The Last Alive

Chapter 6: Nickie

The wind pulled at my hair and my clothes. Fralinn was keeping up well. We had been flying all day since we left the others and we were making good ground. The sun was now disappearing below the horizon. We would have to land and make camp as soon as possible. The problem was that there was thick forest everywhere I could see, no clear place to land. Fralinn wasn't used to flying and it would be difficult for him to land in the trees without hurting himself. But we had to land with enough time to start a fire.

I turned to Fralinn,"We should probably land soon."

He nodded and said,"We should land now I think. The sun's going down quickly."

"Can you land in the trees?" I asked.

"I think I can," he said.

I nodded but I wasn't sure. I was difficult to land in the trees.

I began looking for a place where the trees were thinner. After about five minutes of searching I saw a pretty good place. I turned to Fralinn and signaled for a landing.

He nodded,"Hold on for one sec."

I wasn't sure why he wanted me to wait but I just slowly circled over the place we would land.

After a few minutes I turned to Fralinn and saw that he was no longer a wolf-man with wings. He had turned into a hawk. For a few seconds I just stared at him. I was aware of his Gift but it still took me by surprise when he changed. I was pulled from my thoughts when he squawked and then started to dive toward the ground. I followed close behind. He just weaved his way through the trees but I had to slow down and carefully weave through the branches. By the time I got to the ground he was already changed into a wolf-man and was collecting wood for a fire.

I shook my head,"That's amazing."

He laughed,"If you say so."

"You don't think so?"

"At first I thought so. But the others...They look at me like I'm a freak. My Gift is rare and people aren't used to it."

"That's terrible! Everyone has a different Gift so why would they treat you like a freak when technically they're all freaks!"

He laughed,"Yeah, I know," he turned to me,"And you know, that means you're a freak too."

"Yes, I am a freak and you know what? Freaks are awesome."

He laughed and continued making a fire.

I went over and helped him. We got a fire going and settled down on opposite sides of the flames.

I started thinking about the others and how they were doing. I thought about Star and how she would hate the fact that she doesn't have a hairbrush. I wondered if Lego had gotten himself in trouble yet and how Moon was doing without his books. I missed them all.

Fralinn pulled me out of my haze when he made strange grumbling noise.

I looked over at him and notice he had a pained look on his face.

He noticed me looking at him,"Sorry. I just...I can't stay changed for more than two days."

That took me off gaurd,"Wait, you mean you're not actually a wolf-man?"

He shook his head,"I look as normal as you. I just don't think I should change right now."

"Why not?'

He hesitated,"I have clothes in my bag. But I don't feel comfortable with leaving you here alone."

That confused me for a moment. Them I realized what he meant.