating and warm fur seemed almost alien after spending all these days with only Hawkgirl.

Angel whined and nudged my arm, gently grabbing my wrist and leading me. I followed as she left the warehouse and went down the New York City streets. Finally she stopped and turned, bringing me to a nest of blankets and a kneeling Misty. She was crooning to something inside, her hand out of sight in the folds of cloth. Angel barked and she looked up, her pretty face lightening up at my unique silhouette, even with my broken wings. Angel let go of my wrist and went bounding down the alley, carefully tucking herself in the blankets. "Wings!" Misty came up to greet me but when she saw my puffy eyes and bandaged she immediately gathered my in a hug. I lost it again but held in my sobs, shedding tears in silence. "Oh Wings," She said. "What happened?"

"Jet." I said, watching her mouth fall open in horror. "Chesire killed him." I hung my head and Misty grabbed my shoulders. "Wings, come here. There's something you need to see." I followed her to the nest of blankets and inside were two wiggling puppies. She pointed at the light one that looked like a darker Angel. "That's the boy, I named him Thanagar. In your honor."

"Oh Misty," I began.

"You don't need to thank me, I know you won't be here forever and I..." She trailed off, rubbing her arm. "I didn't want to forget you." She pointed at the grey pup that looked like pepper. "That's the girl. She's yours if you want her. She's ten weeks, you can take her home with you now if you want."

"Oh Misty, I don't know if I'm ready..." I began.

"Wings, just look in her eyes." She begged. I sighed.

"Alright." I picked up the puppy and met her eyes. They were a deep amber, familiar, sweet, loving, gentle, kind, they were Jet's. "This is Jet's girl isn't it?"

"There's a high chance." She replied. "I've kept Angel close, but there was one morning a few months ago... And most dog's don't have eyes like that." I held the pup up.

"Rocket." I whispered. "Rocket, Jet's little girl."