By Emily Grant
I dart between empty skyscrapers on empty streets. My armor squeezes my chest, suffocating me. Air rushes through the three tears in my glove, stinging the bloody wounds beneath.
Footsteps pound on the pavement somewhere behind me. My pursuer is still on the warpath.
Slipping into a narrow alley, I adjust my gloves.
The pounding grows faster, more urgent. Before I have time to react, there stands General Oliver.
“Sir,” I say, although I have no words to follow it. Silently, I curse that Avian scum for pulling my glove off just when Oliver was watching.
“Save it, Perry,” he growls. “What was that back there? Thought you could pull one over on me, did you?” He storms forward and grabs my damaged hand, yanking my glove off and throwing it against the wall. His frown deepens.
“Perry!” Raen’s shout precedes her appearance by only a moment. She pushes past Oliver and turns to face him, as if protecting me.
“You knew about this, didn’t you?” Oliver locks his cold gaze on her.
She stiffens. “What if I did?”
He glares at her. “How could you betray me too, Lieutenant? You pledged your loyalty in taking down those barbaric Avians.”
“I never once betrayed you, sir.”
“Liar!”
I look down at the back of my exposed hand, where a trio of scratches cuts through the amber scales from my wrist to my knobby knuckles. If only that blasted glove hadn’t slipped off.
Raen slides her war-worn but smooth hand into mine, her fingers not flinching at the touch of the curling claws.
“He’s not like them, General. He’s on our side.”
“And what makes you think that?”
“He was orphaned, General, raised by humans! He’s not the barbarian the other Avians are. He’s here to stop them, just like us.” She narrows her gaze. “I would think you’d trust him considering he just saved your life out there.”
Heavy silence reigns for a moment, and Oliver’s face turns red. “I don’t care what he was doing when that glove came off. I’ll have no—”
His words are cut off by a shrill screech, and he whirls around.
The dim light in the alley is drained by a shadow from above, and an Avian drops down from the sky before us. His wings can’t fully spread out in the narrow space, and his bare shoulders tense at the restriction. His face is human but for the emptiness in his wild eyes.
Oliver yanks out his blaster and pulls the trigger. The Avian shrieks again, the sound echoing off the walls on either side of us, as laser bursts sink into his skin. Oliver and Raen cover their ears.
Our winged attacker holds his arm across his scorched chest, which is dotted with smoldering bullet-sized craters. His scaled hand curls into a fist, and he flinches with every movement. With one more angry cry, he takes to the air and disappears.
A metallic voice comes from the radio on Oliver’s belt. “General Oliver, Squad Two needs you.”
Oliver turns to scowl at me again. “I have to get back to battle,” he barks. “I suggest you never show your face around here again unless it’s on the other side of my blaster. And as for you.” He points at Raen. “If you don’t leave this monster and get back to your squad, your bags better be packed by morning.” He runs back the way he came, hand on his belt as he responds to his men.
Raen takes my other hand in hers and looks me in the eyes. “It’s okay,” she says. “We’ll get out of here. We can—”
“No.” I hold my gaze fast to hers. “You stay.”
She shakes her head. “What are you saying? I can’t stay. I have to–”
“You were made for leadership, Raen. Bringing peace is your passion, and you’re needed here right now. I… I have to fly.”
Her eyes glisten. “But—”
“Thank you, Raen.” I place my knuckles on either side of her face, carefully angling my clawed fingers away from her skin. “Thank you for giving me a chance. You changed my path, but you can’t change who I am. I have to fight my part of this battle somewhere else.”
A choked sob escapes her throat.
“Someday I’ll come back. After the war is over. Right now, it’s my place to leave.” Taking a deep breath, I remove my breastplate and drop it on the ground. I tear my shirt and my other glove off and toss them across the alley.
With nothing holding me back, I turn and stretch my wings out to their full extent. A few shakes and my stiff muscles relax.
It feels strange, standing out here in the open like this. But it feels good. It feels free.
Raen exhales, and I look over to see resolve in her eyes. She is choosing strength, and I admire her for it.
“It’s been a long time since you haven’t had to hide.” She gives one short nod. “Fly. Be free, Peregrine.”
I touch her face one last time. Then I look to the sky and allow my wings to pull me into freedom.
Can you guess which song from the 1970's inspired this story? Share in the comments!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Delightfully bittersweet story. Loved it. All my guesses have been off lately, but I’m going to take a stab and say Time for Me to Fly by REO Speedwagon?
Thank you! That’s not it, but good guess! :D
Lovely story, Emily! I’m not so good at guessing, so I’ll leave that up to others ;D
MB: keturahskorner.blogspot.com
PB: thegirlwhodoesntexist.com
Thank you!! I’m no good at guessing either. ;P
That was EPIC, Emily! <33
Thank you, Nicole!! <3
What an absolutely lovely ending. I adore this. <3
Aw, thank you! <3
I was so sure it was Time for Me to Fly… But my other guess would be Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd?
You’re correct! If you’re a member of the Havok Horde, you’ll be automatically entered into a drawing for a $10 Amazon gift card at the end of the month.
Oh wow, this story had everything–action, intrigue, heart. What an epic piece! And that ending! *clutches heart* So bittersweet and beautiful. I absolutely loved this!
Thank you so much, Christine!! :D
This. Story. Is. Gold. I love your writing style SO MUCH, Emily!!! Amazing job! You pack so much emotion into this. <3
Ahhh thank you so much , Lila!!! <3 <3
Fascinating story. Great ending.
Nice story. It reminds me of the Thanagarian invasion from the Justice League cartoon from the early 2000s.