Soaring (Soaring Saga #1)

☆Chapter Eleven~Lunchtime With Wolf Shadows☆

     This was quite the day. Lost in a snowstorm, then lose each other in a colourful maze, then lose Audra, and she's somehow back? Holy... that's a lot of lost people.

     Oh, wait. Maybe I should just let you find out the rest.

     We had been flying for a while, and were only half across the island since we were going the wrong freaking direction half the time! I was tired, and suggested we sit down and eat. We found a spot down in this one oak tree, and we sat in it to eat. On the branches, like actual birds.

"Alright, we've got four cans of tea, four canteens of water, four ham and cucumber sandwiches, four Ziploc bags of crackers, and a giant bag of trail mix that's part empty already," I listed. I realized that there was four of everything, for the four of us. But it was now just three, and my eyes got watery thinking about Audra. What, I can't be worried for my friend?

     It was hard to believe I was referring to Audra as a friend, I don't really trust well, and we'd just  got to know each other well recently. To be exact, thirty-five-ish hours. I guess I trust Avians better than humans, because there's nothing to hide really, they wouldn't take me away and experiment on me and maybe even kill me for knowing I had wings, because they all did. Yeah, I used to have to worry about that every day.

"Rocko? Cirocco? Cirocco!" Neil called, snapping me out of my distracting thoughts. Ugh, ADHD.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"I just wanted to say the sandwiches are really good," he explained, "You did a good job."

"Yeah, I love this ham," Ari agreed.

"Oh, uh, I thought you made them, Ari," I told them, confused.

"Wait, you didn't?" He replied with a mouthful of sandwich.

"No."

"Huh. Audra must've."

     Audra.

"Ahem, but uh," Neil interrupted, voice shaking a little, "Does anyone know what that is?"

"What's wha--"  I stopped. I nearly dropped the trail mix.

"I'm not sure I want to know" Ari said.

     One word to describe the things: shadowy. Or maybe horrific. Something weird from my imagination or nightmares. I wasn't even sure what it was, but it was basically a 3D werewolf shadow, but I couldn't see many lines that indicated the depth. It seemed to give the area more cold than it already had.

     It sauntered straight of the trees, slipping right in between. And two more followed, all staring at us with their glowing orange eyes.

     Ah, shoot.

"Don't make any sudden moves," I whispered, "We don't want to give it a reason to attack, because it looks like it wants to..." Just in case, I slowly reached into the bag and pulled back out the pocket knife.

****~~~~****

     Audra was flying as fast as she could. As fast as her kite wings would let her. She was still confused by the sparking white energy that got her out of the evil underground place, but her best guess was that it was Essence, because after all, Ari had said he had something similar happen in the Terrus's Hall, and his idea was that it was Essence.

    Turns out, that place was not attached to Argentum, but was some kind of island just outside of it. She flew over water for half an hour, trying to reach that speck of land that turned out to be Argentum. She didn't stop, and had no idea what to do or look for.