Gifted

IV

We paid the cashier and left the restaurant. I scanned the landscape to find that we were still in the city. I didn't spot the Academy anywhere, which I interpreted as a good omen.

Since Edgar was no longer with us, I had to summon a new bird. As much as it hurt me, I was determined to do it. I was about to summon when Rafe stopped me.

"Yo, you sure you want to do that right now? Civilians are everywhere." He was right. It was Friday afternoon, people and students were leaving from work, many on foot. It would be bad to summon a giant bird in front of all of them. Causing a panic will only drive more attention towards us. And more attention means more Ayakashi...

"Ok, lets head into a more rural area with less people." Rafe nodded and we proceeded to walk out of Des Moines, on foot. It sounded like a good idea, but the city was bigger than expected. We had been walking for about 20 minutes and it looked like we hadn't made any progress at all. My feet ached and my 2 Ayakashi possessed friends were breathing down my neck.

"Should we knock these guys out right now?" Rafe asked. I glanced behind me and notice Ebi and Asuna were stumbling now instead of walking normally. It could be dangerous if we didn't remove the Ayakshi now.

"Yea, lets do that." Rafe stood behind them with the butt of his katana pointed at the back of their heads.

"You ready?" he asked.

"DO IT!" He jabbed Asuna hard and Rafe caught her as she fell. The Ayakashi flew out, hissing in irritation. It changed direction in mid-air and went flying at Rafe. I jumped into action and slayed the demon before it could enter him. Rafe propped Asuna against the brick wall of a store as she slept.

"Ok, one more." He got behind Ebi, ready to strike again. I nodded and he smacked him hard on the head. The snake that flew out this time wasn't your average garter snake. No, the thing that flew out was triple the size of the last one. It was purple and at least 8 feet long. It's body was the size of a small snare drum. I gazed in terror as it flew upwards and blocked out the sun. Rafe laid Ebi's body on the concrete and backed up slowly.

"What the hell..." he glanced at me, obviously looking for ideas. Why did I have to be the leader?

"Listen very carefully," I said to Rafe, still staring at the flying snake. "Grab Ebi and Asuna and run."

"Run? With 2 sacks of flesh? I wont get far." he replied.

"I'll hold this thing off. We cant let it enter them again, or you for that matter."

"What if it enters you?"

"I have a feeling it can't. Now go!"

Rafe dashed forward and scooped Asuna onto his shoulder. He picked up Ebi in one arm and jogged away and around the corner. I gripped my katana tighter as the snake glared at me. I've never been scared of snakes. No snake in Rhode Island is poisonous, so I never cared much about them. Mom and I actually used to hunt for the smaller species of snakes and catch them. Then Dad would...

I shook my head at the memory and put my attention back on the snake. In the blink of an eye it lashed out at me. I quickly rolled to the left and onto the street. The snake flew through the ground and disappeared. I panicked instantly. I had no idea where it would come from and when. Standing frozen in fear wasn't the best option so I decided to run in the middle of the street across traffic. Traffic in Des Moines was surprisingly just like California traffic. It didn't move at all. I ran in between cars and got glares and honks at the people inside. Suddenly the ground rumbled, but it wasn't an earthquake. I jumped with all my strength onto the roof of a Prius. The snake flew out of the ground and into the air.